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Seymour Duncan JB Model Humbucker Bridge Pickup - Black
2 models to choose from:
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Description
The JB Model humbucker is our most popular pickup of all time. Blues, country, fusion, punk, hard rock, grunge, thrash; the JB has always sounded just right, even as new genres emerged around it. The low end is full and powerful, the highs are crisp and detailed and there's an upper-midrange bump that adds crunch and chunk to heavy chords but translates to a singing, vocal-like quality when you play single notes or solos. Meanwhile the hot output pushes your amp just that little bit harder for more sustain and harmonics.
Use it with a 500k volume pot for great high-end cut, or try a 250k pot to sweeten and soften the tone for smoother styles. It pairs particularly well with the Jazz or '59 neck pickups, and some players even like to use a JB in the neck position for an extra-fat solo tone.
Hand built in Seymour Duncan's Santa Barbara, CA factory, the JB Model uses an Alnico 5 bar magnet, nickel silver bottom plate, 4-conductor lead wire for multiple wiring options like series, parallel and split coil, and is vacuum wax potted for squeal-free performance. Available in standard humbucker and Trembucker spacing for 6-String, as well as passive mount 7-String options.
- Magnet: Alnico 5
- Cable: 4c Shielded
- Type: Passive
Use it with a 500k volume pot for great high-end cut, or try a 250k pot to sweeten and soften the tone for smoother styles. It pairs particularly well with the Jazz or '59 neck pickups, and some players even like to use a JB in the neck position for an extra-fat solo tone.
Hand built in Seymour Duncan's Santa Barbara, CA factory, the JB Model uses an Alnico 5 bar magnet, nickel silver bottom plate, 4-conductor lead wire for multiple wiring options like series, parallel and split coil, and is vacuum wax potted for squeal-free performance. Available in standard humbucker and Trembucker spacing for 6-String, as well as passive mount 7-String options.
Specifications
- DCR: Bridge 16.6k- Magnet: Alnico 5
- Cable: 4c Shielded
- Type: Passive
Q & A
Question: How would this sound on a Kramer Baretta special?
- asked on Apr 10, 2025
- asked on Apr 10, 2025
Answer: Better than the stock Baretta pickup.
More output, more gain, but to get the best results you should swap out the wiring harness and pots.
- answered by mike pawelko, Winnipeg (Pembina), Manitoba
More output, more gain, but to get the best results you should swap out the wiring harness and pots.
- answered by mike pawelko, Winnipeg (Pembina), Manitoba
Answer: Highly recommended. I have two in as many guitars, and have been though several custom pickups I like a lot. If you like the option of a single coil sound, highly recommend a push pull pot off your tone control to switch. The JB has given new life to two of my guitars that needed a push over tehedge in clarity and power. Likely better tha the stock Baretta pickup.
- answered by Stewart McLellan, Duncan, British Columbia
- answered by Stewart McLellan, Duncan, British Columbia
Question: what kind of magnet does this pickup use?
- asked on Apr 22, 2025
- asked on Apr 22, 2025
Question: Does this pickup come with a wiring harness?
- asked on Jun 20, 2025
- asked on Jun 20, 2025
Question: Will this fit my Squier Contemporary Active Jazzmaster HH?
- asked on Aug 11, 2025
- asked on Aug 11, 2025
Answer: It should. Humbuckers in this style are all similar size, and mostly interchangeable.
- answered by Bradford Pettigrew, Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
- answered by Bradford Pettigrew, Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
Reviews
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4.6/ 5 15 Reviews
5 StarsLight it up.
0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Duncan, British Columbia
The JB has time and again given my guitars the push over the edge they needed, while keeping a sense of clarity along with the high output. I dropped in a push pull pot on the tone control, and have the single coil option as required. This is a great option for mid-priced guitars that need an upgrade. Very versatile, and I pair them with the Jazz model in the neck position - one of the original mods, time tested.
Posted by Stewart on Sep 8, 2025
Sonic BOOM
1 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Cambridge, Ontario
Maybe not an HB for beginners but just might be THE HB for sound shapers on passive PUs.
As everyone says, it's got a lot to tame. Which is more good. Because it means there's a lot to dial back rather than attempt to boost. Remember, you can't boost what's not there.
My suggestion is to put in at least a fully open coil split switch, leaving the adjustable slugs active when on. I have a no-load dial for adjusting that phatness (helllo noise though ;)
Now adjust the isolated lugs by ear, not necessarily matching lug profile with the other PUs, but by chord reactions.
Obviously height is up to you, equal volume to the other PUs or its own EQ twinkle with its own dynamic range.
I'm to understand the neck position and/or 250k pots helps some players.
Which means others use bridge and other pots!
Mines 250k on a closer to baritone colour range HSS.
Crunch is the aim of the gain & all that gain has some of, if not the most nuance of all passive HBs. Volume, attack and PU height are such a broad play ground for how this reacts with strings.
You see the comments, it's all true, until you make it false.
And THEN, pure nickel strings epitomize the vintage moniker.
There's always that soft edge to a natural amp clip or lower pedal gain clip. Lends to them creamy tone seeks in the neck.
You can almost fake an active PU on the lows with cobalts, maybe a boost pedal to start the chains.
You're in outter Tele country with a split coil bridge & cobalts (minor EQ follow up shaping).
For my classic rock, rock, pre-nu metal, grunge & punk needs, heck yeahs.
For the blues, well, fuse that with anything just listed. It's a bluesy (vocally nuanced) by nature.
Posted by Jay on Nov 10, 2024
The best pickup
1 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
I use these in most of my guitars and have never been let down and you can have your guitar distorted right out and you can still hear the notes clearly!... Beautiful clean sounds and very crisp and well thought out!!
