Seymour Duncan JB

Pickup features: passive, humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez Ex-series
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Duncan Alnico II and DiMarzio Blue velvet
Artists using this pickup: Marty Friedman, any other user of high end Jacksons
You musical style(s): Rock,Funk, Fusion
Reason for pickup change: Wanted more clarity and balance. Also wanted to reduce feedback.

Perceived output level: Slightly hotter than stock. Not as hot as f.x. a Gibson 500T
Tone: The sound emphasizes on upper mid/treble in a nice, smooth way.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using an Ibanez(floyd) through a JH-1 Wah into a MesaBoogie.
When pushing the Preamp on the Mesa i can achieve great harmonics with
this pickup. The clean tone is quite bright and cutting. Like a good
bridge PU should be...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: hard to say without hearing it in another type of guitar.

Comments: I'm quite satisfied. It gives my relatively cheap guitar a great voice.
As i'm still young (and therefore poor) i have not considered changing
it. i would like to hear the pickup in,say, a LesPaul. Then i could
have given a more solid review...
Still i have to rate it after the sounds it makes with my guitar.

Pickup features: Passive humbucking (full sized)
Impedence or other specs: no clue- 4-conductor wiring, or whatever

Model of guitar or bass: Lotus L680
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock no name single coil, then Dimarzio Air Zone.
Other pickups on guitar: stock no-name single-coils (2)
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck?, Megadeth, Scott Ian
You musical style(s): all different rock, blues,
Reason for pickup change: air zone had a lousy clean sound and a less than full distorted sound (not enough mid power, and not very warm). and i wanted humbucker power (rock 'n roll! yeah!)

Perceived output level: pretty hot- louder and fuller than the air zone. cranking the clean channel will give you an AC/DC sound (on my marshall), and still stays clean (though on the edge) on normal clean setting. good and loud distortion tones.
Tone: very full- lotsa bass and mid power, but mids can easily be scooped for a heavy metal tone. great all-purpose humbucker. maybe not a good choice for absolute clean freaks, but they would choose single coils anyway, i'm guessing. i would, and i do with my fender strat (with lace sensors). i love it. the ultimate humbucker, in my opinion.
Sonic evaluation: lotus L680 (strat copy) into a marshall jcm 600 2x12. good for any sound you want, except maybe jazz or something. i use it for all types of rock blues, and other. (played this guitar in the school musical "fiddler on the roof", and the pickup sound fit perfectly.)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: all rock, blues, and many other styles. i'm pretty open minded. good match for basically anything, from, well, showtunes and hotter jazz to blazing hardcore metal. probably not good in neck position, but i really wouldn't know because i haven't tried it.

Comments: yep i'd replace it with another JB. like i said, the ultimate humbucker, in my opinion. versatile. full, loud, snappy, yet a solid clean sound also. better than the dimarzio air zone i had before for anything i could imagine. very satisfied with the pickup. nothing better. played 2.5 years now, and had this thing 6 months, no problems, just good tone.

Pickup features: passive 4wire hum
Impedence or other specs: I think it was around 13k.

Model of guitar or bass: e.s.p. mk2
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: e.s.p. sigle coil size dual rail hum in neck
Artists using this pickup: aperently jeff beck (I think back in the 80's)
You musical style(s): blues/rock/metal
Reason for pickup change: this pickup WILL be changed.

Perceived output level: very high output
Tone: ultra 1dimensional treble
Sonic evaluation: marshall jcm900

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: still trying to find a style this pickup would sound good at

Comments: deffinetly would not buy one again ,I read that this is s. duncans own personal fave pickup but I dont know why.
actualy I think that if e.s.p. had built this guitar with a tone pot the pickup
would have a much bassier 3dimensional sound,the way it is know it's
only good for lead through heavy dist. and digital effects ,dosent sound
good through clean on tube amps,very trebly and 1 dimensional.

Pickup features: Humbucking, 4 conductor wire for phasing and single coil.
Impedence or other specs: Adjustable pole peices on the top coil.

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Epiphone pickup
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck
You musical style(s): All
Reason for pickup change: I wasnt getting enough enrgy out of my stock pickup, but after I threw the JB in there my guitar has sounded excellent ever since.

Perceived output level: I would say To-DIE-For-Hot! :) I love this pickup, I think its pretty damn close to perfect!
Tone: Very balanced, it adds a very nice tone to your guitar, and you can hit harmonics EXTREMELY easy with this thing, it sounds so sweet!
Sonic evaluation: Im using an Epiphone Les Paul standard. and Im playing through a Crate Tube driven 70. but before the Crate I was using a Session 200 keyboard amp and an ART sgx processor.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play all types of Rock, except punk, the only metal im into is like Metallica, Megadeth and Ynwie. but anything good, Hendrix, Satriani, SRV ect... I havent had this pickup anywhere else on my guitar.

Comments: I'd give this a 10, its what I want in a pickup, and its sounds very good.

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 16.6 k, resonant peak at 5.5 kHz

Model of guitar or bass: Veillette-Citron, handcrafted solid body guitar
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Harvey Citron handwound pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Harvey Citron Humbucker in neck, Gotho bridge piezo-pickup
Artists using this pickup: Robben Ford, maybe.
You musical style(s): Jazz-Blues Rock- Blues, many other styles
Reason for pickup change: original pickup was broken

Perceived output level: high, strong, louder than the Citron pickup.
Tone: Fairy balanced, sweet highs, solid midrange, weak basses. Great sustain and harmonics when overdriven.
Sonic evaluation: I use a Twin V Mesa- Boogie pedal preamp with a Fender Showman transistor amplifier, trying to enrich the sound with a few Boss effect pedals. The preamp distorted channel is a bit muddy, but works well with JB.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Very good for rock when distorted, for country when clean. Good bluesy or Jazzy sound when the tone pot is setted around 4.

