Seems like people hate the JB

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

It's the #1 selling aftermarket pickup, and I just noticed it was voted the #1 pickup by GP magazine. I used them for years, along with other classics like the 59B and Seths.

I agree that they're best in bolt on guitars, and pickups with less mids are better for mahogany neck thru guitars. They excel at high notes and lead guitar moreso than rhythm, although they're great for highgain rhythm.

My problem is that I've been exposed to the wonderful world of handwound pickups, especially those by the Duncan Custom Shop. Now, there's pickups I like better like the Brobucker, C-5, overwound C-5, Custom/59 hybrid, and other Custom Shop creations. I still like the JB, but Seymour and MJ can make better ones. I'm honestly surprised that Seymour hasn't outdone the JB/Jazz for his own guitars......he's definitely got the time, experience, and materials!

 

[theodie]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

It's a quirky one!!! I've had it in a few guitars and hated it in most of them. The Schecter C1 Classic I had sounded great with it and my new KV2 sounds awesome as well. I had one in my Mockingbird and my Bich with the floyd and it sounded like ass. I had it in an SL2H and it was ok also had one in a Korina KV2 and a KE2 and hated it in both of them. Sometimes it sounds like mush sometimes it's just perfect. A very schizophrenic pickup. Can't wait to see what it does in my quilted Bich!

WOW, that is a great description!!!!

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

I just find it way too loose - otherwise, it'd be perfect. I've gotta try this allen-head mod... anyone know where I can buy just plain allen head pole pieces, without a pickup attached?

 

[Rowan]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

The JB sounds just about perfect in my Basswood floyd ESP. But in my mahagony hardtail ESP it sounds less aggressive, too trebley, and not as full. I mean its not bad, but it could be better. The JB: she is truly a finicky pickup.

 

[theodie]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

I just find it way too loose - otherwise, it'd be perfect. I've gotta try this allen-head mod... anyone know where I can buy just plain allen head pole pieces, without a pickup attached?

I think Martinsixstringcustoms might sell them???????????????????

 

[rayrgdx]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

The JB sounds just about perfect in my Basswood floyd ESP. But in my mahagony hardtail ESP it sounds less aggressive, too trebley, and not as full. I mean its not bad, but it could be better. The JB: she is truly a finicky pickup.

A friend of mine has the JB in an Ibanez S370 mahogany(thin body),and has more bass(boomy sound)than anything.It's great for that super thick dark sound,at least in this guitar.

 

[the prozac kid]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

YES, YES, YES! It was $$$$ in a Baretta!!! It was decent in my Jackson (maple neck through with ash wings) but, it was a tad too harsh but, a PATB-3 cured that. Just a slighty harsh guitar.

I wish not to say how it sounded in other axes I tried it in.

I've got a Jackson Soloist collecting dust. it's bolt-on, 25.5" scale, hard maple body, maple neck and fingerboard, and a Schaller Floyd.

would this axe be a good candidate for the JB?

or would a rosewood fretboard be more desirable with a JB?

 

[shogunlegend]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

are you crazy? no one hates the jb

 

[Inferno]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

I certainly don't hate the JB. I didn't care for it's clean tones at all, but as others have said, it rocked for leads. I found that its bass was too loose.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

I have JBs in my Strat and an RG 550 and it sounds killer in both guitars. It's a math thing I'm sure. The more people that try the JB translates into more people that can dislike it. There is no such thing as a pickup that can do everything in every guitar for every person that buys it.

Another thing I have often wondered about is buyers expectations. My JB loaded Strat sounds horrid through the Crate GT 80 that usually collects dust in the corner of my basement but crushes through my JCM 800. If you expect the JB to make a Crate sound like a Marshall, you'll be dissapointed.

Of course it is ok not to like the JB for any reason. Some pickups just dont do it for some folks. The truth is though SD has sold a bunch of them and the vast majority have not been returned under SDs 21 day policy.

 

[Dcar83]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

I don't hate the JB, I found it quite nice. I just couldn't get out the flubby sounding bottom end to it, which drove me crazy.

 

[Stevo]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

A lot more people seem to hate the JB than I expected.

Referencing other pickups, do you have stats on sales vs complaints?

 

[I_M_Ken]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

well i use the JB with 500k pots in my jackson, love it.... however i also have it in my yamaha at 250k pots which i love as well...

personally its one of my fav duncan bridge buckers out there,.

