Seymour Duncan Humbucker Comparison for Fender Mustangs | Nirvana Tone and others
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- Опубликовано: 13 май 2017
- One of the most, not THE most common question I get from Nirvana fan's who are building their own mustang and are trying to get a Nirvana tone is: "What pickup should I use in the bridge?"
Simply put, there is no right or wrong answer to that question. It all depends on what sound you like. I have 3 mustangs with perhaps 3 of the most common Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups, the Hot Rail, the JB and the JB Jr. So I thought I'd do a quick comparison video using the great riffs from Nirvana's rape me for people to form their own opinions on what they like if they are in the market for one of those 3 pickups.
As I said, there is no right or wrong choice so I won't do any talking about the pickups and will instead let you decide which suits you best!
I Hope you enjoy the video and perhaps find it useful, thanks for watching! And btw, I am tuned in E Flat!
Gear:
-Fender Mustangs with the Seymour Duncan Pickups
-Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp (drive channel modded by medoramps)
-Tech 21 Sansamp (original 90's version, not reissue classic)
-EHX Small Clone
-GRIT Microphone
-Scarlett 2i2 Focusrite interface
-Macbook Pro
Help me create more videos! Become a patron here: / alexrcowan 
Видеоклипы
This video is 6 years old and you have no idea how much you still help people with this one. Cheers!
1:27 Hot Rails
2:13 JB
3:00 JB Jr.
Hot Rails. Definitely Hot Rails.
You nailed the sound with the Hot Rails... That is the exact same Nirvana tone, with distortion and without.
Mario Duke thanks man! The hot rails seems to be a match made in heaven for mustangs and nirvana 😊
@John Martin Cantorne kurt had a hotrail in is blue competition mustang
@John Martin Cantorne He used jb's on stage, hotrails when recording
.went with the hot rails, thanks, great playing and great video
Kurt definitely used his competition Mustang when they were recording in utero
the Hot Rail is bomb
It certainly is!
alexrcowan which one is your favourite??
I honestly can't pick a favourite, I like them all, but I probably use the hot rails most!
the
1:48 Hot Rails
2:33 JB
3:19 Jr
Distortion
1:48
2:34
Best PU Demo I've seen in a long time! Thanks for the clean tones, I could hear the pups character. Thanks for the Great Job
Thanks Dwight, Really appreciate the positive feedback, and I'm glad you got something out of my demo!
It's funny how the Hot Rail sounds more like the studio version of Rape Me than the signatured JB PU mustang..
The one used on the studio is diferent than the used live (signature)
Kurt didn’t use a JB in studio, he used hot rails and a super distortion.
because it was recorded with the jaguar
From my understanding Kurt didn't like the jb. It was in his mustang for a short while before it was switched out.
I suspect Kurt might have even used single coils to record some of that stuff, because if you get a 60's Strat bridge pickup, which is dark compared to most other pickups, and you turn the gain up, it sounds almost exactly like the record. Humbuckers are super dark and compressed. The tone on the record is neither, so think there's more to the picture than meets the eye.
Dang that Hot Rails sounds great - tons of clarity & midrange punch.
could not have been more perfect timing for this vid to come out, I just got my mustang and I was trying to figure out which of the two single slot humbuckers I should put in mine. thanks 👍
There you go, I was hoping this video would be helpful for people in your exact situation haha! No problem, thanks for watching mate!
Great comparison video, superb choice of song to play, thankyou, this really helped me!
Thanks for the kind words! If it helped one person the video has served it's purpose in my mind! :)
The JB is my favorite, but the Hot Rail sounds
So
Fucking
Nice
Really cool video it's helping me to choose a new pickup ! Thank you very much.
LoL! Nothing like a three chord song with a DS1 at your foot! Cheers, you just gave me some super flashbacks to my teens!
The hot rail sounded the best to me imo
A lot of people seem to prefer the hot rails from this video!
Just got my fender mustang a hot rail I’m so excited 😆 you nailed the tone btw bro!!
Thank you for a excellent comparison. The hot rail was the winner for me but i have a jb jr i pulled from a stratocaster a few weeks ago i think i will give it a try. Thanks again.
Hot Rails nailed Kurt's tone perfectly. The JB Jr. was also quite nice as well. Nice work dude! Are you using 500k pots for the Duncans btw?
