Jb’s just don’t work for me..so let’s swap magnets 🧲!!

JackBootedThug

JackBootedThug

MURDERATOR
Put that distortion I performed surgery on in the bridge, and at the sandman’s suggestion I put a yjm fury bridge in nightswan’s second position. Not sure if you call it middle or neck… anyway it’s a killer now. Sounds so much better. I just can’t gel with stock jb’s. So I now have two jb’s to experiment magnet swaps with… has anyone done this and what were your results? Recently had a jb trembucker with an a2 and it was awesome 👏
 
I seem to remember that the A2 JB is the Rattus Maximus, or whatever it was called... the DeMartini special. A JB with a regular ceramic is sometimes called a Distortion Lite, but I´m not sure if that was ever offered or just is a homebrew recipe.
 
I bought a couple of magnets on ebay for pennies and put an A2 into an 80s JBJ. It sounded great to me but I like stock JB's already. I don't think it made that much of a difference. I was fun to do but if you don't like JB's then a magnet swap isn't going to change that in my opinion.
 
glpg80 said:
A ceramic JB is just a Duncan distortion. Try an A8 for something different.
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My understanding is that the Duncan Distortion has a double height ceramic magnet, so a regular ceramic magnet in a JB is a slightly different result, even if its similar.

Same with the SH-8 Invader, it's the same winding as a JB or Distortion, but with 3x ceramic magnets.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong there, this is just info I remember reading on the SD forums a decade ago that's lived in my brain ever since.
 
I've done some magnet experiments with a JB. Like others mentioned A2 and A8 sound the best to my ears. Tonally both magnets sound similar. The A2 has a little less output and gives the JB a more "vintage" vibe. The A8 is a bit higher output a more of a "modern" vibe.

Another option is an A9. A bit of the ceramic brightness/snap mixed with Alnico warmth; if that makes any sense. Puts the tone somewhere between a JB and a Distortion.
 
I would listen to the Alnico magnet comparison video and use that to determine how you want to reshape the EQ of the pickups.

If you feel they have that low mid, dark thing going on and want more upper midrange attack, use an A2, etc.

A3s are stringy sounding, like them in an aggressive strat I have but very specific.

A4s are really balanced sounding, and I have a low mid set I am about to try some in.

A5 is already in there in your case, the higher the magnet, the more driving midrange I find so an A8 sounds like way too much with a JB IMO but I've never heard it.

I would trust members who have done the test/swapped em.

Have fun and good luck! Probably an A2 or A4.



 
Another thing I just thought to keep in mind with pickup magnets. Rough cast vs polished, oriented vs unoriented of the same magnet type will have slightly different characteristics. If you're just experimenting to see how shit sounds it wouldn't hurt to play around with that as well.

I think @scottosan would be the guy to give you some good insight.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
I bought a couple of magnets on ebay for pennies and put an A2 into an 80s JBJ. It sounded great to me but I like stock JB's already. I don't think it made that much of a difference. I was fun to do but if you don't like JB's then a magnet swap isn't going to change that in my opinion.
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Dude. That jb trembucker with the a2 was nice. I mean damn nice. Could not believe it was a jb… shocked at how good it sounded and how much I liked it.
 
Timely thread for me, today I received some magnets (A4, A5, and unoriented A5) that I’m gonna experiment with, in a set of alnico 2 PAF style pickups I put in my Les Paul a week ago. I’m gonna put the alnico 4 magnets in first to see how that compares as the PAF thing is new to me.

I also did some experimenting with the JB a few years back, tried A2, A8, double-thick A8 (I remember this being super hot and tight), and double-thick ceramic. I did eventually go back to A5 but each option was good in its own way. I remember the differences were much more than I expected.
 
mnemonic said:
Timely thread for me, today I received some magnets (A4, A5, and unoriented A5) that I’m gonna experiment with, in a set of alnico 2 PAF style pickups I put in my Les Paul a week ago. I’m gonna put the alnico 4 magnets in first to see how that compares as the PAF thing is new to me.

I also did some experimenting with the JB a few years back, tried A2, A8, double-thick A8 (I remember this being super hot and tight), and double-thick ceramic. I did eventually go back to A5 but each option was good in its own way. I remember the differences were much more than I expected.
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Let me know your results please. 🙏 I have two of them so I will definitely go with an a2, and an a8…. Curious about your results…
 
Wasn’t the Jake E Lee an A2 JB?

I have a JB trembucker in my charvel and have toyed with this idea for a while. Might have to take the plunge.
 
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