Tokai 335 pup upgrade.

Quattroste

My Tokai 335 rep is having a few issues The Bridge pup is working only intermittently and when both pups are on I get a bad hum. It could be the switch but either way work will have to be done! Soooooooooo why not upgrade the pups while I am at it!

Any suggestions?

feylya

EMG's!

What about some Bare Knuckles? What kinda sound are you looking for?

Quattroste

I know very little about EMG's and their tone or style. Always associated them with Metal for some reason. New fangled modern stuff

I am thinking Bare Knuckle allright. I want vintage warm blues tone, like a 335 should sound!

Quattroste

€300 for the Bare Knuckle VHII set and then installation on top of that!! Steeper than I thought. Must keep an eye on the bay!

Karl Hungus

Quattroste wrote:

Any suggestions?

I'm asuming it's a 3-way toggle switch, yes? If so, that's probably the issue right there.

Even if you're dead set on upgrading the pickups, it's worth your while to get some contact cleaner, methylated spirits or pure alcohol and dropping a little into the toggle, then switch it back and forth a few times. That'll get rid of any dirt that's in there fudging up the contacts. Even if you don't have any of the above liquids, you could use aftershave (Which I have used on a couple of guitars with exactly this problem before) or vodka.

Even if it's just for a few days untill your new pickups arive, it's about the simplest job you can do with a guitar, it'll take all of 60 seconds.

As for pickups, I find DiMarzio really do some fine products, and they can be had on ebay or the like relatively cheap.

And although it might be in the same price range as Bare Knuckle, I have to give a shout out to Johan at www.lundgren.se for some incredibly good hand-wound pups. He made an M7 bridge pickup for me, and holy bejebus does it sound immense.

Quattroste

To be honest, if it was just the toggle switch contact that would be the best outcome. I'll get some of that cleaner, or aftershave(would have to buy this too!) but spirits hmmmmmmmm I may just have some of this.

Do I take the switch out or just let a couple of drops drop into the switch?

Just went looking for money and I have none! Cashflow problems on a Friday :mad:

Karl Hungus

Quattroste wrote:

Do I take the switch out or just let a couple of drops drop into the switch?

No, you leave it in the guitar, just pour a few drops into the switch itself (the part that's protruding from the outside of the guitar, that's where dirt and dust get in), you don't even need to get out a screwdriver or anything. Like I said, easiest job you can do on a guitar.

Quattroste

Thanks Karl. Will try this weekend.

Karl Hungus

Let me know how you get on with it, and if you need any other pickup suggestions. What kind of sound are you going for anyway?

Ancient1

Quattroste wrote:

I'll get some of that cleaner, or aftershave(would have to buy this too!) but spirits hmmmmmmmm I may just have some of this.

Sounds to me like you qualify for a Strat!

Unlike Johnny Storm - ooh the pain you traitor!!

On a serious note, have a look at some Fralin humbuckers.

fish-head

Alot of people have got very satisfactory results from GFS pickups, myself included. They're cheap as chips, which are really rather inexpensive.

Asiaprod

I know that they are expensive, but I would vote for Gibson 57 Classics (Classic + if you need more power). Just put a set of these in an Epi 355 Nove (Oasis Union Jack) and was blown away by the versatility of these pups (rock to blues to jazz). Almost as good as a real Gibson 355, but at an affordable price. Plenty available on ebay.

punchdrunk

seymour duncan seth lovers! widely known as some of the best pickups duncan has ever produced,check hc for the number of 335 users that adore them

i've got of a set bare knuckle emeralds and a set of trilogy's,they're fantastic alright,pricey though..
when i emailed about getting new p90's for my epiphone sorrento semi they suggested i send them in for a rewind and a magnet change because the string spacing on the japanese p-90's was different to the u.s ones,seemed like the best option

cut and paste from their site....

All Bare Knuckle vintage rewinds and modifications are carried out using the highest quality original materials. All rewinds are guaranteed for life to the original customer and turnaround times are usually within 48 hours. All rewinds include fitting of new hook up cable where required.


Rewind of single coils to spec with vintage plain enamel or heavy formvar wire £32 per coil
Rewind of humbucker to spec with vintage plain enamel wire including repotting of covers if necessary £64 per p/up
Waxpotting £12.50 per p/up
New Alnico 2, 3, 4 or 5 bar magnets (inclusive of fitting) £10 each

Gold, nickel or chrome humbucker covers including fitting and waxpotting (50 and 52mm spacing) £20 each
Gold or chrome Tele neck p/up cover including fitting and waxpotting £12.50
Fitting of 4 conductor wire (repotting of covers if necessary) £17.50 per p/up
Fitting of 2 conductor braided cable (repotting of covers if necessary) £17.50 per p/up