bkp for 335

[bandmaster188]

hi all,
 its probably been asked a thousand times but i'm just about to order new pups for my gibbo 335 and i'm swaying towards a mule in the bridge and a stormy in the neck. i play blues and southern rock stuff.
any thoughts and suggestions to add to the confusion are most welcome!

[Lezard]

That should do the job very nicely.

[Telerocker]

Must a be nice combo, although AIV and AII-magnets not always combine optimal, but there must be some forummembers and ES-users that will comment on that. I have Mules in a mahogany bolt on-guitar (St. Blues) and they are great for blues, pop, classic rock, hardrock and will do even metal if asked. It's on of the most versatile pickups in the range. I have no experience with the Stormy's, but they have a good reputation. Musical, depth, great cleans, can handle classic rock too.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Phil - I've fitted Stormy M and Mule combos before and found that they work well together.
Your mule/SM reverse zebra combo was ordered yesterday and should be here in a few days

[Philly Q]

Not sure about the AIV plus AII thing - definitely read it somewhere, and referred to it myself, but I don't know if it's actually true!

Mule/SM sounds a good combo to me.  I'm sure the SM would be a great neck pickup in a 335, but I'd always want something a little tougher in the bridge.

[bandmaster188]

have given my 335 the open heart surgery it desparately needed and although it took me about 8 hours to complete the procedure the gibbo is sounding better than ever. will let you know what i really think after rehearsal on wednesday. must just say though that the middle positions sounds fantastic so whoever says that alnico II and IV don't mix, need their earholes syringed. :D

[FernandoDuarte]

have given my 335 the open heart surgery it desparately needed and although it took me about 8 hours to complete the procedure the gibbo is sounding better than ever. will let you know what i really think after rehearsal on wednesday. must just say though that the middle positions sounds fantastic so whoever says that alnico II and IV don't mix, need their earholes syringed. :D

What have you done on her???

[Telerocker]

have given my 335 the open heart surgery it desparately needed and although it took me about 8 hours to complete the procedure the gibbo is sounding better than ever. will let you know what i really think after rehearsal on wednesday. must just say though that the middle positions sounds fantastic so whoever says that alnico II and IV don't mix, need their earholes syringed. :D

Thx for sharing and nice to hear they sound excellent.

[bandmaster188]

hello fernando, just fitted a mule in the bridge and a stormy monday at the neck replacing the stock 57 classic pickups. tried to wire in the new pups through the f hole which was fine for the bridge but the neck pot wouldn't come out (not enough wire) and managed to snap the terminal off of the volume pot so had to remove the complete wiring loom to fit new pot and pickups. 3 times i had to take the loom out and refit due to other problems. got there in the end though and saved a few quid and gained a few more grey hairs.!

[FernandoDuarte]

Ah, alright... I did understand that you had done a bigger surgery...
But I've no desire to touch the wiring on a 335 body :)

['Ash' J. Williams]

must just say though that the middle positions sounds fantastic so whoever says that alnico II and IV don't mix, need their earholes syringed. :D

Well, tastes, you know...
I've had quite a few bkp vintage sets since but, when i was discovering BKP and after buying my first set of Mules, i fitted a AIV Mule bridge + AII SM neck combo (not paying attention to what i've read here) and i realized almost immediately that it just didn't work as well as ANY middle position of the calibrated set in my Les Paul or LPC... and i've had Mules, SM, PGs, BD, Emeralds...
Then again, it's no science and if it works for you then it's good !

[bandmaster188]

like you say ash, it's all down to your own individual ear. one mans medicine is another mans poison and all that!

[Philly Q]

I had a search earlier to see if I could find any posts by Tim about the "AIV+AII" thing.

Lots of posts about AIV, lots about AII, but I couldn't find anything about combining them.

As you say, guys, whatever works for you.  There's no right or wrong here!

['Ash' J. Williams]

I had a search earlier to see if I could find any posts by Tim about the "AIV+AII" thing.

It was in a response i received from Tim long time ago and, IIRC he was not saying that it shouldn't be done at all, but that the AIV bridge + AII neck middle sound wasn't as great compared to tried-and-true classics like AV+AII, AV+AIV or Ceramic+AV...
And i saw his point when i tried several others HB sets later on.
I've also noticed that the aforementioned combinations can be founds in most BKP sets but not the AIV bridge/AII neck one... not that i know of at least.
But again, it absolutely doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done !

[Philly Q]

I've also noticed that the aforementioned combinations can be founds in most BKP sets but not the AIV bridge/AII neck one... not that i know of at least.

Yeah, you're right, most of those combinations are already in the range, e.g. AV+AIV (Crawler, Emerald), Ceramic+AV (Cold Sweat, Miracle Man).  Plus of course all the sets with two magnets of the same type.

I don't think there's an AV+AII set as such, but Riff Raff plus Stormy Monday has quite often been recommended for SGs.