335 vs 535 tone.

[CJTopes]

So I recently bought Slammers 535. Love the tone on this thing, great for Classic Rock and Blues. It had some nice upgrades, PUPS, Bridge, caps, pots ect. Now I also own a 1976 ES335. The tones on these two guitars are like night and day. Basically they are the same build minus the trapeze tail piece on the 335. Is the tonal difference I’m hearing because of the PUPs or is it the build/materials used on the guitars? If I put the same PUPs in the ES335 would it sound the same or close to the 535?

 

 

[smurph1]

I would say the upgrades are a big part of it.. Especially the pickups.. But other members will chime in here in a bit with more knowledge than i can give!!

[rockabilly69]

There are way too many variables to pin down the differences, yes the trap could make a big difference, along with the pickups! But, every guitar has a core tone, and I've had two ES335s that sounded night and day difference with the same pickups and same tailpiece:)

[Guest HRB853370]

If you get tired of that great tone, ship that puppy back to me!!!!

[CJTopes]

Lets not get crazy here!

[smurph1]

If you get tired of that great tone, ship that puppy back to me!!!!

Is that the 535 you got from me?

[bolero]

that's interesting, how would you describe the sound of each?

 

and what pups have they both got?

 

cheers

[holyroller]

Using my address!

If you get tired of that great tone, ship that puppy back to me!!!!

[Guitarbean]

that's interesting, how would you describe the sound of each?

 

and what pups have they both got?

 

cheers

 

+1 on this. Very curious how you'd describe each of their tones.

[Vanschoyck]

 

+1 on this. Very curious how you'd describe each of their tones.

Yes . . . more detail!

[Spectrum13]

I played Slammer's 535 and it had a bright cherry red tone. What color is your 335? Old Style Bust, dark edges?

[tbonesullivan]

definitely need the wiring specs on both guitars. They should usually sound somewhat similar, though the tailpiece will make a bit of a difference.

 

I keep toying with the idea of replacing the pickups in my 535 to see if I like the sound I get with either Dimarzio 36th anniversary PAFs or Seymour Duncan pearly gates would be "better".

[Cajun]

Pickups make a huge difference - good PAFs make a 335 style sound authentic, slight hot PAFs (8k neck and 9k bridge) sound more modern. Of course many other factors - and my previous 535 and current Tokai ES sound different (the Heritage has it's own specs, and the Tokai is more of a Gibson clone).

[slider313]

There are way too many variables to pin down the differences, yes the trap could make a big difference, along with the pickups! But, every guitar has a core tone, and I've had two ES335s that sounded night and day difference with the same pickups and same tailpiece:)

 

No two guitars will sound exactly the same. The wood and type of finish will dictate how a guitar will sound. That said, I've found more than a few Gibson and Heritage guitars with 300k pots. Not good. A humbucker guitar really needs 500k pots. Check the value of the pots in your 335 before changing the pickups.

[rockabilly69]

 

No two guitars will sound exactly the same. The wood and type of finish will dictate how a guitar will sound. That said, I've found more than a few Gibson and Heritage guitars with 300k pots. Not good. A humbucker guitar really needs 500k pots. Check the value of the pots in your 335 before changing the pickups.

Yes, junk the 300Ks, they act like blankets over that bright humbucker goodness!

[Ned]

What are they like unplugged? Most everything else is pickups. I bet it is nice to have two different sounds

[holyroller]

So why even put 300k pots in them to start with?

[Vanschoyck]

So why even put 300k pots in them to start with?

+1 good question!

[CJTopes]

Well, describing “tone” is kinda like describing the color blue to a blind man but here it goes:

For starters the 535 has Classic 57 PUPs. The 335 I believe is all stock and still has whatever PUPs they were putting in at the time. I have no idea if the 335 has 500k or 300k pots.

The 535 has a thicker tone with good bass response. Not muddy but articulate and defined. Nice highs without being piercing. Playing clean you can hear all the overtones when playing chords. I’m looking for a term to describe,,,,,,maybe microphonic or stereophonic. Kind of like HRWS without the harsh high end. With some overdrive it nails the classic Cream sound. It reminds me of what Warren Haynes tone sounds like. It also does the “woman tone” thing very well. Very easy to go from clean to dirty with just using the volume knobs. Real responsive to pick attack. The 535 has a ton of sustain. You can play a note, leave and make a sandwich come back and it’s still ringing….

The 335 has a thinner tone but it can get muddy real quick. It’s got more of a squawk or honky sound when pushed. Reminds me of an early BB king tone. Because of the non access of the body style I have no idea what PUPS pots or caps may be in there. It seems pretty heavy on the midrange and does not sustain nearly as well as the 535. I think the trapeze tail piece has a lot to do with that. It has a great sound for doing more traditional blues. It doesn’t seem to handle effects very well. It just doesn’t sound good. It looses a lot of clarity when doing so.

As a side note: The 335 is much lighter in weight and also has a true 60s slim taper neck. Very comfortable to play. It also has much better upper fret access. When playing the 535 my hand hits the lower ear. The 535 also is heavy and has a wider neck.

[smaj]

Caps make a HUGE difference. Pots too, I use 1meg pots by Bourn USA, and oil and foil caps by MOD.

[CJTopes]

I've come to the conclution that it's mostly from the PUPs and other upgrades. I'm sure the woods and builds make a slight difference. The tail piece probably more so then the builds. Not a fan of the trapeze tailpiece.

 

I know different caps made a noticable difference in my millie DC.

 

Any Idea what PUPS they were using in 76?

[bolero]

only way is to pull them out & look, next time you change strings

 

T-Tops, maybe?

[koula901]

I've come to the conclution that it's mostly from the PUPs and other upgrades. I'm sure the woods and builds make a slight difference. The tail piece probably more so then the builds. Not a fan of the trapeze tailpiece.

 

I know different caps made a noticable difference in my millie DC.

 

Any Idea what PUPS they were using in 76?

I had a 335 in '76. It sounded radically different than my H 535. It was a much brighter sounding guitar, and lighter.

I would agree, it's mostly the pups.

[MichYank]

I have a '76 335, always loved the guitar but the sound was always horrible; could never get it right. I did change the tailpiece out from the trapeze to a stop about 30 years ago (actualy, Rene Martinez in Dallas - at the time, did the work). I put a couple of SD APH1's in a few years ago and I get nothing but compliments on the tone now. It probably still has the 300K pots in for all I know.

 

Anyway, that's my experience with the '76 335. Best wishes for your happy ending.