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335 pickup differences?

high_lander

Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
56
Looking picking a 335, but noticed the newer have the MHS pickups vs the 57 Classics? Personally i love the 57s, which is why I picked a 2018 Studio. The prices seem the same on the new vs used markets. Wondering if the MHS are worth a new vs used guitar.
 

Truss Rob

New member
Joined
May 30, 2019
Messages
32
Looking picking a 335, but noticed the newer have the MHS pickups vs the 57 Classics? Personally i love the 57s, which is why I picked a 2018 Studio. The prices seem the same on the new vs used markets. Wondering if the MHS are worth a new vs used guitar.


Can't answer the " if the MHS are worth... " question , but I'm on another forum where again, it was split down the middle. I'm a fan of my 57's... some have said that the MHS's were the weakest link in their guitars , and others have said it was the best pickup Gibson made. But they are manually scatter wound, and I think unpotted, and maybe a good marketing pitch for Gibson in it's quest to get back to its core values . I haven't heard them enough to provide any sound insight. But aren't the 57's "core values "?
 

CAGinLA

Active member
Joined
Jan 4, 2016
Messages
489
I prefer MHS over 57 Classics, but I find that I like regular Custom Buckers a bit more than MHS. The differences between them all is subtle, of course, and depends on the guitar in which they are installed.
 

mdubya

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
1,020
I can muddy the waters.

Older 335's with older (pre-2010) '57 Classics are some of the best sounding guitars I ever played.

Loving 57's, I bought a 2014 ES 335 with 57's. The 57's were OK, but not great.

I also have a 2018 '59 ES 335 RI with MHS buckers. I flat out love them. They are warm yet clear and sweet with some cut.

I also have MHS in a 2015 ES Les Paul. In the ESLP, they are bright and raunchy. They also sweeten up with the volumes and tones rolled down.

I don't know if they changed the formula from 2015 to 2018.

The 2018 is more pleasing to my '57 Classic loving ear. But I do grab the ES LP quite often when going for a tone.

The 2014 now has Tom Holmes (bright and raunchy like the 2015 MHS) and I had the '57 Classics rewound by James @ Rewind, unpotted and with PE wire and his PAF components. I haven't tried them yet.

The brighter pickups seem to record better. The warmer pickups seem to be more pleasing to play, in the room.
 

deytookerjaabs

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,592
I can muddy the waters.

Older 335's with older (pre-2010) '57 Classics are some of the best sounding guitars I ever played.

Loving 57's, I bought a 2014 ES 335 with 57's. The 57's were OK, but not great.

I also have a 2018 '59 ES 335 RI with MHS buckers. I flat out love them. They are warm yet clear and sweet with some cut.

I also have MHS in a 2015 ES Les Paul. In the ESLP, they are bright and raunchy. They also sweeten up with the volumes and tones rolled down.

I don't know if they changed the formula from 2015 to 2018.

The 2018 is more pleasing to my '57 Classic loving ear. But I do grab the ES LP quite often when going for a tone.

The 2014 now has Tom Holmes (bright and raunchy like the 2015 MHS) and I had the '57 Classics rewound by James @ Rewind, unpotted and with PE wire and his PAF components. I haven't tried them yet.

The brighter pickups seem to record better. The warmer pickups seem to be more pleasing to play, in the room.



I concur with this assessment. I had a late 90's 335 w/'57's and those suckers growled, same for a limited Epiphone satin ES175, yet I bought an aftermarket Gibson set and no matter what they did not growl enough for me to think it was just the guitars. I'm betting it's just slop/variance in the process as IIRC USA pickups are still wound on an older machine plus parts supplier variability.
 

