Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

[Alessio326]

I'm thinking about changing the pickups on my Sheraton II to change a little the tone and have the possibility to split them (it mounts 2 conductors pickups), but I'm a bit confused about the choice.

I play many genres, from jazz to pop, rock, psych rock, metal (I don't like blues and classic rock/metal- please don't hate me, at least hard rock tease me a bit ahahah)
I'd like to obtain a little more harmonic sound, more "trebly", without loosing too much bass (even considering it's a semi-hollow)...
I've heard some demo about the '59 (neck and bridge) and the '59/custom (seems a bit chubbier), they sounds a bit sparkly, but will they sounds like this on my guitar?

Suggest me, what pickups would you mount?
Thank you all


p.s. Sorry for any mistake, I'm italian and I can't practice my english well, even if I'd like to ahah

 

[Maggot]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

I think 59s will be exactly what you're looking for. I had a set and they had nice highs. People have also been recommending the Jazz to me for that sort of thing.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

59s only come as a 2 conductor unless you special order them so that means you cant split them, so if you do go for 59s, make you you have the 4 conductor version.
The good news is that any pickup you put it there will be a marked improvement over the stock epiphone pickups. Even pickups that are considered "vintage sounding" or spongy like the APH will give you a big increase in treble detail, output and bass. For example the jazz, which is considered to be a clear, bright and precise sounding pickup will give you a lot more punch and low end than epiphone pickups.
59s are cool pickups tho, and given that pickup swapping in a thinline semi is a pain, it is a good thing that they also sound great with pretty much any magnet, so if you want to fine tune your sound without having to pull out all the wiring,m they are a good option.
Whatever you do, spend a few extra dollars and install good quality 500k pots like bourns, cts or alpha as well as some nice sprague capacitors. Its even worth going the whole way and replacing the jack and 2 way switch too. Rewiring a thinline is something you only want to do once, so its worth doing right the first time.
Anyways....my 2c worth: i love the whole lotta humbucker set in my 335 which is the last in a long line of different sets. They also come 4 conductor as standard.

The main thing to consider is the inherent acoustic tone of your instrument. Have a close listen to it and think about what you woukd like to accentuate, or possibly change about it. For example if the instrument is naturally bright then perhaps a smooth set of pickups will suit you. If the instrument is a little thin on the low end, then go for some fat pickups. If there is a certain sound in the midrange that you like, then perhaps a certain set of pickups will bring it out even more. Have a think about what you like and dont like about the unplugged sound of your axe, and then think about which pickups will deliver what you want.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

The '59 would go great in the neck of that guitar for jazz/pop.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

To me... 59's are weaker than hell split... they do somewhat passable parallel but split is just too weak and anemic for even jazz. If your dead set on splitting i think the Prail would be much more interesting, especially in that guitar

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

Send a Private Message to LtKojak.

He is Italian, in Italy, knows his semi-hollow guitars and you can converse together sensibly in the same language.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

Send a Private Message to LtKojak.

He needs to have at least ten posts to be able to PM somebody.

He is Italian, in Italy, knows his semi-hollow guitars and you can converse together sensibly in the same language.

I indeed am, Italian. Unfortunately, we live like three hours by car apart from each other.

 

[SoundAt11]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

I used to have a covered 59 neck and bridge set in a Sheraton II. It was a great set for basically any kind of rock or pop music. I had "spin a split" (rewiring two of the control pots to act as coil-splits) wiring and they worked well when split. The both the split neck and bridge '59 were clear and clean. The split neck was more useful than the bridge for me. This was not a bassy set in this guitar, it was not muddy at all. All that maple wood helps keep the sound very clear. I'd previously had a Duncan Custom bridge in that guitar and it was a little too aggressive and midrange-y.

 

[Alessio326]

Re: Pickups changing on a Sheraton II: a bit of help?

Thanks for your answers! Seems like I choose the right set ahahah

I've also listened to the Whole Lotta Humbucker set, but I'm afraid they might be too much midrangey on a semi-hollow (but I would definitely try them on a solid body).
The pots were changed as I bought the guitar, anyway!

I'll mount a set of '59, thanks again!