WRHB Bridge, Single Neck?

[getapickle]

I recently started playing my Squier JMJM after having not touched it for a while. I had forgotten just how much I love playing this guitar so I want to play around with the pickups and see what more I can get out of it sonically. It currently has in it a Duncan Quarterpounder in the bridge and an Antiquity II in the neck, which sound good however I've never really used the bridge much because it has always been just a little too thin and trebley - especially when clean. I've been thinking about remedying this with a WRHB in the bridge (my initial thoughts are Novak JMWR but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a better suggestion regarding the pairing with a single neck) but I've always loved the neck and middle position so I was thinking about leaving the neck pickup alone (or at least keeping it a single coil). Would this work balance wise or would the bridge overpower the neck? Like I said, I've always loved the middle position so it's important to me that that still sounds good. I'm also willing to change the neck pickup if need be, preferably to something that's still a traditional JM pickup but I'm also open to just putting a set of JMWR pickups in if the WRHB and single combo doesn't jive well in the middle position.

So does a WRHB bridge and single neck work well in the middle position? And failing that, does the middle position of a set of JMWR still have the same kind of magic that a set of normal JM has?

[manwithtitties]

i do not have the same setup in a jazzmaster, but i do have a telecaster with a regular neck pickup and a very hot artec hotrail in the bridge. The bridge is obviously a bit louder and tends to clip a lot quicker than the neck. The middle position is still very pretty and sparkly. I wouldnt worry too much about it.

[redchapterjubilee]

I had a Novak WRHB/JM90 combo in a CPJM for a long time and took those same pups and put them in an AVRI JM. It really was a great combination I wouldn't mind reapproaching again some day. Novak's P90s are less hot and mid-heavy than Lollar or Pickup Wizard P90s so it made for a good balance. But that WRHB was microphonic and I wound up moving it along for a JM90 bridge pup. i imagine a hotter JM single (in the 8k range) would work well too.

[epizootics]

I recently started playing my Squier JMJM after having not touched it for a while. I had forgotten just how much I love playing this guitar so I want to play around with the pickups and see what more I can get out of it sonically. It currently has in it a Duncan Quarterpounder in the bridge and an Antiquity II in the neck, which sound good however I've never really used the bridge much because it has always been just a little too thin and trebley - especially when clean. I've been thinking about remedying this with a WRHB in the bridge (my initial thoughts are Novak JMWR but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a better suggestion regarding the pairing with a single neck) but I've always loved the neck and middle position so I was thinking about leaving the neck pickup alone (or at least keeping it a single coil). Would this work balance wise or would the bridge overpower the neck? Like I said, I've always loved the middle position so it's important to me that that still sounds good. I'm also willing to change the neck pickup if need be, preferably to something that's still a traditional JM pickup but I'm also open to just putting a set of JMWR pickups in if the WRHB and single combo doesn't jive well in the middle position.

So does a WRHB bridge and single neck work well in the middle position? And failing that, does the middle position of a set of JMWR still have the same kind of magic that a set of normal JM has?

I just fitted a guitar with pretty much that setup - not WRHB but a 12-alnico pole bucker wound to a similar output, and a 54-ish Strat pickup in the neck position. It sounds pretty damn great in the middle position. You retain some of the *clonk* from the single but the bridge humbucker adds some roundedness to it. It's a pretty unique sound, somewhere between Brian Setzer and Robert Quine. I'll make you some samples tomorrow if you want.

[HarlowTheFish]

If you go that way and aren't going for a noiseless single in the neck, get a 4-conductor humbucker and something like the Dimarzio 4p3t toggle switch (Warwick has a similar one if you're in Europe) - it'll let you split the humbucker when you're in the middle position and get some nice parallel single-coil sounds.

[getapickle]

Thanks everyone, you've all been really helpful. I'm pretty set on swapping my bridge pickup out and leaving the ant II in the neck now.

I had a Novak WRHB/JM90 combo in a CPJM for a long time and took those same pups and put them in an AVRI JM. It really was a great combination I wouldn't mind reapproaching again some day. Novak's P90s are less hot and mid-heavy than Lollar or Pickup Wizard P90s so it made for a good balance. But that WRHB was microphonic and I wound up moving it along for a JM90 bridge pup. i imagine a hotter JM single (in the 8k range) would work well too.

Excellent, the ant II is in that range. I don't suppose anyone knows what the output of a JMWR is roughly? I didn't have much luck trying to find that myself.

I just fitted a guitar with pretty much that setup - not WRHB but a 12-alnico pole bucker wound to a similar output, and a 54-ish Strat pickup in the neck position. It sounds pretty damn great in the middle position. You retain some of the *clonk* from the single but the bridge humbucker adds some roundedness to it. It's a pretty unique sound, somewhere between Brian Setzer and Robert Quine. I'll make you some samples tomorrow if you want.

If that's no trouble it would be very much appreciated.

If you go that way and aren't going for a noiseless single in the neck, get a 4-conductor humbucker and something like the Dimarzio 4p3t toggle switch (Warwick has a similar one if you're in Europe) - it'll let you split the humbucker when you're in the middle position and get some nice parallel single-coil sounds.

I was originally considering this as well but more as a mechanism to balance the outputs in the middle position than for the extra sounds. I feel a lot more confident about matching my current single coil neck with the JMWR now but I think I might just get the four conductor wire in case I want to mod it up in the future.

[andy_tchp]

Excellent, the ant II is in that range. I don't suppose anyone knows what the output of a JMWR is roughly? I didn't have much luck trying to find that myself.

Mine were about 10K.

Very cold/flat sounding pickups to my ears.

I'd go for a PAF voiced humbucker or a P90 if you want something less 'thin' sounding in the bridge - 'Vintage' style JM bridge pickups always sound like that.

[BarnyardCoral]

I just ordered a JM/P90 hybrid bridge pickup from Revel Custom Pickups (https://revelcustompickups.com/store/ja ... 90-hybrid/) because I thought my Ant II was too thin sounding. I love the general base tone of a traditional JM pickup, but needed something with some more grind and oomph.