sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sound

[unisafe]

Hey good people

I've noticed a fair few post about replacing sheraton pickups on here, none seem to want what i do..

From what i've heard ,the gibson es 335 has a brighter tone with a tight bass response and the sheraton has a nasal like treble tone and muddy bass response a scooped mids.

I dont know how accurate that is.. but that is what i have gathered from recordings, youtube videos and hearing my guitar teacher a few years back with his Es.

I want a brighter, more articulate tone for at least the neck pickup. I was even thinking of single coils like the phat cats.

I do like a bluesy tone also, but the current pickups are extremely bass heavy and dull.

As for the bridge .. .

I want close to rockabilly territory.. i was maybe thinking filtertrons or something similar.. still want to be able to get the whole 70's crunch sound als
Any thoughts , opinions?

Cheers for any info'

 

[blueman335]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

You want a neck PU with A5's, as A2's are warm and have a loose low end. '59N's are bright, clear PU's, but tend to be bassy in 335's. A JazzN would be a good choice.

If you're looking for clarity and articulation, you don't want a Phat Cat. They have A2 magnets and in the neck slot are very dark and muffled. A GFS Mean 90 (A5) would be much better.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

gday and welcome!
Whatever pups you get....replace everything in that sheraton..the pots the caps, the switch and the jack as well...when you do it do it properly cos the crappy epiphone pickups are matched only by the most cheaply produced electrical components they can find. A small outlay on good quality pots, caps and switches will allow you to make the most of the new pickups - and it is a very time consuming task doing any kind of electrical work on a 335 style axe so its not something you want to do every day.
fwiw...pretty much every pickup has a clearer top AND more low end than those awful epiphone alnico pickups, so you cant go wrong from this point.

 

[superpete]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

i picked up a used sheraton a few months ago that had fralin p92s in it. They are hb sized single coil pickups with no hum. the guitar sounds great, especially the neck. definitely something you might wanna look into.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

Pics please.

It will help to know whether the Sheraton has full-size humbuckers or reproductions of the smaller humbucker found on some of the original USA Epiphone instruments.

 

[unisafe]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

I think i may have to get a mini humbucker in the neck after watching a Hanson Chicargoan demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnCfHQJS52o and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEPhjNTfJv4
Seems to have a sound I'd be quite happy with. I believe I've seen PAF to mini humbucker adapter mounting rings on ebay.
Any recommendations of mini humbuckers.. or if they exsist.. full sized humbucker with a mini tone?

 

[elelpe]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

Why don't go with Filtertron in both positions? Plenty of choice from TV Jones that might suit your needs.

 

[rumblebox]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

Wolfetone marshallheads, to date, are the most articulate PAF types i've used, even with an A2 mag.

But if you want to do some cheap experimenting first, swap A5 magnets into your sheraton pups.

 

[unisafe]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

hmmm, not a bad idea about the magnets.. what's a good humbucking pickup that could be tapped. i like the gretsch style single tone a fair bit.

 

[rumblebox]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

Burstbuckers split very well.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

Phat Staple neck, Phat Cat with a trim ring bridge. Easily my favorite hum-sized pickup combo since I put it in my Explorer...and it would probably sound even better in a Sheraton II.

My second suggestion would be Antiquity Firebird pickups via an adapter ring.

 

[JimInMO]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

I had the same feelings about my Sheraton II. Tried for over a year to get a decent sound using different amps and eq. It is a great playing guitar but always sounded dead. About gave up on it until I put a jazz in the neck and 59 in bridge. Not the best combination but its a keeper now.

 

[Blues_SG]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

Gibson `57 are the best that I have tried on a hollow / semi hollow body guitar, if the cost is not an issue.

 

[unisafe]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

i'm certain, after hearing a 1966 Epiphone Riviera Demo on youtube,that I do want a mini humbucker in the neck.
Maybe I should just sell the sheraton I bought under a year ago and buy a Sheraton 1962 50th with USA mini humbuckers..

 

[david kornblatt]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

I was thinking of trying a set of underwound STRAT PICKUPSINSIDE A HUMBUCKER COVER that Seymour offers maybe that will be a way of getting round the bad wiring. Who wants to redrill all the PotHoles and then wire up a harness and then shove that mess through the fholes or even pay someone to do it?

 

[david kornblatt]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou

[h=2]

Re: sheraton II (Made in China) pickup replacement, want brighter more articulate sou[/h]

""gday and welcome!
Whatever pups you get....replace everything in that sheraton..the pots the caps, the switch and the jack as well...when you do it do it properly cos the crappy epiphone pickups are matched only by the most cheaply produced electrical components they can find. A small outlay on good quality pots, caps and switches will allow you to make the most of the new pickups - and it is a very time consuming task doing any kind of electrical work on a 335 style axe so its not something you want to do every day.
fwiw...pretty much every pickup has a clearer top AND more low end than those awful epiphonealnico pickups, so you cant go wrong from this point.""

I agree with this wholly/ holy​