Help! JPX or New Pickups?

[SteveJP6]

I bought a loaded Red Burst JP6 a few months ago. Mine has the DSonic/Custom pickups. I love this guitar. While stopping by the local GC needing some acoustic strings I noticed they had a JPX hanging on the wall and temptation got the better of me and I had to play it. This was on a Saturday afternoon, 3wks ago. I didn't plug the guitar in but was really impressed with the 'acoustic' sound and feel of the guitar. I also liked the idea of a 5-way switch. The vibration from the chambering and the Alder/maple/mahogany made the guitar feel alive.

The following Saturday I had to go back and try it plugged in. This is a great sounding guitar! I played this through a Fender EVH 5150III and really liked the tones available.

I know the build, the wood and chambers is different between the two but how much would you think the pickups contribute to this guitars overall sound? I'm torn between ordering the Liquifire/Crunchlab set or putting a serious dent in my credit card and/or trading off some equipment for the JPX.

Help!

 

[browndog]

I own neither so my opinion don’t mean much but you're getting it anyway.

Obviously new pups are the cheaper route but if you can afford the JPX... go for it. You’ll have the best of both worlds.

 

[Sweat]

Easy JPX all the way

 

[TheShreddinHand]

The D Sonic seems to be getting a bad rap lately and I'm not sure why. The pickup is fantastic! I have the AN/DS combo in my Bahama and I have the LF/CL combo in my Cherryburst. There is not that much of a tonal difference to warrant a swap in my opinion. The only noticeable difference is the newer pickups have a higher output. Any tonal differences can easily be tweaked through the amp. Unless you just have to have the latest that JP is using, stick with the original pickups. The man himself used them!! Nothing wrong with em'!! Just my opinion course.

-Eric

 

[SteveJP6]

thanks for the replies.

I'm not trying to imply that my JP6 sounds bad, I'm just saying that there was a big difference in my guitar and the JPX.

I spent $2k around the first of the year and telling the wife I now need another $2.7k for the next one doesn't sound like a good idea.

The sales guy said he'd take some of my gear as trade and I've just been going back and forth trying to figure out if I want to let anything go to fund this new 'G.A.S. item'.

Eric, thanks for you comments on the new pickups. I'm guessing the biggest difference is most likely the build/materials and not just the pickups.

FTR: I'm not looking for more output, that's what I'm expecting from the amp and maybe a pedal or two. I was blown away on the harmonic content of the cleans and the overtones of the driven sounds on the JPX.

thx again,
Steve

 

[bkrumme]

Being an owner of all 3 JP models, I have to say the JPX is my favorite. The harmonic qualities alone make it a killer piece.

That being said, I wouldn't go so far as to say the new pickups won't bring you closer to the tone of the JPX. The build materials are different. JP6 is Basswood with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard where the JPX is chambered alder with mahogany tone block and maple top, mahogany neck, and ebony fretboard. The most notable difference I hear between the two is the thickness in the alder/tone block that you just don't get from basswood. You also get a slight low-midrange boost out of the JPX which adds to this thickness. The basswood JP6 has a more scooped sound to it...at least to my ears.

The Crunch Lab/Liquifire combination makes a much bigger difference to my ears than the woods in the guitar. I would start there and see what you get. You might be pleasantly surprised with the tonality of the pickups in the basswood body. The D-Sonic is a great pickup, but lacks a bit of openness. It's much more compressed sounding to me than the Crunch Lab. It's also a bit hotter and the frequency response is more rounded. You will get VERY tight lows out of it with a bit of a midrange boost that rounds out the overall tone of the pickup. The Liquifire is simply the best neck humbucker I've ever heard. It's the smoothest, least muddy neck humbucker I've heard.

 

[SteveJP6]

bkrumme,
Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I have not played my JP6 side by side with the JPX but what you describe is how I felt the couple of times that I have played it, *it just had something more*. I am an old guy and was not bowled over by the purple when I first saw the posts. All that didn't seem to matter after playing this guitar and I now honestly don't really care what color it is, it sounded that good to me.

When I first played a MusicMan it was the 25th Anniversary model. I thought it sounded wonderful. I almost bought it on the spot. I always wanted to try a JP but never had so while I was there I thought I'd give it a drive. As soon as I held the neck of a JP I knew I was going to buy this model over the 25th Anni. Sounds to me the JPX is a marriage of the two.

thx,
Steve

btw: I also have a Mark V. I might have to try your suggestion and get the CL/LF pups for the first guitar after I pick up the JPX. After all, Father's day is coming and my kids love to order stuff online.

I'll let you know how the spins out.

 

[TNT]

Pickups are the "heart" of the guitar - they are EVERYTHING!!! More important than wood, strings, amp, etc. . . . .!!

Regarding tone, you NEED to have the pickups you like the sound of. The good thing about it is,that you can pretty much pop em' in and take them out of just about any guitar.

The best part is, generally speaking, they are inexpensive and easy to install, etc. . . . So, I always buy the guitar I like "without" reference to the pickups. I get the pickups later anyway.

 

[Hendog]

Pickups are the "heart" of the guitar - they are EVERYTHING!!! More important than wood, strings, amp, etc. . . . .!!

Regarding tone, you NEED to have the pickups you like the sound of. The good thing about it is,that you can pretty much pop em' in and take them out of just about any guitar.

The best part is, generally speaking, they are inexpensive and easy to install, etc. . . . So, I always buy the guitar I like "without" reference to the pickups. I get the pickups later anyway.

More important than AMP?!?

I do agree other than the amp thing.

 

[bkrumme]

More important than AMP?!?

I do agree other than the amp thing.

I'm with you on this. I would say the pickups and amp are equally as important as one another.

 

[TNT]

It's a close call - but it's still the "pickups"!!!

 

[SteveJP6]

Thanks all for your replies, I appreciate the feedback.

I ordered an F-spaced Crunchlab and a regular spaced Liquifire this morning from MF online. They won't have the CL until 5/28 but I'm not in a hurry. They have a coupon that I saved 5% with, and also got free shipping bringing the price to $148.10. Not a bad price to experiment and I'm sure I could recoup 1/2 of that selling the originals on Craigslist, should I choose not to keep them. I have been thinking about throwing the D-Sonic in one of my Kramers to see how it sounds.

As soon as I get them in and put some play time on them, I'll post a review. I plan to record the D-Sonic and the Custom before I remove them so I can get an apples to apples comparison while listening to them.

Again, thx and take care.
Steve

 

[bkrumme]

Thanks all for your replies, I appreciate the feedback.

I ordered an F-spaced Crunchlab and a regular spaced Liquifire this morning from MF online. They won't have the CL until 5/28 but I'm not in a hurry. They have a coupon that I saved 5% with, and also got free shipping bringing the price to $148.10. Not a bad price to experiment and I'm sure I could recoup 1/2 of that selling the originals on Craigslist, should I choose not to keep them. I have been thinking about throwing the D-Sonic in one of my Kramers to see how it sounds.

As soon as I get them in and put some play time on them, I'll post a review. I plan to record the D-Sonic and the Custom before I remove them so I can get an apples to apples comparison while listening to them.

Again, thx and take care.
Steve

Cool. I think you'll love the new pickups.