The Duncan JB

[Nightbat]

Well, I certainly didn't like it in my RR1

Flubby on the low, piercing on the high strings

[Hellbat]

I bought a JB to put in my Kramer back in 1986. It was killer in that guitar. Every other guitar I've had one in has had it replaced. I don't hate them, it's a perfectly usable pickup for me, I just love others more.

Give me a custom, PAF pro, or a prails hot any day over a JB.

[BigE13]

Not a fan. Never been able to get the bass to tighten up without lots of pedal and EQ help. Mids and highs are shrill. There are far better all around pickups out there. Bareknuckle Nailbombs, The D'Activator, Dimarzio Super Distortion, Gibson 498T, and on and on...drop a few extra bucks on the right pup. Why are they in so many guitars? Mass produced and low cost to the builders...not due to making all guitars sound epic. The name helps sell them.

[GrimRiffer]

I hate the JB!

[tonesfoyobones]

Over the years I have gotten many guitars loaded with a JB. They all sounded good but something was always missing for me and my style. I always needed to have the pickup raised slightly higher than normal or add some more gain on my amp's end. To me it just always seemed to need a touch more grit. In the end I have almost always found the Distortion 6 to be a better replacement. It gives me so much of what I like about the JB but with more balls.

[ginsambo]

I like the JB, it was never meant to be a chugger pup. Yay, it is loose on the bass but I like it middy, bright, organic, well rounded, sappy, searing and very responsive to high end pick attack for rock stuff. But you have to play it, because it cannot play you unlike some other ceramic or tighter wound pups out there that tend to be more dry and balanced and flatter across the spectrum. I like that though. Don't think it is great with uber distortion but never found it too shrill in decent Alder/Rosewood even with a 500k. Juicy balls. I had no idea it was an abrev for Jeff beck.

[toejam]

I had no idea it was an abrev for Jeff beck.

Well, it was originally made for Jeff Beck, but he never officially endorsed it, so the Duncan people say that JB stands for Jazz/Blues.

[hunter1970]

There are so many factors involved to give a like/dislike answer, but I found that it did sound good in my Alder DK2M but it also sounded good in my KV2. It's all what sounds good to your ears. My Charvel dreamsicle tangerine sounded good with a Custom in it and I've been liking ToneZone recently in a Dimas Soloist.
On a side note my bandmate has a mahogany Ibanez Sabre with D-Activator in it and it's good. I guess all the right combinations of wood, pot, construction, amp and even string size can all factor in.
So just listen and let your ears decide.

[Ward]

I guess all the right combinations of wood, pot, construction, amp and even string size can all factor in.
So just listen and let your ears decide.

Yep.

I have guitars that I have pulled a JB out of because I didn't like its sound.

I have guitars that a JB made sound better than any other pickup I tried.

It really depends on the guitar to me. I used to think I hated the JB in alder soloists (I like it in mahogany soloists). Then I bought my alder holoflake soloist with a JB. It sounds amazing, and I will never change it out.

[JCB RR1]

Everytime I see a post related to pickups, I try to read as carefully as possible, mainly because I'm really curious about what the other pickups would sound like in my guitars, and I would love to test at least a few.

I have nothing but JB's loaded guitars...all of them, and since I don't use the neck pickup that much, I'm 99% of my time listening to a JB sounding in a different surrounding.

The worst part is that I have nothing to compare them to. I don't play gigs and haven't played in a band for a long time, so my guitars are my only reference.

I do like them since I like the way my rig sounds. The RR1 sounds killer, as does the SL2HT. On the KV2 I'm not sure, it has a grounding problem so I may not take it too seriously, and on one of the KE2 it sounds really muffed, kind of dark, like listening to the speakers from the back. I always try to find my way with EQ's and gain, but I'm sure I'm missing out a lot.

Since I can't swap pups...a JB for a JB....all I could do is try to buy pups just to try them...but since there are hundreds of different kinds, I'm not even sure where to start...and they're not cheap...so...I'm kind of f'cked I think...

So...that's my opinion...sorry for the long and somewhat sad post

How did you started testing pickups...what was your reference??

[j2379]

YEARS of trial and error and leaving well enough alone so to speak. Ive found i like many different pickups but for some reason the JB is just finicky. In some guitars its sounds great in others it sounds like crap. The JB i just put in this mutt sounds killer, but I'm fairly sure it came out of an old Bich and i thought it sounded like crap.

[WYLDCHYLD]

As I like the sounds of the 80s rockers, the JB is one of my fave pickups along with the Dimarzio Super Distortion, but that being said, I have found a few times where they sounded a little "muddy" in different guitars...just on occasion.

[leftykingv2]

Everytime I see a post related to pickups, I try to read as carefully as possible, mainly because I'm really curious about what the other pickups would sound like in my guitars, and I would love to test at least a few.

I have nothing but JB's loaded guitars...all of them, and since I don't use the neck pickup that much, I'm 99% of my time listening to a JB sounding in a different surrounding.

The worst part is that I have nothing to compare them to. I don't play gigs and haven't played in a band for a long time, so my guitars are my only reference.

I do like them since I like the way my rig sounds. The RR1 sounds killer, as does the SL2HT. On the KV2 I'm not sure, it has a grounding problem so I may not take it too seriously, and on one of the KE2 it sounds really muffed, kind of dark, like listening to the speakers from the back. I always try to find my way with EQ's and gain, but I'm sure I'm missing out a lot.

Since I can't swap pups...a JB for a JB....all I could do is try to buy pups just to try them...but since there are hundreds of different kinds, I'm not even sure where to start...and they're not cheap...so...I'm kind of f'cked I think...

So...that's my opinion...sorry for the long and somewhat sad post

How did you started testing pickups...what was your reference??

I have two USA Select KV2's with JB's and they sound killer.

[h.e.l.shane]

I use the stock JB pickups and 500K CTS pots that came standard on my USA KV2's and I've never had an issue.

Dave Mustaine doesn't either (or didn't before he got is active signature set)

its all personal taste!

[leftykingv2]

Dave Mustaine doesn't either (or didn't before he got is active signature set)

its all personal taste!

I do believe Mustaine had a Bill Lawrence in one of his King V's.