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Price Paid
$69
Condition
New
Humbucker/Single Coil/Stacked Single
Humbucker
Passive/Active/Not sure
Passive
AlNico/Ceramic/Not sure
Ceramic
Output
High
Instrument Installed in
Fender American Standard Stratocaster (bridge)
Sound Quality
3
Reliability

 

 

Has been working as well as Duncan's do.

Customer Support

Haven't needed to deal with Duncan.

Summary

The Seymour Duncan JB jr is a single coil sized humbucker, featuring individual pole pieces. Right off the bat, the JB jr does NOT sound like a full sized JB, between the ceramic magnet and the angled position of the traditional Strat bridge pickup, it sounds hotter overall, and the strings on the treble side a much more brittle sound to me. I've been told that the shorter distance between the poles also has an effect on the overall sound of the pickup. The pickup sounds good, I think it is more harmonically rich than the full size JB, with tighter bass, probably a little more punch and clarity as well, but the lack of warmth in the treble leaves a little to be desired. The JB jr has an identity crisis, it wants to appeal to players wanting a noiseless single coil, a player who likes the look of a Strat but not the single coil sound, or a player who specifically wants a high output JB sound with a classic Strat look, but misses the mark on all, simply because you can't be all things to all people. If judged on its own merits, as a humbucker, I'd give the pickup a better rating, I mean I have seriously considered just getting another Strat and putting a full sized humbucker in it because I genuinely like the sound of this pickup overall, but just not in my main guitar, and it's marketed as a JB, and it just does not sound like one, to my ears at least. If you want a full size JB alnico 5 pickup sound, or a noiseless single coil, I can't recommend it... But otherwise it sounds good on its own merits.