Seymour Duncan JB

Pickup features: humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: dimarzio virtual vintage (neck)
Artists using this pickup: who knows
You musical style(s): metal, rock, blues, fusion whatever
Reason for pickup change: stocks suck and i had a JB in my jackson and i loved the sound. great rock/metal sound, very crunchy

Perceived output level: pretty good amount of gain, but not crazy like EMGs which have no tone.
Tone: crisp, crunchy but i dont recomment it with a maple neck, kinda too bright.
Sonic evaluation: standard strat, straight to a laney tube amp. with a couple effects. i love this bucker. sounds perfect for me but i the maple neck makes it a little brighter than i expected. but its got a good rock/metal crunch and amazing lead sounds.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: metal, rock, fusion;. i put it in the bridge.

Comments: great pickup, probably wont put it in a maple necked guitar though. i was thinking of dimarzios, but most of the buckers had too much mid range for my liking. JB was perfect for me.

Pickup features: humbucking passive
Impedence or other specs: ...

Model of guitar or bass: t******** les paul copy
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock nickle covered
Other pickups on guitar: stock
Artists using this pickup: jerry cantrell, adam jones, king buzzo
You musical style(s): metal a la slayer & melvins, country honky tonk, experimental noise ex. melt banana
Reason for pickup change: wanted to try something different.

Perceived output level: it wasnt much hotter than the stock pickup.
Tone: it's labled as balanced
Sonic evaluation: i'm using this les paul copy through a marshall avt 50 head & a crate cab from the 80's

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: i switch off from styles when i play, i mainly stay between the lines of metal & blues improv. the pickup is in the bridge position .

Comments: i was hoping to get a really noticable volume change, but it sounds a lot like my stock pickup when it comes to volume. I wasn't really looking for a really hot pickup but i thought that even going with the jb i might get a real noticable boost in volume. I'm pretty satisfied with it, it's very clear, it adds balls to the clean channel. I didn't really think about that i might have to change the settings on my amp to acomidate for this pickup, but it's no big deal, it's very versatile. after all the king does use it. pretty happening pickup for it's price, i'm not really bummed with it, i've only had it a day or two, and i've been churning out the sounds of evil already.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: whatever

Model of guitar or bass: Dean Icon
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: 59
Artists using this pickup: Marty Friedman, Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Jerry
You musical style(s): Hardcore/Emo + ClassicRock/Blues
Reason for pickup change: The stock pick up was weak and microphonic - Dean maked the worst pickups possible.

Perceived output level: Hot but not as hot as I had expected. I was expecting it to set the amp on fire - instead i got a very balanced, oped sounding pickup that cuts through the mix well.
Tone: Hot and trebly - cuts through the mix- especially when playing live with a powerfull drummer, a muscular bassist and a vocalist on an ego volume trip.
Sonic evaluation: I Play through a Crate VC3112 with a celestion V30 in it and man o man does this thing rip. The amp has to be cranked but when it is - oh man oman watch out. The tone is golden when soloing and the it sustains forever. My band lets me take longer solo breaks now - they like the sound that much. Oh and I am only usin a crybaby in the chain.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play everything from really heavey TooL inspired stuff to clean, jazzy-blues and this thing was designed to do one thing - solo and for that its awesome.

Comments: I wanna check out the DiMarzio ToneZone and the Rio Grande BBQ as well see how they hold up. This pickup is the ultimate soloing PU, but I was expecting more output i guess. And i get more harmonics on my strat than this thing. But it is a very balanced, open and clear sounding pickup that distorts very smoothly and sustains well. Im still looking for "that" tone. This comes close though

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: ?

Model of guitar or bass: ESP Custom Shop MV
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: Single Coil in neck - Duncan LS 22?
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck, Jerry Cantrell
You musical style(s): Rock/Metal - Led Zeppelin to Cannibal Corpse. No Mall Metal.
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: On the hotter side - similar to gibson 500T.
Tone: Unusual sound - very smooth, but somewhat "tubby" - lots of bass and low-midrange, upper mids are scooped a bit, articulate top end
Sonic evaluation: I'm running this pickup into a Randall V-Max head. This pickup lacks the low end clarity you get from, say, EMGs, but the top end is very nice - produces smooth lead tones with plenty of bite. However, when you go to start riffing/palm muting, it falls apart - low end lacks the chunkiness you need for heavy music, and the bass is real flabby - no definition. Great pickup for someone who's into 70's rock, though - lead tones are real nice. If you're looking for a Metallica/Testament/Cannibal Corpse sound with a lot of palm muting, this is not the pickup for you - it's too flabby in the low end.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Everything, but mostly metal. This pickup isn't all that great, because the low end is flabby. Lead sounds are pretty rockin' though.

Comments: I'm planning on replacing it - I love the lead tones, but as soon as I go to play some chunky riffs or chugging palm-muted passages, it looses definition and sounds real mushy. I haven't chosen a replacement yet - so I'll just focus on my leads until then (I said it before, this pickup has great top end. If SD could tighten up the bass, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!) Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: eh?

Model of guitar or bass: esp ltd m202bb
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: emg hz
Other pickups on guitar: sd '59
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): for this guitar it is metal/hardcore
Reason for pickup change: the emgs had no tone and would feed back like a bitch. they also
had too meany highs and not enough mids.

