The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Posts 1 to 19 of 19
  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    Is there any one out there who actually knows what the physical difference is between the two pickups? Or are they basically the same with different mountings? Played a Herb Ellis 165 with a BJB and it did sound nice. Had various experiences with mini bucks. Currently I have an Asian Epiphone with USA minis and they sound great!

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

    User Info Menu

    BJB pickups are GREAT pickups. I put a Schatten volume/tone control on my 165 and it was the best thing for that guitar.
    Joe D

  4. #3

    User Info Menu

    I have an ES-165 with a BJB and an ES-390 with mini humbuckers. Appearance wise they are different (full cover pickguard mounted versus exposed polepieces and set into the top) but you probably knew that. Sonically I don't think that they are similar, but you have to keep in mind that the BJB is on a full size hollow body and the mini hums are on a thin hollow body. Even more so the neck pickup on the 390 is mostly mounted to a continuation of the neck wood. If I just said what the two guitars sound like I would say that the 165 BJB sounds full, spacious, acoustic, dynamic, articulate and the 390 mini hums sound tighter, less spacious and softer. With that said the 390 has both neck and bridge pickups so I can widen the sound by using both.

  5. #4

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Max405
    BJB pickups are GREAT pickups. I put a Schatten volume/tone control on my 165 and it was the best thing for that guitar.
    Joe D
    Thanks for the reply. Can you explain the benefits of the retro fit vol tone? I’ve not heard of this product.
    Cheers

  6. #5

    User Info Menu

    Directly from Gibson the ES-165 with floater only comes with a volume control, no tone control, like the Gibson Johnny Smith did (or Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar!). Retrofitting the Schatten controls provides both tone and volume control. I am a knob twiddler and like to have both, but an awful lot of people just set the tone at the amp and get on with playing, usually better than I play!

  7. #6

    User Info Menu

    Gibson uses the BJB on Citations and LeGrsndes and a small number of acoustic L5s put out by the Crimeon Custom Shop. Also the run of Herb Ellis with floaters. Theyre great for amplifying guitars with terrific tonal qualities - sure benefit having a tone pot though- many cats use the Schatten hidden under the pick guard so as not to clutter the estetically pleasing appearance of the one knob look

    i just grabbed up a LeGrsnde pick guard with a BJB !!!!

  8. #7

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by md54
    Thanks for the reply. Can you explain the benefits of the retro fit vol tone? I’ve not heard of this product.
    Cheers
    Cunamera said it all. If I might add, the pickup in its normal state is great but you can take down the brightness a tad with the tone knob. One thing of note, the BJB pickups tend to sound best at full volume. With the Schatten vol/tone this allows you to not run full volume and back off the tone. This gives the same sound as full volume without the Tone knob, just with less volume. (Sorry, you might have read that twice for it to make sense).
    The BJB is a great pickup. Just a tick behind the real Gibson Johnny Smith pickups, which I think are the best of the best. Don’t be fooled into thinking the “JSmith” pickups found on the Gibson solid formed guitar are as good as a real Johnny Smith or a BJB. They are not even close.
    Good luck to you. I hope I helped.
    Joe D

  9. #8

    User Info Menu

    So just my experience playing both on Gibson high end Archtops over the years.
    I much prefer the JS mini hb over the BJB pickup.
    But to be fair ever compared them on an actual gig situation. Just in a music store through amplifiers like a Fender or similar type of amp.

    So maybe a full range amp and speaker for the BJB would enhance its tonal qualities. The JS matches quite nicely with the midrange nature of a Fender amp.

    My personal choice is either a Kent Armstrong 12 pole peice floater USA version or currently a Peter Biltoft CC Rider floater humbucker.

  10. #9

    User Info Menu

    Can also try a lick of Maui Babe bronze screen on those offending strings .— tone them down a bit.
    Quote Originally Posted by Max405
    Cunamera said it all. If I might add, the pickup in its normal state is great but you can take down the brightness a tad with the tone knob. One thing of note, the BJB pickups tend to sound best at full volume. With the Schatten vol/tone this allows you to not run full volume and back off the tone. This gives the same sound as full volume without the Tone knob, just with less volume. (Sorry, you might have read that twice for it to make sense).
    The BJB is a great pickup. Just a tick behind the real Gibson Johnny Smith pickups, which I think are the best of the best. Don’t be fooled into thinking the “JSmith” pickups found on the Gibson solid formed guitar are as good as a real Johnny Smith or a BJB. They are not even close.
    Good luck to you. I hope I helped.
    Joe D

  11. #10

    User Info Menu

    MB,
    You mean the sunscreen? I never heard of doing that. Does it really work?
    I never in a million years would have thought something like this would work. What does it actually do?
    JD

  12. #11

    User Info Menu

    Does anyone actually know what the physical difference is between the BJB and the mini Gibson?

  13. #12

    User Info Menu

    Bad photo from my 1979 catalog with some technical data :
    BJB versus mini humbucker?-79-cat-bjb-jpg

  14. #13

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by JFranck
    Bad photo from my 1979 catalog with some technical data :
    BJB versus mini humbucker?-79-cat-bjb-jpg
    Very much appreciate the post. Pity that it doesn’t include the minis but it’s a start.

  15. #14

    User Info Menu

    If the BJB was mounted in a Les Paul or an SG, by the numbers it would be considered a super hot rock 'n' roll shredder pick up!

  16. #15

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by md54
    Very much appreciate the post. Pity that it doesn’t include the minis but it’s a start.
    On this catalog, those PU were offered as spare parts, probably mini-hb were not. But a LP Deluxe is figured with them .
    Last edited by JFranck; 12-05-2020 at 10:38 AM.

  17. #16

    User Info Menu

    Are there any A/B comparisons with the BJB and other pickups? The chart data doesn't tell the whole story.

    My limited experience with the BJB is that it is a hot pickup for a floater. The notes are very well defined.

  18. #17

    User Info Menu

    I have a BJB on my Legrand and my L5c. I love the sound of these pickups as good as you ever really want in some ways. Now the different though I hear is my Super400ces, It has 57 classics and that sounds different than the BJB for sure. That could be because of the pickup and the fact that it is a built in ces vs. the acoustic with floater. That said for pure electric amplified sound the Super400 is mighty nice, hard to beat.

    In comparing the BJB to the original Dearmond 1100's that are on my Barker's and D'angelico it is hard to say which sounds better except both are great. I detect slight more bite on the high ends with the BJB compare to 1100. I would agree the notes are very defined and it seems to pop a bit unlike the dearmond, but possible the dearmond has a smoother sound in all the registers. I would not ever replace any of the combinations on these guitars because if you want to know the truth they all sound exceptional and depends on the day and amp.

    It is sort of like eating good pizza and somedays plain cheese works, and other days I really like sausage and fresh mushrooms. In fact it is all good..........and you can drink a beer with pizza, and have beer while you ascertain which pickup sounds the best.

  19. #18

    User Info Menu

    I agree that a variety of tones is a good thing. Regarding the BJB, I have not had a problem with string imbalance. I actually have had little trouble with string imbalance with dozens of guitars over the years. I can't recall an instance where I had to customize a string set for that purpose in a guitar without adjustable pickups screws.

  20. #19

    User Info Menu

    My L5P came equipped with a BJB. It's clean and balanced. Perfect for this guitar. Can't imagine a better sound, plugged in, with pure nickel 13-56 strings, and played through my little Sequel Skoter. It sounds fantastic.