Posted by Rob MacDougall on Oct 6, 2023
great tool
1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
love the sound, glad I picked one up
Posted by Paul on Jul 1, 2023
Very Happy
1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Mississauga, Ontario
Great pick up for better gain and raunchy distortion! Tech support was great as well to help with install. Replced the stock bridge pick up on my Ibanez RG 370, way better!
Posted by Brian on Jan 12, 2023
Great Overall
0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Sounds great clean, sounds great for rock. Does metal fine but not as tight as some might like, but a pedal will help that quickly.
Overall a great pickup.
Overall a great pickup.
Posted by CRW on Aug 15, 2022
SDs BEST PICKUP
0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Calgary Chinook, Alberta
Got a few of these in a Kramer Pacer( uncovered as stock pickup) and Les Paul( covered with SD cover) in the bridge position. Just the best high gain out there with focused mids. A classic tone since the 80s when many super strats ruled with JBs in the bridge.
Posted by Music Mike on Jan 26, 2022
I like where this sits in a mix
2 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Calgary Chinook, Alberta
For sounds that cut through & have warmth--and work well for slide as well, a JB works great.
I have one in the bridge of a guitar with a P-Rail in the neck--and they work well together.
They sound great series or parallel--mostly playing blues & blues rock on it
Posted by Zed on Apr 15, 2020
It's Beautiful
2 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Oshawa, Ontario
I heard only good things regarding this pick up. All true. A vast improvement over it's predecessor. Have the SD 59 Humbucker in another guitar. They're both amazing sounding units. Best upgrade I put on these 2 axes.
Posted by Maak on Jan 12, 2020
TOO MUCH OUTPUT - MUDDY TONE
8 of 30 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience I've tried it
Closest Store Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
I have no idea the obsession of this pickup. The magnet is way too strong and pulls on the strings way too hard. It kills your tone and dynamics and hinders the sustain since the strings can't vibrate as well from the extremely high output overwound pickup. I would go for a regular 59' bridge pickup, its everything the JB should be and sounds way better under distortion and is not nearly as harsh and muddy as the JB. The JB is just not necessary for driving an amp, especially modern amps as this pickup was mainly designed for back in the day.
I would only get this pickup if you are playing extremely high gain metal rhythm stuff where sustain doesn't matter but you need a thick compressed tone.. otherwise if you are playing lead or cleaner stuff the 59' or other low output PAF pickup is vastly superior to the JB.
Posted by Justin on Dec 12, 2019
Workhorse of a pickup
1 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Edmonton South, Alberta
There's a reason the JB has been so popular over the years. This pickup gives you all the clear cutting tones while still retaining the chunkiness you're looking for when playing hard rock or metal. It cleans up ok, but definitely not as well as something like a SD 59 or any single coil selection.
The only disadvantage I've found is that it can be a bit "shrill". However, this is by design to help it cut through the mix. If you're just playing on your own, you may find it a bit annoying though. Either dial the amp settings, or as SD recommends, run it on a 250k pot.
Posted by Stix Zadinia on Oct 14, 2018
The best all-rounded pickup ever made!
0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
The JB is a pickup that delivers in every music style possible. The response to harmonics and dynamics is unique, it just pops with anger. Many might critique about the cleans being too "glassy" and "thin", but ultimately it depends all on what your ears like or dislike. There is a reason why this has been labelled as the most popular pickup in the world and has been used on most 80s/90s records.
If you want the "spongy brown sound" mixed with a cutting edge clear shredding, to a blues light crunch, then this is your middle ground pickup.
Recommend.
Posted by Mdke18 on Sep 28, 2018
10/10 ign
5 of 5 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Surrey, British Columbia
I bought this to put in a cheap strat just for fun and it sounds great! Perfect if you want distorted green day-ish tone (because it is what green day uses). I also has a nice clean tone too! Also it comes with instructions on how to install it in a HH guitar. If you are putting it in a strat google how to put install the JB jr and go on images to find instructions. Amazing overall pickup!
I used 250k pots and my guitar had a basswood body if you care
Posted by anonymous on Mar 31, 2018
Go get one now!
6 of 7 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store North York (Steeles), Ontario
I use the SH-4 and SH-2 "hot rod" combination and the sound is awesome. The only reason I did not give a 10 is because nothing is perfect.
Posted by François on May 28, 2013
Seymour Duncan JB
10 of 16 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store Cambridge, Ontario
My name is Adrian Blaney lead guitarist for Tracenine. Gigging for Europe to USA. I've been using duncan pickups for years in all my guitars. The JB bridge pickup fits the bill of tone for me, from my Gibson Les Paul, bastardized Strats to my flying "V" and Carparelli guitars . I love the rich harmonics full out balls out yet I can dump my volume down and clean up my tone instantly. The Duncan JB come equipped with a wire cable allowing to " coil tap" or "out of phase" the way I wire my guitars are Coil tapped meaning with a push/pull or spst switch allowing me to shut one coil off giving me the single coil bridge position tone of a strat. I love this pickup with the output of about 16K, hot output !!!!
Giving me what I need for the style of music Tracenine plays heavy chucky and growling mean with dynamics with slamming halts. I 've had my fair share of industry standard guitar pickups , I need the tools to build music and this is one ass kicking pickup I'll continue to use forever , Seymour Duncan JB check out their web page and look at the "tone chart" you wont be let down. cheers
Posted by Adrian Blaney - lead guitarist of TRACENINE on Feb 1, 2013
Reserve in Store
| Product | SKU | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| JB Model Humbucker Bridge Pickup - Black | 184008 |
