Gibson ES 335 - pickup options

[darcym]

Picking up a Gibson ES 335 very shortly after missing out on a 60's and a 63 traditional spec one.

One of the differences in the stock custom shop one against the 63 historic 335's is the pick ups. When I tried the 335 in the shop the pick ups seemed fine, but it was very hard to tell as amp isn't what I normally use, the room wasn't great etc etc. I suspect there will be better options on the market and Bare Knuckles is pretty much the only after market pickup I ever put in.

having read whats available I have my personal preference of what would work for the 335, however I thought I'd see what others thought and why.

Bascially a 335 playing blues type music with a great clean sound that falls into either a natural amp break up (6L6 sound) or gets hit with a reasonable level of fuzz from an analogman peppermint fuzz or a frantone cream puff (not stilly levels but you can certainly here it).

What would you suggest and why ?

[gwEm]

i think i would try a riff raff bridge, stormy monday neck

the SM neck will give you excellent cleans, and I think the RR bridge will hold up a bit better with the fuzz.

both pickups work well together, and have been used with great effect in semi-acoustics

[Mr. Air]

I haven't tried any BKPs in a 335 but I imagine that both Stormies, Mules and MQs would do the trick.

I got a MQ set in a Rverend Mantay Ray which shares some common ground with a 335 and they sound ace. The neck pickup really has some great cleans and you get a rich overdrive from the bridge. A great blues machine (and really versatile as well).

[BigB]

The only BKPs I ever tried on a semi are the Riff Raff, and that's quite recent (saturday - didn't even found time to post a proper "NPD"). The semi is a Höfner Verythin, which is a bit brighter and tighter than most ES3X5-like I played but still have the classic semi-hollow vibe and characteristics. The RR are doing well in it, the neck is very clear (which is what I wanted) with some deep "howling" mojo happening when the amp (HRDx / JJ 6V6S) starts to breakup, the bridge is quite bright (which I expected) but still meaty, warms up nicely with the tone pot (gibson 50s wiring, russian PIO cap) and stays very defined and punchy under gain (FWIW the neck also do fine with higher gain in a vintagey way - very singing on the high notes, a bit on the loose side on the low notes but without getting muddy).

I'd say it's more of a "rocking" pup but it can certainly do the blues thing too, specially if your guitar or amp (or both) are on the dark side. FWIW, there's a blues ES335+RR clip here http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=14532.0).

[Philly Q]

I think I would be looking at Stormy Mondays, Mules or as gwEm says, one of those neck models with a Riff Raff bridge.

I'm afraid 335 threads are a bit predictable - everybody always says vintage-output humbuckers (or MQs or Manhattans).  But I just can't imagine anything hotter seeming "right" in a semi.

I assume the pickups are '57 Classics?  I quite like them as they are anyway, but maybe something a little tougher sounding (but not too shrill) would be good in the bridge.

[Telerocker]

Stormy's or Mules. I think Mules would be nice in a semi. I love the clean sounds in my Saint Blues, the neckpickup is sweet and deep but not too dark and the bridge is crip and tight enough to handle fuzz- and overdrivepedals. The in between-sound is stellar for a lot of styles, certainly blues. Mules are quite versatile. A RiffRaff is more punchy and bright.

[PhilKing]

I have unpotted Stormy Monday's in my 335 - they are great sounding pickups.  I can get all the great 335 sounds, they absolutely nail Crossroads, they can give me Larry Carlton sounds, put something between them and the amp to boost the sound a bit and you get great sustain and harmonic feedback.  The unpotted add some shimmer to the sound that the potted don't quite have, and with the 335, they just seem to enhance the character.

If you wanted more out of it, I think a set of Riff Raffs would also be great in it.  They would get you into the T-Top sound that Alvin Lee used to have.

[timski]

I have a '97 335 dot reissue whose Classic '57s I swapped out for Alnico 2 unpotted SMs. I play mostly clean/semi-clean with the occasional Steely Dan style fuzzed out lead into fender tweed or blackface amps and reckon the SMs are pretty much perfect.

[bandmaster188]

hi ya,
i recently fitted a mule in the bridge and a stormy in the neck on my 335. some people say that mixing alnico 2 and 4 is a bit of a no no but i am really pleased with how mine is sounding. jonathan at feline guitars suggested this combo to me. having the mule in the bridge gives you some extra balls for solos and driven sounds and the stormy in the neck is just sweet for blues.
but if you didn't fancy mixing it up a bit, you won't be dissapointed with either a set of stormy's or mules.

[Ian Price]

Although I've never had a set I'd recommend stormies in a 335. A lot of people swear by them in  335. I am a luddite though and would go for obvious vintage/vintage hot options in any guitar I owned i.e. BG50s in a tele, Mules in a LP, Stormies in a 335, Riff Raffs in a SG etc etc.

[darcym]

Problem solved,

I ended getting te original 60's 335 with original pickups and they sound great. I'll see how I feel with them in a month or so to see if I swap them out or not. Nice advice in the thread though guys, thanks.