slamson00 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hello.....still enjoying the heck out of my new EPI LTd ES-335. Been playing about 2 hours a night and I am just now starting to narrow down the tones to where I like them. So many to choose from. Just an amazing guitar. I did have a couple questions on the operation of the guitar and its buttons and knobs....since I have never had an electric guitar before: 1. I noticed when I have the pickup selector in the middle position (so the knobs work both the neck and bridge pickups), I notice that both volume knobs do the same adjustment for overall volume of the guitar, and they don't work individually anymore at that point like they do when you have the selector set to either the bridge or neck. Another way of saying it is both knobs work olumes for both pickups. Does that make sense? Is it supposed to be this way? I thought you might be able to adjust either the bridge or neck pickup with their associated volume knob when the middle position is on the pickup selector but that doesn't seem to be that case. Just looking for confirmation on how the volume works in the middle selector position. How are the tone knobs work in this position as well? 2. When not playing the guitar and it is just sitting on a guitar stand next to my amp, is it better to leave it plugged in all the time or should one "unplug" every time you finish playing? Just wondering what standard practice is for electric guitars and wanting to keep the sockets in top shape for a long time. 3. Does anyone know what strings come "standard" on the Epi Limited Edition ES-335? What gauges? Just curious as I would like to start trying different strings maybe down the road. Wanted to know my baseline. Any suggestions on good strings for these guitars? 4. Just a general question. What is a good way to tell your guitar strings are worn out? Or is it just a feel thing....sound...etc? Thanks in advance for any help with the above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 #1: Yes, and yes. You are correct sir. What you describe sounds like what they call "50's" as opposed to "60's" wiring. It has become hip in recent times, and a common modification many do because it is thought to have a better sound overall. #2: It's up to you. Plugging and unplugging will obviously cause more wear on the jack, which you may eventually have to replace (no big deal). But also, many would advise you to unplug the cord because tripping on it is maybe the most common cause of damaging the guitar. #3: Don't know. Good question. Most common gauges for that guitar and most people are probably 9-42 and 10-46. When you find your favorite gauge and brand and type, you let us know. #4: When they no longer sound good. Strings wear out from being dirty and grimy, or oxidation, or being damaged. Damage usually will happen first to the D string, as the smaller windings get crushed. You can feel them if you run your fingers along. But generally, when and how often you replace is up to you. When they sound bad, how much money, etc. Laziness, boredom, etc. Nothing says you can't play them till they break, or change 3 sets in a day if you want to experiment. Welcome to the forum. Really cool to see you putting in 2 hours a night. I should do the same, but alas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 10-46 gauge. some come with D'Addario and some are advertised with Gibson strings (so who really knows) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Welcome! I'll agree with the reply to #'s 1&2. #3 - not sure of the mfgr, but Epi elec's come with 10-46 gauge to the best of my knowledge #4 - a general "rule of thumb" is after about 30 hours of playing time. As you progress, you'll get used to the sound, tone, and feel of the strings, and can change to your liking, as stein said. And congrats on a great guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slamson00 Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Wow thanks for all the great information everyone. Also cool to learn a little history on the setup and wiring of these guitars. Sounds like I definitely have the 50's wiring your talking about. Really enjoying the tonal control built into this guitar. Sounds like the safe thing is just to leave it unplugged, don't want to topple this thing over and I am not the most coordinated person anymore. Those days are looooonnngg over! Thanks for the info on the strings I will keep that all in mind. Will start shopping around for some good deals on strings gauge 10. With the hours I'm accumulating playing will going through the ones that came with the guitar in no time. Really enjoying this instrument...anyone on the fence out there pick one up while you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Sounds like the safe thing is just to leave it unplugged, don't want to topple this thing over and I am not the most coordinated person anymore. Those days are looooonnngg over! Thanks for the info on the strings I will keep that all in mind. Will start shopping around for some good deals on strings gauge 10. With the hours I'm accumulating playing will going through the ones that came with the guitar in no time. Really enjoying this instrument...anyone on the fence out there pick one up while you can. Continually Inserting/removing the cord will eventually loosen the jack. With Christmas around the corner, I got one of these a couple of years ago as a stocking stuffer. Great tool & works like a charm: http://www.amazon.com/JackTight-Electric-Guitar-Output-Repair/dp/B0062OJV0I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418162761&sr=8-1&keywords=jack+tight I have a highly modded Dot, and have used the following strings: Elixir Nano's, EB Slinky and EB Cobalt. I know that string choice is subjective, but I'd rank them as Elixir #2, EB Slinky meh, and the EB Cobalts as WOW! That said, to each his own. You might want to look for deals on ten packs of your