duncan JB in basswood?

[VOLTAGE]

I can get a JB cheap,but wanted to know IF it can get the older EVH tones with the right amp in a basswood guitar? I know it is a higher output model,but can it sound classic ala AC/DC,VH,zeppelin,?
and should i use a 250K pot for volume?

[germX]

you can pull off that EVH tone with just about any high output pickup in the market. it's subsequently what you wanna hear more of- treble or bass. also, a high gain amp helps.

JB in a basswood- no problem. the JB isn't that high output as compared to humbuckers like the invader & dimarzio's X2N. you can still get that rounded top if you tweak your EQ. the JB's forte is its midrange, if you are not into this frequency, i suggest the Custom/ Distortion to be a better buy.

do yourself a favour by listening to the JB first. i recommend you listen to Frank Gambale's 'She Knows Me Well' to hear what the JB can do. dark & deep + piercing mids if needs be.

[jono]

Originally Posted by germX

do yourself a favour by listening to the JB first. i recommend you listen to Frank Gambale's 'She Knows Me Well' to hear what the JB can do. dark & deep + piercing mids if needs be.

I'm a little curious here, 'cause I thought Frank was a DiMarzio endorser, and I wondered how you knew that this song was a JB? and how long he'd been using this pickup instead of the Super Distortion his FGM100 came with?

[VOLTAGE]

Originally Posted by jono

I'm a little curious here, 'cause I thought Frank was a DiMarzio endorser, and I wondered how you knew that this song was a JB? and how long he'd been using this pickup instead of the Super Distortion his FGM100 came with?

frank is now using duncans

[jono]

Yes he is, but "she knows me well" is on the album "The Great Explorers" which was recorded in 1993 with the liner notes thanking the folks at DiMarzio.

[germX]

FG used to have Dimarzio Distortion in his Ibanez then it was Duncan JB subsequently.

to avoid confusion among us, just listen to any of his more current releases, GHS3 would be a good choice. but he's already playing his Yamaha here.

anyway, the gambale reference here isn't quite an accurate recommendation because you'll be hearing mahagony + JB. not basswood.

oh, FG's release 'Coming to Your Senses' had him using his FGM 400, Duncan equipped, but again he thanked Dimarzio in the inlay... found out that he's using Dimarzio's Fast Track models (rail-type single coil sized humbucker) in some of his guitars then...

[BZ Beetle]

for the record....

when i was looking for pickups for my RGs, i tried a handful of em. the ones relevant....the duncan distortion..in my opinion......sucks :\ im not sure exactly why i didnt like it, i didnt play with it for very long, but in bass wood it just sounded amazingly thin and trebly. i could have had it wired wrong, not close enough to the strings, like i said i didnt play around with it THAT long. but youre into thin and trebly, its almost a paul gilbert tone only a little thinner.

the tech at my shop (take these words with a grain of salt cuz hes the same jackass that botched my setup) told me that the duncan JB would sound muddy and unmusical at best in basswood. I was also told by the same gentleman that ceramic pickups are all around the best choice to prevent mudding up the basswood.

now with that all said....i say you buy it if its a good enough deal. if you get it in and decide you dont like it you can always post it on the forsale board here. a good deal on a duncan jb will fly out of here im sure

[bryangraye]

I've recently installed a JB in my UV (basswood) and it sounds great. I much prefer the tone to the Tonezone I had in there previously. It has plenty of clarity, just a different kind to that of the Tonezone - really depends on your amp settings.

[JESTER700]

I have a JB in my Radius. I like it - it's a little "middy" but not quite "muddy"; a great lead pickup. It's also hot enough to work well split with the top half of a IBZUSA C2. It wouldn't be my choice for a clean bridge bucker sound, but I never use that anyway.

[RGN]

I have been playing the JB for about 10 years (before that I played a LP with stock pickups) and think it sounds great in basswood, maple, and alder. Right now, I am very fond of the Custom Custom and think it is about the best pickup ever. It is just amazing for leads. I would highly recommend you check out the Custom Custom. The JB and CC are very similar but the CC seems to have more of everything I like about the JB. Really, a terrific pickup.

[germX]

i hear you about the CC. this is simply a good performer, it even makes cheapo units sound good. have one in my GAX.

however, about the CC sounding like the JB- IMO, the JB still has more mids.

[ozzeh]

the jb sounds KILLER in my gibson SG...

It is the perfect pick-up as far as I'm concerned, maybe a BIT trebly but over-all absolutely terrific for music ranging from blues/classic rock to downright dirty thrash metal. Buy it.

edit : I have heard the SD Custom Custom is amazing as well, haven't put one in a guitar.

I have an emg 81 in the bridge of 1 of my prestiges and the other prestige is stock with ibz/dimarzio pick-ups.

The EMG 81 sounds KILLER whereas the Dimarzio / IBZ stock-pickups were adequate at best.

[LonePhantom]

Nice thread resurrection!