WRHB Jazzmaster question

[redisred]

I'm love my jazzmaster (danocaster) and I'm incredibly intrigued by wide range humbuckers. I'm contemplating getting another one with these pick ups, but there's really no way I could go somewhere and try one out. I'm also really on the fence about doing the pickups in a tele deluxe instead. Given that authentic wrhb are hard to go try out, much less a jm with them installed, I'm curious to hear the experience of anyone who's got one or had one. Does it work well for leads or more of a rhythm sound? Does it have a lot more low end and punch? Thanks!

[gherb]

I had a "jazzblaster" previously, it was an AMAZING guitar that could handle lead or rhythm like a champ. Try to the Novak WRHB's that fit in a JM without modification.

I only parted with mine because I had to...needed cash fast...wish I still had mine! If you have the cash to do it, go for it...you won't be sorry!

[Mike S]

I've played an old Tele Deluxe before. In my opinion, they got it right with the Tele Custom with the by having the Wide Range as the rhythm and putting the standard single coil in the lead. If I had a Jazzmaster, I would put the Wide Range in the rhythm position and either keep the Jazzmaster single coil in the lead or replace it with one of Curtis Novak's Narrow Range single coils with a Jazzmaster wind.
Be careful with vintage pickups. They go for a fortune but I've heard that Cunife demagnetizes relatively quickly over time and that a lot of those sound the same. Some people say Cunife is brighter but I've also heard that the Wide Range sound comes more from the shape of the threaded magnet and the winding than the alloy.
Have you tried a Seymour Duncan Stag Mag as a possible cheaper alternative? The Stag Mag and the Wide Range and its authentic clones are the only humbuckers I know of that use magnetic pole pieces and no bar magnet.

[AwesomeWelles]

I installed a Novak WRHB in the JM format in my main guitar. Perfect for leads and to add a little more punch if needed. Seeing as I rarely ever use the bridge PU on a Jazzmaster, it was the perfect modification for me.

[timtam]

Have you tried a Seymour Duncan Stag Mag as a possible cheaper alternative? The Stag Mag and the Wide Range and its authentic clones are the only humbuckers I know of that use magnetic pole pieces and no bar magnet.

There's a pile of WRHB replacements now with magnetic pole pieces (but only one with the original CuNiFe, at least until the end of the year). I was surprised at how many. I think this is down to the fact that they are not that difficult to build now. The starting parts for Alnico versions are relatively easy to source (most simply scavenged from the cheap bar magnet pups - Fender's modern WRHB or GFS's), also including now the threaded Alnico pole pieces (you can get them on ebay) to replace the bar magnet. But each manufacturer puts them together slightly differently. But amateur builders can also potentially do it. YMMV. Anyway I made a list of the WRHB replacement pups that are out there now ....
http://www.tdpri.com/threads/list-of-or ... ts.778839/

[Vanderfuzz]

I had Curtis Novak rework the WRHBs that come on a MIM Tele Deluxe. They sound amazing and are a definite improvement over the stock bar magnet junk.

[gnoleb]

I have a Danocaster Jazzblaster with Lollar WRHBs. Its pretty much what you think; if you want jangle and bounce for surf and the music old JMs are known for, don't do it. But if you want more meat and dirt without going into full-on HB madness (still want clarity and some high end / good cleans), do it.

[CorporateDisguise]

I have a Novak WRHB in the bridge postion of my JM. It's one of my favorite pickups. I put one in the neck too, but was much less impressed. It was kinda dull no matter what i did. I love the variety you get with a wrhb in the bridge and a jm pickup in the neck. Great clean tones from the neck, and nice grindy distorted tones from the bridge.

[sirspens]

Have you tried a Seymour Duncan Stag Mag as a possible cheaper alternative? The Stag Mag and the Wide Range and its authentic clones are the only humbuckers I know of that use magnetic pole pieces and no bar magnet.

I second trying out the Stag Mag. I have one and love it.

However, there are other magnetic pole piece humbuckers, including the TV Jones Magna'tron, for a different flavor.

