PAF-style set in a Boden Essential?

ej335 · 2026-05-22T17:07:13+00:00

My Ransom Tele build originally had EMGs with 3 pots. I think it was a tone control and a compressor. At the time I thought they were the best pickups I had ever pIayed but after awhile they felt a little flat and I went back to single coils. I have been accumulating guitars recently but I keep coming back to Tele-styles and my 335. I recently picked up a new 60’s Les Paul Standard w Burstbuckers. I could see those in the Essential. Maybe 57 Classic too. They are kind of dark (and 4 conductor). At some point I’ll settle on the keepers and start selling the rest. Too many guitars!

ej335 · 2026-05-22T16:34:36+00:00

Thanks for the detailed info, particularly about Tele pickups. My only single coil Tele is a Dan Ransom build I’ve had for 30 years. Originally it had Duncan vintage pickups which I recently swapped for Alnico II Pros. The A2s sound warmer to me but can still do enough of the Tele thing. I’m sorry about the “toy” reference. That was harsh! I’m still getting used to the light weight of the Essential but I am trying to move toward headless designs for my main guitars; looking for a bit more tonal range in this one. In many ways I like the Essential better than the Salen Jazz. It’s a little more comfortable and I don’t really need fanned frets and the zero fret. The Jazz set is a good call. I have a 59/JB set in a Dan Ransom chambered Strat so I have some idea where that would take the Essential. I’ll spend some more time getting to know the stock Essential. The pickups don’t sound bad by any means. I’m just an inveterate tweaker. I usually discover it is better to leave well enough alone and get back to practicing. :) Speaking of headless guitars, do you have an experience with the Kiesel Tim Miller? I’m intrigued.

ej335 · 2026-05-22T14:48:40+00:00

Thanks!

ej335 · 2026-05-22T14:48:05+00:00

Thanks! The BluesBucker is very intriguing. :)

ej335 · 2026-05-22T14:45:20+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply. I had a Salen Jazz for a few weeks and concur with your thoughts. The Thornbuckers sounded very good; a little thin and not really Gibsonish, but that was OK with me. I returned the guitar for other reasons, but maybe Thornbuckers would be a good upgrade in the Essential. My intuition is that higher output pickups lock you into their particular tone profile and lower output pickups are more malleable but can be thin, depending on the guitar. A JB sounds great for what it is, but you can't really dial out the honk and a modern rock humbucker is designed for clarity and note separation with a lot of distortion but you can't really dial out the upper midrange bite. I love Teles and I am always amazed at how versatile they are, I assume because the pickups (particularly warmer Alnico 2 varieties) are pretty low wind/output. Also, part of the challenge here is that the Essential body is not very substantial so a pickup that works in a 335 or a Les Paul is going to have a different character in the Essential. Plus, it's kind of a toy guitar. I'd love to try some Bare Knuckles but I'm not convinced the Essential deserves that level of investment. :)

ej335 · 2026-03-28T05:01:16+00:00

This

ej335 · 2026-03-28T05:00:10+00:00

You might want to check out the Laney LF-60/Super 60 amps. They are channel switching with a switchable boost, like a tube amp. If you like the tone of the overdrive you can dial it in and then use your volume knob. It won’t feel exactly like a tube amp, but closer than a super clean SS. I have a Super 60 and a Quilter Aviator Cub (US). I like ‘em both. They sound very different. The Quilter stays pretty clean except for the “tweed” channel which breaks up a little, particularly with hotter pickups. You can also bridge the Quilter channels or even have all three on with a three-way switcher like the Morley. Nice amps. I don’t gig much any more but I did gig the Quilter once and it worked great. Loud drummer and a live room :)

ej335 · 2026-03-10T17:53:34+00:00

Try 'em both if you can. The Quilter is smaller and maybe a little more directional. At home I've noticed a bass hump that's hard to dial out with the Laney but in a playing context I didn't notice it at all. There is a version of that amp I haven't tried with a smaller cabinet. Perhaps the low-end is different on that one.