The hot rails sound bang on! 🔥
2 sonic blue mustangs?! 😍 you sir are a lucky man
Ralphie Barba haha yes I am indeed! My wallet is not so lucky! 😜
Daphne blue
Well one is a Kurt signature Mustang while the other one is just a regular Mustang.
@@alexrcowan Great demo, Alex. Did you install a 500k pot for the hot rails or leave the stock 250k? Thanks!
Gary Savoy thanks Gary. I prefer 500K for the hot rails. Really brings out their full (or at least better imo) range of frequencies
great video was just thinking about what pick ups to upgrade to so this vid really helped dude !
Armani Wynne thanks man, that was exactly the aim in helping guys like you get an idea what to expect from these pickups when upgrading. Really glad to see this vid has already helped a few guys like yourself!
yea dude keep up the great work alex you are one of my fav guitar youtubers
Thanks again man, means a lot! Hope I can keep making stuff you enjoy!
Perfect timing for this video haha I m building a mustang/duo sonic and I couldn't find any really good pick up demos that aren't using heavy distortion. Great video dude thank you.
Yeah it was the same for me when I was deciding what I wanted. Couldn't find any demo's for the music I play haha. I'm glad that you found my video useful, and good luck with your build! Thanks for watching!
Thanks dude!
@alexrcowan Dude I just want to personally thank you for making such a useful, informative video. I had a CIJ Jaguar which I fitted with SJAG-3 Quarter Pound for Jag set, which I liked but was so tired of having buzz/hum issues with at gigs. I was originally gonna load in a JB Jr. at the bridge but listening to this video it sounded kinda gutless and flat. The tone of the Hot Rails absolutely killed though, really has a lot of body and sustain. So I went for that and although it was a fiddle to fit it totally transformed the Jaguar! Now it has power and sustain without all the mains cycle hum.
Great job capturing Kurt's tone on your test as well. As a longtime Nirvana fan I can tell you've done your homework!
No problem Gary, I specifically made the video to be useful for people such as yourself trying to choose among the popular "Kurt" Seymour Duncan's. So I'm thrilled the video has done it's job!
This was such a super helpful video - I know it's a few years old, but thanks so much!
No problem, glad you found it useful!
awesome vid man
skatervader 101 thanks mate! 👍
Thanx for solo! Its the Best part of video.
Awesome vid!!
Thanks mate!
Great video.
The hot rails are my favourite.
Thanks mate, glad you liked it!
nice job, yet again man.
Jack Tilghman thanks as always jack! Always appreciate the kind words! 😊
Damn. That was good. The JB Jr. sounded just like the record ... that was crazy close !
Thanks man, I can't rate jb jr's highly enough!
I think the hot rail pickup sounds the best
It's a great full humbucker sound, it works so well on mustangs!
And on Strato better Hot Rail or JB jr?
@@AndreaLaureti depends on what you want to do
Man I’m really surprised to how much I liked that hot rail. I’m usually partial to humbucker but that hot rail sounded so good
Great comparison! I have the Duo-Sonic HS that requires no mods and sounds much like the JB. The Hot Rails are really interesting tho.
The best one was the full size humbucker
Hey you have a nice sound and good playing :) thanks
Thanks so much! :)
Thanks for the great demo! I'm considering to change the rear pick-up at the Mustang. Is your hot rails at rear? What the model number is this? Thanks!
Great job dude I'm gonna change out for the hot rails. What amp are you using.
I was weighing between the JB Jr and the Hot Rails, but the end of the video cemented it for me.
Hot Rails, it sounds more full and has a darker timber.
Yeah at the moment the hot rails is my favourite single coil sized humbucker!
Yeah, it's great for the Nirvana Tone. Is that what Kurt used in his 69' "competition" Fender Mustang? The HotRails?
submissivelover yeah Kurt had a hot rails in his compstang, it was the older version of the hotrails where the cover wasn’t so bulky but I imagine they sound close enough to each other
HR is def darker in the top end than the JB
Thanks man that was helpful
skinny pee pee phew! Really glad someone found it useful already! Thanks for watching man! 👍
Hot Rails and The JB junior sounds amazing to me
great video
Sully Reed0807 thanks man! Glad you liked it!
Hey man nice shot, I mean nice videos.
