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Hi,

I've been reading here for a while trying to figure out the right upgrade for my guitar. I've already settled on a '59 or a Jazz for the neck, but I'm not sure which way to go for the bridge position. I'm into classic rock and blues style music, but still like to crank the gain up now and then too. I like the idea of a set of '59's but I'm not sure if they will be hot enough.

How hot would a bridge '59 be compared to the stock pickups that I'm using now? It's a 01 Les Paul Standard made in the Unsung factory in Korea. I'm not sure what the resistance is, but is this a valild approximation of how much output the pup will have?

Also will the JB clean up nicley when the volume is rolled back, if not it's a '59 for sure.

Thanks for your time, can't wait to get some new pups.

Curtis

I'd go with a JB for the bridge. It does clean up nicely, and is a fairly hot pick up, definately hotter than a 59b. Some folks have said it here and I agree, its not as hot as teh 16k DC resistance would make you think. (if you really use DC as the only benchmark which probably isn't right) I'd say its more of a mid powered pup. The JB is different sounding than the 59, so if you really want a beefed up 59, then something in the custom line is more for you. But the JB is a GREAT pup. Great highs, great mids, has a good crunchy distorted tone espcially on the low end, and most importantly for me, absolutely sweet singing lead tones. I don't really have any experience with the 59b, so I can't comment on that one.

Thanks,

Mostly because of my musical interests I'm leaning towards the '59, but not if it has less output than the pickups that I already have. I guess what I'm getting at is the fact that it is described as a vintage pickup, and I assume that that means relativly low output? Is this true, or is it possible that these have an output comparable to my current setup?

This is all new to me (aftermarket pickups) and I'm just trying to get a feeling for how the descriptions I read translate into pickup performace, I definatly don't want to end up with a shredder pickup or one that is too weak.

Thanks again, Curtis.

the JB/Jazz set is a classic, and the JB/59 set is not far behind, but to be honest the 59 set is a killer set of pickups and can cover lots of ground!

I'd say that they have to be higher output than the 59, as they're supposed to be equal to american gibson pups. (498T or the 500T if you have a classic etc.) That being said, I'm also sure that the 59b will sound much much better than those stock epi pups though, just due to the fact that is a better pup and that is an SD! But yeah it has low/vintage output from what I understand. Some folks swear by the 59b, personally I don't think I would use it as I play a lot of harder rock/metal etc., along with lots of classic rock. That's why I went for the JB, versitility. I don't know if the 59b can do modern/semi-modern high gain metal/rock etc., as well as a higher output pup. (although I've never tried it) Duncan does have a 21 day return policy, I'd say try it, worst that can happen is that you don't like it and exchange it for something else.

59 neck with a Pearly gates bridge (500k pots possibly as well)

59 Set. Absolutley smoked in my LP

The '59 will do metal with the right amp. It worked great in my Marshall dsl I had.

I had a quot;59 set in my Epi LP for a short period of time and it nailed the classic rock tone. It did pretty decent for hard rock as well. The Custom 5 is supposed to be a beefier '59. I had that for awhile along with the '59 in the neck and it also covered all rock very well, with slightly more balls for higher gain playing. However, I much preferred the '59b to the C-5 when played clean.

If you like to hear the subtles of the clean throught a slightly distorted tone then I don't think the JB it's for you. JB cleans are decent but not over the top, specially if you compared them to the 59 neck. For clean or semidistorted tone I think a vintage output pickup will be better.

Thanks for all of the replys, I measured the stock pups last night and they come in around the 13k-14k range. I don't want to significantly reduce the output so I think a JB is in order.

Thanks again,

Curtis

Don't forget the EVH. It sounds killer for most rock stuff unless you're doing modern metal.