Should I try to salvage this JB or should I just swap it out?

[Rex_Rocker]

OK, so I got a pretty new guitar!



It's an old EC-401VF. It has a JB in the bridge. First thing I did when I got it is I set it up with my preferred string gauge in my preferred tuning. Plugged it in, played some chuggs, and my initial impression was "well, this isn't half bad."

But then I plugged my Strat with the Nazgul in. Immediately more to my liking. More power, more aggression, more balls. Same thing with my Gibson with the 500T.

Now, like I said, I don't dislike the JB. I hear things that I like it it. I just don't love it. The EQ is nice. It has those nice cutting upper mids. But the attack is kinda round and unaggressive, kinda like an EMG 85, and the output is not quite there. I think I've got room to move, though. I was thinking I could remove the cover, remove the tone knob from the circuit, and I have an oversized Ceramic magnet I could drop in there. Bam!

But is it worth it? I mean, I could do it, but doing that would just destroy the JB's resale value if I wanna sell it. Plus I'm not certain I'll end up with something I like. As it is, I could just yank it out, sell it, and then use the funds to buy a Black Winter or a 500T which I know for sure that I'll love.

So... what would you do in my situation?

 

[Masta' C]

In this case, since it's covered and you'd be swapping to a double-thick mag anyway, I'd just sell it on and get a DD or BW

 

[soulforger]

If you don't love it you don't love it. Move it out for something you will. ​​

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, if you don't dig it, try something else. I don't last long with JBs...they always hit my ears the wrong way.

 

[Artie]

You know you're a guitar junkie when . . . your guitar gets more pillows than you do.

(It is pretty.)

 

[GuitarDoc]

My recommendation would be to get rid of it intact and find something that you love. I tried then JB with lots of different mags and, like Mincer, after a while it just started irritating my ears. No matter what, I could never get it to stop sounding like a JB.

 

[playas]

I like JBs but they don't change much with mag swaps etc, so I'm inclined to agree.
Move on to something like the 500t that you'd like more.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, I think the most prudent thing would be to yank it out, then.

I don't feel the JB is irritating, though. Quite the contrary. It's kinda tame. I want it to be more aggressive!

 

[Seashore]

Do you have a sense of what the guitar itself sounds like? Bright, dark, balanced?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Do you have a sense of what the guitar itself sounds like? Bright, dark, balanced?

Balanced with a bit of the typical mahogany growly midrange.

Acoustically, it's not as mid-forward as my Gibson, but it's fatter and less stringy than my Strat. Kind of in between.

But the bridge pickup is also a few mm further away from the bridge than on the Gibson, so that adds some smoothness compared to the Gibson.

 

[ehdwuld]

How high do you have it?

I love my JBs

They prefer to be about 3mm or 1/8 inch beneath the strings

Too low no balls
Too high ice pick highs

 

[Rex_Rocker]

How high do you have it?

I love my JBs

They prefer to be about 3mm or 1/8 inch beneath the strings

Too low no balls
Too high ice pick highs

2.75mm on from the low E. So not far off.

 

[Aceman]

You just said you prefer a Nazgul or the 500T. You answered your own question.

 

[misterwhizzy]

That beautiful guitar needs a Seymour Duncan Custom SH-5 in its bridge.

I'll admit to having a minor bias since the best tones I've ever had come from a Les Paul with a Custom in the bridge.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

That beautiful guitar needs a Seymour Duncan Custom SH-5 in its bridge.

I'll admit to having a minor bias since the best tones I've ever had come from a Les Paul with a Custom in the bridge.

I'm tempted by the Custom, but I kinda want higher output than the JB. I know the Custom has a stronger magnet, but lower DCR. Do you have any thoughts on which of the two has more output?

 

[soulforger]

not sure the origin of this chart showing output in "millivolts" lists JB at 737 and Custom at 784. They seem pretty close but the Custom has that tight but not too tight, thunky low end, like a German car door closing haha!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Yeah, I think the most prudent thing would be to yank it out, then.

I don't feel the JB is irritating, though. Quite the contrary. It's kinda tame. I want it to be more aggressive!

It's the tone...that upper mid spike that gets annoying. No magnet change cAN GET RID OF IT. And no guitar that I put it in could get rid of it.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

So... I ordered the Custom, LOL.

If it's not hot enough, I've got a thick Ceramic magnet I can drop in it.

 

[marcello252]

I don't feel the JB is irritating, though. Quite the contrary. It's kinda tame

...tame? amazing how the same stuff sounds completely different to different ears, and I think in the end everyone is correct, so describing something so elusive like a pickup it's always more than difficult, it's like walking on a eggs floor

 

[Seashore]

I get the "tame" thing. I like the JB for a particular kind of 90s metal tone but it turns to mush quickly when the gain goes up. There are other pickups that keep their bite and definition better with high gain, and feel more aggressive as a result. Not saying that's exactly what Rex means, but I feel like I get it.

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