How to get acoustic sounds from my ES335

Re: How to get acoustic sounds from my ES335

That's a tall ask !
Drop the height of both pups down and set guitar volume controls to 5 for neck and 3 to 4 for bridge.
Play with selector switch in middle position blend in bridge pup till acoustic sound is reached.
You can get an "acousticy" sound this way but it won't sound exactly like an acoustic.
This will get you as close as your going to get without investing in a simulator or an acoutsic guitar.
 
Re: How to get acoustic sounds from my ES335

lex666 said:
I'm loving the tones I get from my ES335, especially the cleans... Is there a was a can try to capture an acoustic guitar tone from it? Will a piezo bridge work? I'm thinking I can go thru one of the "F" holes...

Has anyone tried this?
Click to expand...

Sorry to dredge up an old thread on my first post, but the topic was exactly what I wanted to ask about, so here goes.

I recently picked up a '76 Westminster (Matsumoku/Japan) ES-335, but unlike most 335s, it's completely hollow -- like a Casino with humbuckers. I'm really happy with the unplugged sound of the guitar, and was hoping to rig it up to do some low-key solo acoustic shows.

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My first step was to try magnetic soundhole pickups designed for flat-top acoustics. I tried the Artec woody first. I was encouraged because it gave me essentially the same sound out of the 335 as it did out of my acoustics. Unfortunately, that wasn't a very good sound, so I returned the Artec and Got a Fishman Neo-D humbucker, which sounded good on both the acoustics and the 335 (using 80/20 strings). The downside was that visually, it left a lot to be desired.

I've since put the Neo-D back on an acoustic, and am now trying to figure out what to do next with the 335. Optimally, I would love to find something like the Neo-D or Baggs M1 in a humbucker footprint, but I haven't seen anything like that around. My next option is to put a good electric humbucker in the neck position, and tweak it with my Zoom A2 acoustic guitar module thingy, which includes several simulation options.

Here are the relevant pickups I immediately have access to:

SD SH-2 Jazz bridge (still new in box)
SD SH-1 '59 neck (currently in a strat)
SD APH-1 neck (currently in a les paul)
Bartolini 1C (currently in a semi-hollow 335)
Epiphone Emperor neck pickup (stashed away somewhere in a box)

I was hoping the Bartolini might be my ticket, but in a semi-hollow with nickel strings, it still sounds quite electric. I wonder how different the sound would be with 80/20 strings on a fully-hollow body.

Piezos are not an option for me, except possibly mixing a transducer with a magnetic pickup.

Any thoughts, ideas or advice? I'm not looking for my 335 copy to sound like a Martin, and I understand the limitations of my situation, so advice along the lines of "get an acoustic" won't be met with much enthusiasm. However, any thoughtful input would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Re: How to get acoustic sounds from my ES335

This is a very very interesting topic have you considered asking professional who knows more about guitar building what he thinks on the matter?


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Re: How to get acoustic sounds from my ES335

IMO transducers and piezos do a better job than any standard pickup on acoustics, BUT...have you thought about an actual microphone? A little one, like a collar or headset mic, taped/blutacked/etc into the f hole.

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Re: How to get acoustic sounds from my ES335

My advice would be to gig with an acoustic-electric, or use a guitar like the Taylor T-5. Godin makes a solid body acoustic-electric, Gibson had the Chet Atkins and Guild had one too. Yamaha makes a guitar too...it is a log with pieces that attach to give it a guitar-like body. These come in either steel or nylon strung versions.

I find that I can get a decent acoustic tone simulation from a Strat or Tele, but not from the 2HB 335.

Bill
 
Re: How to get acoustic sounds from my ES335

I use K&K's on my acoustic guitars. http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Mini-Acoustic-Guitar-Pickup/dp/B000P5OULA

Seems like you could remove the bridge pickup to access the area right under the bridge of that '76 Westminster and super glue them to the underside of the top right under the bridge. That's how they're attached to a regular acoustic with a soundhole. You could use an endpin jack to have a separate plug in for the K&K's.

I'd call K&K first and talk to them about it.

Would I do this to my own Casino if I had one? No. Not in a million years! :lmao:

But who knows? Might sound good!
 
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