The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

[Lewguitar]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

So I don't see the need for a test.

It's been shown that there are several versions of the JB but that all have the JB sound. For the record, I liked the JB Antiquity best. More transparent especially in the top end.

Is the test simply to show whether those differences can be heard and described when we listen to someone playing who's musical tastes might be very different from our own and who's playing and musical choices we might not even like?

Why bother?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

So they all sound alike, but the Antiquity sounds different. Noted.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Guitar players are the toughest crowd to please

 

[JB6464]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Guitar players are the toughest crowd to please

And gullible .

 

[Artie]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Lord have mercy! For a moment there, I thought I was back in my "vintage audio" forum where we argue about the sonic difference in speaker cables.

 

[Aceman]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

So I don't see the need for a test.

It's been shown that there are several versions of the JB but that all have the JB sound. For the record, I liked the JB Antiquity best. More transparent especially in the top end.

And that right there is why the test.

 

[Aceman]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

So, for the record, it was ME who made this happen. Bro hug to both you guys for making the scene
And for my final trick, I will make all debate about which JB sounds like what disappear!!!!!!

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Just for reference, since there's only one JB

JB
sand-cast polished alnico 5 bar magnets
polycarbonate bobbins
short-legged bottom plates
four-conductor lead wire
D.C. Resistance 16.4k

Antiquity JB
hand-aged roughcast alnico V magnet, custom degaussed
maple spacer
butyrate bobbins, aged, impregnated with dust
long-legged bottom plate
single-conductor wire
D.C. Resistance 16.4k

35th Anniversary JB
rough-cast alnico 5 magnets
butyrate bobbins
long-legged bottom plates featuring a special laser-engraved 35th Anniversary logo
single-conductor wire
The bridge model is designed for bridges with traditional string spacing of 1.925" or 48.9mm measured over the bridge pickup.

Early production JB
rough-cast alnico 5 magnets
butyrate bobbins
long-legged bottom plates
single-conductor wire

Concept Set
Alnico-V magnets in the neck pickup, and Alnico-II in the bridge
long-legged bottom plate
single-conductor wire
D.C. Resistance 16.7k

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

I think whether the A5 magnet is roughcast or polished or degaussed is the "secret sauce" that makes otherwise identical pickups like the JB sound slightly different from each other.

 

[Aceman]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

And here is - at best - according to me - the only thing that *might* make a difference.

JB
sand-cast polished alnico 5 bar magnets
Antiquity JB
hand-aged roughcast alnico V magnet, custom degaussed
35th Anniversary JB
rough-cast alnico 5 magnets
Early production JB
rough-cast alnico 5 magnets
Concept Set
and Alnico-II in the bridge

 

[Masta' C]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Here are my thoughts:

• The JB "formula" probably hasn't changed since it became a formal production model, which is what I believe Evan is alluding to, but we know that the individual components used in the JB recipe have certainly changed over time, sort of like swapping the brand of chocolate chips in your favorite cookie recipe. You're still using chocolate chips, and putting in the same amount as you did before, so it's still very much "your cookie recipe", but the taste can change slightly, especially as more components are swapped out over time (flour, sugar, brand of butter, etc).
• There is far more variation in the very early pickups made in the '70s than we see beginning in the '80s. You simply don't see the degree of mis-matched coils and lower DCR readings in JB's once you hit the '80s
• In my opinion, the "JBJ is best" argument doesn't speak so much to the winder as it does to the particular generation of pickups in which the "JBJ" was common. A "JB-M", "JBL", "JBP", etc all use the same parts and were wound on the same machines. HOWEVER, you can find "JBJ" pickups produced from the early '80s through the early '90s, so that's quite a range.
• Roughcast mags were only found in the earliest JB's. Once the '80s got rolling, roughcast went out the window. 99% of all pickups we know as "JBJ" models have polished mags, not roughcast. I have verified this to as early as 1981/82 in some cases. By 1983, with the introduction of the large logo baseplate, roughcast was a true rarity.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

And gullible .

