Gstring
New member
I am writing to ask for guidance on desirable replacement pickups that I am likely to find on US or UK ebay or the second hand market suitable for a semi hollowbody.
Although guitars have given me a lot of pleasure in my life , I have actually spent very little on them. Perhaps I am just mean. Until recently my one and only electric guitar has been a Mexican Fender Lite Ash Tele (pups ,pots and wiring upgraded by me) which I bought second hand several years ago for not a great deal of money. It plays extremely well and sounds pretty good through my heavy and loud Vox AC 30 VR and is more than adequate for a guitarist such as me. I have to say that I am not a good guitarist and never will be. This probably due to the fact that I have no natural talent and am too lazy to put in the hours of practice required to overcome this. However I very very much enjoy playing especially the occasional bit of public playing with friends but am careful to limit myself to stuff well within my ability.
Although I have always advocated that one decent electric guitar is sufficient for most amateur guitarists, I recently succumbed to temptation and bought (for not a great deal of cash) a second hand Washburn HB35. Plays beautiful and looks great and the stock far east pick ups are actually not that bad. Clean I get some nice warm tones with jazz chords and some good bluesy solos. The stock pups are also 4 conductor and may well benefit from some experimentation which I plan on investigating soon. but the guitar would, I think move up a league with a pup upgrade as well. The obvious choice would be a set of Seths or Alnico Pro II s but these are a tad pricey new for a meanie like me and I have been looking on the second hand market trying to find a suitable upgrade at a budget price.
I have been offered a second hand set of Gibson Classic 57s for £70 (around $110) which is a very good price and I am pretty sure these will sound good in the Washburn as they were/are the standard pups in the excellent sounding 335 but the downside is that they are 2 conductor and I kinda fancy 4 conductor pups so I can try alternative wiring. At the moment I'm inclined to get the Classics and give them a try as I do not think I would lose much if I resold. However I'm wondering what pick ups I should be looking out for which are likely to come up for sale second hand; I don't think I have ever actually seen a set of second hand Seths for sale. A buddy has an Epi Sheraton , which is very similar in construction (maple) to the Washburn, and he has an Alnico Pro 11 neck (not the Slash version ) and a 59 bridge. He did not specifically choose those pick ups but they each came up used quite cheap and by luck or otherwise the combination sounds really good in that guitar andI have definitely added these to my watch list. I particularly like the Alnico Pro II in the neck which seems a very versatile pup. I have noticed the odd of Pearly Gates pups but remember reading that these are not that well suited to hollow body type guitars..
So my request is this . Although I have been messing with guitars and helping others with re wiring projects for a few years now my pup knowledge is still fairly limited especially as regards those best suited for 335 types. Can I therefore ask the many better informed gentlemen of this forum to nominate suitable pups (not necessarily Seymour Duncan) which I should be looking out for as I scan the second hand lists. I have friends who visit NY regularly so buying in the US, where prices seem cheaper , is not too much of a problem.
Thanks
Although guitars have given me a lot of pleasure in my life , I have actually spent very little on them. Perhaps I am just mean. Until recently my one and only electric guitar has been a Mexican Fender Lite Ash Tele (pups ,pots and wiring upgraded by me) which I bought second hand several years ago for not a great deal of money. It plays extremely well and sounds pretty good through my heavy and loud Vox AC 30 VR and is more than adequate for a guitarist such as me. I have to say that I am not a good guitarist and never will be. This probably due to the fact that I have no natural talent and am too lazy to put in the hours of practice required to overcome this. However I very very much enjoy playing especially the occasional bit of public playing with friends but am careful to limit myself to stuff well within my ability.
Although I have always advocated that one decent electric guitar is sufficient for most amateur guitarists, I recently succumbed to temptation and bought (for not a great deal of cash) a second hand Washburn HB35. Plays beautiful and looks great and the stock far east pick ups are actually not that bad. Clean I get some nice warm tones with jazz chords and some good bluesy solos. The stock pups are also 4 conductor and may well benefit from some experimentation which I plan on investigating soon. but the guitar would, I think move up a league with a pup upgrade as well. The obvious choice would be a set of Seths or Alnico Pro II s but these are a tad pricey new for a meanie like me and I have been looking on the second hand market trying to find a suitable upgrade at a budget price.
I have been offered a second hand set of Gibson Classic 57s for £70 (around $110) which is a very good price and I am pretty sure these will sound good in the Washburn as they were/are the standard pups in the excellent sounding 335 but the downside is that they are 2 conductor and I kinda fancy 4 conductor pups so I can try alternative wiring. At the moment I'm inclined to get the Classics and give them a try as I do not think I would lose much if I resold. However I'm wondering what pick ups I should be looking out for which are likely to come up for sale second hand; I don't think I have ever actually seen a set of second hand Seths for sale. A buddy has an Epi Sheraton , which is very similar in construction (maple) to the Washburn, and he has an Alnico Pro 11 neck (not the Slash version ) and a 59 bridge. He did not specifically choose those pick ups but they each came up used quite cheap and by luck or otherwise the combination sounds really good in that guitar andI have definitely added these to my watch list. I particularly like the Alnico Pro II in the neck which seems a very versatile pup. I have noticed the odd of Pearly Gates pups but remember reading that these are not that well suited to hollow body type guitars..
So my request is this . Although I have been messing with guitars and helping others with re wiring projects for a few years now my pup knowledge is still fairly limited especially as regards those best suited for 335 types. Can I therefore ask the many better informed gentlemen of this forum to nominate suitable pups (not necessarily Seymour Duncan) which I should be looking out for as I scan the second hand lists. I have friends who visit NY regularly so buying in the US, where prices seem cheaper , is not too much of a problem.
Thanks
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