Seymour Duncan JB Jr. SJBJ-1 for Strat

From the manufacturer:

application

High output single-coil-size "rails" humbucker. Great for everything from heavy blues to heavy metal.

description
This twin coil design pickup gives you the character of our popular JB™ model humbucker in a single-coil size. Its adjustable pole pieces more closely emulate the magnetic field of a full size humbucker and allow you to fine tune the balance of your strings. You can expect great harmonics and a sweet high-end. Compared to Hot Rails, the output is reduced and there's more treble response. Comes with four-conductor hookup cable. USA Patent No. Des. 355,207.

complete setup
Available for both bridge and neck/middle positions; and in an incredibly versatile set with an SJBJ-1b JB Jr. in the bridge, an SDBR-1n Duckbuckers in the middle and an SL59-1n Little '59 in the neck.

guitars
For all well-balanced instruments. Works equally well with maple and rosewood fingerboards.

available mods
Choose white, black, cream and parchment housing.

players
Joe Perry / Aerosmith, James Pennebaker / Delbert McClinton, Sebastien Lefebvre / Simple Plan, Jeff Trott & Todd Wolfe / Sheryl Crow, Melle Vasquez / Nancy Sinatra, Jennifer Batten / Jeff Beck Band, Alex De Rosso / Dokken

Ethan's picks for best videos/sound clips:

This clip compares the Seymour Duncan JB Jr. to the Hot Rails pickup set. Skip to 1:03 to hear the comparison, starting with the JB Jr. It has a nice crunch with an enhanced top end to give you plenty of clarity. It does a nice job bulking up the strat sound, while still maintaining some of that characteristic strat sizzle. The Hot Rails in comparison (1:30) are a little darker sounding, with less definition and sparkle in the high end, yet a much smoother distortion. Jumping back to the JB Jr. at 1:50, you can really hear how this pickup can shred -- with a tighter, more articulate response to pick attack than the Hot Rails. Listen to the Hot Rails at 2:15 and you'll notice that they lack the clarity and focus that the JB's have, muddying the tone up and masking some of the upper harmonics. In terms of lead sounds, the JB Jr. has a lot of sparkle in the top end that lends to a very brilliant and expressive sound (listen at 2:40). The Hot Rails definitely sound nice in a lead context (3:10), yet notes still tend to muddy up at times and sound a little fizzy. Overall, I think the JB Jr. takes the lead for its more articulate and versatile sound.

The player is using a Fender Strat.

Here is a quick comparison of a traditional single coil bridge pickup vs. a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. Beginning with the single coil, you get that traditional slinky strat sound with crisp highs and a nasally midrange. There is plenty of twang and spank and everything else you would expect from a strat single coil pickup. The JB. Jr. bridge pickup in comparison (0:15) definitely has a darker sound, lending to more of a humbucker character. The highs are rounded off and there is an accentuated midrange for more punch. You don't necessarily compromise the integrity of that classic strat sound, yet you do get a tone that is a little chunkier.

This clip showcases the JB Jr. in both the bridge and neck positions. Listen from 0:10 - 0:25 to hear the JB Jr. bridge on a clean setting. It has a very balanced sound with even lows and highs and a snarly midrange. Jump to 2:30 to hear it with a bit of drive for a smooth and articulate progressive lead tone. Each note has incredible definition and fast passages are smooth and articulate. The pickup is fairly quiet in this clip as well, resulting in a clean sound that is sweet and expressive. You can hear the neck pickup on clean at 2:00, with its deep low end and sparkly highs for a glassy clean tone. It can also get into shred territory (listen at 6:05), giving you smooth sustain and musical harmonics for a melodic/progressive tone. Both pickups also work well in a jazz/fusion context. Listen from 7:00 on to get a taste of what these pickups have to offer!

The player is Ivan Mahya Deva and he is using a Fender Strat HW1, Boss EQ, Boss Blues Driver, Boss Digital Delay, and a Tsakalis Balls Booster.

The Seymour Duncan JB. Jr. may be a strat pickup but you can't underestimate the metal tones you can get with it (it is a humbucker after all). Check out this 30-second clip that showcases the heavier side of the JB Jr. It handles distortion pretty well and gives you a nice warm and balanced tone -- plenty of low-end thump, midrange bite, and rounded highs that don't sound harsh. It has a nice focused rhythm sound that definitely works for metal, even with a strat.

The player is using a Squier Strat through a Roland Micro Cube with a Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive pedal.

This video features a Mexican strat with a JB Jr. in the neck position. Skip to 8:00 to hear the pickup in action. One thing to note is that the pickup is being demonstrated through a solid-state combo amp and may lack certain tonal and dynamic qualities that a tube amp would have. Nonetheless, I still think you can get a sense of the character and sound of the JB Jr. in this clip. It has a beefy tone that is warm and punchy, with plenty of low end for that sort of honky blues tone that you hear in this video. This pickup does a fine job of preserving that classic strat tone, while gaining the versatility of a humbucker.

The player is Scott Lindsey and he is using a Mexican Strat through a Line 6 Combo amp.

As the Everything Axe set/pickguard includs a JB Jr. in the bridge, here is one of our favorite videos from that set.  Skip to 0:05 to hear the JB Junior bridge pickup in action on a clean setting. It has a nice grit to it with a dark humbucker sound. Jump to 0:25 to hear the JB combined with the Duckbucker pickup for a nice blend of strat twang and humbucker punch.

The player is Joe Gore and he is using a Fender Strat through some sort of Fender head through a 1x12 cabinet with a Celestion Alnico Blue speaker.