fix'n up a 335: GFS pickups? vibrato?

[TChen]

i use to have a modern ric 330, and i would like to get back somewhat more to that kind of sound (granted, i know 'nothing will sound quite like a ric'). however, i also use to have a sheraton with 57 classics and it sounded great. i just feel like the ric had a more distinct, unique sound. i guess if i found a sound that fell somewhere between the two, it wouldnt be a bad thing, but if possible id like to get closer to the ric sound.

i just got an epi dot, and am torn between a few different gfs pickups. first, i stumbled onto the mean/dream 90s. thought id try these, till i found out about the retrotron series, then the dream 180s. im really confused by reading all the reviews and trying to take into consideration the different magnets and windings and the wood of the dot deluxe. i know the retrotron series are quoted as sounding "ric-ish," but the ric330 i had had the modern "hi-gain single coils" with ceramic magnet. the retrotron series sound nice in theory, but im wondering if i really want that 330 sound back if i should just try a higher output pickup, and perhaps experiment with coil-tapping. read a couple reviews that compared the dream 90s to the modern ric pickups. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

also, anyone have anything to say about bigsby vs. vibrola?

thanks!
tyler

[Marble]

mean 90s and a couple sets of strat single coils are pretty good from GFS, but generally thier humbuckers, filtertrons and p90s are not very good.

[Will Chen]

I have Mean 90's in a Highland Royal (335 copy). They were an big improvement over the stock Alnico V humbuckers which were way too hot and unbalanced, but I still yearn for a bit more top end sweetness when playing clean. They distort wonderfully though...

[OlAndrew]

I tried a pair of Dream 90s in a Japanese hollowbody, sort of a 330 type of thing. Gave kind of a thin pale sound. Mean 90s have a much richer tone (got those, too).

The GFS 'buckers seem to lean towards the bright and driven hard. I've tried the Vintage 59s and the Fat Pats. Not my favorite tone, but some like 'em. Never tried any of the Gretsch-y ones.

Wound up with a pair of Tonerider Alnico IIs in the 330 thing. Very nice, to my ears...more like an old 330, kind of woody and rich on the neck, and almost horn-like on the bridge.

[StlStringSlingr]

I just ordered a set of the Tonerider Rebel 90's for my Hohner 335 copy. They're supposed to sound a little warmer than the dream 90's but not as aggressive as the mean 90's. Paired with a new mojo wiring harness I should have a little tone monster.

[poolshark]

I really like the Dream 90s, but they're more like a hot strat pickup than a p90. Great for cutting high end and plenty of twang. Could definitely pull off a convincing Ric tone in the right guitar.

Dream 180s are good, too, but seem a lot more like well-defined PAFs to me; don't know if I'd use them for the Ric sound.

[bek]

I recently acquired an Epi Dot, with a couple VintageVibe HCC pickups (humbucker-sized Charlie Christian pickups, sort of a low-output P90). It has two push-pulls for phase and series applications, and in some settings I've got early Beatles sounds, terrific Tele tones, very Peter Green-y stuff, a fairly big humbucker tone, early jazz stuff. Depends on the amp, but I've just been playing it through my Roland Cube 30, using the JC 120 and Tweed and Brit Combo settings. Amazingly versatile.

[skylabfilmpop]

maybe try the Dimarzio Eric Johnson pickups, they were apparently wound to be like gretsches but won't cost like TV jones, which would be my first choice, but would probably exceed the cost of the guitar. Think 2 pick up a dillon or eastwood ric copy!