Prewired kit for Eastman AR372CE

[hoosier1981]

I'm looking for a Prewired kit for Eastman AR372CE.
Some would call it a Gibson 175 clone but the sound isn't that much alike.
I don't know a lot about jazz pickups, so looking for an overall versatile sound.
I don't mind the tone from the stock "Kent Armstrong" Licensed pickups. Although I realize they are nothing like real Kent Armstrong pickups.
However the guitar overall gets muddy when playing chords or strumming hard to play along with the tunes in Frank Vignola's jazz studio (jazz standards with Freddy Green or Gypsy style strumming). It also tends to distort some, and the tone knobs seem to be a bit too (on/off) for my liking. I've tried lowering the pickups but doesn't seem to quite do it. Perhaps part of this is just the way Humbuckers are compared to my strat.
Not in a rush. And I know pickups sound different in each guitar and it's user preference. I guess I'm looking for some general advice to get started in looking.

I'm looking for something with a bit more clarity (less mud) The guitar is known as a bright sounding model acoustically so I don't want to make it glassy, but at the same time I'm not one to spend a lot of time with the tone knobs slammed down for that dead sound.
I was using Thomastik Swing flats. I just switched to GHS bright flats (round-wound but some sort of ground smooth-ish surface).
I like the sound of the GHS bright flats a lot more - will keep those on if it helps to narrow down a pickup.
**EDIT** - if possible would like to have a treble bleed circuit or similar to have the volume knob affect the tone as little as possible.

I don't mind soldering in a solid body (strat), but for a hollow body like this, I don't want to solder over or in the guitar. I'm sloppy...very sloppy.
I was thinking of getting the mojo tone Gibson solderless kit (175 style) but I'm not 100% sure it would fit, and I don't want to decide on the pots and all without knowing they're a good match for the pickups.

If it's a better idea I'll just keep it stock until I can try out some axes in the stores (haven't really been out due to living in a covid hot spot) - but as of now I wouldn't know weather to stick with run of the mill humbuckers, or what a P90 would even sound like in this guitar.

To be quite honest since I recently put a Fender noiseless Gen4 prewired kit in my strat, it sounds great on its own as a jazz guitar in the neck position. Part of it is finally having USEABLE tone pots. What draws me back to the Eastman is the slightly wider neck for complex jazz chords and fingerstyle.

[PickingMyEars]

I had a vintage kit wired into my Eastman AR803.

Paper caps. Came with a harness/ hanger. Really easy install, according to my old tech (I need to learn how to do that stuff).

RS Guitar Works:

Pre-Wired Vintage Upgrade Kits
– RS Guitarworks

Replaced the "Kent" for a Shadow AZ 49.

Replaced the pots for something with a wider taper.

Replaced the fret wire with a higher gauge so it sits taller off the fretboard. My mentor recommended that one... thank god I like the sound and feel now. Wasn't cheap

Love my Eastman, but the electronics it came with did not do the guitar justice. Luthiers that build guitars 10x the cost of my Eastman still admire the woodwork. Eastman always knew what they were doing with carving the guitar and such. They are finally getting around to putting in electronics that match the quality of the guitar.

I like a brighter tone, but my amp doesn't always listen to my bright desires That said, I string up my guitar with a hybrid monster of a set.. doesn't seem like it should work but it does for me.

John Pearse Bronze 12s for low E A D D'addario ProSteel 13's for G B and a D'addario Steel Single 14 for the high E. All round wounds, baby.

Hope something in my post helps. I always wanna support a fellow Eastman player

And hopefully this post doesn't reveal how much work and money I put into that 803... It's my one and only love until I don't have to pay for a mortgage and potentially college tuition... After that, who knows

[hoosier1981]

Nice guitar! Yours appears to be carved wood. Mine is all laminate body, but probably cost half what yours did. Maybe that's why people find them overly bright acoustically. I think it sounds pretty nice though....have always been curious in how much different the all wood models would sound once plugged in. Thanks for looking; appreciate the feedback.

[BiscoDrew]

I'd like to get some good recommendations on a replacement neck pickup myself. I just got one of these and am really happy with it at the price point. But the stock pickups do have that issue. I played it through a slew of nice amps and found it really difficult to dial in a clean tone with articulated low end.

[hoosier1981]

I had a vintage kit wired into my Eastman AR803.

Thanks! I'm curious, does the volume knob taper off the tone as well? One thing I like about my new Fender setup is the treble bleed circuit so I can turn it down and keep similar tone.

[PickingMyEars]

I haven't touched my tone knob in a couple of years. I've had it in the same "full up" position for that time.

Tried to move it around last night because a student at my school LOVES Pat Metheny. I respect Metheny but he's not exactly my favorite player. And I am chasing a brighter sound myself, though that doesn't always take.

The tone knob didn't have as much give and play as the volume knob.

The volume knob definitely tapers the tone. I forgot what the number is for the capacitors I put in.

Ask Neatomic. He knows this stuff like the back of his hand. He helped me find some of my stuff as well.

[lawson-stone]

I installed this pre-wired harness into my L5ces and loved it.

Pre-Wired Harness

[Little Jay]

I installed this pre-wired harness into my L5ces and loved it.

Pre-Wired Harness

That looks like a very good pre-wired kit! Braided wiring is the way to go to keep noises low in archtops. I can make that myself a lot cheaper, but if you don’t have the skills or just don’t want to bother, it’s still a reasonable price!