Super Distortion or Seymour Duncan JB?

grungebob

I’d say super distortion. A JB is a very middy sounding pickup and certainly not something I’d put in a mahogany guitar going into a JCM800!

rawk100

I never gelled with my JB when it was in my les Paul, I've prefer the Custom for hard rock and metal as it just feels chuggier and tighter with better dynamics.

robdynamite

i think i'm leaning toward the SD. what's a typically well paired neck pickup?

Maynehead

robdynamite said:

i think i'm leaning toward the SD. what's a typically well paired neck pickup?

Pearly Gates is the answer to every such question

grungebob

Their 36th anniversary PAF sounds great in the neck, warm and defined but not muddy. 

drwiddly

If you're looking for a great rock tone then the answer is an Oil City Scrapyard Dog +. You can thank me later

timmysoft

I’m a JB user in my PRS Mira, it’s quite hot, probably too hot for what I’m doing now, but it’s a great pickup for gain and clarity.

Alnico

I've got JB's in my 'Kiss' Signature Explorer and they're awesome.

When I eventually change the pickups in my Firebird that's exactly what I'm fitting to that too.

robdynamite

on another note, any recommendations on pickups similar to a super distortion?

xscaramanga

robdynamite said:

on another note, any recommendations on pickups similar to a super distortion?

At risk of repeating myself, I've used the Oil City Transonic, the DiMarzio Super 3, and the Duncan Distortion. I like them all.

Super 3 was years ago. It's described as a Super Distortion with less treble and crunchier mids, and a hair more output. My tastes and gear have changed substantially (I last used it 13 years ago), but I remember it fondly. Last time I used it was to A/B with my Les Paul, and I remember the Ibanez with a Super 3 (fixed bridge, mahogany body) gave the Les Paul a fair run for its money.

Transonic is very thick, growly lower mids, a lot of power. Makes single notes much fatter than the JB I had in there before. Not a lot of treble but a fair bit of presence.

Duncan Distortion I haven't really A/Bed with other pickups but I did use it on tour last year, got compliments on my tone from a singer of all people! The wind is similar to a JB, so the ceramic magnet is the main difference. A bit more bite, presence and power than the JB. I like it.

A surprising alternative to a JB is an Oil City Eruption I bought off a forumite. It was a custom order with Alnico II magnet (the plot thickens because Ash told me he'd never made an Alnico II Eruption, but I've got the paperwork which says Alnico II on it clear as day). You'd think at 9.5k the Eruption would have less output than the JB, but in my guitar it was actually louder. Ash told me it's because the thicker wire produces less resistance, but there are actually more turns of wire on an Eruption than the JB. 

ICBM

robdynamite said:

i think i'm leaning toward the SD. what's a typically well paired neck pickup?

Whatever it is, another DiMarzio.

I know some people will disagree but I've always had poor results mixing different makers' pickups in one guitar - especially DiMarzio and Duncan. I like both - generally prefer Duncans - but in the same guitar they just don't sound right together irrespective of the exact models. DiMarzios all seem to have a slightly rough, fuzzy characteristic whereas Duncans are cleaner and clearer - put the two in the same guitar and either the DiMarzio sounds muffled or the Duncan sounds shrill, or both.

I just changed a pickup in a friend's new guitar this morning, for that exact reason - it came with one of each and it just didn't work, it sounded exactly that - muddy on the DiMarzio and shrill on the Duncan. We swapped the Duncan for a spare DiMarzio he had, and instantly the whole guitar sounded more 'together' and right despite the two DiMarzios being more different in spec and voicing than the original DiMarzio and the Duncan were... it was a DiMarzio PAF and a Duncan '59B, swapped for a Tone Zone.

I'm sure I will get a lot of lols for this but it's something I've consistently noticed.

Maynehead said:

Pearly Gates is the answer to every such question

The question I've always found it the answer to is "what pickup is oddly thin-sounding and lacking a decent tone despite having what looks like an ideal spec on paper"?

robdynamite

Cheers for the input everyone, just to bump this slightly, i've decided on fitting a super distortion in the bridge and a Dimarzio PAF pro for the neck. Fingers cross they sound the bees kness, ha!

Modulus_Amps

I found the Dimarzio PAF pro in the neck very muddy on my LP, listen to the intro to Don't Speak by No Doubt to hear exactly what the PAF pro sounds like. I do tend to like brighter sounds and settled on SD alnico pro 2's

Interested to hear how you get on with the Super Distortion though, I have a JB in my flying v, but would really like to try the Super Distortion too

professorben

I’m loving the Suhr SSH+ in my Ibby RG, it’s like a JB but more articulate and clearer. 

slightly hotter too.