I have the Kurt Cobain Mustang with the JB in the bridge and at one point I put a Hotrail in the bridge position of my 65 Mustang RI. The JB is powerful yet smooth sounding with a wider sound. The Hotrails is powerful too, more than the JB IMO, with a tighter sound. They both sound very good but the Hotrails to me is a bit different. I believe the JB has Alnico 5 and the Hotrails has ceramic magnet. I eventually took out the Hotrails because I missed the original single coils. They just have a great sound with distortion. You can't go wrong with either of SD. Great looking guitars bro.
Thanks man, thanks for watching the video! Yes I agree completely, the hot rails is a bit tighter and more powerful. I'm not sure I will go back to single coils in the mustang, although single coil guitars in general are growing on me. I'm on the hunt for a nice jazzmaster! I do like the coil split on the JB jr, it sounds very similar to the original mustang single coil sound, perhaps just more output. I swapped the JB out of my KC stang for an sh5, they're my fav SD humbucker, sounds great with the coil split too!
Good video, thanks!
No problem, thanks for watching!
If you had the same presets on your amp and same pots in each guitar 250 or 500k etc., then I gotta say I liked the Hot Rails out of the bunch. I was going to buy a JB for my strat but I think I’m gonna get a hot rail instead for the bridge! For my jagstang, I’m gonna use a JB for the aesthetics really but it sounds pretty good too!
It could be the amp too. I’ve heard he’s used fender reverbs a lot which would brighten up the humbucker’s tone. Either way, you nailed it.
Thanks Brian!
Personal Fav is the JB... awesome video man :-)
Thanks John! haha I suspected that would be your fav! I pretty much change which one I like best daily haha
Yeah lol, they all sound great though!
johnpickk haha that they do!
Love this video! I have a fiesta red mustang with a matching headstock and competition stripe that is my favorite guitar. I didn't want to rout the guitar so my decision was pretty much hot rails or JB jr. I ended up putting in a hot rails. However, I'm always on the look out for another mustang to put the JB jr or maybe the lil 59 in. Have you tried the lil 59 and if so what are you thoughts on it? Thanks again for this great video!
Thanks man! That sounds beautiful! I love fenders with matching headstocks! Yeah they are the two main tried-and-true options for single coil humbuckers! I was considering putting a lil 59 in my sonicstang but I knew I would love the jb jr since it works so well in my strat so I went for that. If I see one cheap I'll grab one either for the sonicstang or my strat. I made the sonicstang before I had the mustjagstang, so it could be good to have something voiced differently to the jb.
I agree man! There's something about matching headstocks that look so cool! If you do get the chance to get a lil 59 I would love to see it compared to the hot rails and/or JB jr. If not that's fine too, just keep making awesome videos!
Yeah if I end up getting one I'dd definitely do a comparison :) And thanks for the support man
Buena demostración, me sirvió mucho. Gracias.
Thanks mate, I'm glad you liked it!
I have a Seymour Duncan jb in my strat and its the best thing ever
I think I prefer the hot rails. The full-size JB sounds pretty good too though, but I don't like the sound of the JB jr much. Excellent video :D
Thanks so much mate, glad you enjoyed the video, hopefully it was helpful :)
sounds great
Thank you !!
Great video congratulations!
What pickup neck you are using with pickup bridge hot rails SHR-1B? And also with the pickup S.D JB? Thanks
Thanks mate! I'm just using the standard Mustang single coils in the neck position of the hot rails mustang. Not sure what the pickup with the JB is, theres no markings on it. But I've since swapped it to a single coil sized P90
Hi Alex very good video. I have a Mustang with JB (500k pots) as well and a 96 Hot Rod deluxe. My sound is extremely similar but from the clean channel. I think you mentioned that you played this in the drive channel? Do u use the same eq as for the clean channel? Would you mind to share yours?
At the moment I use Bass 4, Treb 9, Mid 12, Presents 12. No bright switch.
Cheers Baskah (Chris)
They look all very beautyful
Thanks man!
Awesome what are you amp setting.
and do you keep the tone knob at max on the guitar (the knob thats on the guitar itself)
What neck pickup do you use on your mustangs?
Which of these bridge pickups is your favorite?
Sorry for all the questions i just want to buy one of these pickups
hot rail sounds awesome 😍
Thanks! gotta love the hot rails!
The new squire cyclones have 3 strat pups.. can't wait to see what I can do with it.
Alex - in the competition Mustang - what exact SD Hotrails model do you have in the bridge and neck? That tone is perfect and I’m about to order the ones in your LPB for my Mustang. Thanks.
Alex Cowan! How's it going dude? How is life been for ya'? Nice videos, btw.
