favorite pickup similar to a jb?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mchn13
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LPMojoGL":3h1pwkxh said:
This thread makes me want to try the Suhr Aldrich.
Can’t believe all the praise for the 500t. Couldn’t get it out of my LP and Explorer fast enough.
Click to expand...
Well, the Suhr Aldrich I didn't care for in my Les Pauls. Was the last pickup I had in my Custom, put in a 500T. It originally had Burstbuckers. That was the last experimenting with my Pauls...all now have 500T's, they just work for me. For whatever reason Ceramics work for me in Pauls. I give up some dynamics but the grind, punch and sizzle I dig.

Now my Tremonti II has a 500t and I don't care for it. Granted the Tremonti pup is supposed to be modeled off the 500t but I just never bonded with that stock pickup. Mids are different to my ear. I've had a few things in it; MCP Torque, Tone Zone, JB...and the closest I've dug is the 500t. Still that pickup is too congested for me in that guitar which is basically their version of a Les Paul. I still think Ceramic is the way to go "for me" with that guitar. Although I'm interestd in the Alnico 8 magnets. Cross between Cermaic and Alnico, hmm.

Super strats i.e alder, basswood, maple cap etc... first place I'll start is the JB. Back in the day all my ESP's had JB's in them. In fact the Suhr is going in my Charvel DK24 replacing the Full Shred when I have some time. Looking forward to checking that out. Tried Ceramics back in the day with my superstrats and always preferred alnico magnets. From my experience, I just can't stick with one pickup for all guitars. Loved JB's in my old ESP's, didn't like them in the Pauls.

Somebody mentioned the Norton above, very nice pickup and in fact back in the day I bounced between that, the Tone Zone and the JB years ago on my superstrats...always came back to the JB. Little more rude than the Norton, which was sweeter in the mids than the Tone Zone. Btw/ I've always used 500k pots as well.
 
In my humble opinion, I think the Duncan Custom checks all the boxes, for me, anyway.
 
jabps":vo3sj0pd said:
LPMojoGL":vo3sj0pd said:
This thread makes me want to try the Suhr Aldrich.
Can’t believe all the praise for the 500t. Couldn’t get it out of my LP and Explorer fast enough.
Click to expand...
Well, the Suhr Aldrich I didn't care for in my Les Pauls. Was the last pickup I had in my Custom, put in a 500T. It originally had Burstbuckers. That was the last experimenting with my Pauls...all now have 500T's, they just work for me. For whatever reason Ceramics work for me in Pauls. I give up some dynamics but the grind, punch and sizzle I dig.

Now my Tremonti II has a 500t and I don't care for it. Granted the Tremonti pup is supposed to be modeled off the 500t but I just never bonded with that stock pickup. Mids are different to my ear. I've had a few things in it; MCP Torque, Tone Zone, JB...and the closest I've dug is the 500t. Still that pickup is too congested for me in that guitar which is basically their version of a Les Paul. I still think Ceramic is the way to go "for me" with that guitar. Although I'm interestd in the Alnico 8 magnets. Cross between Cermaic and Alnico, hmm.

Super strats i.e alder, basswood, maple cap etc... first place I'll start is the JB. Back in the day all my ESP's had JB's in them. In fact the Suhr is going in my Charvel DK24 replacing the Full Shred when I have some time. Looking forward to checking that out. Tried Ceramics back in the day with my superstrats and always preferred alnico magnets. From my experience, I just can't stick with one pickup for all guitars. Loved JB's in my old ESP's, didn't like them in the Pauls.

Somebody mentioned the Norton above, very nice pickup and in fact back in the day I bounced between that, the Tone Zone and the JB years ago on my superstrats...always came back to the JB. Little more rude than the Norton, which was sweeter in the mids than the Tone Zone. Btw/ I've always used 500k pots as well.
Click to expand...
Try an OLD Dirty Fingers. Trust me...
 
Aldrich.

Outside of the JB/Aldrich camp, I also really like the Nazgul (right now my favorite pickup of all time).
 
I have an Aldrich in my masterbuilt Tele with Floyd. Simply an amazing sounding pickup. All the right tone and nothing irritating or grating.
 
