Seymour Duncan JB

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1978 Ibanez Studio 300
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: It's not stock, but it was in the guitar I bought used
Other pickups on guitar: seymour duncan jazz neck pickup
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck
You musical style(s): Fusion/Jazz, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Shred
Reason for pickup change: This pickup has great tone for almost all music styles, but while using distortion it's a little muddy.

Perceived output level: Medium output
Tone: heavy on the trebel side, great sustain and harmonics, muddy while using distortion
Sonic evaluation: Boss ME-30, Art rackmount preamp, powered speaker cabs

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: this pickup would be great for blues and classic rock, but nothing too heavy

Comments: I'm replacing it soon, trying the Tone Zone. I had used only seymour duncans in the past and wasn't completely satisfied. Time to try some DiMarzios.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1978 Ibanez Studio 300
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: It's not stock, but it was in the guitar I bought used
Other pickups on guitar: Stock neck pickup
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck
You musical style(s): Heavy metal, Progressive rock, Jazz, Shred
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Hotter than average stock pickups. Harmonics aren't bad and sustain is never-ending.
Tone: Well balanced, a little heavy on the treble side
Sonic evaluation: Boss ME-30 and a rackmount preamp going into powered cabs.
Gave me well balanced clean tones, and good distortion tones
with a lot of grind, plenty of mids, and just enough highs. One big problem is that it isn't well defined under distortion while playing faster stuff. I think this pickup would sound great for blues and classic rock, but not for metal (what do you expect from something named after Jeff Beck?). Good for shreding solos, too.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Like I said, not good for metal. But if you're a blues or classic rock player, this might be the pickup for you.

Comments: I intend to replace it soon. I'm thinking of trying the Duncan Custom,
The Allan Holdsworth model, the Dimarzio tone zone and X2N models, the Evolution, or maybe some EMG's (I work at a music store so I often get a chance to try different products). I'm in no huge hurry to change it, but it's not something I want to stick with. I've been playing for about eight years and am on the quest for THAT tone. I didn't find it here.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Early 70s Les Paul Custom
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Gibson
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Gibson
Artists using this pickup: Dave Mustaine, Scott Ian....and many, many more
You musical style(s): Blues, Hard Rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a hotter bridge pickup that didn't squeal

Perceived output level: To die for
Tone: Nicely balanced, great treble response with decent mids and nice bass
Sonic evaluation: Peavey Classic 30 and Vox AC-30 top boost. effects are a Vox wah, tube screamer and a Marshall Guv'nor

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: good bridge pickup, to hot for neck positions IMO

Comments: Beautiful pickup for a Les Paul, I am thinking of putting an Alnico Pro in the neck or maybe a Jazz but haven't decided. I also have a JB in a strat of mine and it sounds good, but not as good as the JB does in the les Paul. I tried a Tone Zone in the same position and it was a muddy dark joke....that is an Ibanez type guitar pickup. JB I really love this pickup....think Gary Moore

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: huh?

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson PS2 Performer
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Jackson stock humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Jackson single coils
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck I suppose, and Megadeth
You musical style(s): Hard Rock, Metal, Blues, Jazz, Classical
Reason for pickup change: Stock humbucker did not crunch enough. Had very little character, and sounded very muddy.

Perceived output level: Substantially hotter than stock, but not overly hot
Tone: Extremely balanced, the tone is most excellent. No complaints here.
Sonic evaluation: I have this pickup installed in my Jackson PS2 performer, and I play through a Laney HC50R 50w solid state combo. This pickup actually brings out the sound of the amp! When distorted it sound very crunchy and full. Very good for hard rock, and suitable for heavy metal (though die-hard metalheads may want something hotter). This pickup also does a good job for wailin blues with a little overdrive.
The clean tones are OK if you cut back on the guitar volume a little, but I'm not a big fan of clean humbucker tones.
This pickup is extremely balanced. Has the perfect mix of bass, treble, and mids. Like I said this thing really sounds great on distortion. It growls like a bad motha when you slam on those heavy chords and use that chuggy palm muting. It also screams and howls on leads, the harmonics seem to just jump out! Sustain is most excellent, even with my pain-in-the-neck floyd rose and solid state amp. I can hold a note for hours it seems.
Great pickup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play hard rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz, and classical. For hard rock, metal, and blues, it's excellent! However this pickup does not work well for jazz and classical, not in the bridge position anyway. But I think this pickup is totally meant for the bridge. Even though it would probably sound very fat and smooth in the neck.

