By Frank Falbo, Seymour Duncan VP of Product

My very first experience with Seymour Duncan was my first time hunting for a replacement pickup—when I was 12. I remember endlessly poring through the Seymour Duncan catalog, (what homework?) and the JB was my ultimate choice. No one told me how popular it was, or what famous rock stars played it. I read Seymour’s description, and it sounded exactly like what I wanted. “Sweet, warm tones to raw rock ’n’ roll” and “great harmonics” are what sold me. One of my dad’s friends showed me how to solder, so I installed it myself. And you know what? It sounded exactly the way I imagined. Way better harmonics. Screaming output meant more (and better) distortion with my little yellow overdrive. That was it. I’ve been addicted to pickups ever since.

Since then I’ve learned the JB is quite possibly the single most popular, most recorded bridge humbucker in existence. Why is that? You can loosely classify bridge humbuckers into three baskets: Vintage models like the ’59 and Alnico II Pro, medium output like the Custom series, and high output pickups like the JB and Distortion. These higher output pickups usually slam the input of the amp harder, and the JB is no exception. Some high output pickups are smooth on the top end, because of the abundance of winds. A lot of amps will see that as muddy and garbled under a lot of distortion. The JB on the other hand, will make an amp scream. Tons of harmonics and in-your-face top end, and the low end doesn’t get in the way.

If you’ve ever seen Seymour play a JB, though, it’s an entirely different experience. He’s using a 250k pot, which knocks down the top end a little, and usually working the volume and tone knobs to change the tone and gain. He also plays with his fingers. What a different experience! The JB sings like a violin under the fingers. The edgy top end now becomes like the velvety sweep of a bow against the strings. Grab a pick and the JB becomes a razor, cutting through the mix like nothing else. You’ll get heard with the JB, but you’ll also have the ability to sound sweet and warm with a little less volume and a change of pick attack.
—-
Feel free to share the story of your first pickup in the comment section below and if you want to know more about JB’s check them out here: Seymour Duncan JB.