Advice on 57 Classic pups in a 335

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JonHoskerJonHosker Frets: 390
Considering a 335 with 57 Classic pups.
Can't test as 6 hours drive to this one!
I would lean to the MHS pups but those guitars are lots of money on top....
Advice please...I appreciate I can upgrade but prefer not to do this. Ta
Jon
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Comments

  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    Don’t overthink it. I had 57s in my CS336 for over a decade. I changed to OX4s a couple of years ago but it’s not like the Classics were bad, I just wanted something a little moe airy. 

    Buy it if you like it, change pickups later if you really feel like it. 
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    The MHS pickups are definitely better in my experience.

    The problem with a 335 is the pickups are such a pain to change.
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    Just a thought - do the older guitars have the "truss rod condom".  I know with the CS Les Paul reissues, the older ones (before somewhere around 2013 or 2014) have a rubber sheath around the truss rod.  The newer ones are meant to sound better.

    I don't know if the same is true of 335s.  If they are the same, it might be more than just the pickups that make the more recent ones more expensive.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Classic ‘57 employs an Alnico 2 bar magnet. Changing to Alnico 4 improves the neck/Rhythm position unit. Try Un-orientated A5 for the bridge/Treble position.
    Be seeing you.
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  • WindmillGuitarsWindmillGuitars Frets: 730
    tFB Trader
    @JonHosker I love 57 Classic in an ES - currently have them in a 335 and a 339. Just go for it! 
    www.windmillguitars.com - Official stockist of Yamaha, Maybach, Fano Guitars, Kithara Guitars, Eastman Guitars, Trent Guitars, Orange Amps, Blackstar Amplification & More! (The artist formerly known as Anchorboy)
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  • JonHoskerJonHosker Frets: 390
    Thanks ....Jon
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  • artiebearartiebear Frets: 810
    Had a Nashville Custom Shop '63 Historic 335 with classic 57's  for around the last 13 years. I've have never thought about changing them as it is one of the best sounding 335's I and quite a few others have played. 
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  • Don’t overthink it. I had 57s in my CS336 for over a decade. I changed to OX4s a couple of years ago but it’s not like the Classics were bad, I just wanted something a little moe airy. 

    Buy it if you like it, change pickups later if you really feel like it. 
    That's about my feeling.  I've had 57s in my 339 and 336 for years, sometimes I think about experimenting with something else, in fact I probably will, but they are good pickups and I'm in no hurry.  It's also personal: I know of a seriously good pro player who replaced the pickups in his Anderson Cobra with 57s, and another good player who replaced the pickups in his PRS DGT with them.  I would guess conventional wisdom would be that they were downgrading to lesser pickups, but they didn't think so.
    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • BradBrad Frets: 658
    I’ve got 57 classics in mine. I just adjusted the pickup height and pole pieces to my liking. I may still change in the future, but I’m definitely happier with the neck pickup now than how it was initially. So don’t be afraid to tinker would be my advice smile 
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  • shugzshugz Frets: 768
    57s can be hit or miss in my experiences. Some are almost as good as the old pafs whereas some can sound pretty flat/ lifeless.

    Older 57s varied a bit as well but those were the better sounding ones to my ears. Always worth trying the guitar as is first. My 2003 Nashville 63 reissue has a really nice set of 57s and have never bothered to try and change them out unlike a few other ES' I've had. 

    Cheers 
    Hugh


    www.proudhoney.com

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  • PhilKingPhilKing Frets: 1473
    I had older 57's in my 68 335 for a while.  I changed them to unpotted BK Stormy Mondays, but I wanted that sound, so was willing to go through the pain of changing them.  I didn't mind the 57's, they were very much the EC 335 sound on my guitar.
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  • cm01cm01 Frets: 448
    I’ve got a set of 57’s in my Burny 335 and it’s one of the best sounding guitars I own 
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  • koss59koss59 Frets: 845
    I have the stock 57’s in my Nashville 59. Sounds great, I gave up worrying about swapping pickups years ago if the guitar already sounds great.
    Facebook.com/nashvillesounduk/
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  • ESBlondeESBlonde Frets: 3576
    I have kept the 57 Classics in my 06 335. No reason to change them.

    In practice the guitar/construction is as likely to be the culprit of duff sound.

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  • impmannimpmann Frets: 12646
    I had a 335 with '57s - it sounded... like a 335.

    I have an SG with '57s. It sounds... like an SG.

    Don't get bogged down by internet bollocks about the relative merits of a particular pickup over a very similarly spec'd pickup. 

    In my experience of Gibsons, the pickups are the least of your worries - go play it, if you like it buy it. If not, don't. Don't over think it.
    Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.

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  • markjmarkj Frets: 910
    I used to have  them in my 2013 335, was never that keen on them.  Changed to a set of Oilcity Masterwound PAF,s, boy what a difference. Absolutely superb.
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  • Fishboy7Fishboy7 Frets: 2178
    I would not want to try and change the pickups in 335.
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  • RickLucasRickLucas Frets: 396
    impmann said:
    I had a 335 with '57s - it sounded... like a 335.

    I have an SG with '57s. It sounds... like an SG.

    Don't get bogged down by internet bollocks about the relative merits of a particular pickup over a very similarly spec'd pickup. 

    In my experience of Gibsons, the pickups are the least of your worries - go play it, if you like it buy it. If not, don't. Don't over think it.
    Agreed.
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  • susbemolsusbemol Frets: 395
    As others have said, Classic 57s normally work great on all sorts of guitars, including the 335. I had a Larry Carlton model with Classic 57s and it was a really great sounding instrument.

    Having said that, my current 335 (63 Block Inlay) has Burstbuckers that I prefer a lot more but that is obviously a personal thing. I could always make both work for me, no problem.
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    RickLucas said:
    impmann said:
    I had a 335 with '57s - it sounded... like a 335.

    I have an SG with '57s. It sounds... like an SG.

    Don't get bogged down by internet bollocks about the relative merits of a particular pickup over a very similarly spec'd pickup. 

    In my experience of Gibsons, the pickups are the least of your worries - go play it, if you like it buy it. If not, don't. Don't over think it.
    Agreed.
    Yeah. This actually reminds me I still have a set of 57 Classics in my SG. Granted they're Alnico 3 rather than 2, but they're properly brilliant pickups, as good as any other humbuckers I've used and perfect for that guitar.
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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