Comments: Well this pickup would be very hard to steal without taking the entire guitar. But yea I would definitely buy this again, and will probably equip all my axes with this in the future. I've currently been playing 3, almost 4 years and I own an Ibanez Stagestar for a backup axe. I also have a Fender DG7 acoustic.
I love everything about this pickup, especially the sweet growling tone. I hate nothing about it as of yet, I've had this pickup for about 3 or 4 months now and never get tired of it's sound.
I really didn't have a chance to compare it to other pickups, cuz well I was getting a sweet deal on it..my friends dad was offering it to me for $25, and I thought 'hey what the heck, it's only $25, I might as well try it out.' But compared to my stock pickups in both my Jackson and Ibanez, the JB blows them both away. This pickup is definitely MY sound, and I would not accept any other.
I highly recommend this pickup to anyone who loves a good hard rock or blues tone. You won't be sorry you bought it.
This pickup deserves a 10, which is very very high coming from me, I never give anything a perfect 10.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Stated below

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez S540QS
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock (Ibanez-QM2)
Other pickups on guitar: Stock
Artists using this pickup: Too many to list
You musical style(s): Hard Rock to Blues
Reason for pickup change: Old pickups were characterless.

Perceived output level: Nearly twice as much the old p/u
Tone: There IS a reason why so many people use this pickup! It's the ultimate balance; not too trebly, not too bassy, just the right blend. Full and present. Also a distinctive thing is the sustain, it just screams as you hold the note. Not when you are just playing but only as it sustains
Sonic evaluation: I have a crappy Valvestate at home but I play at various places mainly with tube amps and believe me it's a "to the moon and back" tone ! I also have this pickup on my Jackson "M.F.", it's a maple guitar with alder sides and it has a hell lot more crunch. Still I prefer the Ibanez as it has a more mellow, sweet tone. (Hint: That thing sounds brilliant coil-split !!)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly hard rock and occasional blues. It's a very flexible pickup, though I'd prefer something else for country!! That's a bridge p/u in general but my friend has one in the neck position (Jackson KV1) and it sounds OK(not like a '59 though)

Comments: I would definitely buy it again.
I've played for 4 years now and I own a Jackson KE1 along with an Ibanez S540QS.
This p/u is just great for .hat it does and it does the right thing.
I would recommend this to anyone although it would not satisfy the MetalJackHammerHeads nor the Country ChickenPickin' guys. Great for anything in between. (Although it's good for metal it's not enough for that Heavy-As-Hell stuff, frankly.)

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: can be found on their website

Model of guitar or bass: Guild Bluesbird, Epiphone Sheraton
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan '59 on Bluesbird, Stock Epiphone bridge
Other pickups on guitar: SD Jazz, SD Alnico II Pro
Artists using this pickup: who cares, Slash I guess
You musical style(s): Blues, 70-80, everything but country basically
Reason for pickup change: Found SD '59 too shrill in Bluesbird, knew there was nowhere to go but up on Epiphone.

Perceived output level: a bit hotter than average.
Tone: very balanced...but sounds very different in these two guitars. I did not like it at all in the Bluesbird, was very nasal in tone, very midrangy. However, in the bridge in the Sheraton, it is magic! Beautiful full woody tone, and works marvelously with the Jazz I have in the neck.
Sonic evaluation: Pickup found a home in my Epi Sheraton, used with a Peavey Classic 50, and sometimes a Line6 POD.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Works very well for the turn of the century to modern blues I play, as well as more contemporary rock. Sounds good with distortion as well. As I said, I did not like this pickup in the Guild, so the guitar makes a big difference.

Comments: I would definitely put another JB in the Sheraton. Along the way, I tired SD Custom-Custom and Alnico II Pro bridge pickups as well, and Jazz and Alnico II Pro neck pickups. The Alnico is beautiful in the Guild, the Custom-Custom was unacceptable in the Guild but OK in the Sheraton. But the Jazz was good in the neck of both. Point is, all you can do it try the pickup, maybe these reviews should only be taken as a very general baseline.

Pickup features: humbucker?
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: epi les paul
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: 59 in neck
Artists using this pickup: tree of tabor guitarist
You musical style(s): edgy rock
Reason for pickup change: wanderlust

Perceived output level: hot
Tone: great clarity without brittleness
Sonic evaluation: playing this through a marshall 2550 with an alesis quardrever in the loop -- it sounds great.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock, pop

Comments: i'd get it again. Going to put one in my hamer special

Pickup features: Humbucking, passive, open coils
Impedence or other specs: 16.4K ohms (per http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonechart.html#hum)

Model of guitar or bass: Aria TA-62, ES335 copy, slightly smaller body
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Aria stock humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan '59 PAF in the neck
Artists using this pickup: n/a
You musical style(s): jazz, rock, blues
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups were slighly fuzzy sounding which is probably good for R&R, but not so good for jazz.

