Looking for a good neck pickup for 335-style guitar

[GuyBoden]

I put a "Betterbucker" Alnico 2 pickup in my 335 type guitar neck position and it sounds great. It has warm mids but also some sparkle on top. It may be hotter than some like at 8.6 ohms but it's both fat and cuts through.

They are made custom for Killer Vintage Guitars in Dallas...

Yes, I think that a slightly overwound PAF type humbucker with an Alnico 2 magnet gives a good Jazz tone.

But, maybe there's an EvenBetterBucker.

[Cunamara]

The pickup does not have a sound independent of the guitar, the capacitor and potentiometers, the cable, the amplifier, any effects pedals between the guitar and the amplifier, the speaker; and beyond that, the acoustic qualities of the room in which it's being played and the listener's sensitivity and response to sound. An amazing amount of difference can be achieved by raising or lowering the pickups a few turns. It's free and easy to do, so it is always the place I start if I'm not happy with the tone.

What some people describe as a "muddy" tone, I often hear as warm. What some people describe as a clear or sparkling tone, I often hear as harsh. A lot of us in this forum are older and have lost a fair amount of our high-end hearing as a result of age, hearing damage from years on stage, etc. There is little about guitar tone that is not just subjective.

As a result, it is only by sheer luck if I give you a recommendation that you end up liking. I can tell you what I like. My Gibson Classic 57s in my ES-175 sound great through my amp with my cable (and no effects at all). I had a modified Classic 57 as a floater on my other archtop, it didn't sound as great probably because of being too close to the strings as a result of lack of room. My archtop currently has a Pete Biltoft floating humbucker with an A2 magnet that sounds great on that guitar through my amp with my cable, and is thin enough to avoid proximity problems to the strings.

[Jimmy Mack]

Well I pulled p/ups from an L5 CES. I did not like the tone as it was, with Shaw h/bers from Gibson in 1981. Too mid -range based. Yes, I adjusted everything possible, even turned the neck/up around (which helped) but the amped voice of the guitar stayed the same, and I had other problems (subjectively) with the tone - it just felt and sounded dampered, and a bit uneven.

Tried a SD'59 and it was nice in there, but Seth Lovers woke the guitar up. It now has great range of tones and sounds like an L5 should.

[DawgBone]

I pulled the Seths out of my 355 copy. They were decent but the highs aren't rich and creamy like the 57s and the bridge doesn't do the honk very well. The high end on the Seth neck seemed pretty raspy by comparison and I found myself using the tone control on the neck, even in my very dark LP copy. I guess some guys might like that added bite but I like the smooth top end and clear bouncy bottom of the 57's. I have overall had better luck with Gibson pickups over SD, having played around with a couple different guitars using a couple different sets. Specifically the 57 and 490 sets have worked best in the ES' for me.

[jim777]

OP -> Is it really a "335" style guitar (laminate body, mahogany neck, rosewood board) or just a 335 shaped semi hollow that might have different body woods? It can make a difference if you are picky. I've heard that Seth Lovers in a maple necked/ebony boarded 335 type (like an older Heritage 555/Gibson 355/Ibanez AS200/Yamaha SA2200) sound very similar to Antiquities pickups in mahogany necked/rosewood boarded guitars.

There are a ton of great suggestions in this thread, but do keep in mind that 335 shaped doesn't mean 335 built.

[Jimmy Mack]

Without going thru the whole 2 pgs. of replies, all of them good BTW, it just hit me that: (I don't know if someone has mentioned it) (they probably have), but,

I am getting some of my best tones I ever did with a 335, when I turn the neck p/up volume pot DOWN, and turn the amp UP, if necessary. Sweet and creamy. Jazzy? yes.

But......what I do with my 335 doesn't always transfer! I tried out a few new 335's, Gibson, Epiphone, and Eastman.

They all had pots with a taper that: once you dialed down past 9, the tone was mud. I find that very unacceptable.

Another wrinkle.

[John A.]

Yes, I think that a slightly overwound PAF type humbucker with an Alnico 2 magnet gives a good Jazz tone.

But, maybe there's an EvenBetterBucker.

No, the EvenBetterBucker is for acoustic guitars. For jazz, you need the Mo' BetterBucker.

FWIW, I recently put StewMac Parsons Street pickups on my D'Angelico semi-hollow in place of the Kent Armstrong "Six Shooters" (HPAG ) it came with. The StewMacs are PAF style with alnico II magnets; neck is about 7k ohms, bridge is about 8k). The KA's are are hotter -- Alnico V magnet and about 9k. The StewMacs sound better. Based on playing side by side with a 335 with with Classic '57's, I'd say they sound very similar to Classic 57's.

[omphalopsychos]

This is an old thread but I saw a previous response from me that I want to take back.

I think the lollar and dimarzio pickups are great for a brighter more single coil sound.

However i've definitely been converted to the Gibson 57 Classic humbucker for jazz, as well as the Gibson custombucker. I have a 335 with custombuckers and it's wonderful.

[Sam Sherry]

The pickup does not have a sound independent of . . . the acoustic qualities of the room in which it's being played . . .

This cannot be over-emphasized.
I've had so many kits dialed-in for tremendous sound in my 99sf music room go sound wheedly in public.
Then there's the converse point -- the band: Rigs dialed-in for great sound alone often go dull once the cymbals kick in.
Punch line: Live sound is about compromises.

[sbeishline]

Bare Knuckle The Mule or Stormy Monday?

[Roberoo]

I pulled the Seths out of my 355 copy. They were decent but the highs aren't rich and creamy like the 57s and the bridge doesn't do the honk very well. The high end on the Seth neck seemed pretty raspy by comparison and I found myself using the tone control on the neck, even in my very dark LP copy. I guess some guys might like that added bite but I like the smooth top end and clear bouncy bottom of the 57's. I have overall had better luck with Gibson pickups over SD, having played around with a couple different guitars using a couple different sets. Specifically the 57 and 490 sets have worked best in the ES' for me.

I had a 339 with Seths that I had to remove. I found them too honky and raspy compared 59s or 57s. I tried to like them, adjusted heights, changed amps, tried unorthodox amp settings but didn’t like them in the end. They may work better in a mahogany solid body.

[DawgBone]

I had a 339 with Seths that I had to remove. I found them too honky and raspy compared 59s or 57s. I tried to like them, adjusted heights, changed amps, tried unorthodox amp settings but didn’t like them in the end. They may work better in a mahogany solid body.

Same, but I'm not changing amps for a pickup, lol. I actually have one of the Seths in the neck of a mahogany LP copy now. I got a cheap LP for easy soldering that I could test some pickups on for potential semi hollow usage.The guitar is a little darker sounding than my ES copy so It's a better mix but it still didn't sound as good as the 57. It is still raspier in the highs on the neck and the bridge still felt under powered. The copy came with a 59n that I found pretty dull and lifeless so I tried an overwound biltoft HS90 and a 57 in there and the 57 is still my favorite of all of those pickups. I have also had the 490r and preferred that to the Seth or 59. Still I did a lot of gigs just fine with the Seths in the ES, probably a couple hundred, so it's not like they are unbearable. I just get better results with the 57's.

[Roberoo]

One other thing, the Seths are unpotted or, at least, lightly potted so they were a bit microphonic and sensitive to pick noise when hit by the pick.