335 Help!!!

12guitdown

12guitdown

New member
Hey Guys, I'm fairly new here here to the forum and just just want to say thanks for all the valuable info previously posted. Ive spent hours reading through the threads concerning 335 pickup recommendations and being that sound is sooo subjective, there are a lot of different answers. Let me give you some of my preferences. )So far, I'll probably be dropping a set of 59s in her as this would seem to cover most areas and definitely be a safe place to start.) OK, jazz to modern rock is my sonic spectrum. Let me say that I'd prefer to keep the pups in the vintage arena, but I need that pinch harmonics, 4th, 9th fret harmonics etc. are readily available under decent gain settings (for the bridge) while rolling back will clean up nicely. Another thing that is important here is clarity on the 5th and 6th under gain as well. I don't need the perfect jazz sound, just a decent mock up (or better) would do. But if I can get it, I'll take it. What about a seth neck, and a 59 or PB bridge? I love the sound of "marinblues" sound clips in his Tokai 335 w/Seths but how would that guitar sound chording heavy distortion?. Btw, the guitar is a 2007 Tokai ES130. I had an LP studio with a JB/Jazz combo and didn't like it at all. The JB was way too shrill, honky and the Jazz was missing something. I like a smoooooth breakup with well rounded highs and mids, but not overbearing mids.

I'll sum with this, good jazz sound in the neck, great rock sound in all three positions (don't forget pinch harmonics), dynamically balanced in all three positions and that can take me anywhere in between.

I feel like I'm chasing my tail here. Any suggestions, less chasing my tail, would be appreciated and considered. Thanks

Gary
 
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Re: 335 Help!!!

I like a smoooooth breakup with well rounded highs and mids, but not overbearing mids.
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You're begging for a Jazz set for that 335 copy, man. You just don't know it as yet...:14:
Or, as I did with my own 1967 MIJ Emperador all-mahogany 335 copy, get a Jazz bridge as neck p'up and a C5 for bridge. Add coil splitting and you'll have an extremely versatile instrument able to tackle any kind of music.

HTH,

Pepe aka Lt. Kojak
Milano, Italy
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

LtKojak;1517965 get a Jazz bridge as neck p'up and a C5 for bridge. Add coil splitting and you'll have an extremely versatile instrument able to tackle any kind of music. [/QUOTE said:
If want something big and tight sounding, that's great for clean and heavy chording, but also singing gain tones, try the C-5/Jazz B combo. It's like a perfected 59 set. Hotter bridge and more balanced and clear neck.
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Re: 335 Help!!!

I have a few 335's & I like the '59N/C5 or JazzN/C5 combos, but that's a hot bridge PU (14,000 ohms) and not really a vintage PAF sound. Good for Chicago blues & classic rock, especially for solos. Since you like blues & don't like JB's (good man), we have somewhat similar tastes.

To me, an A2 magnet in the neck & a A5 on the bridge is duplicating Gibson's mistake with the 490R/498T combo (make a dark position darker and a bright position brighter - good luck trying to set your amp's EQ). A2's are at their best in bridge PU's where the highs are rounded & the flabby bottom end isn't as noticeable.

For a vintage sound, I'd recommend a '59 set, with an A4 magnet in the bridge PU, which will fill in the mids & make it seem less bright. An A3 would take off a little more of the highs, but not as much as an A2. You could also try an A3 or A4 in the neck too, to take off the strong bass of the A5 if that's a problem (never is for me though).

Whatever you end up with, remember you have a lot of possibilities with magnets, pots, & caps. Too many guys expect a given PU to be perfect in their guitar without changing a thing. Life usually doesn't work that way.
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

12guitdown said:
Yeah, I've thought about that one too. But is the A2 gonna get along with the A5?
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They get along pretty well, actually. The APH doesn't have a ton of bass, but its pretty tight, has good sparkle in the highs, and has plenty of mids. It's a very sweet, refined pickup.
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

Gearjoneser quote, If want something big and tight sounding,

When you say "tight sounding", do you mean articulate? A pickup that's too articulate, crisp and unforgiving would drive me nuts. Articulation vs. not cutting through the mix, I think my preference lies somewhere in the middle. But maybe you mean something else by "tight sounding". I'm all for hot p'ups, and I really like the idea of the C5/jazzb neck combo, but would it be able to retain vintage character on medium or less gain settings and/or rolling back the V pot?
 
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Re: 335 Help!!!