 

[thespricket]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

I can understand why some people wouldn't like it in a Gibson-like instrument. It sounds great in a Strat or Tele.

Keep in mind, the original JB went into a Tele.

not true man...

Duncan made Jeff Beck a pickup to go in his LES PAUL (the one he played in the 70's, on the cover of Blow by Blow). He wanted his les paul to have the twang of a tele and the same smooth sound of a les paul. He called it his Tele-Gib.
and years later, way after Beck switched to only playing strats and stopped using the pickup, Duncan remade the Pup and called it the JB in honnor of Jeff. Just listen to the leads on "Cause We've ended as Lovers.

Im pretty sure this is correct. Im 100% sure JB is a name sake for Jeff Beck. I asked Jennifer Batten who toured with beck for like 6 years (who uses the pickup)

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

JB = Jazz/Blues. If it stood for Jeff Beck, it'd be a signature model, he'd play it, and he'd get money for it.


I just had a band practice and decided to take my JB/Air Norton loaded C-1 Blackjack instead of my usual 85/81 loaded C-1 Stealth...

******nit, I'll say it - I hate that pickup. Way too loose, the mids are absolutely nuts, and the clean sound blows. I'm slapping EMG's in that sucker ASAP!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

not true man...
Duncan made Jeff Beck a pickup to go in his LES PAUL (the one he played in the 70's, on the cover of Blow by Blow). He wanted his les paul to have the twang of a tele and the same smooth sound of a les paul. He called it his Tele-Gib.
and years later, way after Beck switched to only playing strats and stopped using the pickup, Duncan remade the Pup and called it the JB in honnor of Jeff. Just listen to the leads on "Cause We've ended as Lovers.
Im pretty sure this is correct. Im 100% sure JB is a name sake for Jeff Beck. I
asked Jennifer Batten who toured with beck for like 6 years (who uses the pickup)

Sorry bro...you have gotten some bum info...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

Jeff Beck
The "Tele-Gib"

Seymour W. Duncan

"I wanted Jeff to have an instrument that had the tone of a Les Paul. I couldn't afford a Les Paul so I made the Tele-Gib instead and gave it to him."...SWD

"The main reason I made and gave Jeff the Tele-Gib was because I loved the tone he had on the "Truth" album."...SWD

"Jeff started playing and recording with the "Tele-Gib" in 1974 and recorded tracks on the "Blow By Blow" album. One song you can hear him using the volume controls in on "Cause We've Ended As Lovers."...SWD

I made Jeff Beck's "Tele-Gib" guitar in 1974 during my stay in London while working at the Fender Soundhouse. I was doing guitar repair and modifications and working with many top European guitarists. During the evenings I was recording at Polydor Records and experimenting with guitar sounds.

The "Tele-Gib" started out as a butchered '59 Fender Telecaster that originally had a slab rosewood fingerboard. The body was chiseled out badly and had been through some unearthly modifications by the look of it. It had no pickguard, bridge or other parts that could be used. The Telecaster was found in 1972 at a music store in Cincinnati, Ohio. I took it with me when I left for London to meet Roy Buchanan and his manager, Jay Reich in early 1973. Roy started his European tour in Germany before heading for London. My manager at the time, Norman Vandenberg, also managed Christopher Rainbow (Alan Parsons-Camel and solo albums) saw an ad in a London paper that the Fender Soundhouse was looking for a guitar tech to do repairs. I was doing sessions at night and had free time during the day and decided to apply for the job. I got the job, working with amp whiz Ron Roka who had a repair shop on the main floor of the Fender Soundhouse. The Soundhouse was originally on Tottenham-Court Road in London. Working there was great and I had a chance to meet so many great guitarists that rehearsed on the 3rd floor sound studio. Nearby was CBS Studios where Jeff was recording the 2nd (unreleased) album with Beck, Bogert and Appice. Jeff was playing his Stratocaster through a Fender Deluxe Reverb amplifier set on 10! I remember sitting in the control room and watching Jeff, Tim and Carmine playing live. I believe Andy Johns was engineering and jumping around the studio dancing to the music. I was sitting with Jeff's manager Ernest Chapman as we watched the session being recorded.

