Jeff Beck humbucker instead of a Schaller in a 335 ?

[AamerKhan]

I have a H535 made in May 2001 and I suspect it has the Schaller humbuckers in it. Does anyone have an idea exactly what Schaller pickup model it is ?

 

Anyway, I think the neck pickup sounds a bit muddy while the bridge pickup sounds okay when adding a bit of overdrive.

 

My strong wish for this guitar is that I can go from a nice smooth crunch-to-medium-drive rock sound to a soft, mellower sound for cleans with the flick of the 3-way switch.

Being able to tame the sound of the bridge humbucker in the middle position without it beeing too bassy would be nice too.

 

My friend who is a retailer of Heritage guitars in Denmark where I live suggested that I put in some Seymour Duncans. A Jeff Beck humbucker in the bridge position and a Jazz humbucker in the neck position.

 

I have never really used high output humbuckers before and on the Duncan website it is described as having a high output.

 

Has anyone here tried the JB and/or the Jazz pickup in a semi like the H535 ?

 

Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.

 

[AamerKhan]

I meant "instead of a Schaller in a 535", not 335. Sorry.

[DetroitBlues]

I'd rather put Seth Lovers in there. Much weaker magnet, but I think it sounds so much better. The Jazz and JB is what I had in my first 140. Awesome rock and blues combo, but for a little mellow tone I found the Seth Lovers sound great in my semi hollow body..

[AamerKhan]

I'd rather put Seth Lovers in there. Much weaker magnet, but I think it sounds so much better. The Jazz and JB is what I had in my first 140. Awesome rock and blues combo, but for a little mellow tone I found the Seth Lovers sound great in my semi hollow body..

 

 

Everybody seems to love the Seth Lovers so maybe they would work for me, too. According to SD's tone chart they do seem to have their middle frequences scooped out a bit, is that something you have noticed ?

 

Bareknuckles Stormy Mondays are popular too so they are also something I want to check out someday. And I like the way the Jazz sounds splitted so I might actually try a splitted Jazz for the neck position.

 

So many possibilities....

[H]

Have you tried dropping the Schallers (model is Golden 50 I believe) right down in the rings? That will cut some of the mud out of the sound.

[AamerKhan]

Have you tried dropping the Schallers (model is Golden 50 I believe) right down in the rings? That will cut some of the mud out of the sound.

 

Thanks for the info about the pickup.

 

I did lower the neck pickup so the top of the pickup was almost flush with the pickup ring if that's what you mean. And that did help a little bit but not a lot.

[Blunote]

I'd rather put Seth Lovers in there. Much weaker magnet, but I think it sounds so much better. The Jazz and JB is what I had in my first 140. Awesome rock and blues combo, but for a little mellow tone I found the Seth Lovers sound great in my semi hollow body..

+1

[Guest HRB853370]

I have a hard time getting clean tones out of the neck pup in my 155, which is equipped with SL's. The bridge is much cleaner, but the neck just sounds muddy and kind of gritty to me.

[divebomber]

Hi,

i'm a new member

i have a H535 from 1988, an amazing guitar

i changed the Schaller pickups to Lollar Imperial alnico 2 and the sound is really smooth, very organic

i have a Gibson Les Paul 59 reissue with Bare Knuckle Mule pickups, i think they should be nice on 535 too

[AamerKhan]

Hi,

i'm a new member

i have a H535 from 1988, an amazing guitar

i changed the Schaller pickups to Lollar Imperial alnico 2 and the sound is really smooth, very organic

i have a Gibson Les Paul 59 reissue with Bare Knuckle Mule pickups, i think they should be nice on 535 too

 

Thanks for the info, divebomber! Good to hear the Mule sounds good. I have owned several Bare Knuckle pickups (Riff Raff, Rebel Yell, Mother's Milk) and they all did a good job. Tim himself suggested I tried Stormy Mondays so they will probably be high on my list when I go shopping for pickups to try out.

 

I spent several hours adjusting and testing the Schaller pickups today to see if maybe they could work for me after all but I just don't like the way they sound so I think I will definitely try something else out.

[MorrisDavis]

I just put in WCRs into my H535 and it sounded much better than the Schallers. Worlds different.

[AamerKhan]

I just put in WCRs into my H535 and it sounded much better than the Schallers. Worlds different.

 

I had never heard of WCRs before joining this community so I will have to check them out.

Which model did you install in your H535 ?

[MorrisDavis]

Godwood bridge and crossroads neck. If you we're thinking JB, check out the godwood. Similar voicing, but much much less muddy and more articulate.

[divebomber]

i think, more than brands, the important way to find your sound, is to know which alnico you prefer

Schallers are alnico 5, modern sound, trebly, edgy ...

Seth Lovers are alnico 2, more "organic", more smooth in the high end

Stormy monday are alnico 2

[AamerKhan]

A smooth sound and especially smoother highs is definitely what I am looking for so maybe Alnico 2s are what I should be aiming for.

[rockabilly69]

Okay you may laugh at this, but a few days ago I heard a set of Seymour Duncan Slash Signature

model humbuckers in a cheap Epiphone Dot Studio (with new RS pots and cap), and that guitar

smoked! I personally would pick it over the last 10 ES335s I've played, and that's coming from

someone that loves vintage humbucker tone. I literally couldn't put the guitar down.

 

These pickups are reasonably priced and sound great!

