Pickups and wiring options for a Gibson ES-335

[HeavyRevy]

I recently bought a 2011 Gibson Memphis ES-335 Custom. I bought the guitar through an online transaction so unfortunately did not get to play it plugged in beforehand. The pickups were apparently changed at one time prior to the previous owner to uncovered zebra 57 Classic / 57 Classic +. The guitar is bright sounding acoustically but the plugged in tone is somewhat to me, for lack of a better word, uncontrolled. Tone controls for both neck and bridge pickup go from way too bright and really harsh to really deep bass and muffled with not much happy medium between. The bridge pickup is way too bright and is extremely harsh at almost any setting over about 3-4 on the tone knob and to my ears almost unusable. The neck pickup is better and smoother but is also quite bright and almost seems like a bridge pickup in terms of sound.

My question is, what should I do moving forward as far as pickups and a wiring harness to tone this beast down to something usable? I rather like the guitar and wanted to try a semi hollow. So far I'm not happy with the plugged in sound and the fact it seems to feed back quite easily. Which also makes me think something is not right. The 335 should be able to withstand more volume than I'm giving it.

I've been trying a few different guitars over the last few years to try and find one that fits certain types of music I play. I was told about the versatility of the 335 and wanted to try one. I had a Les Paul and didn't care for the 50's neck and the weight so I traded for a PRS. So far I like that a lot! I'm also quite happy with a Stratocaster I bought. Still on the fence about this 335. I don't want to change the electronics and still not be happy with it and not be able to get my money back out of it if I decide it needs to go. Decisions, decisions!

Suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
REV

 

[nopicknick]

Re: Pickups and wiring options for a Gibson ES-335

I put some Antiquities in my Eastman T386, but I bought the guitar new and knew the wiring was correct. I cheated though and spliced the wires without having to remove the pots. Which is a headache on semi hollows. I love Antiquities, but wouldn't necessarily recommend them if your guitar is feeding back easily. They are not potted. I would first make sure your wiring is correct.....major pain though but important before deciding on the right pickups. After that I would suggest Alnico Pro II, Seth Lovers, or 59's. If the feedback is from a wiring issue, then the Antiquities would be a great choice as well.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickups and wiring options for a Gibson ES-335

Well, I dig Seth Lovers in a 335, or for something slightly more modern, a 59 set is another great alternative. I think 335s are best when playing more dynamic, cleaner styles so that certainly influences my choices.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Pickups and wiring options for a Gibson ES-335

Well, I dig Seth Lovers in a 335, or for something slightly more modern, a 59 set is another great alternative. I think 335s are best when playing more dynamic, cleaner styles so that certainly influences my choices.

WLH > 59 in my 335.

I have no complaints about the 59 neck, but the bridge was bright, thin, and scooped. The WLH fixed all of those issues, while the WLH neck model had just enough extra fullness to do the Slash thing without the mush.