favorite strings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteWilson Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Good evening, and welcome to the forum! There is an abundance of information, and yes, opinion here! These folks have been most helpful to me. Congrats on that ES 335! It is a great guitar for quite a reasonable price. As for strings, I like 10-46 strings on my electrics. I tried Chromes flatwound 10-48 on my ES 335, but did not care for the sounds. Too bassy or "boomy" for me. I am currently using DR Black Beauties 10-46 on my ES 335, my Riviera P93 and on my ES-175. I still have the Chromes on my Gretsch Tennessee Rose. It really is just whatever you like, in terms of playing and sound. The coated and the flat wound strings offer the advantage of little to no string squeal, when moving your fingers up or down the fretboard on the strings. I do not change strings that often, probably twice a year per guitar, but I play several different guitars every day. If I was only playing one guitar, it would be more often. Again, Welcome to the forum, and enjoy that guitar! Play well, Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slamson00 Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Thanks for the additional welcome and suggestions on strings....i really appreciate it. Obviously strings are sucha personal preference when it comes to tone. Different styles and brands will work better for different people. Definitely sounds like gauges 10 to 46 seems to be the most widely used on these ES-335s? Or at least that is what it comes with. Will probably stick to that weight for now and try a few different brands here and there as they wear out. Seems like the best coarse of action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burchster Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Yes most Epis Les Paul's SGs and 335s ship with 10s. Congrats on the new guitar here's mine after some cosmetic customization Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slamson00 Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Beautiful. Really like that Ice Tea finish as well. Sort of similar to my Epi Hummingbird cherry burst, beautiful guitar. I just love the vintage styling of these guitars. Makes me want to pick up and play it every time I see it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDTRFB Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 1. I am not sure what you mean. In the middle position, the volume knobs on my ES-335 Pro (and every other 3 switch guitar I have) affect only the specific pick up. The top knob changes only the neck pick up volume, and the bottom knob only changes the bridge. Each knob does NOT affect both pick ups. This way you can blend and turn up or down on pick up or the other to get the amount of volume from each that you want while you are in the middle position. That's the beauty of the middle position. That being said, if you turn either of the knobs to zero it will kill the volume for the guitar entirely. You have to have both pick ups at least turned up a little bit to get any sound. Each volume acts as a kill switch in the middle position. And it does not have '50s wiring, as I understand it. '50s wiring has to do with how the tone pots are wired to the volume. It doesn't affect how the volume knobs work in relation to each other in the middle position. You can read about it here: http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/tips-and-tricks/lespaulwiring/ http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/pickups/vintage-les-paul-wiring-bs-or-bfd/ 3. 10-46 comes standard on the ES-335 Pro (and most other Epi electrics) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slamson00 Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 1. I am not sure what you mean. In the middle position, the volume knobs on my ES-335 Pro (and every other 3 switch guitar I have) affect only the specific pick up. The top knob changes only the neck pick up volume, and the bottom knob only changes the bridge. Each knob does NOT affect both pick ups. This way you can blend and turn up or down on pick up or the other to get the amount of volume from each that you want while you are in the middle position. That's the beauty of the middle position. That being said, if you turn either of the knobs to zero it will kill the volume for the guitar entirely. You have to have both pick ups at least turned up a little bit to get any sound. Each volume acts as a kill switch in the middle position. And it does not have '50s wiring, as I understand it. '50s wiring has to do with how the tone pots are wired to the volume. It doesn't affect how the volume knobs work in relation to each other in the middle position. You can read about it here: http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/tips-and-tricks/lespaulwiring/ http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/pickups/vintage-les-paul-wiring-bs-or-bfd/ 3. 10-46 comes standard on the ES-335 Pro (and most other Epi electrics) Thanks for your reply and the link. Those links are very informative. Yes you are correct I went and rechecked my guitar this morning. Mine DOES operate the way you describe it. What was throwing me and I did a bad job of describing it above, was that if you turned one of the volume knobs down to zero in the middle position it does shut off the guitar. I was thinking that there was a problem since I thought the other volume knob was still up why would both pickups shut down. But in thinking more about it it makes sense to me that it would do this...other wise why would you need a selector switch if that was the case. My tone knobs as well as the volume knobs do work independently of each other when the pickup selector is in the middle position. It was my mistake in my original post to state that it wasn't. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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