The Duncan JB's flubby lows...

[Racerxrated]

my first shred stick was a ibby rg140
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swapped the neck for a carvin ebony fb bolt on and went classic stack neck, hs-2 middle, pearly gates bridge. gigged that for a decade.

in the 90s i also bought a LP deluxe routed for a full bridge hummer and it came with a dimarzio distortion. yanked that sizzler and gave it to a neighbor. put in a gibby 57 classic. yank! og seymour pearly gates. ding ding ding!

was definitely a seymour guy and anti dimarzio when i bought a strat loaded with a JB bridge and classic stacks and thought it was pretty cool until i bought another strat loaded with a Dizzy tone zone bridge and virtual vintage neck/mid that sounded cooler. until i swapped out the TZ for a duncan 78. lost some sustain but gained lots of tone.

bought a zion floyd strat loaded with duncan holdsworth bridge and custom custom neck. GONG. sounded like playing bass underwater. tried a higher order 8.2 alnico which helped but the guitar was a klunker so i abandoned ship.

ps i was today years old when i discovered:
“The 59 neck pickup in the bridge position is said to be one of Allan Holdsworth’s favorite choices for his searing legato.” exactly what i did running a tom holmes 450 necker in the bridge. and allan and angus liked 7.8k at the bridge. exactly what my holmes is at. nothing has dethroned the clarity of my holmes since 2005 but i really like the tone specific randy rhoads 1974 custom set in my prs.

the end.

You mention Holdsworth, so I have to jump in to add....

I picked up recently an 87 Jackson Strat reverse HS ebony with sharkies. Pretty rare find..unfortunately a previous owner pulled the neck and put on a different one, and shaved the neck pocket so I had to shim the shit out of it to get the neck to fit back in right. Anyway, the stock pickup was one I've never heard of before....an SD, sticker says AH1BJ....Measures 17k. One of the best lead tones I've heard out of a pickup...but rhythm is kinda messy, all over the place. Turns out it's the Holdsworth version of the JB...his first was based on the 59, second on the JB. Pretty rare. Cool sound for sure.

 

[romanianreaper]

I’m curious about the Duncan Distortion - never had one.

I gigged in the 90s with one. Great pickup!! Had it in a Gibson SG and sounded killer. I don't know why I haven't used that again since then.

 

[mentoneman]

 

[mentoneman]

You mention Holdsworth, so I have to jump in to add....

I picked up recently an 87 Jackson Strat reverse HS ebony with sharkies. Pretty rare find..unfortunately a previous owner pulled the neck and put on a different one, and shaved the neck pocket so I had to shim the shit out of it to get the neck to fit back in right. Anyway, the stock pickup was one I've never heard of before....an SD, sticker says AH1BJ....Measures 17k. One of the best lead tones I've heard out of a pickup...but rhythm is kinda messy, all over the place. Turns out it's the Holdsworth version of the JB...his first was based on the 59, second on the JB. Pretty rare. Cool sound for sure.

good point-the AH did have a full lead sound but like you mention, trying to get it to cut for rock rhythms was not working in my case.

is there any rule to just how asymmetrical a pickup can be?
like a much hotter treble side in the 12-14k range near the high B and E strings and a 8-8.5k bass side? would that be super weird?

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

good point-the AH did have a full lead sound but like you mention, trying to get it to cut for rock rhythms was not working in my case.

is there any rule to just how asymmetrical a pickup can be?
like a much hotter treble side in the 12-14k range near the high B and E strings and a 8-8.5k bass side? would that be super weird?

The classic Jackson J50BC has a bright, biting lead sound (upper strings), one of my favorites actually, but is mellow in comparison on the lower strings. It can still do classic metal crunch, but wouldn't be ideal for Thrash or newer. The J80C is basically a warmed up version, although by the time you reach the J90C, it's hot everywhere and even less defined on the bottom end. So my overall favorite classic Jackson pickup is the J50BC + plenty of gain. It was the factory bridge HB for years in the top line Soloists.

 

[angelspade]

Does everyone find the JB congested in the lower mids? Me personally, I've never really encountered that problem, seems fine and really fat in the mids.

