pickups for 335 power pop/rock

U

untoldstory

New member
which duncan combo would be suitable for a 335 for rock music? I use a cranked up boogie dual rect. with a marshall 1960TV greenback cab. I mostly use the red channel switched on vintage gain (not modern..way too much balls)..master volume right up with a THD hot plate.
Some people told me that the Seths would be the best pickups for a 335..but as they are not potted I think I'll get a lot of feedback with them.
I'm not looking for too hot pickups..but just a little bit more output than a PAF. I thought of the 59/JB combo but not sure at all.
thanks 4 help!
 
sounds like your on the right lines to me, but maybe look into a CC/59 combo, i think that would work pretty well too.
 
I like the Seth Lover neck and Custom Custom bridge combo in my semi hollowbody Hamer. Best of both worlds: clean, warm vintage rythym/soloing tones and stronger, midrange heavy soloing tones from the bridge pickup.

A set of Antiquitys, Seth Lovers or 59's would also be excellant choices. The 59's will get you into Larry Carlton territory and are similar to mid 60's Gibson humbuckers only the 59B will be a little stronger and the 59N a little cleaner...nice!

I think people worry a little to much about the unpotted pickups whistling: all of those vintage 50's Les Pauls and 50's/60's 335's our heroes use/used have unpotted pickups.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

untoldstory said:
I thought of the 59/JB combo but not sure at all.
Click to expand...

That's the combination I have in my LP right now, which I also play through a Mesa Rec. It's good, but I think I'd prefer a '59/CC or '59/C5. For what you're after, a pair of '59s may make more sense.

- Keith
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

you should stay away from anything with a really high output in a semi-hollow body. i got a 59' in mine and i can get a high gain, no feedback metal-ish tone from it if i wanted to, i prefer a low gain crunch though,
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

Lewguitar said:
I like the Seth Lover neck and Custom Custom bridge combo in my semi hollowbody Hamer. Best of both worlds: clean, warm vintage rythym/soloing tones and stronger, midrange heavy soloing tones from the bridge pickup.

A set of Antiquitys, Seth Lovers or 59's would also be excellant choices. The 59's will get you into Larry Carlton territory and are similar to mid 60's Gibson humbuckers only the 59B will be a little stronger and the 59N a little cleaner...nice!
Click to expand...

The Hamer I was referring to back in 2004 was my Hamer Monoco Super Pro. At the time I had two. I've since sold both because I really wanted a 335.

The Monoco Super Pro came with a Duncan Custom as the neck pickup and a Duncan Custom Custom as the bridge pickup.

I couldn't get into the Custom as a neck pickup - to strong. So I changed it to a Seth Lover and liked that a lot.

I liked the CC as a bridge pickup in the Hamer, and at the time I had a single bridge pickup Strat with a CC in the bridge position too. ErikH played that Strat in Dallas when we met.

Anyways, I eventually got a '78 and put that in the Strat instead and liked it even better than the CC and then sold both Hamers.

Haven't used anything hotter in the bridge position than the 9K '78 since.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

I have a Sheraton 355 with a C8/'59N pair that sounds great for rock & Chicago blues. Rich, full tones; punch & crunch. A C5 works fine too in the bridge, with 250K pots.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

blueman335 said:
I have a Sheraton 355 with a C8/'59N pair that sounds great for rock & Chicago blues. Rich, full tones; punch & crunch. A C5 works fine too in the bridge, with 250K pots.
Click to expand...

You're always recommending 250K pots with bridge humbuckers. I hate 250K pots with bridge humbuckers! :lmao: Dull tone to my ears. Only one that sounds good to me with 250K is the JB.

So I'm curious as heck: do you have any clips of your playing? :)
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

To my ears, A5 in the bridge is just too bright and thin, but I'm probably just overly sensitive to the 4-5kHz range.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

This wd be my no 1:
Ant Neck and 59 Bridge or PGNeck
and 59 Bridge
or
WCR Crossroads N / Darkburst B.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

Based on what I've read on the forum, I'm leaning towards CC/PGn for my dot.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

CC rocks in many, many ways... so very responsive to touch and pick angles. Plus, you can always swap the A2 for an A4 if you want a more neutral/balanced EQ. Still, I'm GASsing for a set of Antiquity hummers.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

Lewguitar said:
You're always recommending 250K pots with bridge humbuckers. I hate 250K pots with bridge humbuckers! :lmao: Dull tone to my ears. Only one that sounds good to me with 250K is the JB.

So I'm curious as heck: do you have any clips of your playing? :)
Click to expand...

Haven't tried to get clips on here yet (old dog, new tricks).

It boils down to this: Is your bridge PU bright compared to your neck? The answer is often yes; some guys adjust their tone pots, some use warmer magnets, and some use wamer pots. Since I usually keep my tone pots on '10', I go the magnet/pot route. I like the tone of 250K's in the bridge; 500K's grate on my ears. Way too much treble for me. I never need that much. I want my amp EQ set with a good dose of treble to help out the neck, and with 500K's on the bridge that's thin & tinny to me. I want a bridge PU with body and midrange punch.

Part of my tone comes from my pick which is a Dunlop .88 with sharp, beveled edges, so I add some treble back that way. I use those sharp edges for a biting sound, & I love pick noise. With a typical flat-edged, stubby jazz pick, I might not like the sound of 250K's as much myself. Some of my tone is also in my hands and playing style; yours may be very different.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

untoldstory said:
to get the rhythm sound of "The Darkness"!
Click to expand...

the darkness used gear in the studio you would have never expected them to.

hard to nail exactly.

but id go 59/59.

or the custom custom, (i *think* thats the one)
thats kind of like a loud PAF.
 
Re: pickups for 335 power pop/rock

Lewguitar said:
You're always recommending 250K pots with bridge humbuckers. I hate 250K pots with bridge humbuckers! :lmao: Dull tone to my ears.
Click to expand...

+1.

I use AlNiCo 8 in all my HB bridge p'ups and 500K pots:

* '59B
* Custom 5
* JazzB
* Gibson '57 Classic Plus

It's a lot better than using 250K pots to tone down shrill AlNiCo 5 bridge p'ups.

Been there, done that, moved on to A8. :naughty: :cool2:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top