Awesome.
Oh god!! Another video of yours to which I came upon and find ot very useful, I just asked you in your bullet mustang nirvana tone video and I think I already got the answer I was looking for... I'm buying a Squier vintage modified mustang and maybe put a hot rail pickup in the bridge because it sounds so amazing, just like the recording!! I didn't quite get a great sound from the JB Jr. So i think I'll go with the got rail... By the way, the reason I'm buying a Squier and not a Fender mustang is because I'm not willing to pay that much money to have a mustang, I'd rather do it for a Jaguar signature Kurt Cobain model because that's my main dream guitar!!
Jordy Ren good choice man, the hot rail is great. Was just playing with my hot rail mustang before actually haha. And yeah fair enough, gotta prioritize the dream guitar!
Hey, thanks alot for the video. The hot rails sounds just perfect. Thinking of upgrading my strat with Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB (would go with hotrails but think it'll look good with these). I've read that people think they are too loud for home enviroment, what's your opinion?
You wont have any trouble with volume man, go for the JB if thats the sound you want! :)
@@alexrcowan Cheers buddy!
Really like how the video was put together, I was gonna put a JB in my mustang 90 but honestly the p-90s sound really good and work well with nirvana
Riley Finley thanks man, had to really think about how I wanted to do this haha. And yeah don't change them p90's are great! I love them on my mosrite!
Riley Finley played one the other day. Very good guitar, solid build. Very good sound. I really wanted that p90 sound. Went with a Les Paul Junior instead, I've 3 Mustangs.
Are you using fuzz for your nirvana tone? Because that would explain the tone. P90s/single coils and muffs are made for eachother.
Great Video! Im Thinking About Buying A Mustang Do You Think I Should Use These Humbuckers
Thanks man! And definitely! You can't go wrong with any of these humbuckers
Hot rails wins for.me. great video... cheers
The second guitar sound. 👍
Definitely hot rails. I saw a Vinterta Mustang on FB Marketplace today with a hotrails pickup. I was so tempted, but I have just bought an MIJ jazzmaster and my gf will be so cranky if I buy yet another guitar. Must resist. It's on my future shopping list for sure though, either a mustang with a humucker or a jaguar with humbuckers.
Wow I have Jb's in my seymour duncan equipted guitars but I remember the seymour duncan site recommending the hot rails but the eq curve was dead flat which I didn't think I'd like but I think I know what pickup I'm getting next in my next single coil guitar. I'm thinking of building a jazzmaster soon. Sounds like it would be a great match. But jazxmaster pickups have their own sound which is great. Maybe I'll build the tele with bigsby I've always wanted and put the hot rails in that.
I feel like the 3 pickups sound very different, the hot rail sounds to be the most agressive followed by the JB then the JB mini. Then again, Kurt did use hot rails in his strats
@alexrcowan It's a nice finish on blue one. Did you get a refin? Or anything changed out - Tuners or bridge etc?
really good man,,,,do you use a rat? or ds one? gracias saludoss :)
Thanks man, I have a rat and a ds1, love them both
I like JB for the clean sounds but the JB Jr for the solos.
🔥🔥🔥
I didn't like the sound of the single coils on my jaguar and didn't know much about pickups and just kinda randomly picked a hot rails a couple decades ago. No wonder it has always had that perfect Nirvana tone lol.
cool comfortable and good guitars.Bravo.
Had the JB in my American Special Mustang, whilst it was close, the pickup sounded better in another guitar I had anyway. Went with the Super Distortion since and I haven't looked back. You should that and the S version. See what you think🤷♂️
My favorites were the full-size JB and the Hot Rail, the JB jr was a little thin sounding for my taste
Haha yeah I feel like for most people it will be between those too. For some reason I absolutely love the JB jr, especially since I have a coil split option wired for it too! Interestingly Kurt originally had a JB jr in his fiesta red "oranjstang" mustang before he had a full size JB installed. You can really hear the JB Jr in the Roseland show!
i like the guitar
Really nice video, thanks for doing it! You should earn a commission from seymour duncan, because I'm just another one who bought a hot rails because of it :)
Haha yes from the sounds of it a few people have used this as a bit of a guide for their own pickup purchases, Perhaps Seymour owes me a beer! Enjoy the hot rails mate, I’m sure you’ll love the pickup!
Excellent¡
I’m digging the jb humbucker
Yeah the JB has such a great low end!
