Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

[Rippin_Lips]

I have a 2005 Gibson 335 and I'm just not happy with the tone of the 57's. My instincts tell me to go with the Antiquity's but I'm considering Burstbuckers and Seth's as well. I know from reading past threads that a lot of you guys swear by the 59's in a 335 but I think what I'm looking for needs to be unpotted and A2 to get the sound I want. I play mostly country live and some occasional jazz/rock at home. I have other guitars with ceramic high gain and Floyd Rose for shred etc.

To me the Antiquity's just seem to be the best deal this side of going with a boutique winder and paying boutique prices. Any other good recommendations besides the usual Lollar's, Fralin's and Knuckles?

 

[AlexR]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

It depends on where you are.....but there are more than a few boutiques that come in even under Factory SD prices, let alone the Antiquity prices.

Out of the Duncans though I'd go the Seths......mainly in a semi you get a little less cut from the construction - the slightly honky nature and full A2 mags of the Seths help with this.

 

[SJ318]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

AlexR is correct.
I have used Seth's on a lot of guitars and with different magnets. Seth's are fabulous for almost anything except Metal, but a few good pedals could get it there to!
Steve Buffington

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I have a 2005 Gibson 335 and I'm just not happy with the tone of the 57's. My instincts tell me to go with the Antiquity's but I'm considering Seth's as well. I'm looking for needs to be unpotted and A2 to get the sound I want. I play mostly country live and some occasional jazz/rock at home. To me the Antiquity's just seem to be the best deal this side of going with a boutique winder and paying boutique prices.

There's more wire built-in in the Ants, but the Seths are an excellent choice as well.

I've used both sets stock and modded in a 335, so I think I know where you're coming from and where you'll like to go to.

My pick would be the modded-with-fully-charged A3 neck, A2 bridge Ant set. In my case I pair'em up with a custom-made harness with 500K linear pots for volume and 500K audio for tone, and Mojotone's Mojotone Vitamin T .022uF@600V Oil-Filled Caps.

HTH,

 

[Mincer]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I like the Seths, but it depends on what you are trying to achieve. You don't like the current pickups, but what do you find that is wrong with them? The Antiquities are cleaner and clearer than most other options. What music are you playing?

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I have Antiquities in my Ibanez 335 clone..... They rule.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

Can't speak to Antiquities.


I'd say hard to argue the Seth selection though...

 

[Rippin_Lips]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I like the Seths, but it depends on what you are trying to achieve. You don't like the current pickups, but what do you find that is wrong with them? The Antiquities are cleaner and clearer than most other options. What music are you playing?

To me these 57's sound more like A5 pickups than a A2 PAF. They are very bright with faster attack and kind of sterile sounding to my ears. I want more of that 3D tone that unpotted pickups have for country and jazz.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

The Ants and Seths are the 3D-est ones. The Ants are a little more ratty (in a good way), and the Seths are a bit smoother but still with bite.

 

[VinceT]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I went with PRails in my 335 because it's a bass-heavy guitar - and it works great as a P90 with benefits. Ever since, though I'm happy with it as is, the Seths have been calling to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oilpit]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

Okay.

In my opinion the only good reason to get vintage replica pickups are if you are into having a era-accurate guitar (or if you have a guitar that comes pre-aged or is actually aged and shiny new covers would look silly). I used to be super into having a perfectly historically accurate Les Paul, shelled out big bucks on boutique PAFs that were supposedly exactly the same visually to real PAFs, down to the kind of plastic, tape and wire that they use. Important to note that none of that stuff affects tone. At all.

If you really need the pickups that look old go for antiquities.

Personally I think it's incredibly silly to shell out that much extra money for something that I bet none of us could differentiate from Seth Lovers in a controlled environment with a blindfold on.

