swap JB for crunch lab??
- Thread starter jayylmao
- Start date
Masta' C
Well-known member
Re: swap JB for crunch lab??
Depends on what you like...
The Crunch Lab has fuller sounding cleans and a "crunchy" bottom end that works great for palm muting. Plus, it's slightly more modern voicing works well for styles where you need tight/fast tracking.
However, under gain, the JB has broader dynamics, is more versatile as a result and has nicer sounding harmonics (fuller/smoother), if that matters to you.
Here's a decent comparison. Listen through good speakers (and ignore the Norton, which wasn't quite compared fairly in this vid):
Depends on what you like...
The Crunch Lab has fuller sounding cleans and a "crunchy" bottom end that works great for palm muting. Plus, it's slightly more modern voicing works well for styles where you need tight/fast tracking.
However, under gain, the JB has broader dynamics, is more versatile as a result and has nicer sounding harmonics (fuller/smoother), if that matters to you.
Here's a decent comparison. Listen through good speakers (and ignore the Norton, which wasn't quite compared fairly in this vid):
Re: swap JB for crunch lab??
Well, if you already own the pickup, no sense in speculating...just install it and find out. When doing comparisons like this, I try to make a few recordings with each pickup I am comparing (I have a terrible sonic memory). Keep it in the guitar for a few weeks to see what you bond with.
Well, if you already own the pickup, no sense in speculating...just install it and find out. When doing comparisons like this, I try to make a few recordings with each pickup I am comparing (I have a terrible sonic memory). Keep it in the guitar for a few weeks to see what you bond with.
gregory
New member
Re: swap JB for crunch lab??
JB split to the slug coil works really well with vintage singles.
I've not heard the CL talked about in an HSS setup. I'm not trying to suggest it couldn't be great, just that I can more easily imagine the neck single being a higher output rail design like an Air Norton S. The split sound of the CL will be different depending on the coil and orientation. I wouldn't compromise the series tone to optimize bridge+middle unless that's a priority or it makes all the positions better as a whole. IOW, you might be able to tweak your amp to make the bridge still sound great, even if less than optimal, if those tweaks also make the other positions sound much better than they would otherwise. Again, only if the other pickup combinations are important to you using the same channel/settings that you would use for the bridge alone, or if the bridge and middle play an important role in your clean tone.
FWIW, some guys like the LiquiFire in the bridge. It might work better with the single coils depending on how you use it.
JB split to the slug coil works really well with vintage singles.
I've not heard the CL talked about in an HSS setup. I'm not trying to suggest it couldn't be great, just that I can more easily imagine the neck single being a higher output rail design like an Air Norton S. The split sound of the CL will be different depending on the coil and orientation. I wouldn't compromise the series tone to optimize bridge+middle unless that's a priority or it makes all the positions better as a whole. IOW, you might be able to tweak your amp to make the bridge still sound great, even if less than optimal, if those tweaks also make the other positions sound much better than they would otherwise. Again, only if the other pickup combinations are important to you using the same channel/settings that you would use for the bridge alone, or if the bridge and middle play an important role in your clean tone.
Joey Voltage
New member
Re: swap JB for crunch lab??
They almost sound the same in that video, granted I'm listening to it on my phone. The liquifier is just a tad snappier on the low strings, and just minutely a little twangy on the highs (and I mean with in a dogs hearing) in comparison. But over all they sound very similar in his clips.
They almost sound the same in that video, granted I'm listening to it on my phone. The liquifier is just a tad snappier on the low strings, and just minutely a little twangy on the highs (and I mean with in a dogs hearing) in comparison. But over all they sound very similar in his clips.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Re: swap JB for crunch lab??
FWIW, I had a Crunch Lab in my RGA121 when I originally got it. Hated it. Tubby, bloated lower mids for days, and not much bite or hair.
A few pickup swaps later, I had a JB in that guitar, and I liked it a whole lot more. Lots more bite and an old-school feel. Much more interesting metal tones, IMO.
FWIW, I had a Crunch Lab in my RGA121 when I originally got it. Hated it. Tubby, bloated lower mids for days, and not much bite or hair.
A few pickup swaps later, I had a JB in that guitar, and I liked it a whole lot more. Lots more bite and an old-school feel. Much more interesting metal tones, IMO.
