In crisis plz halp

[BarnyardCoral]

Well, a day arrived that I once thought impossible: I'm losing my love for JM pickups. I know, I know, I didn't think it could happen either. I should clarify: I'm tired of fighting them. Here's what happened:
About 6 months ago, I bought an 90s Ibanez Talman that had SD Psyclones installed (HB sized Filtertrons). Over the course of time, I found myself playing the Talman more than the JM, which is a CP with a Revel JM neck/JM90 bridge combo, 500k vol. Not only do the Psyclones sound fantastic, they always seem to sound good and require very little tweaking to get great tones. They're more compressed, and coupled with the extra sustain, it's just an inspiring and rewarding guitar to play.

Flip back to the JM and I feel like I'm fighting it. Tweaking the EQ. Trying to find the right setting with the tone pots on the guitar and amp so it doesn't stab my ears. Messing with pedals. All while trying to recalibrate my fingers and ears to the rather extreme feeling dynamics (comparatively speaking) and the much shorter sustain.

I'm at a loss. What do I do here? Try new pickups? Sell and get something else? Mod the guitar? I really don't want to get rid of it but I don't want to play something that irritates me. I'm open to suggestions.

Edit: I should add, I do still love the sounds of the Jazzmaster. I just find it takes a while to dial it in properly and when switching between guitars, it just gets tiresome.

[BTL]

Easy...put Psyclones in the JM.

[AcrylicSuperman]

Easy...put Psyclones in the JM.

^This

[marqueemoon]

Why do you find it necessary to compare these two guitars? Isn’t it good on some level that they sound different?

If you’re playing out can you just stay on one unless you break a string?

Would a simple addition to your live setup like an inexpensive clean boost or eq pedal help?

The Jazzmaster more than any other guitar is one I like to take regular breaks from.

[BarnyardCoral]

Why do you find it necessary to compare these two guitars? Isn’t it good on some level that they sound different?

If you’re playing out can you just stay on one unless you break a string?

Would a simple addition to your live setup like an inexpensive clean boost or eq pedal help?

The Jazzmaster more than any other guitar is one I like to take regular breaks from.

I don't mind the difference at all. Like I said, I do quite like the Jazzmaster sound and it is definitely its own thing. What irks me is the Talman is so easy to adjust to but I struggle to get the sound I want and to get reaccustomed to the JM after playing the Talman. It seems to happen every time I switch back to the JM and I've just started to get tired of trying to find my happy place.

I should note that my board space is tight as is so adding an EQ and/or compressor means swapping something else out that I already use. I like to try to simplify as much as possible, and it makes more sense in my head to either find something that works with what's already on my board or else swap pickups. I'm tempted to go with P90s or Dynasonics in the JM to see if that narrows the gap a bit with the Psyclones.

The Psyclones and JM pickups are wildly different which is why they can be a great 1-2 punch that covers a lot of tonal bases BUT that also means recalibrating my ears, hands, and setup to make it work with both guitars and that increasingly seems like it takes more time than it's worth for a guy on a limited budget and only these two guitars.

Fwiw, I appreciate the input though. Just trying to sort out my options here. I'd probably kick myself if I ever got rid of the JM.

[Lost In Autumn]

Easy...put Psyclones in the JM.

I would love it if Curtis Novak would do a Filtertron in JM form factor. Until then, TV Jones TV Classic Soapbars will do. It shouldn't be too difficult to take a blank JM cover and drill it out for one; a printed one with the proper holes would be better yet. one of these days, I'll learn Autocad...

[vpich]

I’ve been in similar mindsets before. If something bothers me about a guitar, especially if i always get bummed after switching from another guitar, it festers until i make a change. P90’s would sound great and the sonic jump should be less. Although If you love the jm sound maybe the best bet is a small compressor with eq or regular eq is the better route, even if something else has to go. That way you still have the regular jm sound when you pick it up for those uses.

But i know once a little mindworm digs in it’s a matter of time before there are changes made.

[marqueemoon]

The Psyclones and JM pickups are wildly different which is why they can be a great 1-2 punch that covers a lot of tonal bases BUT that also means recalibrating my ears, hands, and setup to make it work with both guitars and that increasingly seems like it takes more time than it's worth for a guy on a limited budget and only these two guitars.

Fwiw, I appreciate the input though. Just trying to sort out my options here. I'd probably kick myself if I ever got rid of the JM.

My point in what I posted earlier is one of your options is to do nothing for the time being.

Just set the guitar aside and play the one you’re into right now.

If you ultimately decide the pickups aren’t for you you’ll still need to figure out what you want to replace them, but to me it doesn’t sound urgent.

[BarnyardCoral]

My point in what I posted earlier is one of your options is to do nothing for the time being.

Just set the guitar aside and play the one you’re into right now.

If you ultimately decide the pickups aren’t for you you’ll still need to figure out what you want to replace them, but to me it doesn’t sound urgent.

Ahhhh gotcha. Yeah, good suggestion.

[Deed_Poll]

I'd have a look at swapping out the pots / caps first, I find those are often the culprit on a JM that sounds the way you describe compared with other guitars (too dynamic / lack of sustain / too bright).

The trouble is, as you described, it requires the amplifier to be set in a really specific way to get the best from the JM, and then when you plug in other guitars they're going to sound wrong.

You could try 250k pots and a .047uf capacitor and see if that has the guitar playing ball with the others?

[BarnyardCoral]

I'd have a look at swapping out the pots / caps first, I find those are often the culprit on a JM that sounds the way you describe compared with other guitars (too dynamic / lack of sustain / too bright).

The trouble is, as you described, it requires the amplifier to be set in a really specific way to get the best from the JM, and then when you plug in other guitars they're going to sound wrong.

You could try 250k pots and a .047uf capacitor and see if that has the guitar playing ball with the others?

I think you're exactly right. I have to set the tone on my Supro to about 11 o'clock which is much darker than the Psyclones. However, I can usually pull some sparkle back in the mix with an EQ/preamp pedal. 250k pots might be the way to go too.