In my experience...That is the only problem with the JB. In the wrong guitar (like a darker Les Paul) it will sound muddy and loose, and yes, the potential for problems tonally lies in the low mids. You can adjust your amp, but it's tough to dial because it's about response and feel. If you favor Duncan passives and the JB sounds loose, dark or muddy in a particular guitar then definitely try a Duncan custom. If a guitar sound thin and lacks body with a Custom or Distortion...Then consider the JB. I like the Duncan Distortion as well, great pickup...But perhaps more specific and not quite as flexible as the JB or Custom. If I could have access to only one of those three for all my guitars, I would likely choose the Duncan Custom. The Custom affords me the opportunity to dial the amp in with a lot of thickness in the bass and low mids (which I strongly favor), while still having a percussive attack. I also feel like I can get away with a bit more gain when compared to the Duncan Distortion or JB and still retain the articulation I need.

 

[Sick Michael]

In my experience...That is the only problem with the JB. In the wrong guitar (like a darker Les Paul) it will sound muddy and loose, and yes, the potential for problems tonally lies in the low mids. You can adjust your amp, but it's tough to dial because it's about response and feel. If you favor Duncan passives and the JB sounds loose, dark or muddy in a particular guitar then definitely try a Duncan custom. If a guitar sound thin and lacks body with a Custom or Distortion...Then consider the JB. I like the Duncan Distortion as well, great pickup...But perhaps more specific and not quite as flexible as the JB or Custom. If I could have access to only one of those three for all my guitars, I would likely choose the Duncan Custom. The Custom allows me the opportunity to dial the amp in with a lot of thickness in the bass and low mids (which I strongly) favor, while still having a percussive attack. I also feel like I can get away with a bit more gain when compared to the Duncan Distortion or JB and still retain the articulation I need.

I agree with this, the JB is great to be fair, its juicier than the Custom, but the Custom rips for metal. Maybe a little sharp with its presence, and I think the JB is a little fuller. They are both great through IMO

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

I agree with this, the JB is great to be fair, its juicier than the Custom, but the Custom rips for metal. Maybe a little sharp with its presence, and I think the JB is a little fuller. They are both great through IMO

I definitely prefer the JB over the Custom as a lead pickup.

Would be interesting to hear Mustaine's version of the JB (Thrash Factor) modeled on his favorite personal JB from the '80s. And aren't older things always said to be better when it comes to guitar pickups?

 

[angelspade]

I definitely prefer the JB over the Custom as a lead pickup.

Would be interesting to hear Mustaine's version of the JB (Thrash Factor) modeled on his favorite personal JB from the '80s. And aren't older things always said to be better when it comes to guitar pickups?

Specifically for lead playing, I can definately see why a player may prefer the JB

 

[shadow]

Do you people who complain about this pickup realize you can remedy this a bit? I'll admit it's not the tightest pickup on earth, but the mids are pretty epic. So this is what you do... First lower the pickup, maybe a mm, then raise the adjustable pole pieces about a mm, or so. Higher in the center pieces cause it's gotta align the height of the bridge saddles. What this does is it makes the coil closest to the bridge hotter than the other coil and this has a bit of a tightening effect. Try it, on any pickup that you feel could need some low end tightening. Small adjustments or it will sound weird.

This is the kind of shit where I'm scratching my head wondering why I've never messed with this before. I have been experimenting with frontloaded/rearloaded, Mesa/Marshall V30s, miking technique, and of course, pick ups (types, height). I switched to all actives, but some amps (Marshall, H&K) made me rethink passives, and now this pole piece concept is gonna put me in mad scientist mode again. Thank you.

 

[Exo-metal]

The classic Jackson J50BC has a bright, biting lead sound (upper strings), one of my favorites actually, but is mellow in comparison on the lower strings. It can still do classic metal crunch, but wouldn't be ideal for Thrash or newer. The J80C is basically a warmed up version, although by the time you reach the J90C, it's hot everywhere and even less defined on the bottom end. So my overall favorite classic Jackson pickup is the J50BC + plenty of gain. It was the factory bridge HB for years in the top line Soloists.

This was made clear one day when FourT6and2 and I played my '86 king V with the stock Jackson passive pups, thank God I have not touched this one and kept her stock. Those are killer for both lead and rhythm metal tones.

The old JB are in my other king Vs and work just fine. I am experimenting and tone chasing some non marshall tones and glad I chose my darker/mahogany for the Lundgren M6. I get it back later this week, I know it will kick serious ass in that one.