Duncan JB for Punk Rock??

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GuitarDemon666

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Would a Seymour Duncan JB sound decent for punk rock if put into the bridge of my Les Paul Studio? I'm looking for something different than my Alnico II Pro.
 
Yeah, the JB would be pretty good, but it might drive your amp a little too hard. Punk guys tend to play a little cleaner than most people thing, so I'd probably suggest something which isn't quite so hot. Then again, you have the Alnico II for that, so it's up to you. Just remember, the position of the pickup is a huge percentage of the sound of the pickup, so even if you have the same pickup in both positions it will sound quite different.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
Yeah, the JB would be pretty good, but it might drive your amp a little too hard. Punk guys tend to play a little cleaner than most people thing, so I'd probably suggest something which isn't quite so hot. Then again, you have the Alnico II for that, so it's up to you. Just remember, the position of the pickup is a huge percentage of the sound of the pickup, so even if you have the same pickup in both positions it will sound quite different.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
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Hey, Light, if I walked in and said, "Let's do a guitar that's way versatile, we can do S-S-S, S-S-H, H-S-H, or H-H-H, with coil splits," what would you recommend?
 
Yeah, answer ASL's question then return to mine if you have an answer.

My Alnico II sounds decent, but when I play my leads I wish I had something hotter, like the Hot Rail I have in my other guitar. It's a crap guitar but the leads have much more sustain with the hot rail.
 
apl said:
Hey, Light, if I walked in and said, "Let's do a guitar that's way versatile, we can do S-S-S, S-S-H, H-S-H, or H-H-H, with coil splits," what would you recommend?
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Probably I'd recommend what I put in my guitars, which is a pair of Humbuckers, with a Super Switch that gives me 1)neck humbucker, both coils, in series (i.e., standard humbucker configuration); 2) neck screw coil and bridge slug coil, in phase, in series; 3) full on two humbucker mode (center position on a LP); 4) both slug coils, out of phase, in series (a really good quack to that one - much like the "in-between" positions on a Strat - different, but it functions similarly enough in most situations); 5) bridge humbucker, both coils in series. As for which pickups, I think I'm on record saying that I like the Alnico II in the neck, and the Pearly Gates in the bridge, at least if we are talking about Seymour Duncan pickups.




FeastOfFriends said:
Yeah, answer ASL's question then return to mine if you have an answer.

My Alnico II sounds decent, but when I play my leads I wish I had something hotter, like the Hot Rail I have in my other guitar. It's a crap guitar but the leads have much more sustain with the hot rail.
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First off, I gave you an answer to your question.

If you like the Hot Rails a lot, then try the JB. They are relatively similar in output, though because of it's larger "window" (it picks up more of the string), the JB will likely be a warmer pickup. I mean, it's a Seymour Duncan, so as long as you have the installation done by a pro, they will exchange the pickup for up to 28 days with any other SD pickup (as long as it has the same price, of course).



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
FeastOfFriends said:
Is that what you used on Search and Destroy?
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No, I used a humbucker with a low gain amp setting and its still way fatter than the original version..

Most real punk back in the day was done with strats and teles or off-the-wall single coil guitars. Johnny Ramone used a Mosrite with a single. Johnny Thunders used an LP TV model with P-90's. Joe Strummer played a tele. A humbucker or "Hotrails" type pickup is usually way too hot for a classic punk tone.
 
There's a ton of variations of "punk", so really, you'd have to be more specific. There's gritty garage punk, which uses far less distortion than say, recent hardcore, which is more of a metal sound. What amp are you using? Do you like the sound of it?
 
FeastOfFriends said:
THANKS! It worked.
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So, in other words you were just looking for someone to agree with you, as opposed to looking for any real advice.



OK.





To my ear, a JB is to hot for punk, but do what you want.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
i used to use my Hot Rails strat for punk rock all the time...in fact, i've used it for pretty much anything haha. its definitely not a classical punk tone, but it will melt some eardrums, which is fine by me.
 
Way back in the day, the guitarist in the band I was working with used a Fender Mustang and Danelectro with lipsticks and a Schaller bridge.
 
apl said:
Way back in the day, the guitarist in the band I was working with used a Fender Mustang and Danelectro with lipsticks and a Schaller bridge.
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Oops, forgot to say it was a punk/new wave band in the very early 80s.
 
I've tried each and every one of the suggestions mentioned above. Thanks so much for the feedback.

:)
 
Really, you bought, installed, and tested every pickup recommended?
 
I live right down the street from a music store.

Kinda like you know how Jared lived almost right next door to Subway. Just a short walk.
 
Too hot for classic punk?

I personally don't see any problem with using a JB for punk. All this talk about classic punk tone seems to suggest that there were no such people as Mick Jones, Steve Jones or Sylvian Sylvain. Humbucking pups are just as punk as single coils. Did I actually type that last sentence? Now I feel kind of silly. Oh well...
...small
 
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