PAULYC2":3886fpgs said:
jabps":3886fpgs said:
LPMojoGL":3886fpgs said:
This thread makes me want to try the Suhr Aldrich.
Can’t believe all the praise for the 500t. Couldn’t get it out of my LP and Explorer fast enough.
Click to expand...
Well, the Suhr Aldrich I didn't care for in my Les Pauls. Was the last pickup I had in my Custom, put in a 500T. It originally had Burstbuckers. That was the last experimenting with my Pauls...all now have 500T's, they just work for me. For whatever reason Ceramics work for me in Pauls. I give up some dynamics but the grind, punch and sizzle I dig.

Now my Tremonti II has a 500t and I don't care for it. Granted the Tremonti pup is supposed to be modeled off the 500t but I just never bonded with that stock pickup. Mids are different to my ear. I've had a few things in it; MCP Torque, Tone Zone, JB...and the closest I've dug is the 500t. Still that pickup is too congested for me in that guitar which is basically their version of a Les Paul. I still think Ceramic is the way to go "for me" with that guitar. Although I'm interestd in the Alnico 8 magnets. Cross between Cermaic and Alnico, hmm.

Super strats i.e alder, basswood, maple cap etc... first place I'll start is the JB. Back in the day all my ESP's had JB's in them. In fact the Suhr is going in my Charvel DK24 replacing the Full Shred when I have some time. Looking forward to checking that out. Tried Ceramics back in the day with my superstrats and always preferred alnico magnets. From my experience, I just can't stick with one pickup for all guitars. Loved JB's in my old ESP's, didn't like them in the Pauls.

Somebody mentioned the Norton above, very nice pickup and in fact back in the day I bounced between that, the Tone Zone and the JB years ago on my superstrats...always came back to the JB. Little more rude than the Norton, which was sweeter in the mids than the Tone Zone. Btw/ I've always used 500k pots as well.
Click to expand...
Try an OLD Dirty Fingers. Trust me...
Click to expand...
My three LP's are set with the 500t's. Think I'm going to try a Wolfetone BlisterBucker in the PRS or Duncan Distortion. If that doesn't work out I might try the DF. Usually with the DD, I end up taking them out after awhile because they are too dark but to me, the Tremonti and most PRS guitar I've owned tend to be bright sounding guitars so the DD may be the answer. My ear, taste and feel having always leaned towards Alnico's first but I just cannot get them where I want in my Les Pauls or the PRS.
 
Other than the Aldrich I don't think any of the other pickups mentioned in this thread sound like a JB.
I have owned or used all of them. Most of them are not even close. Good pickups... But don't sound, behavior or feel of a JB.
 
another vote for the afwayu. I have an underwound model in my PRS and it is super mean. Still has the big low end of the JB but feels considerably tighter in response. Loses the honky midrange and high end hair that JBs can get and gains some nice growl/grind in the mids. cleans are quite good if you care about that sort of thing. I love it for anything in BEADF#B or below.
 
I've been going through this for years and I have settled on an Afwayu as well. I like the Aldrich a lot too and used the set for awhile. I found the Afwayu has a bit more bite and sparkle to the high end and upper mids though which reminds me a more of the JB, just tighter and meaner.

One pick up I haven't tried is the new Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor. It is supposed to be a JB with a tighter low end and a more aggressive sound. I may have to check one out.
 
jeff5":2xxq503f said:
I've been going through this for years and I have settled on an Afwayu as well. I like the Aldrich a lot too and used the set for awhile. I found the Afwayu has a bit more bite and sparkle to the high end and upper mids though which reminds me a more of the JB, just tighter and meaner.

One pick up I haven't tried is the new Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor. It is supposed to be a JB with a tighter low end and a more aggressive sound. I may have to check one out.
Click to expand...

I hadnt heard that about the afwayu yet. The bite in the high mids is what i dont want to lose. Tighter is all im really looking for in that pup. I have to see if i can find some clips of the thrash factor as well.. i have a bkp brute force in my other les paul and it kills, but th mids are a littl more polite if that makes sense.
 
mchn13":3qg18twk said:
jeff5":3qg18twk said:
I've been going through this for years and I have settled on an Afwayu as well. I like the Aldrich a lot too and used the set for awhile. I found the Afwayu has a bit more bite and sparkle to the high end and upper mids though which reminds me a more of the JB, just tighter and meaner.

One pick up I haven't tried is the new Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor. It is supposed to be a JB with a tighter low end and a more aggressive sound. I may have to check one out.
Click to expand...

