Duncan JB8 - unbelievable!

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Corium_AZ

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Ok, so my tone OCD has even gotten to the point of swapping magnets in my pickups. I have an LP Classic, that currently has a Duncan '59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge. Massive improvement IMO over the stock Gibson PU's. (496r & 500t). And after swapping in a bunch of different PU's settled on the above. I adore the '59 in the neck, but just wanted to cut down the low end a bit so I could use it for something other than clean. Put an Alnico 4 in the '59, per recommendations on the net. While it did cut down the bass, it also ruined the the spank/mojo the PU had. I'll be going back to the A5 in that one. But, I also swapped in an A8 in my JB bridge, trying to cut down on its shrillness and add some bottom heft. I tell you what, this JB8 is absolutely awesome! Fat, powerful, awesome biting mids but not shrill! Awesome pickup now!

Just posting this to let all my fellow mts'ers know there is yet another method to tweak and obsess about your tone! A mag swap is dirt cheap ($4 for a PU mag), easy to do, and makes a HUGE difference in tone!
 
I'll have to try this. I have a JB in my Model 6. I tried the A8 in a SH5 Custom (Custom8) I had in an Ibanez RGT42 and it went way too far over the top. Squealing mess. Swapped in some Blackouts instead and it's OK now. Customs aare my favorite pickup as of now. Soon as I take that A8 back out of that Custom, I'll try it in the JB.
 
warlok said:
I'll have to try this. I have a JB in my Model 6. I tried the A8 in a SH5 Custom (Custom8) I had in an Ibanez RGT42 and it went way too far over the top. Squealing mess. Swapped in some Blackouts instead and it's OK now. Customs aare my favorite pickup as of now. Soon as I take that A8 back out of that Custom, I'll try it in the JB.

Funny thing, because I grabbed a 'vintage' DCJ Duncan Custom shortly after posting this, and swapped in an A8 in place of the ceramic mag, and I absolutely adore that pickup in my LP. I don't think it'll ever be replaced, has everything I could ask for in a bridge pickup. Big, fat, articulate, relatively low output (which I've found that I prefer). The JB has been shelved as it's shrill and thin in comparison to the Custom. Love it!
 
You're finding the Custom with an A8 to be relatively low output? I was thinking that the higher output of the A8 could be why mine was squealing so much. Duncan Custom is my favorite pickup, period.. I pretty much figured it didn't sound good in that guitar because I haven't really gotten anything to sound that great in that guitar. Blackouts in it right now and they're just OK. Gonna try the C8 in my Soloist Pro when I take out the EMGs..
 
Yes, I guess the A8 'beefs' everything up, but I didn't notice an increase in perceived output at all. The custom does come stock with a ceramic, which is arguably the 'hottest' mag type. The C8 balances very well with the 59 in the neck, which is pretty low output. The C8 is miles lower output than the JB it replaced, lol. I love it, and can't see any bridge PU that could ever unseat it, in my LP at least... Both the JB & the stock Gibson 500t feelt like they were double the output of my C8. Maybe there was another issue there?
 
Yeah.. Long time ago I know.. But I finally got tired of the EMG's in my Jackson Soloist Pro (Maple neck, poplar wings). Just put the Custom8 in with a Hotrails neck and holy fucking hell that is awesome! Listening more after your comments, I see that it's not high output, it's like you said just beefier and fuller.. And really raw tone I love. I don't know what it is about that Ibanez (5 piece maple/walnut neck with mahogany wings) but couldn't get the sound I wanted no matter what I put in. Even a set of blackouts sound really open and classic sounding. No good for metal. But awesome for classic rock (AC/DC, etc..) So I just play classic with that one.. I hoped the C8 would sound good and in the Soloist it knocked my normal SH5 Custom off the top of my list.. Not sure I like the Hotrails but I don't use neck pickups much anyway.
 
warlok said:
Yeah.. Long time ago I know.. But I finally got tired of the EMG's in my Jackson Soloist Pro (Maple neck, poplar wings). Just put the Custom8 in with a Hotrails neck and holy f&*king hell that is awesome! Listening more after your comments, I see that it's not high output, it's like you said just beefier and fuller.. And really raw tone I love. I don't know what it is about that Ibanez (5 piece maple/walnut neck with mahogany wings) but couldn't get the sound I wanted no matter what I put in. Even a set of blackouts sound really open and classic sounding. No good for metal. But awesome for classic rock (AC/DC, etc..) So I just play classic with that one.. I hoped the C8 would sound good and in the Soloist it knocked my normal SH5 Custom off the top of my list.. Not sure I like the Hotrails but I don't use neck pickups much anyway.

Great to hear! Still loving my C8 in my LP. May as well just glue it in there, lol.

But, I have found something I like even better - Fender 'Wide Range Humbuckers'. Got a Tele Deluxe awhile back (is the Chris Shiflett signature Tele - not that I care much for Shiflett, but the only way I could get a MIM Deluxe in white), and dropped a pair of Mojotone Clone WRHB's in there. Holy crap man, best sounding p'up 'type' I've ever heard. They have all of the good qualities of both humbuckers and single coils, with none of the bad. The polepieces are the magnets, like SC's, but they are otherwise constructed like HB's (though they are a good bit larger than std HB's). The cleans are SC-like, fat, clear, articulate. And the dirtys are ballsy, cut through like a knife, and never muddy - even on the neck with full overdrive. If you ever get the chance, give some a try. (BTW, the WRHB's in the reissue Deluxe Tele's are not real WRHB's, just regulard HB's made to look like them. Kinda pathetic IMO, lol).
 
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