reddeluxe

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Messages
82
My take is this. The 57 Classics were consistently good sounding during the era mentioned pre 2010 (don't have any experience with any outside this time frame). There was a considerable effort by Gibson to design them to have some of the better tonal qualities of the later, short magnet era original PAFs, and to have the output (medium output , mid 7K ohms imp.) of the pickups not have the wide variance of true PAFs. In other words, due to better manufacturing methods and quality control, to have the pickups be very repeatable, to enable them to be used across the board in a wide spectrum of various Gibson instruments. Gibson later offered the 57 Classic Plus, with slightly higher output and some 4 conductor wiring options,. Having said that, if there is one downside, they might be slightly short on that almost indefinable term "character". I happened to have a 2014 limited (1 of 50) MONO/Varitone delete reissue of the '64 ES 345 with the MHS pickups. Via Gibson's own promotional literature, they tried to go even further into creating an authentic take on true PAFs in materials and manufacturing techniques, including scatter winding the pickup coils. So that alone would introduce some variance in the tonal character from pickup to pickup, just like the true PAFs, but not to such a large degree as the originals. They seem to have slightly more immediate response and dynamic range (tonal as well as output regarding sensitivity to how hard or softly you attack the strings) VS the 57 Classics to my ears, and it is subtle, but there. Comparing them to a real '61 dot neck 335 with original PAFs, they definitely have some of the same midrange flavor, but not quite the output or clarity.....but still close to this particular vintage pickup set. As mentioned before, the 57 Classics are potted, the MHS are not. Also 57 Classics had their wiring harnesses assembled in the "modern" style, while the MHS pickup harnesses reverted to the "'50's" style, with matched potentiometers with much tighter electronic tolerances than the factory 57 Classics would have. Just the wiring differences alone would seem to have a subtle effect on the sound of the pickups, IMHO. Have read varying opinions from MHS users, some love them, some are just OK with them. I think a lot of it has to do with pickup height and the particular individual guitar that they are installed in, and also the particular taste of the player and exactly what tone/response they are looking for from the pickups. In the particular factory set installed in the ES 345 reissue I have, I am extremely happy with them for the different types of music I use them for. Just my opinion, yours may vary.
 

wmachine

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2016
Messages
303
Some really great objective responses here. I'll add 2 of my observations:
1. MHS pups. I believe MHS pups are very specifically designed for vintage 335 sound. I think a lot of the criticism/dislike of them come from those that like the brighter BurstBuckers (and titanium saddles) that come on the more recent non-reissue 335s. I can understand why they like that, it sounds great! But that does not give you the vintage sound. The target of the MHS pups (as with the nylon saddles) is the vintage sound for the years being reissued. And it appears that has been accomplished for the most part. Unlike the BBs, but more true to vintage. IOW, if you prefer the BB sound to the MHS, you won't like original vintage either.
Personally, I "like" both.
1. '57 Classics. These have me scratching my head. They are like chameleons to me. They sound good to great in anything, I swear. Truly versatile. Sound great in my EPI ES-175 Premium. Bought a 2015 Flying V with '57 Classics. Didn't expect them to "right" for the Flying V, but wrong, they're great there too. Different again in an ES-335 Studio. Surprising how different they can sound in different guitars.
 

high_lander

Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
56
Awesome responses guys, thanks for the feedback. the guitar I am looking is a 2006, so I think (from the responses) the 57s will be the sweet spot.
 

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
I would do this.. Find a set of Wizz or ThroBak's and buy those and put them in, or buy a set of original T-Tops, put in a pair of ThroBak A-4 magnets. Either way you'll have a great sounding guitar!
 

Telechamp

Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2015
Messages
99
I don't know about the naysayers on the later 57's - I'm finding the 57 Classic and Super 57 in my 2017 335 Studio sound fantastic. I am especially surprised by how much I like the Super 57 in the bridge..

SYG7Ozt.jpg
 

gregc

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2001
Messages
349
I've been on a 335 hunt recently. I played the Classic 57, Burstbucker 1/2 set, and the MHS II. They all sound good to me. I think the specific guitar, strings, and setup make more of a difference.
 

Trans-Am

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
4,686
Well here is my contri of the 335 I just got recently, I played it for a bit o' while trying to get used to the playability and sound that I am getting for the 57 & 57 Super + it came with. :ganz
About a week after I did adjust a tad to my taste and began to lower/raise the action to the right playable height where I can grab the strings nice and good so to bend up/down when I play across the board. BTW? The baked maple board is my new favorite when my fingers just slide with no drag across and over the fret wires etc.:yah

This is of course before the string change as I have stayed true to gauge that was set up with in the first place so not to change anymore by tweaking and so forth. Usually stay's in there after purchase about 3 weeks with 4 tops so it has settled in well and depending on the state of the strings if dirty/corroded etc.

