I'm just looking for a little feedback on both of these sets. Can anyone give me their thoughts or opinions of them in comparison to one another? Many thanks~!
Owned JP13 and JP6 original. The former has a clear mid range and bell-ringing bright high w/o sizzle, low is tight. While the latter has tons of low end, neck is mellow, and the bridge is a high mid monster.
So to me, it's between clinical hifi like clarity with better clean and raw original sound with more output power of DT best era. YMMV.
Both are great pickups... To me it comes down to clarity, dynamics and tightness/focus (illuminators) vs. high compression, fat lows and somewhat of a dark growl (original PUs).
I have only heard the Illuminators in a JP13 which has an active pre-amp and a solo boost, so it's hard to tell what they might sound like in another guitar. It seems like the Illuminators were designed to be a pickup with an even tone that will interact well with the active electronics.
Used to have a JP7 with the original pickups. They're fantastic and if you can find a set I would get them asap. I recently picked up (pun ha) a 6 string set for a good price on another forum. The Illuminators are a much brighter pickup and maybe a little bit tighter. Can't go wrong with either set honestly since both are very versatile.
I had the original pickups in my JP6 BFR (circa 2010) and I personally felt they were too aggressive. They did not last long and I swapped them out for some medium output DiMarzios after a few weeks. It has been years since I played them, but that is my memory.
I generally do not care for higher output pickups, but I LOVE the Illuminators in my Majesties. I usually dial the volume knob back a bit to clean up the tone. They are clear, chimey, articulate. And if I want more aggression, I roll the volume knob up full (or engage the boost, LOL) and they get louder and angrier without any loss of focus or clarity. Amazing pickups!