Which low output humbuckers for my 335?

equalsql

I have a pretty rare Orville ES-335 which is wonderful guitar to play but I find the Japanese pickups rather harsh (bridge) and woolly (neck) .I'm playing through a 5e7 clone so am looking for some lower output pickups. I've been thinking of swapping them out for SD Seth-Lover SH-55s or Antiquities, or perhaps Oil City Blitz Spirits. I'm after a more 'airy' hollow tone with mildly scooped mids. 

Anyone out there have experience with the models or can recommend other pups that might do the trick?

fretmeister

Big fan of the Seymour Alnico Pro 2 as a low output bucker.

Kebabkid

I put a Lollar Imperial (low wind) in the neck position on my PRS CU24 as I wanted a mellower, twangier sound. It can be jazzy, quite funky, especially if tapped, yet with overdrive, it can do the Santana, Gary Moore flutey sound and it's really clear. Currently coupled with a PRS Dragon II in the bridge, and that works really well, but if you're interested in Lollars, they recommend a regular Lollar Imperial in the bridge with a low wind in the neck for the best results. You can email Jason Lollar with any questions and he'll get back to you.
 
Antiquities are really nice too as are the Gibson 57 Classics and then we have our own Oil City pickup guy here who I'm sure could give you what you want.

mike_l

duncan pearly gates or similar.

fretfinder

BKP Stormy Mondays?

stickyfiddle

Generally a fan of Gibson 57 Classics but I'm sure a hand wound equivalent from Oil City or Mojo would be better for similar cash

DrBob

Currently after a set of Wolfetone DrVintage's for my Heritage H535. They're not cheap mind, which is why I don't have them yet...

Basher

I used to own an Orville ES335. One of the "why did I sell it?" brigade!

Many people like the '57 Classics in semi-solids. I had Seth Lovers in a Tokai 335 copy and these were nice but so were the original stock pickups! I only put them in as I had them lying around from another project.

As people say Oil City, Mojo and BKP all have their fans but I would add Bulldog to that list. IIRC Hayden winds some low output humbuckers that are made withe semis/hollows in mind.   

Someone who used to get a fantastic sound out of a Tokai 335 is Matt Schofield. He had Fralin Unbuckers in his and these are wound with mismatched coils to give more of a single-coil sound to the humbucker tonesand a better coil-split sound.

octatonic

I put Lollar Imperial Low Winds in my 335.

Really, really love them.

impmann

The Seth Lover pickups are lovely  - *but* they do have a particular tone to them. They have a middle honk (I can't think of another word to describe it - its a lot nicer than a 'honk' tbh) that can sound great but you need to hear them *in the guitar* before you can tell if they will work well in there or not.

Big fan of Classic 57s - I slotted them into my SG a while back in place of the original ceramic shite that they fitted from the factory and the guitar just purrs now. Great sounding pickups IMHO

p90fool

I have a mix of 57 Classic and Oil City in mine.
The 335 body construction seems to absorb some of the punchy upper-mid attack you can experience with 57 Classics in the bridge position, which is a good thing IMO. It stops you being afraid to really dig in when using a loud, clean amp.

equalsql

Thanks for all the responses so far.

I must admit the Fralin Unbuckers look interesting. My favourite squeeze is a 52 AVRI telecaster and I adore the feel and response from the neck pickup, so I am trying to get some of that low output feel into my 335. I have an early 80's chambered Greco EG500 LP and the humbuckers on that have an element of the clarity and 'pinch' that I am looking for.

octatonic

Would you consider Lollartrons?

(Lollars version of Filtertrons in a humbucker package)

I have a set of those in a guitar and they are brilliant.

ESBlonde

Just for fun, have you tried screwing your present Humbuckers way down and raising the 'pole adjuster screws' a little. This will give you something of the feel of weaker PUs with a brighter sound. It costs nothing to try.

bertie

Bulldog Cool PAF's

equalsql

ESBlonde said:

Just for fun, have you tried screwing your present Humbuckers way down and raising the 'pole adjuster screws' a little. This will give you something of the feel of weaker PUs with a brighter sound. It costs nothing to try.

That's an idea I hadn't thought of... will definitely give it a go 

ChrisMusic

@ESBlonde said:  Just for fun, have you tried screwing your present Humbuckers way down and raising the 'pole adjuster screws' a little. This will give you something of the feel of weaker PUs with a brighter sound. It costs nothing to try.

While you are at it you could always just take the 'pole adjuster screws' out completely, which would virtually newter the magnetic field in that coil, and give you something very single coily (how good depends on the PU) but with the hum cancellation still there, IIRC,  Fun to try, and about the cheapest mod ever.

@octatonic said:    Would you consider Lollartrons?    (Lollars version of Filtertrons in a humbucker package)

I have a set of those in a guitar and they are brilliant.

Could you elaborate a little on this please, I have a 335 project and was considering the "Tron" type PUs too.

I know verbal descriptions are totally subjective, but it would help if you could, thanks.

octatonic

Really hard to describe them- er... they are snarly and raw but still have a nice bell-like tone when clean.

That doesn't really cover what I think they sound like- it is tough to put into words.

I like them more than the low wind Imperials I have in other things.

ChrisMusic

Thanks @octatonic, tough to put into words indeed.  Thats why a picture is worth a thousand words, and music connects so directly and immediately with the emotions.  Trite but true.

I think I will try some, you have piqued my curiosity.

Jalapeno

bertie said:

Bulldog Cool PAF's

This.

Or some Mojos

the_jaffa

The OP's request almost exactly replicates what I want too so great thread for me and some good suggestions that I had not come across.

I had come across pickups from The Creamery, has anyone tried any of theirs?