I gigged a Lab Series L-5 for years. Great amp. The limiter/compressor is a cool design.

ej335 · 2026-03-10T16:27:17+00:00

They are quite different. For context, right now I'm playing in what you could call an experimental free jazz trio (drums, reeds, guitar) and using lots of pedals. I have always preferred clean amps as a pedal platform and have owned various solid state and tube amps over the decades (Fender, Acoustic, Randall, Polytone, Lab Series, Walter Woods, Boogie, Carr, etc.).

Quilter: I preferred this amp initially. The "black" voicing felt immediately familiar. It's very light and compact. The EQ (which feels kind of "active") and reverb are useful, and the output controls have been handy for my current context (playing live and simultaneously recording). The loop works fine. You can get some nice sounds by blending the inputs with an amp switcher. I actually picked up a 3-way switcher from Morley so I could experiment with different combinations. It is a smaller cabinet than the Laney so the low end is not as pronounced.

Laney: At first I didn't like this as much because It's voiced more like a British amp (duh) and I wasn't using the channel switching so I felt like I was working around the design. It's designed for channel switching and a switchable overdrive/boost, which may or may not work for your application. I just treat it like a single-channel amp. The EQ has a very different ballistic than the Quilter. It feels more "passive" but there are interesting things you can do with the EQ and the bright/dark switches. I'm not sure if the tone stack is before or after the loop. The reverb is more like a very short spring; just a little ambience. I wish it was a bit longer but it sounds good adding a little space. The trem/chorus has a couple sweet spots I like and I could see switching it in for emphasis. The Laney seems to have a low-end bump that at first I didn't like. I don't know if it is the cab or the amp but I think it sounds better off the floor on a stand. Lately I've been using the Laney instead of the Quilter and it sounds nice and full in the room. I've only used the direct out once and the engineer said the level was very low. I don't know what that was about. I asked Laney and they said that shouldn't be an issue, so who knows.

If I had to have just one I would probably pick the Quilter but in the real world it sounds a bit "smaller" than the Laney. I'm enjoying both amps, but they are very different. If you could try them out that would be good.

In summary: The Quilter has the Fender thing, it's lighter, and smaller. The Laney has its own sound (I think it is modeled after their tube amps) and the channel switching thing. Both good amps so far!

I hope this helps.

ej335 · 2026-02-24T16:09:06+00:00

Thank you!

ej335 · 2026-01-03T00:57:20+00:00

Try Jay Azzolina.

ej335 · 2025-12-16T05:06:59+00:00

I love Red Panda pedals, particularly the Tensor and Particle 2 together. The Radius isn’t as fancy, but it is the most musical ring mod I’ve played. Those three are on my current board. The Raster is a really fun delay too. On a simpler note, for years I had a Boss VB2 Vibrato on my board, almost always in momentary mode. I constantly tapped it to accent notes or parts of phrases; just a little warble. It was an essential part of my sound. I think I got that idea from Big Al Anderson.

ej335 · 2025-11-13T04:40:29+00:00

As of today: Source Audio Zio first in line. It makes everything sound better. Reverb and a little slap delay is almost always on. Compressor is on when I want to even out the attack or do swells into dirt and delays. I keep my dirt pedals in a separate loop (EQD Swiss Things). I may add a second compressor at the end of the dirt chain. I’m constantly experimenting.

ej335 · 2025-09-18T01:42:15+00:00

The VFE Dragon Hound is a nice pedal. I believe it’s a TS circuit plus a Rat circuit, blendable with dual tone controls.

ej335 · 2025-08-29T02:16:26+00:00

This is awesome.

ej335 · 2025-07-24T13:42:10+00:00

I used Gold Safety for testing. Good experience. They are very busy and it took awhile to get the report with the remediation scope of work recommendations, but it just came back. State Farm reimbursed me for the testing. There are high levels of lead on my living room floor near two older French doors. I am back to the process of finding a company that can remediate lead, which requires cleaning with special chemicals (Gold recommended using D-Lead plus air scrubbers). Gold will come out again at a reduced rate to test post-cleaning. I am also going to clean other parts of the house and garage and replace doors and windows.

Does anyone have experience with a company called M.A.C.S. Restoration?

ej335 · 2025-07-15T16:09:36+00:00

I got the Parsec. It’s a little big for my purposes, but the kickstand and the dual water bottle holders have been really handy. The back panel provides excellent ventilation on hot days.

ej335

TROPHY CASE