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/seymour-duncan-aph-2s-alnico-ii-pro-slash-humbucker-electric-guitar-pickup-set/712624000001000?src=3WWRWXGP&kpid=mf712624.001&gclid=CNTD4MXrmbYCFY1aMgodZTsA4A

[divebomber]

yes, alnico 2 pro SD (Slash signature) are really good pu's

but something really important for me, the pickups must have different number of turns, it's more articulate, chords are more open, more definition string by string, the Bare Knuckle are like this, Lollar too and some other boutique pu's

we forget, but Gibson pu's are really good, i like the Burstbucker 1 and 2 a lot (not the pro line)

 

rockabilly69, you have some beautifull Heritage bursts '59 like!!

ps: Epiphone make some really good guitars (sometimes), the singer of my band has a Epiphone Slash signature, really good LP for the price

[MorrisDavis]

i think, more than brands, the important way to find your sound, is to know which alnico you prefer

Schallers are alnico 5, modern sound, trebly, edgy ...

Seth Lovers are alnico 2, more "organic", more smooth in the high end

Stormy monday are alnico 2

 

Dive bomber we agree magnets matter, but that is not the only variable. There are a lot of different sounding Alnico 5 pickups out there. Of all the ones I've tried, I prefer WCRs. I haven't yet tried Scatterbranes, Throbaks, or Lollar Imperials and they all get good reviews. Here are some WCR clips that are true to the tone: http://www.wcrguitar.com/godwood_clips.html

[mtpatty]

Everybody seems to love the Seth Lovers so maybe they would work for me, too. According to SD's tone chart they do seem to have their middle frequences scooped out a bit, is that something you have noticed ?

 

Bareknuckles Stormy Mondays are popular too so they are also something I want to check out someday. And I like the way the Jazz sounds splitted so I might actually try a splitted Jazz for the neck position.

 

So many possibilities....

If you go with Bare Knuckle's either the Stormy Monday set or the Mules is definitely the way to go- you will be very impressed and very happy...I have several sets of BK pups and they are awesome at what they are designed for- I have VHII's, Black Dogs, Emeralds, Mules, and Abraxas' currently and have used Miracle Man's as well...

[rockabilly69]

yes, alnico 2 pro SD (Slash signature) are really good pu's

but something really important for me, the pickups must have different number of turns, it's more articulate, chords are more open, more definition string by string, the Bare Knuckle are like this, Lollar too and some other boutique pu's

we forget, but Gibson pu's are really good, i like the Burstbucker 1 and 2 a lot (not the pro line)

 

rockabilly69, you have some beautifull Heritage bursts '59 like!!

ps: Epiphone make some really good guitars (sometimes), the singer of my band has a Epiphone Slash signature, really good LP for the price

Well I used to think the different turns on coils made for a better pickup, and I own many pickups like this, but in this Dot, the pickups had unbelievable string separation, great output (not too hot, but hot enough to light up my 64 Deluxe Reverb and TopHat Club Deluxe), and wiped the floor with the Lollar Imperials that were in my Teye LaLlama, the Pearly Gates in my Heritage, the Seths in my ES335, and any Burstbuckers I've ever heard, and I've owned MANY sets of those! Like I said, I was amazed at how good they sounded. And, I don't impress easily. The only pickups I've liked better were a set of Throbak MXV SLE101's, and they are more than twice the price of these.I have pretty much modded every guitar that I own to get it where I like it. Both of my Heritages will have every piece of hardware (except tuners), and all of the electronics, changed out! By the way I am not a fan of Slash at all, or Guns and Roses, I am more a fan of the Mick Taylor era Stones, early Led Zeppelin, and The Allman Brothers. I chase those guitar tones. And I heard those tones in these Slash pickups. If my buddy gets over to my studio with his Dot, I will record some clips for you! BTW,he also built an a Van Halen replica Frankenstein, with the Slash bridge pickup in it, and it sounded equally good!

[CJTopes]

My opinion is that a Jeff beck PuP in the bridge position is going to be to hot for what you've described as wanting.

[AamerKhan]

 

My opinion is that a Jeff beck PuP in the bridge position is going to be to hot for what you've described as wanting.

 

Yep, I too have come to the conclusion that the JB is probably not what I'm looking for. I think my friend reacted to me wanting a warmer sound compared to the Schallers.

[AamerKhan]

If you go with Bare Knuckle's either the Stormy Monday set or the Mules is definitely the way to go- you will be very impressed and very happy...I have several sets of BK pups and they are awesome at what they are designed for- I have VHII's, Black Dogs, Emeralds, Mules, and Abraxas' currently and have used Miracle Man's as well...

 

 

I like Bare Knuckle's pickups and Tim is great, always eager to answer my questions. I have had great results with a Riff Raff and Mother's Milk while I did find the Rebel Yell a one-trick pony. But it was great for that 80s like rock sound. I will probably order a Stormy Monday some day soon.

Funny enough the BN pickups I have tried have all been Alnico 5 but I used them for very different things tone-wise and their vibes were all different.

[Wolfi]

A smooth sound and especially smoother highs is definitely what I am looking for so maybe Alnico 2s are what I should be aiming for.

 

Hi,

you should go for the Amber Spirit of 59 Pickup. It's a german handmade pickup and by far the best pickup I ever used in my 535. If you want to rock from time to time, don't use the Seth Lover, or at least it should be wax pottet, otherwise it will cause unwanted feedback.

Listen to the Ambers, if you like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTZdVkGQHN0

 

Cheers

[Wolfi]

@AamerKhan:

 

here's another clip with Amber PAF 59's. It's a bit smoother than the other one. They are from Berlin and you should be able to get them in DK, too.

If you wanna watch the clip, you have to click on: Auf youtube ansehen .

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRKdrq_i5fk

 

Best