I thereafter stretched the new gauge by not only grabbing from the 12th fret and pulling up ever so high so to give a good go at it....about every after 5 mins intervals and then after I play around and noodle with it. I was in a such a good mood and quite happy anticipating what this ES could or would have become of. Nothing new here in what I have mentioned as we all did this onetime or another before.:peace2

I noodled and played around at to the point that I pulled a backing track just for fun and noodled late at night before turning in. Anyways I was quite content of the outcome. Not a home studio quality but just to listen after what i did is a good thing for me...........at least:spabout

A hint of sag and reverb saturation noodling around here : https://chirb.it/5b38JL

2016 Memphis ES 335 Studio NOS ::biggrin:

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64345569@N03/48690904098/in/photostream/" title="IMG_2696"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48690904098_ab99e0df7b_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_2696"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Trans-Am

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
4,686
Well here is my contri of the 335 I just got recently, I played it for a bit o' while trying to get used to the playability and sound that I am getting for the 57 & 57 Super + it came with. :ganz
About a week after I did adjust a tad to my taste and began to lower/raise the action to the right playable height where I can grab the strings nice and good so to bend up/down when I play across the board. BTW? The baked maple board is my new favorite when my fingers just slide with no drag across and over the fret wires etc.:yah

This is of course before the string change as I have stayed true to gauge that was set up with in the first place so not to change anymore by tweaking and so forth. Usually stay's in there after purchase about 3 weeks with 4 tops so it has settled in well and depending on the state of the strings if dirty/corroded etc.

I thereafter stretched the new gauge by not only grabbing from the 12th fret and pulling up ever so high so to give a good go at it....about every after 5 mins intervals and then after I play around and noodle with it. I was in a such a good mood and quite happy anticipating what this ES could or would have become of. Nothing new here in what I have mentioned as we all did this onetime or another before.:peace2

I noodled and played around at to the point that I pulled a backing track just for fun and noodled late at night before turning in. Anyways I was quite content of the outcome. Not a home studio quality but just to listen after what i did is a good thing for me...........at least:spabout

A hint of sag and reverb saturation noodling around here : https://chirb.it/5b38JL

2016 Memphis ES 335 Studio NOS ::biggrin:

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64345569@N03/48690904098/in/photostream/" title="IMG_2696"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48690904098_ab99e0df7b_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_2696"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Cheers All and happy playing!!
 

Trans-Am

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
4,686
Well here is my contri of the 335 I just got recently, I played it for a bit o' while trying to get used to the playability and sound that I am getting for the 57 & 57 Super + it came with. :ganz
About a week after I did adjust a tad to my taste and began to lower/raise the action to the right playable height where I can grab the strings nice and good so to bend up/down when I play across the board. BTW? The baked maple board is my new favorite when my fingers just slide with no drag across and over the fret wires etc.:yah

This is of course before the string change as I have stayed true to gauge that was set up with in the first place so not to change anymore by tweaking and so forth. Usually stay's in there after purchase about 3 weeks with 4 tops so it has settled in well and depending on the state of the strings if dirty/corroded etc.

I thereafter stretched the new gauge by not only grabbing from the 12th fret and pulling up ever so high so to give a good go at it....about every after 5 mins intervals and then after I play around and noodle with it. I was in a such a good mood and quite happy anticipating what this ES could or would have become of. Nothing new here in what I have mentioned as we all did this onetime or another before.:peace2

I noodled and played around at to the point that I pulled a backing track just for fun and noodled late at night before turning in. Anyways I was quite content of the outcome. Not a home studio quality but just to listen after what i did is a good thing for me...........at least:spabout

A hint of sag and reverb saturation noodling around here : https://chirb.it/5b38JL

2016 Memphis ES 335 Studio NOS ::biggrin:

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/64345569@N03/48690904098/in/photostream/" title="IMG_2696"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48690904098_ab99e0df7b_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_2696"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Cheers All and happy playing!!
 

musekatcher

New member
Joined
Apr 15, 2018
Messages
135
The baked maple board is my new favorite when my fingers just slide with no drag across and over the fret wires etc.:yah

I felt the same way on my SG Special. Baked Maple fretboards are win/win. I wish more manufacturers would start using them. It makes so much sense on so many levels, with no penalties.
 
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