Perceived output level: Same as the Seymour Duncan '59 PAF even though the impedance is twice the PAF. I thought it would overpower the neck pickup, but it did not. It was balanced and even sounding with the neck pickup.
Tone: This pickup is pretty evenly balanced across all strings and does a good job at highlighting the *brilliant* tone of the guitar.
Sonic evaluation: The SD JB is in the bridge of my Aria TA62 which is all maple and semi-hollow. I play it through a Fender Acoustasonic JR amp (solid state), but am waiting for a tech to finish repairs on my 1969 Hohner CA-200 all-tube amp. Right now the TA-62 sounds fairly, but not overly bright. With the SD pickups in both positions and the newly added Grover Rotomatics, my TA-62 is as good as any pro level ES335 out there. I can't wait to hear it with some real tube distortion through my CA-200 amp. I'll bet that will make the SD JB pickup shine.
Combining both or using either pickup, I can get ES335 tones from my Aria or even strat-like tones using the JB. The pickup combo gives me a wide range of tones. The only thing I can't get is the darker tone you'd get from a big archtop. That's OK since I have an Epi Joe Pass (with another SD '59 PAF in the neck) for that purpose.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Mostly jazz, trying some blues and R&R. I'd say the JB pickup is a good match for the SD '59 PAF.

Comments: Yes, I'd buy the JB again. I am pleased that it is NOT a distortion pickup, but has enough kick to sound good for blues. It sounds fairly thick for a bridge pickup which is a nice surprise, too.
There is not anything I hate about the pickup. All I can say is that I am very pleased with it.

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: epiphone special 2-les paul copy
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: cheap shit epiphone humbucker
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: me
You musical style(s): 90's rock
Reason for pickup change: the stock epiphone sounded alright at practice amp volumes, but when i cranked it up it sounded like a toy. very harsh. i cant afford a new guitar, so i did the next best thing.

Perceived output level: i have nothing to compare it to, but i can run my preamp gain at only 3 or 4 and still get a good crunch
Tone: ok, ill spare all of you the art critic metaphors and just say that it is very smooth with no spikes in the signal and it has good sustain.
Sonic evaluation: epiphone special 2 (alder and maple body/mahogany neck) plugged straight into a crate gx1200 120 watt head into a carvin 2x12 with BR-12 speakers (copies of celestion g12-75's). basically a bunch of cheap shit, then again, id love to have a prs standard 24 and a bogner whole stack, but.....for now ill dream. my guitar is obviously not as nice looking as a PRS or some other expensive shit, yet it sounds better than you would think on its own and the audience doesnt seem to care. however the crap stock pickup had such a spike in the mids and highs that if you cranked the amp it sounded like you were banging spoons on pots and pans. this pickup sounds GREAT cranked and is very smooth. i can run my preamp gain at four and still have a good crunchy tone. some would complain that it sounds trebly in alder bodies, but i just roll the tone knob back a little and it sounds fine.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: i play "90's rock/metal or whatever you want to call it. just dont call me alternative....please. this pickup works fine for my style as well as many other styles and is very versitle.

Comments: id buy this pickup again. what drew me to it at first was that in the catalog, there was no eighties hair metal has-been posing in spandex tights next to it with a brand new perm. please.....anyway, i was looking for a well balanced and smooth pickup with a high output and it fit the description dead on.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: ESP Mirage Custom
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Dimarzio dual blade humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Fred
Artists using this pickup: A whole assload of people
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a pickup that had the same aggressive crunch as the dual blade, but with less mids, and more clarity and string compression.

Perceived output level: The output level varies on what type of pots you have as well as various other things. It's got the output of your average bridge humbucker (ala Gib 500T, Dimarzio Evolution).
Tone: Absolutely clear. There's no mud, ringing, or rasp. The pickup is completely balanced, which makes it great for splitting. If you have Joe Satriani's picking and tapping accuracy, you can nail his tone in a second. The clarity is amazing, and it retai
Sonic evaluation: I use the Mirage through a Dual Rectifier head on top of a Fender M-80 cab. I had a friend tell me that he thought the JB was the greatest pickup in the world, so I decided to give it a try. The JB is the greatest hands down. When you back down the volume it cleans up very well, and when you pour it on, it gets downright metal.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: As I said before, I play rock. In general this pickup is good for anything. Good old country overdrive, death metal, prog rock, classic rock, stoner rock, etc. Whatever you play you can get what you want out of it with absolute clarity and no mud.

Comments: If anything happened, I would go buy it again. I've been playing for 9 years ( I'm 20 ), and I own plenty of gear. Now back to the pickup: I love everything about the pickup, now. The Mirage originally had 250k pots and I upgraded to 1meg to avoid signal loss. There's quite a bit of volume boost there so watch it if you try the same. If you have a guitar with the perfect setup, and a great neck pickup, then the JB will finish off your guitar and create the most astounding instrument known to man.