The next day I grabbed my old battered Telecaster and started removing the destroyed fingerboard that somebody did a bad fret job on. I made a homemade heating element to remove the fingerboard. I replaced it with a 3/16th of an inch piece of maple and cut the fret slots by hand. I put in heavier Gibson frets with a 13" inch radius. The frets were 18% nickel silver Gibson Les Paul frets. The neck was sprayed with nitrocellulose lacquer I got from master repairman Sam Lee. Sam had a repair and vintage shop with Steve Howe who played in the group "Yes". The neck never had a replacement decal though I've been wanting to put one on for years. I was trying to get the guitar finished quickly as Jeff only had a few more days in the CBS Studios.

The next step was to find some material for a pickguard. My manager Norman found it nearby at a plastic fabrication shop. I cut the shape by hand and got it ready to install the neck pickup.

I had to rewind a broken pair of old Gibson '59 "Patent Applied For" humbuckers that were damaged when the covers were removed. The pickups were from an old smashed '59 Gibson Flying V that was painted black and once belonged to Lonnie Mack. Lonnie often played in Cincinnati, Ohio and lived nearby in the state of Indiana. It was hard finding the magnet wire needed for winding the coils. I found the wire at a motor repair shop and ended up with two different rolls of wire for winding the coils. I used the heavier gauge to wind the neck pickup also because I had only a small amount. I used the finer wire to wind the bridge pickup because I could get extra turns on the bobbins for increased sustain, harmonics and output.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

The body was light ash with blond nitrocellulose lacquer finish. I recall the weight to be about 6 1/2 pounds. The pickguard was ready for the neck humbucking pickup and I used the original cream Gibson '59 neck mounting ring for that. I wanted to keep the original cream Gibson '59 bridge mounting ring and found another one for the bridge. I didn't want to cut the '59 cream ring for the bridge position and used it on my "Tele-Gib" I made around 1976. I have my JM-neck and JB proto in the bridge and can be heard on my recordings "King Tone Blues" and "When A Man Loves A Woman". I had to salvage an old Telecaster bridge plate that could be cut to fit the bridge humbucker. I cut the bridge straight across in front of the Fender logo. The front of the plate was smoothed out and rounded slightly. It has 3 early 50's brass saddles given to me by Roy Buchanan in the mid 60's from an old guitar someone gave him. The bridge pickup fit into the recess on the pickguard that I crudely cut. It was made from a dark chocolate brown plastic about .093" thick. It has 5 holes like traditional Tele pickguards and I mounted the neck pickup and mounting ring using 4 Gibson neck mounting ring screws.

The neck pickup is zebra with the cream stud bobbin facing the bridge and the black adjustable bobbin facing towards the neck. The bridge pickup is double cream and an original '59 Patent Applied For humbucker. The 6 adjustable 5/40 fillister screws are adjusted so the bottom of the head is about flush with the top of the bobbin.

The lever switch knob was from a handful that I got from an old telephone switchboard during the mid 60's. The same knob was given to Roy Buchanan and can be seen on the cover of his "Loading Zone" album (Atlantic SD 18219). I gave them to Roy about 1966 when he was playing at a club in Wildwood, New Jersey. The volume and tone control knobs and control plate are from an early 50's Telecaster.

Jeff used the "Tele-Gib" on the "Blow By Blow" album and others after that. He recorded "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" and songs like "Freeway Jam". You can see Jeff playing it on the video "Secret Policeman't Ball". Jeff is my favorite all around guitarist and I can't thank him enough for all the help and friendship he has given me throughout the years. He has many tricks up his sleeve so sit back and listen to what he does! He's the best! SWD

Several years later I wanted to make the same pickups with the winding specs I used on Jeff's "Tele-Gib". I called the neck pickup JM-neck for John Milner whose one of Jeff's favorite characters in the movie "American Graffiti" but later changed to Jazz Model-neck so a player could better indentify with it for it's clean smooth tone. The bridge pickup became the JB because you can play Jazz and Blues with it. Thanks...Seymour W. Duncan

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

I want to get a Strat HSS just to put a JB in it.

Though when I'm done I want to have like 10-12 different strats all with doifferent pups and wiring.

 

[El Dorado]

Re: Seems like people hate the JB

The JB is the best bridge lead pickup I've ever used.

It's also the worst bridge rhythm pickup I've ever used.

That pretty much sums up my opinion on it.

I had the similar experience when I had one in a Schecter C1 Blackjack. The leads sounded great, but the bass was just too loose for chording. The C5 sounds killer in that guitar.
I haven't tried it in enough guitars to say I hate it, but I don't think I will either. I just love the c5, custom, dd, and dimarzio air zone too much.