Do you have a Music Man JPXI? Help me out!

[CraigJohnsJr]

Hey guys,
Does anyone here have a JPXI? I just got one in a trade and I need a little reassurance on what I need to do as far as switching these pickups out.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with Juggernauts. I play heavy metal / hardcore, (Slipknot-esque with a tad bit of djent influence,) and I think these will mesh with the guitar well. (Mahogany neck and tone block, alder body, maple cap, ebony fretboard.)

On a side note, has anyone with Juggernauts noticed they can be a little... flat sounding sometimes? Particularly in chords? I have them in my ESP Eclipse II and love them 99% of the time, despite their being a tad dark, which I EQ out fairly easily, but they don't seem to cut in a mix as well as I thought they would. For what it's worth, it's a mahogany body and neck with an ebony fretboard. It is the full thickness Eclipse though, not the cutaway. If I were to switch pickups, what would you recommend instead? I want that super tight bite and growl, but perhaps a bit more depth. I'll definitely play with my tone a bit more and see if there's something I can do there first. I do like the voicing on these pickups.

Anyway, I'm reading about how the JPXI has triangular mounting tabs. All I need to do is leave a comment requesting TRI TABS, right?
Also, I should go with 550k pots and the 22 cap, right? I believe that's what I did with the Eclipse.

Thanks in advance for the help, and pardon my rambling.

Edit: Will covered pickups fit in the JPXI? Read below.

[Kiichi]

Hi mate! You call that rambling...that is cute. You should have seen my first thread here. ;)

Anyhow, while I do not personally own a Juggernaut, and even though I am sure I will own every BKP at some point in the future it will be one of the latest I will get, I am pretty certain it will do what you want. All I read is that it is great for modern metal, with a djenty flavour, which is more than spot on. Furthermore the biggest potential issue, which rarely even seems to be one in LPs, is that the high end is present, but rounded. Smooth you might say. Then again you got a maple top and most of all ebony board, so I have no concerns there.

I canīt see why they would not suit you. Then again I also canīt really comment on the flat concern because while they sound good to me they also sound modern, which pretty much always sound a bit flat to me.^^ But knowing BKP and owning some of their modern PUs as well what I can assume is that if they sound flat in demos you hear it is more likely down to some sort of amp emulator used in the demo than down to the pickups.

And yes, a comment in the vain of tri tabs or so and BKP are known to happily make em fit for you. Also, 550k pots certainly get the most out of humbuckers in my experience. The cap is another thing, here I have different tastes than most and am all over the place, even from axe to axe, so no comment. ;)

Cheers!

[Yellowjacket]

Audio demos only go so far.  Most tones I hear are so over saturated that you can't accurately hear the timbre of the pickups being demonstrated anyhow.

The pickups are round and darker, but they do have a nice harmonic 'bite' to the sound and they're really, really lively.  They also excel at lead, rhythm, and clean, which is incredible.  I can't rave enough about them!

[CraigJohnsJr]

I have another question! This one really calls for someone that has a JPXI. I've read here and there that some covered pickups won't fit into the JPXI's cavities without routing or altering the shape of the pickup. Is this always the case? Is it all covered pickups? I'm one of those guys that doesn't want to change their guitar at all (with the exception of hardware and pickups obviously). I was thinking black battleworn with silver bolts would look awesome on this thing, but if I gotta go open coils, so be it.

[CraigJohnsJr]

Also, just remembered this, the guitar has three knobs, only one of which is push/pull. (The tone knob, I believe.) When I order the 550k pots, I would order two normal and one push/pull, correct? Are they all supposed to be 550k? The guitar also comes with a 22 capacitor, so is there a point in getting the BK 22 cap?

Thanks again!

[Kiichi]

I have another question! This one really calls for someone that has a JPXI. I've read here and there that some covered pickups won't fit into the JPXI's cavities without routing or altering the shape of the pickup. Is this always the case? Is it all covered pickups? I'm one of those guys that doesn't want to change their guitar at all (with the exception of hardware and pickups obviously). I was thinking black battleworn with silver bolts would look awesome on this thing, but if I gotta go open coils, so be it.

Well if you got a ruler you can pretty much determine that yourself as the savest method using the dimensions found here https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/dimensions.php

Also, just remembered this, the guitar has three knobs, only one of which is push/pull. (The tone knob, I believe.) When I order the 550k pots, I would order two normal and one push/pull, correct? Are they all supposed to be 550k? The guitar also comes with a 22 capacitor, so is there a point in getting the BK 22 cap?

Thanks again!

Since the push pulls BKP sells are just 500k as well you probably could leave that one in since I am guessing it is not a bad quality one. For the other two the 550k upgrade would still be nice.

This depends on which kind the guitar came with. If it is a tiny ceramic one an upgrade would be nice, but if it is something else like an Orange Drop the difference would not be as big, if any (the debate continues). The BKP Jensen caps are paper in oil which a lot of people say helps the sound, while others dispute it. What however is true without a shadow of a doubt is that they are extremly high quality, which means low tollerance. So you actually get the value you paid for and it is a good one.
If in doubt, just get it. Beware though, it is also reaaaally big.

[CraigJohnsJr]

I took the chance and ordered covered pickups. I'll post back when they're in. Hopefully this will be a positive learning experience for the next guy with a JP!

[Yellowjacket]

Juggerset?

[CraigJohnsJr]

Yeah, I was always pretty sure I was going to go with Juggernauts. I really like how they sound in my other guitar. I just wasn't sure if they'd fit in my JPXI, as the cavities are a bit small. I measured them today and they're almost exactly the size of the pickup, so I kind of doubt they'll fit, but maybe my tech can figure it out. I guess we'll see!

[Yellowjacket]

You're talking about that super thick bridge pickup?  When I unboxed the set, I was surprised how phat that pickup is. 

[Duck2587]

If the juggernauts don't work out for you, I would go for a Ceramic Warpig. Its a fantastic pick up that can do anything. Don't be mislead by its description or DC resistance. Its great at any tuning and can cover any range of music. For your description, I feel you will benefit from it.

[CraigJohnsJr]

So, my guitar's back from the shop and here's the deal:

I got a covered Juggernaut set for my EBMM JPXI 6. (Black battleworn with nickel bolts.) The pickups actually fit into the cavities without any issue whatsoever. I had heard that some people had to modify their guitars a bit but everything worked out fine. They sound and look absolutely amazing.

The pots and cap, on the other hand, didn't work out. If I wanted to use those pots, I'd have to change the knobs, and I'm not even sure if they'd fit in the guitar. The cap definitely didn't fit. Much too big. I'll see if I can send them back to BKP.

If anyone has any questions as far as Juggernauts and a Music Man, let me know!

[Yellowjacket]

In what ways do they sound better than the stock pickups!? I'll bet you like them, I think they are my favourite offering from BKP and I absolutely love mine!