Re: The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread
I have a Shecter Banshee ( 2013 model ) and it came stock with a JB/Jazz combo. I have another super strat with an SH-5 and a Jazz neck combo. I am not a fan of either really. I don't mind the Jazz neck pickup though. The output is really hot and it has an interesting EQ shape. It isn't my favorite sounding neck pickup, but it works well enough. I'm gonna say it, but I have a guitar with the SD performers in N & B and I prefer its sound. I also have an OLP Axis ( early 2000's model ) and its stock pickups sound great for cheap Chinese POS's. I thought based on all the rave reviews of the JB that it would be a killer sounding guitar. It just isn't. The JB is TOO dark, honky sounding, and lifeless. Can't play a damn thing clean with it and I have a universe of space between it and the strings after trying everything else I could think of. I have tried direct mounting it, raising the poles, removed the tone pot, you name it. Nothing but overly loud honk and no definition at all. Sure it does crunch and distortion all day, but it is not a well-rounded pickup. The Jazz is barely passable for me. It is very bright, which I like, but it also has a heavily scooped mid-range. The bottom end is almost too full and both of mine are right on the cusp of being too boomy. The output of the Jazz is also half the battle. They are LOUD and trying to make it match the bridge volume when balancing for clean and crunch, they almost need to be buried in the tremolo claw cavity. The SH-5 is a little more manageable of a pickup for me. Not as dark as the JB, but it has that mid-range bark they say in the marketing ads. Not honky at least, but again the output is on the verge of too much.
All that said, I guess I am finding that in my old age I have evolved into preferring lower output, clearer sounding pickups, and have been investing more in single coils lately. I used to be hugely anti single coil. Couldn't deal with the buzz and they always seemed too wirey and bright to me. Now I welcome the brightness and the clarity comes in spades. Interestingly enough, buzz doesn't seem to be a problem for me as of late. I can get more than enough gain these days without any appreciable buzz. In either case, I am on the hunt to find a replacement for the JB/Jazz set in my Banshee. I want a shredder guitar with a shredder sound, but I definitely want a guitar that will do clean and actually has some not definition. The guitar itself is amazing.
So yeah, I hope you can find all the JB's you're looking for, I woudl send you mine but I don't have a replacement for it yet. Mine is an OEM variant if that makes any difference?
