JB on a warm guitar?

[maxdave2010]

Ok, for those of you who haven't been following my dilemma this last week:

I've got an Invader in the bridge of my Strat, which is a very warm sounding Strat. It sounds quite muddy and undefined, especially through valve overdrive, so I'd like to change it.

I've been thinking about getting either a Custom or a JB. Some people have recommended the Custom, some have recommended the JB.

I've been torn, but now I'm leaning towards the JB, mainly because it's a bit brighter, and I get the impression that the Custom might still be a touch too dark.

Is the JB my holy grail? Will it cut through my warm Strat? I play a wide spectrum of metal and rock, from AC/DC to RATM to Metallica, and in my band, I'm the only guitarist, so I play both Rhythm and Lead.

Thoughts? Please, I'd love to hear what you think, before I kick this bloody strat out the window and go buy a piano

- Dave

[sungod]

after going thru 5 or 6 pickups, i found the jb was exactly what i was looking for in my strat (american lonestar w/ alder body, rosewood and am.std. trem).... i actually had a custom in there 2 pickups ago and found that the custom is actually brighter on top, while the jb has more upper mids.... the jb is definitely more articulate and clear, but still has warm up front mids.... one thing i didn't like about the custom was that it was noticeably compressed compared to the jb, cc, pg+, pg, etc.... the custom sounded great for heavy riffing, but lacked dynamics for more complex parts, dirty and clean...

[theodie]

IMO maybe but, probally not. The JB is a like it or hate it pickup! The Custom is a much safer bet IMO! With the JB a warm guitar isnt the factor, you need one that is VERY tight sounding on the low end to make it work for everything! From what you are looking for in tone, the Custom will serve you best IMO anyway!

[rocksoldier]

I don´t find the jb to be brighter then the custom really...
Custom is tighter for sure, but the jb have a more "singing" lead tone imo

[maxdave2010]

IMO maybe but, probally not. The JB is a like it or hate it pickup! The Custom is a much safer bet IMO! With the JB a warm guitar isnt the factor, you need one that is VERY tight sounding on the low end to make it work for everything! From what you are looking for in tone, the Custom will serve you best IMO anyway!

I somehow get the impression that the Custom just won't be that much less muddy than the Invader is in my strat. Am I mistaken?

I am very tempted by the custom, it sounds like a hell of a pickup, but I'm worried about whether it can cut through for my rhythm stuff, or give me punchy palm mutes (that currently sound blurry with the Invader) without annihalating my ear drums for the leads. Do you reckon it'll do that for me?

-Dave

[JeffB]

I somehow get the impression that the Custom just won't be that much less muddy than the Invader is in my strat. Am I mistaken?
-Dave

Yes, you are

Custom is much more open and bright than an Invader which is just a big sludgepit, IME. No comparison between the two.

JBs sound good in alder strats for the most part. So do customs. I think for your application the Custom will work better as it's chunkier for chord work. It will get a bit compressed under high gain, but I find the JB does the same thing :shrug: so I don't see that as a factor unless you totally need to avoid a ton of compression, in which case you'll need to go with a PAF style.

Try one or the other and use the exchange policy if you don't like it.

[theodie]

I somehow get the impression that the Custom just won't be that much less muddy than the Invader is in my strat. Am I mistaken?

I am very tempted by the custom, it sounds like a hell of a pickup, but I'm worried about whether it can cut through for my rhythm stuff, or give me punchy palm mutes (that currently sound blurry with the Invader) without annihalating my ear drums for the leads. Do you reckon it'll do that for me?

-Dave

Like Jeff said, the Invader is a sludge pit in comparision to the Custom.

[maxdave2010]

Yes, you are

Custom is much more open and bright than an Invader which is just a big sludgepit, IME. No comparison between the two.

Good I was hoping I was wrong about this one.

JBs sound good in alder strats for the most part. So do customs. I think for your application the Custom will work better as it's chunkier for chord work. It will get a bit compressed under high gain, but I find the JB does the same thing :shrug: so I don't see that as a factor unless you totally need to avoid a ton of compression, in which case you'll need to go with a PAF style.

I do love the sound of the Custom (from the demo clips) but I was worried it wouldn't cut through enough. Sounds like it should do the trick though! I'm not really afraid of compression, either. So, I'll probably just take the plunge now and get the tb-5 custom.

Try one or the other and use the exchange policy if you don't like it.

I live in the UK though, I'm not sure if their exchange policy applies here?

Cheers for your advice.

-Dave

[roadstar II]

I love the JB in my new mahogany guitar which is a warm guitar
since the JB has that trademark "cut" it is know for is really shines in a warm axe
you will get mixed opinions here but if you use you own common sense any "brighter pup" will sound good in a warm axe
the JB ,custom ,DD DIME,full shred and the demon are all safe bets
it then depends on what qualities you are looking for in a pup?
you said ac/dc to ratt so i know for a fact the JB will do those styles to a tee
actually the guys in ratt both used a JB in thier charvel and jacksons
angus used a paf and now uses a gibson sig pup
I do ac/dc with my jb by backing off the gain of the amp.
the custom will do those styles too but it has a lot more bass than a JB
to me the JB had more flair to its tone the custrom sounded kind of plain and boring
the JB has extra harmonics and a cool upper mid spike that give it a vocal type tone, it really sings well

[maxdave2010]

I love the JB in my new mahogany guitar which is a warm guitar
since the JB has that trademark "cut" it is know for is really shines in a warm axe
you will get mixed opinions here but if you use you own common sense any "brighter pup" will sound good in a warm axe
the JB ,custom ,DD DIME,full shred and the demon are all safe bets
it then depends on what qualities you are looking for in a pup?
you said ac/dc to ratt so i know for a fact the JB will do those styles to a tee
actually the guys in ratt both used a JB in thier charvel and jacksons
angus used a paf and now uses a gibson sig pup
I do ac/dc with my jb by backing off the gain of the amp.
the custom will do those styles too but it has a lot more bass than a JB
to me the JB had more flair to its tone the custrom sounded kind of plain and boring
the JB has extra harmonics and a cool upper mid spike that give it a vocal type tone, it really sings well

I'm not quite sure who "ratt" are, I meant ratm, as in "rage against the machine" I'm not trying to nail anyone's tone in particular, just trying to get something with a bit of a punch that can handle most of the metal spectrum without being too dark!

I really have been torn between the JB and the Custom, but I think the Custom has a fuller sound, with a higher output than the JB, and not being quite as muddy as the Invader was.