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can fatten up my es339?


philastevenson

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Hi Folks,

 

I was wondering if any of you have had any success beefing up your es339 for more jazz tone/low-mid presence. i also have an es335, which of course wins on tone but not on comfort. My es339 is a great versatile guitar, but im spoiled by my 335! So, is there another HB aside from the 57's that might push it into the 335s territory in terms of depth and power. or i am i after a mxr eq pedal perhaps? recently ive been using a fat tele which may even get me there.

 

Thanks!

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Hello

 

You could get the same pups as in your 335, or look at other options - Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Kent Armstrong, there are lots.

However more powerful pups can sometimes be a bit muddy too.

 

An eq pedal is good as it means you don't have to mod the guitar.

However both the Boss GE7 and the MXR108 are a bit noisy; I have a Boss GE7 which was modded - you have to change maybe £10 worth of parts, kits available on ebay - and it is now completely hiss-free so the mod was well worth doing.

 

Similar mods available for MXR at Griffin effects -

 

http://www.griffineffects.com/264-mxr

 

Good luck.

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Are you comparing them at home or at gigging volume?

My 339 doesnt sound too much different from the LP (same 57 pups) at home but sounds utterly different at volume; warmer, subtler, richer.

 

I use a Line 6 signal processor with only minor eq changes dedicated to each guitar. They all sound different, but I dont have a 335 for comparison.

I suspect that a 335 will always sound different, but there are certainly ways of tweaking eq to your liking on any guitar.

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Are you comparing them at home or at gigging volume?

My 339 doesnt sound too much different from the LP (same 57 pups) at home but sounds utterly different at volume; warmer, subtler, richer.

 

I use a Line 6 signal processor with only minor eq changes dedicated to each guitar. They all sound different, but I dont have a 335 for comparison.

I suspect that a 335 will always sound different, but there are certainly ways of tweaking eq to your liking on any guitar.

 

its gigging volume - when i play low single notes they dont sound serious, and the high notes dont feel supported, and neither do they cut through the mix massively. i can turn up, which solves the cutting through part, but doesnt help with the overall character. my es335, my fat tele, and my eastman 185 all sound like they want to heard. I'll try out an EQ pedal then.

 

thanks

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Hello

 

You could get the same pups as in your 335, or look at other options - Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Kent Armstrong, there are lots.

However more powerful pups can sometimes be a bit muddy too.

 

An eq pedal is good as it means you don't have to mod the guitar.

However both the Boss GE7 and the MXR108 are a bit noisy; I have a Boss GE7 which was modded - you have to change maybe £10 worth of parts, kits available on ebay - and it is now completely hiss-free so the mod was well worth doing.

 

Similar mods available for MXR at Griffin effects -

 

http://www.griffineffects.com/264-mxr

 

Good luck.

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Hello

 

You could get the same pups as in your 335, or look at other options - Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Kent Armstrong, there are lots.

However more powerful pups can sometimes be a bit muddy too.

 

An eq pedal is good as it means you don't have to mod the guitar.

However both the Boss GE7 and the MXR108 are a bit noisy; I have a Boss GE7 which was modded - you have to change maybe £10 worth of parts, kits available on ebay - and it is now completely hiss-free so the mod was well worth doing.

 

Similar mods available for MXR at Griffin effects -

 

http://www.griffineffects.com/264-mxr

 

Good luck.

 

i think they are 57s aswell! i should double check.. im guessing your sound with the EQ pedal still sounds natural and not artificial? i'll try one when i get a chance.

 

thanks

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In some respects, the smaller body size of the 339 just has a different character than the, er, full-bodied oomph of a 335 - in clean, lo-gain situations it will sound "smaller" because, well, it IS smaller. But if it sounds constricted, try comparing the pickup height between the two guitars. If your 339's pickups are much closer to the strings than your 335's it's possible they're reducing the perceived resonance and richness. The pickups themselves should be fine (I love mine), but I'd experiment with height to see if you can get closer to your ideal. I find the small-bodied Gibsons like my 356 to be sensitive to such things, so I'd try lowering your neck pickup a bit and fiddling with pole piece height across the strings to try and dial in the sound you're after, then do the same with the bridge pickup to balance for volume between the two pickups. Always try screwdriver mods first!

 

Just my two cents

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its gigging volume - when i play low single notes they dont sound serious, and the high notes dont feel supported, and neither do they cut through the mix massively. i can turn up, which solves the cutting through part, but doesnt help with the overall character. my es335, my fat tele, and my eastman 185 all sound like they want to heard. I'll try out an EQ pedal then.

 

thanks

 

It sounds like you have sacrificed some much needed treble by trying to adjust eq for 335 tones?! Thats only a guess of course. Maybe some sort of treble boost would give you more eq to play with.

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I've had both the 339 and the 335, both with classic 57's, and I can say this. The "Memphis Tone Circuit" style of wiring, like the 339 has, is much different than standard modern wiring, like most 335's have. It's similar to 50's style wiring but with even less of a sweet spot to work with once you start backing the controls down from 10. My 2011 ES-335 was also wired like that at the factory and it was terrible compared to regular modern style. I rewired both guitars to modern style. My 335 also has a treble bleed circuit. Modern wiring gives you more punch and power through a wider range of operation of the controls. [thumbup] [thumbup]

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  • 3 weeks later...

Have you checked what pots are in both guitars? It could be as simple as the 335 has 500k pots and the 339 has 300k. Im not sure what Gibson puts into the 339's with the Memphis tone Curcuit, but Im about to find out. Ive got a 2013 339 on lay away....

 

Cheers, Scott.

 

thanks i'll find out!

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  • 4 months later...

I've had both the 339 and the 335, both with classic 57's, and I can say this. The "Memphis Tone Circuit" style of wiring, like the 339 has, is much different than standard modern wiring, like most 335's have. It's similar to 50's style wiring but with even less of a sweet spot to work with once you start backing the controls down from 10. My 2011 ES-335 was also wired like that at the factory and it was terrible compared to regular modern style. I rewired both guitars to modern style. My 335 also has a treble bleed circuit. Modern wiring gives you more punch and power through a wider range of operation of the controls. [thumbup] [thumbup]

I love this guitar, the one problem I have is the e,b,strings are too bright. I have to back it off, but lose the quality of the other strings .Is that the problem you solved? I'm curious about your wiring change. Is it a simple fix that I could have done at a reasonable price?

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I'm a big fan of John Scofield.....he has an individual take on tone and it's creation.....dry.gif

 

Playing ES335 and similar Ibanez semi's he now appears to do most work on a Tele.....:blink:

 

Regarding ES335 vs ES339.....body weight will IMO dictate the final answer....

 

Another approach would be to add just a whiff of chorus to thicken up the sound without that annoying swirling sound many guitarists end up with

 

Either from a pedal, pedal board or Roland JC type amp.....[thumbup]

 

My recently departed Fender Deluxe VM amp had a nice chorus built in.....[thumbup]

 

V

 

:-({|=

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