I hadnt heard that about the afwayu yet. The bite in the high mids is what i dont want to lose. Tighter is all im really looking for in that pup. I have to see if i can find some clips of the thrash factor as well.. i have a bkp brute force in my other les paul and it kills, but th mids are a littl more polite if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
I had an Afwayu and JB in a Jackson SL2H and the Afwayu definitely lacked the uppermids and aggression of the JB. It was a lot darker and smoother in comparison, but it was tighter

Maybe the Nazgul model might do what you want. It may be the tightest Duncan I’ve tried (I haven’t tried em all though) and I remember it being quite aggressive

I’m not sure what else there really is to recommend. If it weren’t for the upper mid part, I would’ve said either a WCR Iron Man or Dunable Big Foot
 
I'm adding to the Aldrich vote, a lot of JB character but better sounding overall to me.

Holydiver was a disappointment for me, did not hear the JB thing at all, and just kind of thin.

Staying in the Duncan family, love the Metal Fatigue (aka Holdsworth) for a "better JB" type sound. If this wasn't for the brootz, I would also say Antiquity JB, smoother than a modern stock JB in a good way. Might work for the heavy stuff too, just never personally used it in that context.
 
The Duncan Distortion is a JB with a ceramic magnet, no ? Try that. Or the RTM is a tweaked JB, or the Holdsworth is another tweaked JB...
 
jeff5":1kmnvwqu said:
One pick up I haven't tried is the new Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor. It is supposed to be a JB with a tighter low end and a more aggressive sound. I may have to check one out.
Click to expand...

I totally forgot about the Thrash Factor. Supposed to be a lighter wound JB, with tighter low end and higher resonant peak. Not as heavy in the mids. Most of the forum talk about it says it's a cash grab, no real interest.
It's hard to find any reviews on it.
Here's one I found:
http://darthphineas.com/2019/01/seymour ... sh-factor/

Reviewer says, "For this evaluation, I put the Thrash Factor bridge in a early-90’s Charvel shred stick. As a point of reference, this same guitar was home to a mid-80s JBJ for many years. So I’ll get right to the point (finally! LOL!) that everyone wants to know about this humbucker.

The Thrash Factor bridge is NOT your garden variety 1980s JB. It is wound to fairly standard JB DC resistance. There is a little less thump in the low end. That’s gonna be handy for the precision of your speed riffing. The highs firmly in classic JB territory.

About the mids. The midrange is closer to a growling snarl than to the legendary roar of the JB. If you’ve read the marketing for this product, this might be another one of those “there you go again” moments in proofing content (Exhibit A: who else remembers the Saturday Night Special “set” being wound on a Leesona? LOL!). The mids being “slightly scooped” translates into the mids being slightly less than the regular JB. The Duncan company’s own BMT chart reflects that.

But how can it be a JB derivative and have the same DCR and sound different? The appearance of the wire indicates the possibility (probability?) of a thicker insulation. That essentially reduces the distributed capacitance. You can see similar wire on other models that include the RTM, the Dokkenbucker (oh, er.. The Hunter. HaHa!), the Alex Skolnick set, and Super V."
 
braintheory":a7jbsv27 said:
mchn13":a7jbsv27 said:
jeff5":a7jbsv27 said:
I've been going through this for years and I have settled on an Afwayu as well. I like the Aldrich a lot too and used the set for awhile. I found the Afwayu has a bit more bite and sparkle to the high end and upper mids though which reminds me a more of the JB, just tighter and meaner.

One pick up I haven't tried is the new Seymour Duncan Thrash Factor. It is supposed to be a JB with a tighter low end and a more aggressive sound. I may have to check one out.
Click to expand...

I hadnt heard that about the afwayu yet. The bite in the high mids is what i dont want to lose. Tighter is all im really looking for in that pup. I have to see if i can find some clips of the thrash factor as well.. i have a bkp brute force in my other les paul and it kills, but th mids are a littl more polite if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
I had an Afwayu and JB in a Jackson SL2H and the Afwayu definitely lacked the uppermids and aggression of the JB. It was a lot darker and smoother in comparison, but it was tighter

Maybe the Nazgul model might do what you want. It may be the tightest Duncan I’ve tried (I haven’t tried em all though) and I remember it being quite aggressive

I’m not sure what else there really is to recommend. If it weren’t for the upper mid part, I would’ve said either a WCR Iron Man or Dunable Big Foot
Click to expand...

i ended up going back to a nazgul(had one in my jackson); and glad i did. just rips in the paul!!
 
The Rebel Yell and the Aldrich will scratch a similar itch.
 
The BK Abraxes is also JB-ish, The Crawler might work too !
 
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