Put a JB in the bridge on my guitar..

I've been switching out some of my JB jacksons/Charvels to the Custom 5. Through the Splawn it's smoother and tighter.
I like the JB but it's bottom end can get boomy.
I like the Aldrich as well, but in the wrong guitar it can turn into an upper mid honk fest. in the right guitar it can be pretty bad ass
I just did this to my SL-1 and moved the volume pot out of the way. the JB splits a little better than the custom 5 but it's plenty good enough
moved pot.jpg
 
JackBootedThug said:
Well I play grrrchuggachugga’s and hate lawyers…as far as blues I got a cobra snake for a neck tie and a chimney made out of human skulls….so who do you love?❤️
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Anyways.. here's Wonderwall.

.. recorded last night with a JB pickup.

 
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Arch Stanton said:
Anyways.. here's Wonderwall.

.. recorded last night with a JB pickup.

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That would have been awesome if it was not played through a pickup made out of mud….jk that was killer bro. Loved the graphic also…your getting better at wonderwall…keep it up and you’ll be playing enter sandman before long….
 
I like JB's too but I get they aren't everybody's favorite

Anyway to OP, sounds like you want something a little less "focused" like the JB is in the mids, something with wider range. If you want similar output to the JB but more bass and treble, the Duncan Custom (standard one, ceramic SH-5) is pretty good to my ear. Also worth mentioning that the Custom, Custom-5, Custom-Custom (A2), and Full Shred are identical pickups except for the type of magnet used, and the pole pieces on the Full Shred which is simply a Custom-5 with hex poles. Same way a JB and a Duncan Distortion are the same pickup except for the magnets.

Someone mentioned the Dimarzio FRED and I agree, great pickup. Very similar to the PAF Pro. I have to mention the Norton, I got one dirt cheap in a trade and thought it wouldn't be that good because I don't see it talked about much. Anyway the Norton is great, a hair less output than a JB but feels a little less one dimensional to me, brighter.

If you're a hands on kind of person, you can buy the cheapest custom variant you can find online, and a couple of magnets from ebay, and swap them to try it out without even rewiring the pickup. Something to consider if you want to try the same basic pickup design and fine tune it to your liking.

Oh and obligatory: "Higher DC Resistance does not necesarily mean higher output. You can have a pickup that measures 11k like the Dimarzio Super Distortion which has more output than a JB that measures 17k for example"
 
I prefer the JB in mahogany or similar wood guitars. Something about the mid focus bringing out the true nature of those woods. I can see why it wouldn't work in different woods all the same. It's kinds like how Swiss cheese is great with corned beef, but you wouldn't use it in mac and cheese.
 
I replaced a 36th bridge with a Dimarzio Norton (not Air Norton) about a month ago and I’ve really been enjoying it. Top end still there but fatter than the top end of the 36th with zero mud. I am pretty sensitive to excessive low end on pickups but this is lean but still fat and grindy in the midrange.

My old go to for partscaster/bolt on bridge humbuckers was the Duncan Custom Custom—I like this much better.
 
I find it comical when some players put down the JB because of it's softer bottom end, emphasized mids/upper mids and lack of P.A.F. sparkle in the highs while extoling the virtues of their superior pickup of choice. But then they can't live without their always on tube screamer that by it's very nature is bringing their favorite (bigger, bolder, more open) pickup into JB territory anyway.
 
Put a JB in a Jackson Soloist for reference. I can think it sounds decent but most of the time I don't like it.

A similar thing happens with a Les Paul Studio with stock 498T. I use this guitar for reference a lot.

A pickup that sounds grate for me almost always is the Wagner Godwood. This is for standard to drop d tuning.
 
I like the Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell in alder body guitars over the JB. Same-ish pickup but the Rebel Yell is clearer/notes are more defined. I also have BK Mules but only in LP type guitars, which sound great. Still want to try a Mule in a strat guitar.

A K-Line I just received has the stock pickups in it -- A2 magnet for the neck and A5 for the bridge, with both in the PAF range. I think it sounds great.
 
thegame said:
I find it comical when some players put down the JB because of it's softer bottom end, emphasized mids/upper mids and lack of P.A.F. sparkle in the highs while extoling the virtues of their superior pickup of choice. But then they can't live without their always on tube screamer that by it's very nature is bringing their favorite (bigger, bolder, more open) pickup into JB territory anyway.
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A Tubescreamer will tighten up the low-end, sure, but it can't always handle the JB's high-mid screechiness, which in itself is VERY guitar-dependant.
The JB was the best bridge pickup in a Korean Hamer Californian (Slammer Series) bar none. But in some of my Les Pauls, meh. Prefer the Custom/59 Hybrid, Norton, AT-1, Custom 5 and good ol' Super Distortion there.

A Norton (if you want crunch, harmonics, kerrang and tightness), or a Custom 5 (if you need bigger, but tighter lows and relaxed mids) will counter that.
 
Put me down as another who prefers the Custom to the JB. It's a more even frequency response, a little more definition on the lows, and lacks that icepick like upper mids of the JB. The Custom can be a bit bright (treble) in some guitars, but it's controllable with standard EQ settings.

I've heard so much good about the Custom 5 since people got into swapping magnets out in them, but never got around to trying it. The plain Custom did well enough.
 
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