Perceived output level: about the same as the hz but fuller
Tone: warm full bodied much like a nice playboy model.
Sonic evaluation: right now i'm runing this in to a sovtek mig 60 with a metal zone (yeah i know) out frount to get the gain i want. with cabs i'm running an avatar 2x12 with a vintage 30 and a v12 and a old fender bassman with a balck shadow and a jbl

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: it's a good pick up it will do just about anything.

Comments: it took me a couple of months to get this, and then i got it over the jb because you can tap it. that is why i got it and now i love the damn thing i'm putting it in my next guitar too.

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 24" scale maple body Fender Project Guitar
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour duncan Strat lipstick Tube
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: Needed to brighten up this short scale beauty

Perceived output level: perfect for this guitar, the lipstick provides me with Vintage sounding chords,a nd the JB is great for all applications and adds harmonics and overdrive when turned on.
Tone: Absolute Balance on this guitar. Chords sound great and single notes stand out
Sonic evaluation: I have been using this guitar with a Marshall practive amp and a Fender Vibrolux at the neighbors.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This guitar sounds great for blues and classic rock. The JB is very forgiving and the short scale which caused dead sounding pingy tone now sustains and has great harmonics.

Comments: I had this pickup in a Japanese Epiphone Coronet and it was a tone monster. In my Dean, 25 1/2 scale it was too trebly and bright. This pickup is perfect for a Gibson scale or the short-neck Fenders.

Pickup features: Humbucking, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Studio
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Regular Gibson humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Some regular Gibson PU on neck position
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck, he he :-)
You musical style(s): Metal and Hardcore
Reason for pickup change: More gain and power

Perceived output level:
Tone: Balanced, with nice bass and screaming trebble
Sonic evaluation: I used this guitar with a Peavy Supreme 100 and some ENGL Savage. Today I use it with my new Laney GH 100 TI. No f***in Pedals needed.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This PU is perfect for high gain sounds. It is always brilliant, transparent and sounds like a chainsaw. Kicks ass!!!

Comments: Perfect PU for my musical style and equipment.
It really shred everything, the tone is always very defined, you can hear every nuance of the tone. Really great.

Pickup features: Humbucker with Coil Splitting Capability
Impedence or other specs: High Output (compared to stock Les Paul unit)

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Custom
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Les Paul Custom Humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Les Paul Hummer at neck (this sounds very bluesy)
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck Duhh
You musical style(s): Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, King's X
Reason for pickup change: Friend had this one and it was killer in tone!

Perceived output level: This is pretty HOT...but not as hot as say an EMG
Tone: balanced in tone...a bit trebly when coil is split to simulate single coil
Sonic evaluation: I use this to make direct recordings using ToneCrafter
I made thes mp3 clips using the JB p/u
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/kavita/mp3s/vin_chunk.mp3
http://server23.hypermart.net/killertone/tcrafter.mpga

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It works great for bridge and neck...but I love my stock LesPaul neck p/u

Comments: I have loved it, but perhaps I would try something different just to see if I could discover some new tones. I don't see how someone could be dissappointed with buying the JB model

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez S470
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Ibanez AH-1
Other pickups on guitar: Ibanez AH-2, Ibanez AS-1
Artists using this pickup: Jeff Beck, Adam Jones?, Stephen Carpenter, Tim Mahoney
You musical style(s): melodic hardcore/emo
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a higher output pickup that held the bottom end.

Perceived output level: Higher-than-normal output but not too high
Tone: Very mid-heavy, bottom end breaks up very easily
Sonic evaluation: I'm using an Ibanez S470 with a blocked floyd rose (tone killer) and a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier through a Marshall 1960A 4x12.
When I first bought this pickup I had a Marshall AVT50H (g'head, laugh it up). After that experience I've gained that valuable knowledge that this pickup does not take well to high gain Solid-State amps. It turned the amp into even more of a static blasting toneless waste of money.
With the Recto, it behaved better but still isnt exactly what I wanted. The main problem is that the bottom end has a tendancy to break up and sound aweful. Otherwise it has very good presence and nice definition. It performs adequately with no distortion but I wasn't blown away.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play melodic hardcore-emo, it's hard to say whether it matches or not, I guess it doesn't really. It's meant for the bridge.

Comments: If it was destroyed or stolen I would look around and see if there was anything better but most likely I would buy another one. It's a decent all-around pickup, the only real complaint is the fact that the bottom end breaks up a little.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson KV2 Korina
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman of Megadeth, and shitloads of other people
You musical style(s): Metal and blues
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: It's hot enough for my tastes
Tone: The tone is pretty chunky and sharp.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using it thru a Line6 Flextone which aint great but it gets the job done.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Heavy Metal (Metallica/Megadeth) and blues and this is a great pickup

Comments: Some people really say this isn't hot enuff. Most of them are probably going for the kind of 'screaming wall of sound' like bands like Slipknot and Meshuggah and shit have. I'm not into that kinda music. I am more into 80s thrash metal along the lines of Metallica and Megadeth. And for that, this pickup and the EMG-81 are my favorites. Go for it!