That being said I'm sure they are absolutely fantastic pickups, I just personally don't think they will give you anything the other vintage Duncans will. Plus I genuinely don't think there is a better PAF out there than the Seth Lover. Again it is all personal opinion but I have tried literally dozens of different PAF style sets over the years and the Seth Lover is still my favorite out of all of them, many costing three or four times more than the regular old Seth's

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

If it's country, I would go with Seths. While they have a midrange honk to them, they also have some unexpected top-end spank like a Fender. Also, if the newer 335s sport 300k pots, I'd get those replaced with 500k pots when you swap the pickups so that the sound opens up.

 

[chadd]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

To me these 57's sound more like A5 pickups than a A2 PAF. They are very bright with faster attack and kind of sterile sounding to my ears. I want more of that 3D tone that unpotted pickups have for country and jazz.

I have various flavors of burstbucker in my les Pauls, strat and 335. All of them sound brighter than the 57s that I've had.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

To me these 57's sound more like A5 pickups than a A2 PAF. They are very bright with faster attack and kind of sterile sounding to my ears. I want more of that 3D tone that unpotted pickups have for country and jazz.

Either the Seths or Ants have that 3D sound for days. Pick the EQ you want. The Ants are clearer, so for ultra clean country, it might be a better choice. But you can't go wrong with either.

 

[Securb]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I hate 57's way too bright for me. I have Gibson OEM MHS' in my ES they freaking rock.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I hate 57's way too bright for me. I have Gibson OEM MHS' in my ES they freaking rock.

Depends on the player. Derek Trucks gets a great tone out of 57's. Not too bright at all.

 

[Securb]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

Depends on the player. Derek Trucks gets a great tone out of 57's. Not too bright at all.

I said too bright for me, not Derek Trucks. Derek Trucks and I don't even play close to the same style of music. Do you post here to offer advice or just stir poop? No need to reply I already know the answer.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

Depends on the player. Derek Trucks gets a great tone out of 57's. Not too bright at all.

Notice he plays bare finger. Might have the tone rolled off with slide as well.

 

[LLL]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I have Seths and '57 Classics.

Both have similar PAF tone, but the Seths are clearer and the '57 Classics slightly murkier.

The Seths have slightly less drive than the '57 Classics.

Both have that PAF chime.

Both have that A2 magnet "squish".

The Seths of course feedback sooner due to very minimal wax potting.

Neither of them are too bright in my rig, but I'm playing through vintage-type amp circuits.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Talk me out of Antiquities for my 335

I don't think you can go wrong with the Seth or Ants. For country, I would go with upgraded 500K pots and P-I-O caps, for a little bit of twang. Myself, I find the Ants smoother than the Seths in my Les Pauls, with a creamy and complex mid-range.

The other pickup you mention is the Burstbucker. I have the potted A2 BB 1&2s in my Historic LPs. I can tell you that one of the best 335s I have ever played was the Warren Haynes Sig. model and it came with the BB 1&2 set. Really regret not buying that one. The BBs are a really good rock pickup, where the '57 Classic says, "jazz". I'm probably a bigger fan than most of the '57 Classic, as I play a wide variety of music but I'm not using heavy distortion. They can really sing through the Mesa, though...no doubt.

So, I have '57s, Seths and Ants in a Les Paul, and BB 1&2 in Pauls, and '57s in my 335s. My faves? Well, I love them all! I can say that when I KNOW I'm going to have a mellower or older crowd, I tend to choose the guitars with the '57 Classics. If I'm doing more rock or country or just playing louder, the BBs win out. The BB2 in the bridge of a Paul can twang...like a big, huge Tele pickup...but with less high-end slice. Make sense?

The Seth and the Ant Paul....well, those pickups just do everything well. They fit nicely in the middle between the '57s and the BB 1&2. The '57s are round, yet can be grainy with too much treble. The Seths are clearer, the Ants creamier and have this rich "smoky" quality. The BBs have more clarity than the '57s, but they can be downright edgy if I'm not careful with the EQ.

I hope this helps. I actually have a set of Ants around here, and I keep thinking I should put them in a 335 I have. That one has a repaired headstock break, but it's probably my favorite of the three 335s I have. The aged Ants would look great, too.

Anyway, I hope my ramblings are somewhat helpful. Be sure to let us know what you decide. Good luck!

Bill