I'm also curious about splitting to a sc mode via a tone pot. I've done this with past guitars and always loved the results. not to mention versatility too. What are your guys sonic opinions here? And can you coax strat like sounds or is it something different?
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

12guitdown said:
I'm all for hot p'ups, and I really like the idea of the C5/jazzb neck combo, but would it be able to retain vintage character on medium or less gain settings and/or rolling back the V pot?
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Yes, the C5 is good that way, also for coil cut, as it has 7,000 ohms/coil, so there's still some bite to it, with a bit of midrange for flavor. The C5 is the best SD hot bridge PU for blues & classic rock. I think you'll be very happy with a JazzN/C5 (MUCH better than the JazzN/JB they try to push on people). I have that combo in a 335, SG , & LP, and it was warm, raw power in each of them.
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

Well the C5 seems to be the strongest contender for the bridge, and the specs show that the jazzb in the neck would make a good accomplice. So that's what I'll start with. That being said, What "K" pots and resistors/caps would you recommend? My ideal goal would be to have the bridge a touch hotter(dymanically speaking). And one push/pull tone pot for sc mode.
 
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Re: 335 Help!!!

12guitdown said:
Well the C5 seems to be the strongest contender for the bridge, and the specs show that the jazzb in the neck would make a good accomplice. So that's what I'll start with. That being said, What "K" pots and resistors/caps would you recommend? My ideal goal would be to have the bridge a touch hotter(dymanically speaking). And one push/pull tone pot for sc mode.
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OK, two things here.


One, I still need to get cap recommendations for the above mentioned combo. .022's? etc. Got one idea already, but would like to see what a few others think too.


The other is that I can't find the schematic I'd prefer on the SD site concerning wiring diagrams. This is the one that comes closest.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_2v_2t_3w_2pp
The difference is that I'd want only ONE (not TWO) push/pull tone, to split both HB simultaneously, into sc, hum canc. mode. Did you get lost on that one? But I don't know if it's possible. I know it can be done via a separate mini toggle, but don't know if I want to drill. To me it just makes more sense to either kick the guitar into "sc mode", or "hb mode", via ONE tone pot. Yeah so I lose a little versatility but...

Here would be my preferred layout order for the 335;
2HB, 2vol., 2 tone, 3 way switch, 1 push/pull tone(for both HBs' to single series)
Can it work?????:dunno:
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

yes it's possible and dead simple

a double pole double throw (DPDT) switch can split both pups at the same time ... use one 'side' of the switch for the neck pup and the other side of the switch for the bridge pup
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

12guitdown said:
I'm also curious about splitting to a sc mode via a tone pot. I've done this with past guitars and always loved the results. not to mention versatility too. What are your guys sonic opinions here? And can you coax strat like sounds or is it something different?
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I have a thin line Tele with a JazzN and a 59B. I know its not a 335, but the reason I mention this is I have an 85 Dot RI 335 with the Paf RI pickups, and this Tele sounds very close to it. The 335 has more bottom and more sustain, but this combination (Jazz and 59) would be a good combination. I also have these coil tapped whic adds a little more variation to the tone. Personally I would not tap pickups in a 335, but these pickups work well for this.

One thing to consider........ what are you trying to correct in this guitar now? What is it about the guitar that you are unhappy with? This will help solve the mystrey of what pickups would be best!
 
Re: 335 Help!!!

12guitdown said:
ES335, C5 bridge & Jazz bridge in the NECK.
What are YOUR cap recommendations.[/QUOTE
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12guitdown said:
]

This is what I always use:
Neck-500K & .020 Brightness is the key to avoid dark & mushy tones. The more distortion you use, the brighter you need the neck.
Bridge - 250K & .100 Warmth is the word of the day. The C5's raw power comes through, and excess upper treble from the A5 magnhet is filtered out. Brute force.

This is the PU pair I like best (C5/JazzN or C5/'59N), in 335's, LP's, and SG's for classic rock and Chicago blues. If you think two 250K's might be too dark for the bridge, try a 500K & a 250K (volume & tone), with a .100 cap.
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Re: 335 Help!!!

Thanks so much. This is what I was looking for; someone who knows.
For me, I like to have quite a variety and often switch PU settings many times in one song, anywhere from clean to dirty too. I prefer to have the amp EQ'ed to a good middle ground setting and let the guitar do the rest without favoring one over the other due to extreme tonal variations. i.e. too bright(bridge), or too dark(neck).

Anyone else?
 
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