Seymour Duncan JB myth!

[Xx DBENC xX]

I always heard the J/B refereed to Jeff Beck. Well I called Duncan the other day in regards to a wiring problem and somewhere in the conversation the J/B came up and the employee at Seymour Duncan told me it doesn't stand for Jeff Beck... Its stands for "Jazz" and "Blues"! He went on to say on there website under the SH-4 JB description/specs they don't even list him as a user of the pickup. In fact not one of his signature Strats even uses Seymour Duncans let alone the SH-4 JB. Nor does his signature Gibson Les Paul 1954 Custom that Musicians Friend has for 25,000.00! Yes, thats 25 thousand not 25 hundred!

 

[Australian]

The story is that Jeff Beck had his PAF stolen by a guitar tech, so Seymour Duncan designed the JB pickup for him.

 

[benjammin420]

Beck also had a Tele that he got from Duncan that was fitted with his pickups

 

[amplifier]

Just adding to what's already been said...

Jeff ended up not liking the pup but SD kept the design since he personally liked it so much.

This "Jazz, Blues" acronym is just legal balognia. Jeffie wouldn't be too thrilled if SD was profiting off his name w/o getting his piece of the pie too.

 

[wkcchampion]

Wow interesting.
Whatever, the JB is my favourite bridge humbucker pickup! I've had it on several past guitars, and my Fly Mojo still has it!

 

[HOT TUBES 70]

Apparently as the story goes, Seymour Duncan heard that the original PAF pickups that Jeff Beck had on one of his guitars were switched by a dishonest guitar technician, and Beck was distraught over it. As a token of his respect and friendship, Seymour Duncan designed a pickup for Jeff Beck out of some parts of a pair of broken early Gibson Humbucker's that he took from a Gibson Flying V Guitar. Seymour Duncan rewired and "hot rodded" the pickups, and later put the pickups that he designed into a Telecaster body. The bridge pickup was the now famous SH-4 JB Humbucking Pickup, and the neck pickup was a JM or (John Milner) Jazz Model in the neck position. By the way, the JB in the SH-4 JB does stand for Jeff Beck, although it is frequently also called the Jazz Blues Humbucker, and the JM stands for John Milner (although more frequently referred to as the Jazz Model Humbucker) who was a character in the movie American Grafitti who was into hot rods, which happens to be one of Jeff Beck's passions. But enough with all the trivia. Seymour Duncan called the guitar that he made and gave to his friend Jeff Beck a "Tele-Gib" because of the obvious marriage of different parts of both guitar brands. The current Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB is an outgrowth of the pickup that Seymour Duncan designed for Jeff Beck back in the early 1970's.

 

[WaMoore84]

This "Jazz, Blues" acronym is just legal balognia. Jeffie wouldn't be too thrilled if SD was profiting off his name w/o getting his piece of the pie too.

exactly, just like the EVH pup stands for "Evenly Voiced Harmonics"

 

[Xx DBENC xX]

Well, I'm not arguing with anyone I'm just passing on information I've learned directly from Seymour Duncan.. Interesting stuff though.

 

[albnyc]

Well, whoever you talked to there at SD didn't know what they were talking about. The video of Seymour Duncan himself shown in the link below is from 2008...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgBhfsJhk-8

 

[alhayesmusic]

I used to work for SD from 1999 to around 2003. The story is true, and both are friends. Jeff liked the pickup for what he was doing back then. Right now he has to get paid to be exclusive with his other deals, so the pickup has to be called jazz/blues. Both men, and I've seen it in person (at least back then) had tremendous respect for one another.

 

[Bloodrock]

Since it was designed for a fender, it's also supposed to be used with a 250k pot. The JB sounds awesome with a 250k, pretty harsh sounding with a 500k in any fender style guitar.

 

[Tone Slinger]

Since it was designed for a fender, it's also supposed to be used with a 250k pot. The JB sounds awesome with a 250k, pretty harsh sounding with a 500k in any fender style guitar.

This is pretty dependant on the guitar its (JB) in and the amp being played through. I have NEVER liked a 250k pot on a Hb'er, JB or anyof the others I've tried. I like the extra 'tooth and clarity' that a 500k pot lets through. To some though, that is a harsher sound. Putting a 250k pot on a hb'er, be it in a bright strat or a darker toned Gibson, is like putting a blanket over the tone imo. I just prefer bite and clarity over 'rounder, darker' sounds. I also prefer hot single coils with 500k pots as opposed to vintage/weak single coils on 250k's.

 

[jack daniels]

I always heard the J/B refereed to Jeff Beck. Well I called Duncan the other day in regards to a wiring problem and somewhere in the conversation the J/B came up and the employee at Seymour Duncan told me it doesn't stand for Jeff Beck... Its stands for "Jazz" and "Blues"! He went on to say on there website under the SH-4 JB description/specs they don't even list him as a user of the pickup. In fact not one of his signature Strats even uses Seymour Duncans let alone the SH-4 JB. Nor does his signature Gibson Les Paul 1954 Custom that Musicians Friend has for 25,000.00! Yes, thats 25 thousand not 25 hundred!

At 16.4K DCR it isn't a Jazz or Blues pup. Now that's a myth for you! The SD employe must've been smoking crack that day or given the Manchurian Candidate treatment either one. That's like Gibson utilizing a Dirty Fingers bridge HB in the Howard Roberts Fusion jazz guitar. The same guy that came up with "New Coke" for Coca Cola must've been in control of production at Gibson at the time lol.

 

[sgstratdude]

I wouldn't put much faith in what any low wage customer service phone line operator says.... at any company. Thats the bottom of the bottom. There is enough information out there from Seymour himself if you look. He has probably told the story thousands of times by now.

 

[jack daniels]

I wouldn't put much faith in what any low wage customer service phone line operator says.... at any company. Thats the bottom of the bottom. There is enough information out there from Seymour himself if you look. Seymour has probably told the story thousands of times by now.

And he still can't get it right, it's whatever works for him at the time lol.

 

[Rocktane]

exactly, just like the EVH pup stands for "Evenly Voiced Harmonics"

Yep, and now that Lynch has gone to Arcane, the Dokken Bucker is gone from the custom shop listing, but if you call you can get one wound. I wonder how long until the Screamin' Demon gets renamed (which it should anyway, 10k isn't really screamin', and one of the reasons the one I have sits in a box instead of a guitar).

Oh yeah, on topic.... JB has always been Jeff Beck.