Is it just me or is the Duncan JB extremely muddy on the low strings ?

boltrecords

boltrecords

Fractal Fanatic
I have had a duncan JB installed in the bridge of my strat deluxe for a while now. It's always sounded and felt very flubby and muddy to me. Especially on the low E and A strings. I'm not sure if the wiring is just messed up since it is part of the fender S1 switching system. Maybe the tech wired it wrong when swapping the pickup in. Does it have something to do with the ebony fretboard on my strat. Or is this simply how the JB sounds. But it feels like there is absolutely no punch to it. The guitar was setup when the JB was installed. Doesnt have string or fret buzz. Unless I have high gain the low strings are almost unusable on this guitar. Light crunch or mild gain is so flubby its crazy. The lollar blackface pups in the neck and middle sound great.

Does anyone have any experience with this pickup? I'm not liking it right now and am hesitant to put in another pickup before I know what the issue really is.
 
Been using a JB in the bridge for 20+ years on a Warmoth Ash strat with maple/Ebony neck. No problem with mud.
That said, for cleans or crunch I usually run it in parallel with a JB jr in the middle for more SC-like response. Not really SC-like, but less middy than serial humbucking. Don't like full humbucking for cleans or crunch.
I only switch it to serial for higher gain leads. Which aren't muddy either. Sometimes boxy, though...
 
Something ain't right on mine. Just feels overly compressed all the time. Could it be a wiring issue? I asked the tech to install a treble bleed when the pickup was Installed. I'm not sure what he used. Maybe the wrong spec of capacitor or resistor was used?
 
The same pickup can sound very different in different guitars. I love the JB in Gibson and PRS scale; do not like it so much in longer scale guitars (ala Fender's 25.5") but there are exceptions.

Find a brighter pick up for that specific guitar if the JB is muddy there.
 
Scott Peterson said:
The same pickup can sound very different in different guitars. I love the JB in Gibson and PRS scale; do not like it so much in longer scale guitars (ala Fender's 25.5") but there are exceptions.

Find a brighter pick up for that specific guitar if the JB is muddy there.
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Any recommendations?
 
I've read some posts in other forums about this pickup not working well with strats, particularly alder bodies.
I saw an old post from Shasha in another forum. He said he hated it in his strat. So I'm not just hearing things.
 
I have on in an alder super-Strat and like it. I have the bass side adjusted pretty far from the strings though.
 
Do you have a switching system (like Suhrs do) that ensures that the JB gets a 500kOhm volume pot and the SCs 250kOhm?
A humbucker (especially the more powerful ones) can easily get muddy when they're on a 250kOhm poti.
 
merlin17 said:
Do you have a switching system (like Suhrs do) that ensures that the JB gets a 500kOhm volume pot and the SCs 250kOhm?
A humbucker (especially the more powerful ones) can easily get muddy when they're on a 250kOhm poti.
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Besides the pickups the guitar is a stock american deluxe QMT strat. The deluxe came with the S1 switching system which changed the pickup configurations in the guitar by pushing the button on the volume knob. This particular deluxe only has master volume and master tone knob and 5-way switch and a button on the volume knob.
Not sure if this wiring scheme jives with the JB. Ill take a look at pickup height as well. Maybe its too close on the low end strings
 
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FYI, I'm only referring to the JB in the bridge position WITHOUT the S1 switch activated. So basically just a straight JB in the bridge. But who knows if this wiring scheme or switch is screwing up the signal
 
totally a guitar dependant pickup... have on in my yamaha rgxTT (Ty Tabor) model and it is clear as a bell in that guitar, and i've heard it muddy before in other guitars though.
 
I have a JB on a Les Paulesque Fernandes Monerrey Elite, with Maple top/Mahogany back. Sounds bright. So it could be wiring, pots or bleed capacitor but it also could be how the wood is interacting with the guitar, in your case. One responder was correct - make sure the master volume or bridge pickup's volume is 500K and not a 250K. If this was a modification from standard Strat, to a H/S/S situation, that pot should have been changed when the bridge became a humbucker, but some people forget and miss that step.

Seymour Duncan has an exhaustive sound demo section on their website, using Les Pauls and Strats, and a comparison matrix to make it easier to decide which pickup would be brighter, gainier, softer, bassier, than your current Seymour Duncan pickup. For instance, in my case, of using a JB with a Les Paul, I am tempted to try a Classic Classic (ala Neal Schon) in that kind of wooded guitar, for more rounded highs.

Good luck in your quest.
 
rodzimguitar68 said:
I have a JB on a Les Paulesque Fernandes Monerrey Elite, with Maple top/Mahogany back. Sounds bright. So it could be wiring, pots or bleed capacitor but it also could be how the wood is interacting with the guitar, in your case. One responder was correct - make sure the master volume or bridge pickup's volume is 500K and not a 250K. If this was a modification from standard Strat, to a H/S/S situation, that pot should have been changed when the bridge became a humbucker, but some people forget and miss that step.

Seymour Duncan has an exhaustive sound demo section on their website, using Les Pauls and Strats, and a comparison matrix to make it easier to decide which pickup would be brighter, gainier, softer, bassier, than your current Seymour Duncan pickup. For instance, in my case, of using a JB with a Les Paul, I am tempted to try a Classic Classic (ala Neal Schon) in that kind of wooded guitar, for more rounded highs.

Good luck in your quest.
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This was a stock HSS strat deluxe. I just swapped out the pick ups
 
I had a jb in a guitar I used in drop tunings and hated it. I could never get the lows to clean up.
 
boltrecords said:
I've read some posts in other forums about this pickup not working well with strats, particularly alder bodies.
I saw an old post from Shasha in another forum. He said he hated it in his strat. So I'm not just hearing things.
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If memory serves correctly I think that I came to the conclusion that the guitar was the problem. I went through several sets of pickups and just ended up selling it off because it wasn't doing what I wanted.
 
If you have a 250k pot that's probably part of the problem! I had a friend complaining his strat sounded bad and couldn't get any clarity or power out of it! As soon as I strummed it I knew something wasn't right ,Had a JB in the bridge w/ 2 singles ,suspected problems in switching ,pots,or wiring ,or all three ! instead of trying to troubleshoot it I put new pots in it (500k volume) and rewired it , He loves it now! And it does sound great! No mud on the bottom!
 
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