The guitar industry is similar to the fitness and health industry.

Mostly hucksters trying to convince you that you are less of an individual or player if you don't use their solution.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

The guitar industry is similar to the fitness and health industry.

Mostly hucksters trying to convince you that you are less of an individual or player if you don't use their solution.

When it comes to humbuckers, learning about magnet swapping and how every Alnico magnet sounds in your favorite pickup is THE solution for finding the pickup sound we all as individuals are looking for.

For me that's a roughcast A3 in either an Antiquity, Seth Lover or 59 neck pickup, and a roughcast A2 in an Antiquity, Seth Lover or 59 bridge pickup.

A stock set of Antiquitys is fine too!

 

[Clint 55]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

I think whether the A5 magnet is roughcast or polished or degaussed is the "secret sauce" that makes otherwise identical pickups like the JB sound slightly different from each other.

And here is - at best - according to me - the only thing that *might* make a difference.

JB
sand-cast polished alnico 5 bar magnets
Antiquity JB
hand-aged roughcast alnico V magnet, custom degaussed
35th Anniversary JB
rough-cast alnico 5 magnets
Early production JB
rough-cast alnico 5 magnets
Concept Set
and Alnico-II in the bridge

No. The winds are different. My JB/Seth is hotter than my JBJ. Also the Ant doesn't have a roughcast A5 it has a smooth A5.

 

[playas]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Just saying that once upon a time, Gibson decided to switch to Long v Short Tenon necks. Why? Easier build, cheaper. Did they build a short tenon and play it next to a long tenon and go "You know, feels the same, sounds the same, sustains the same." I bet they did. Years later, geeks find out and decide completely arbitrarily that long > short.

Wasn't that because of neck stability as the short tenons were ending underneath an "empty" pickup cavity? I understood that they were originally designed for single pickup designs with a big chunk of wood around the tenon. In the case of guitars with a neck pickup, the tenon just extends underneath the "empty" pickup cavity instead.


Sent from my Redmi Note 8 using Tapatalk

 

[Masta' C]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

No. The winds are different. My JB/Seth is hotter than my JBJ. Also the Ant doesn't have a roughcast A5 it has a smooth A5.

You don't know what you're talking about

From Duncan:

Each Antiquity JB humbucker is hand built with the same original materials that we used to make them in the 70s, including long legged nickel silver bottom plate, maple spacer, original JB model stamp, rough sand cast alnico 5 bar magnet, heavily aged butyrate bobbins, and vintage style push-back braided single conductor lead wire

 

[ErikH]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Lots of good information and insight shared here. When it comes to the clips, I offer this tip..... DO NOT COMPRESS TO MP3 and upload it to a YouTube video or anything else like that. If you want to hear as best of a source as you can, cut small clips and save them as uncompressed WAV files. Put them on Google Drive or Dropbox and share from there. Short clips, like 1 minute at most. Keep them clean, as in no distortion or drive whatsover, maybe one with mid-saturation and one with a little "more".

I'll be curious how these clips come out. IME between a JB from the mid to late 80's and one from the 2000's, there was definitely a sound and feel difference. The 80's JB had a spongier and more open feel to it. The newer one had more the common upper-mid spike which seemed to take away from the glory of the rest of the spectrum. It simply seemed "off spec" for lack of a better explanation. That's my interpretation. I'd really like to hear some real life work with the Antiquity JB for my own curiosity.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Yeah sure, guy. When I examined the A5 from my Ant, it was smooth. Post a video of you unwrapping the factory tape to reveal an A5 with bumps then make arrogant comments. Fwiw, other pups which Duncan or other people claim have rough mags but that I got smooth mags in are the Whole Lotta and Antiquity Humbucker.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

Well, that would be blatantly false advertising on the part of Seymour Duncan. Not saying it can't/hasn't happened, but it's a bit surprising, especially when the claim is that the pickup is made to original 1970s specifications

 

[Clint 55]

Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

I get the feeling Duncan is like that lol! Not saying I know what mag is in every pickup but my guess is that what I got is how they're producing them.