Blackwater
New member
Guys, I just registered and this is my first post on the forum. I've done some pickup wiring and hotrodding and guitar mods, but it's been some years since I did this - about 10 or so, I guess.
My question relates to my Gibson ES-347. For those who aren't familiar with this one, it's basically an old jazz box based on the ES-335/345. Mine's got very tight curly maple top, back & sides, gold hardware, double bound, fine tune tailpiece and self-winding tuners. I LOVE this old guitar, and the serial number indicates that it was made in '83. Isn't that the year Gibson moved from Kalamazoo????
Regarding the pickups, I just can't stand those old pickups in it. Been a long time since I had them out, but they had a little wire running underneath them, and they look like some "electrical engineer" with no soul designed them. They appear to have ceramic magnets in them, or at least they sound like it.
A friend, Williebudda, just got a Custom V for his new Firebird, and I kinda' like that one, but I'm not nearly as good a picker as he is, and I really need something a bit smoother and softer I think, tonally. Principally, I like good blues, classic rock, some of the better country, old country (honky tonk style) and anything with heartfelt "soul." I figure if you're not gonna' put some of your soul into it, why bother?
Anyway, the 347 has a mini-switch instead of the varitone, like the 345 does.
I'd like to maximize the tonal capacity of the guitar, so want to use that somehow. As issued, it's a coil cut for the two humbuckers that came on it.
I like the older, sweeter, girthier, fatter, smoother sounds, and I think I want a '59 or similar in the neck. That Custom V of Williebudda's has more bite than I think I can make use of. Arthritis developing in both hands, you see.
I think something along the lines of the Custom Custom, or similar, may be what I need, but you guys have a LOT more collective experience than I ever will, and I'd like to hear some comments and suggestions from you all.
I'll be playing through old Fender amps, mostly - primarily a Bandmaster Reverb that I plan to have voiced specifically for this guitar, so that's a factor in my decision as well.
It'll have to be a twin humbucker setup - or at least that's what the guitar is routed for, and I will NOT be changing that. Has 2 vol. and 2 tone controls, a conventional Gibson 3-way pickup selector switch, and that additional mini-switch unique to the 347's.
What would you all recommend??? I'm interested in hearing options that I may not have thought of. Are there mini-switches that would allow me to build in a B.B. King ES-345 sound with just a flip of the mini-switch???? That would be ideal, but I've never heard of such a setup. I'd have no selection or adjustment, as on the 345's, but one good ol' 345 sound, emulating BB's, would just thrill me to no end! Comments????
Thanks for any help you can provide. I've been meaning to do this for 10 years or more.
My question relates to my Gibson ES-347. For those who aren't familiar with this one, it's basically an old jazz box based on the ES-335/345. Mine's got very tight curly maple top, back & sides, gold hardware, double bound, fine tune tailpiece and self-winding tuners. I LOVE this old guitar, and the serial number indicates that it was made in '83. Isn't that the year Gibson moved from Kalamazoo????
Regarding the pickups, I just can't stand those old pickups in it. Been a long time since I had them out, but they had a little wire running underneath them, and they look like some "electrical engineer" with no soul designed them. They appear to have ceramic magnets in them, or at least they sound like it.
A friend, Williebudda, just got a Custom V for his new Firebird, and I kinda' like that one, but I'm not nearly as good a picker as he is, and I really need something a bit smoother and softer I think, tonally. Principally, I like good blues, classic rock, some of the better country, old country (honky tonk style) and anything with heartfelt "soul." I figure if you're not gonna' put some of your soul into it, why bother?
Anyway, the 347 has a mini-switch instead of the varitone, like the 345 does.
I'd like to maximize the tonal capacity of the guitar, so want to use that somehow. As issued, it's a coil cut for the two humbuckers that came on it.
I like the older, sweeter, girthier, fatter, smoother sounds, and I think I want a '59 or similar in the neck. That Custom V of Williebudda's has more bite than I think I can make use of. Arthritis developing in both hands, you see.
I think something along the lines of the Custom Custom, or similar, may be what I need, but you guys have a LOT more collective experience than I ever will, and I'd like to hear some comments and suggestions from you all.
I'll be playing through old Fender amps, mostly - primarily a Bandmaster Reverb that I plan to have voiced specifically for this guitar, so that's a factor in my decision as well.
It'll have to be a twin humbucker setup - or at least that's what the guitar is routed for, and I will NOT be changing that. Has 2 vol. and 2 tone controls, a conventional Gibson 3-way pickup selector switch, and that additional mini-switch unique to the 347's.
What would you all recommend??? I'm interested in hearing options that I may not have thought of. Are there mini-switches that would allow me to build in a B.B. King ES-345 sound with just a flip of the mini-switch???? That would be ideal, but I've never heard of such a setup. I'd have no selection or adjustment, as on the 345's, but one good ol' 345 sound, emulating BB's, would just thrill me to no end! Comments????
Thanks for any help you can provide. I've been meaning to do this for 10 years or more.