Hey man your awesome and your the reason I picked up guitar. Can you please please please make a video on the tone for MTV studios 1992?
Hey mate, thanks so much man, really flattering and humbling to hear that I inspired you so much! And sure, I'll get around to that show!
alexrcowan really man? It's so awesome your gonna do that concert. Hey you should also do guitar tutorials
alexrcowan do you need a link for the concert?
Darien Mead sorry for the late reply man, been super busy the last couple of days. And it's ok man I know the show you're talking about 🙂
I like the hot rails JB jr and JB
All great pickups!
Hi man nice vid. I just wanted to get your opinion on what type of strings to use on my fender strat to sound like kurt cobain?Preferably what type of Ernie Ball strings? thanks alot :)
Thanks mate! I like using ernie ball regular slinky 10's on my strat. Gets a pretty nice sound!
Hot rails by far the best!
I wonder how the hot rails pairs with the neck pup?
for me all 3 are cool but hotrails for nirvana playing ;)
hot rails on blue competition is very good !! and close to cobain sound
Yeah its got a great sound to it!
+alexrcowan what were your sansamp settings here? I always use 3 up 3 down 2 up, with all the knobs maxed out, but maxing the high knob makes it sound super thin and terrible. Did you have the high knob set lower, like around 1 or 2 o clock?
Yeah all my dip switch settings are as you say, and presence and amp drive maxed. High would have been around 1 o’clock
Great video! I think you nailed the tone with the Hot Rails. Question: What pot do you use for the Hot rails? 250k or 500k? Thanks!
Rodney Wallace thanks man! Gotta love got rails. And it depends. I actually have two mustangs with hot rails. One has 250k pots, one has 500k. The one in this video has 500k. On 250k the pickup is a bit more bassy and has less treble, on 500k you get a wider response with more treble, the sacrifice is the neck pickup also has a higher treble response and sounds a bit ‘thinner’. Not a bad thing necessarily, just depends what you’re looking for tonally
Hot Rails smoked them all, but it's funny how the full sized JB sounded the worst.
The hot rails sounded out of this world. I know it’s different being in the room, could you tell that much of a difference in the hot rails vs the others like the video shows? Thanks.
Yeah they definitely sound different, to my ear the hot rails was more focused and aggressive than the others
The Jb is my personal favorite but the Hotrails comes in second
Great job
Is the Sansamp doing the distortion here?
Thanks mate! And yep, all the distortion is through the sansamp
alexrcowan Interesting! Thanks to you :)
Keep it up!
I wanted to get the tone Kurt had on his hot rail strat combo on reading but I didn’t get the Seymour I got a dimarzio will it still that sound?
Hi. I like clean single coils but want a punchy clean nirvana tone so I am more thinking the jb jr as they sound a bit brighter, or in your opinion are the hot rails decent for cleans and going to get more of a powerful clean?
Also did you change the pots when went from single to hb?
Rebel & The Hearts I actually think the hot rails get nicer cleans than the JB Jr. I have tried hb’s with both 250k and 500k pots. For the hot rails I definitely prefer 500’s, you get a great frequency response and if you want to darken the sound a bit to sound a bit like 250k’s you always have the tone control to help you out
Can you tell me.the exact hot rails one u have fitted.. What's the code etc. Many thx
i just bought a fender avri mustang and i love it but its a little tinny it lacks nuts.Back in the day i put a seymour duncan hotrail in a tele and it was awsome and i keep hearing put them in mustangs its just what to put in the neck?
What model were the Jb Jr's? I also have a Mustang and really like the sound of both the Jb Jr and the Hot Rail, I have a Boss Katana 100. What is your personal opinion, which sounds best? By the way, im actually looking more for the 1993(late)-1994(early) live sound. I don't really care about whether its similar to the studio version. As long as it fits close to the 1993-1994 era I would be happy.
This isn't necessarily answering your question but I have a kurt cobain signature mustang and a boss katana and my Seymour Duncan jb's sound great. It's really good for getting in utero tones
Nice video. Which guitars have 250k or 500k pots? I just bought an offset mustang and this video helped decide on the hot rails. My mustang has 250k and its sounds to bright and treble. I think the kc mustang has 250k and that's why it doesnt sound as good as it should.
Agustin Ramirez hi Agustin. The mustang with the hot rails had the 500k pots I believe. The others were 250k as far as I remember
@@alexrcowan thanks