Comments: I'm looking for my personal sound, inspired to the Robben Ford and Larry Carlton one. JB in bridge matches very well with Citron pickup in neck: expressive sweet blues and jazz sound when clean, the sound of GARY MOORE with distortion! And this combination (of course in the clean way) is amazing with the Gotho bridge piezo-pickup when the guitar is direcly plugged into a good mixer with just a long reverb. Not good alone with piezo : too harsh. Not so good in single coil mode or in series wiring as in hubucker mode. I would buy it again for my Fender Strat, or I would put it in the Fender guitar and use a less rockin' and more Jazz-Bluesy pickup for the Veillette Citron, to have two guitars perfecly customized for two different styles.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul Standard
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: '59 in the neck
Artists using this pickup: I suppose Jeff Beck
You musical style(s): Alternative, blues.
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickup was extremely muddy sounding. It had
no clarity, and just really sucked when it came to tone. It
had no high-end bite.

Perceived output level: More than the stock pickup, but certainly not extremely hot. But I would definitely say it is more than a PAF.
Tone: I feel that this pickup is basically trebly, then middy, and last of all, and least of all bassy. It doesn't have the aggressive bass punch that I would like. I would say that it is at least clear, which is more than I could say about the stock pickup. The most admirable attribute of this pickup is the harmonics you get, especially if you have the gain cranked.
Sonic evaluation: I plug my Epiphone into a 50 watt all-tube Vintage Club with three 10''s. It sounds a good deal cleaner through this amp than my old pickup, probably because of its brightness,

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play alternative, and I don't think this pickup is the perfect match, but it is decent. I am also fond of the blues, and once again this pickup is mediocre for this style. It doesn't quite have the fullness that is required for the ever-elusive, divine, steaming blues tone. I think this pickup is a good jack-of-all-trades pickup. It doesn't seem to excel at any one syle, though, except perhaps a rock lead tone. I myself am mostly a rythm player, so it doesn't quite satisfy me. This pickup is definitely made for the bridge position.

Comments: I don't think I would buy this pickup again. I would buy something with a little more bass "umph." It has great harmonics, but that is the only thing I really admire about it. I guess for a total lead player, it would be suitable, but it just doesn't fit my playing style.

Pickup features: Passive Floyd-Rose Spaced "trembucker" humbucker
Impedence or other specs: ?

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson PS-6T Kelly
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock jackson shite
Other pickups on guitar: Duncan Jazz (neck)
Artists using this pickup: Me, Dave Mustaine, marty friedman, scott ian, J.Yeunger, George Lynch, Queensyrche, etc.
You musical style(s): Thrash
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups were fuzzy, lacked punch, and muddy.

Perceived output level: Above stock jacksons or Ibanez.. a bit above a Dimarzio PAF Pro.
Tone: Very balanced, a slight cut in mids, but increased treble and bass (no harshness!)
Sonic evaluation: I'm running this jackson into a tri-amp setup: Mesa/Boogie Triaxis rack setup,
marshall super lead, and fender twin. It sounds so beautifuL! nice and fat..
very cool. No harshness at all, a very smooth tone as well. Cleans up
nicely.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This sucks for blues or country. great for EVERYTHING else. Don't put it in the neck though.

Comments: I've used EMG-81, DiMarzio PAF Pro, and these duncans. They are great for what
they are: passive, old-fashioned humbuckers with bite. By the way, great
harmonics. Not the most versatile, but definately have "that" tone. I
sometimes prefer passive pickups, sometimes active. I like passive on
guitars with tremelos. I love the tone, I will definately buy it again (
hey, I have).

Pickup features: Humbucker, Passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha Pacifica strat copy
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: stock
Artists using this pickup: Kurt Cobain, Greg Ginn
You musical style(s): Grungy alternative
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickup was too thin sounding

Perceived output level: A bit hotter than stock
Tone: I'd say pretty middy and bassy with nice Non-tinny sounding high frequencies
Sonic evaluation: I love the round smooth sound of this pickup. Nice and warm clean and smooth even sounding distortion.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I love this pickup! It's perfect!!

Comments: I've finally found that smooth but still plenty agressive distortion sound. Excellent with a Big Muff or Boss DS-1 or DS-2

Pickup features: Humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: homemade
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: WHO CARES
You musical style(s): classical to metal
Reason for pickup change: sounds sweet and round. full tone

Perceived output level: more than average, but not too hot
Tone: round, warm
Sonic evaluation: put in my homemade strat style with an ash body. I play that through a Peavy KB300 (keyboard amp <shut up it sounds good>) or Soldano.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Classical to metal

Comments: It kicks ass

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Impedance: 16.4k, Reasonant peak: 5.5khz

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez Silver Cadet
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: neck: Little '59 / middle: stock
Artists using this pickup: ??
You musical style(s): metal
Reason for pickup change: stock pickup was weak

Perceived output level: It's a high output, with a hot sound... though I wanted HOTTER!
Tone: it's a very much balanced pickup, and i usually need to turn down the tone control on the guitar for rythm
Sonic evaluation: The improvement over the stock was unbelievable, but what else should I expect from a low cost made in Korea guitar?
I use a Valvestate VS30R, which is really a solid state amp, and I need a hotter allround distortion which this amp cannot give me by itself. The pickup works great, it brings everything the amp can give, which is not that much.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This works great for metal, if you have good effects to support it. Maybe better for the lead position rather than for rythm. It's a bridge pickup only.

Comments: It's a great pickup, does many of what i wanted, but I think I'd try something else next time. Maybe a EMG. I'm pretty satisfied, but I still haven't found THAT sound.