[andy_tchp]

I'm love my jazzmaster (danocaster) and I'm incredibly intrigued by wide range humbuckers. I'm contemplating getting another one with these pick ups, but there's really no way I could go somewhere and try one out. I'm also really on the fence about doing the pickups in a tele deluxe instead. Given that authentic wrhb are hard to go try out, much less a jm with them installed, I'm curious to hear the experience of anyone who's got one or had one. Does it work well for leads or more of a rhythm sound? Does it have a lot more low end and punch? Thanks!

I would not recommend buying/ordering a guitar with these without trying them out first. Wide Range humbuckers must be the most over-hyped piece of equipment regularly discussed on this forum.

I was similarly intrigued (due to aforementioned hype), so I bought a pair in the Jazzmaster form factor made by one of the forum's favourite winders.

I thought they sucked. The second most cold/sterile/compressed/boring sounding pickups I've ever encountered (the first are a set of EMG actives for Telecaster which were utter garbage).

Remove everything that's good about Jazzmaster pickups, and replace with generic 'electric guitar sound'.

Everyone's requirements are different, so YMMV of course.

[JVG]

I don't understand the trend of putting wrhb pickups in jazzmasters. Jazzmaster pickups are ideal for jazzmasters! I think that wrhb pickups are best in guitars that are naturally bright and twangy (eg a Tele!), as they produce a very thick sound that balances out the twang. The "plunkiness" of a Jazzmaster combined with the thickness of a wrhb is a recipe for mushiness and poor definition.

Cheers!
J.

[timtam]

I don't understand the trend of putting wrhb pickups in jazzmasters.

Doesn't it come somewhat from Lee Renaldo, his sound, and his Fender signature JM ? But that guitar of course had reissue WRHBs (whereas his own JMs generally had originals scavenged from 1970's Fenders). And he admits that the reissuses in the signature JM are not great ...
https://www.guitaraficionado.com/blog/s ... jazzmaster
And of course more recently he has been associated with the Novak WRHB versions.

[Ceylon]

So I could never get along with the sound of the bridge pickup in my Jazzmaster. It was too thin, too nasal, too clunky (though it was a stock CIJ, mind you).

I got a Rose Picasso, which is basically a WRHB with magnet slugs in a Jazzmaster cover, and it solved all that for me. I still think it sounds Jazzmastery, but now with a bit more girth, a bit more aggression, a bit more chunk. I really love it myself. It's not much hotter than a traditional Jazzmaster pickup, and I still have one of those in the neck, so I feel like this setup just makes the guitar a teeny bit more versatile without really sacrificing anything of its original character.

[redchapterjubilee]

I find that mixing a P90 or WRHB on the bridge with a traditional JM neck pickup will retain much of the Jazzmaster sound while giving that option of a thicker, hotter bridge tone. Most of what I think of as distinctly jazzmaster tone comes from that neck pickup and also from the middle position.

Personally, I like my Novak WRHB's. They sound like good humbuckers without a lot of compression and less of a mid hump. Hi-fI. I have them in an AV65 and it thickens thst guitar up significantly. They also remove much of the JM tone. But I also don't play Jazzmasters just because of how they sound. I love the form factor of that design. It feels right, it balances right, it looks right. It's why I have 5 of them and will probably wind up with more.

[Mike S]

I would not recommend buying/ordering a guitar with these without trying them out first. Wide Range humbuckers must be the most over-hyped piece of equipment regularly discussed on this forum.

I was similarly intrigued (due to aforementioned hype), so I bought a pair in the Jazzmaster form factor made by one of the forum's favourite winders.

I thought they sucked. The second most cold/sterile/compressed/boring sounding pickups I've ever encountered (the first are a set of EMG actives for Telecaster which were utter garbage).

Remove everything that's good about Jazzmaster pickups, and replace with generic 'electric guitar sound'.

Everyone's requirements are different, so YMMV of course.

Were the lead circuit pots 1 meg? I can see your point in terms of the original pickups. I love the sound of Wide Range pickups but I think they should be limited to the neck position.

The Novak Narrow Range Single Coils in a Jazzmaster wind might be a better option for someone who wants threaded magnets.