[Joel]

Well, it's ironic that I stumbled across a thread in the Petrucci forum that says that the stock Carvin PU made the low B sound better than the JB-7 for their DC727. I say it's ironic, because I have a JB-7 on order and a DC747 that I'm planning to put it in. Anyhow, I don't know what type of sound he was going for or what setup he was plugged into, but I don't recall anyone ever saying that the JB-7 can be too bassy. Maybe the higher output of the JB-7 is throwing this guy off. I always try to get a few opinions and not rely too much on any one opinion, but this is disconcerting to me. Of all the Duncans and Dimarzio replacement pickups for sevens, isn't the JB-7 supposed to be one of the less bass-heavy pickups?

[eaeolian]

The JB has an interesting bass response that can get "woolly" very quickly. It takes some tweaking to find the right placement, usually, but when you do, the balance is nice...

[The Dark Wolf]

I found the bass to be WAY LOUD, and super uncompressed. Like Mike says, very "wooly". It's not that it's boomy, like with mondo bass, it's not - it's just the bass is super loud and fat, and not "tight", like I like it. My Drop Sonic 7 has probably half-again (almost) as much bass output compared to the JB-7, yet it's RAZOR tight in comparison.

It's a very tricky pickup. The top end is glorious, the bottom... meh. Love/hate. Recommend? Use, but with caution.

[noodles]

What did you have it in, TDW? In my experience, the JB is the opposite of an EMG: very sensitive to wood choice. It also changes dramaticly when you start toying with the height of the pickup and pole pieces.

I like the openness of the JB, but Mesa tend to have a lot of natural compression. Compressed pickups tend to sound too one-dimensional to me.

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by noodles

What did you have it in, TDW? In my experience, the JB is the opposite of an EMG: very sensitive to wood choice. It also changes dramaticly when you start toying with the height of the pickup and pole pieces.

I like the openness of the JB, but Mesa tend to have a lot of natural compression. Compressed pickups tend to sound too one-dimensional to me.

Call me Bob, Sir.

I had it in my RG2027. Then in my beater Squier 7 (which is alder). It's BACK in my Squier. Same thing. Nice tone: round, uncompressed bass. As always.

Interesting pickup, but not my first choice. Love the organic tone, but the bass just kills me.

[Joel]

Well, my JB-7 hasn't been delivered yet, so I haven't heard it personally. The Carvin sevens come standard with maple neck-thru and alder wings. It's still possible that I could change my order and go with something else for a bridge pickup. However, I am pretty much set on the Duncans for the neck and middle position.

edit: oops, I thought you were talking to me, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what kind of wood TDW was. hehe

[Mind Riot]

A couple of things to bear in mind:

1: Carvin sevens have different sized pickup routes than standard. So if you're going to put a Duncan in there, you may have to slightly route the body of the guitar.

I hear that Dimarzios tend to have a wax or plastic base plate, where Duncans are usually metal of some kind. I've heard of Carvin owners being able to fit Dimarzios into their guitars just by trimming a bit off the sides of the base plate with a knife or something to avoid having to route. IF this does turn out to be an issue it may be time to start looking into some of Dimarzio's seven string offerings.

2: Maple neck through with alder wings is a more bright wood combination, and the JB is already a bright pickup. You may find that the combination doesn't work too well. The JB tends to sound best in darker sounding guitars, like mahogany. But there are so many variables involved including your amp settings and such that it may be a non issue. Just something to consider.

[eaeolian]

Originally Posted by Mind Riot

2: Maple neck through with alder wings is a more bright wood combination, and the JB is already a bright pickup. You may find that the combination doesn't work too well. The JB tends to sound best in darker sounding guitars, like mahogany. But there are so many variables involved including your amp settings and such that it may be a non issue. Just something to consider.

My Jackson's a maple neck-thru with alder wings, and the JB7 sounds good in it. Just for a different perspective, because of the way the bass responds, I don't think it works that well in mahogany. But maybe that's just me...

[zimbloth]

JBs in mahogany are out of this world for leads. For rhythm it is kind of hard to get a tight crisp low end as Mike says. Definitely sounds cool though. Good tone.

That's why I prefer DiMarzios, they fine tune the low B coil to remain tight and awesome, as Bob (The Dark Wolf) described. If I had an alder 7 I might consider Duncans though.

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

JBs in mahogany are out of this world for leads. For rhythm it is kind of hard to get a tight crisp low end as Mike says. Definitely sounds cool though. Good tone.

That's why I prefer DiMarzios, they fine tune the low B coil to remain tight and awesome, as Bob (The Dark Wolf) described. If I had an alder 7 I might consider Duncans though.

Exactamundo, dude'ems.