2015 Gibson SG Pickup Upgrades?

[ThreeChordWonder]

P-rails bible:

https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/latest-updates/the-p-rails-wiring-bible-part-1

Forget black/ white being the north coil red/green the south.

Black/white is the ALWAYS for the P-90s. In the bridge pickup the P-90 is the SOUTH coil. In the neck the P-90 is the NORTH coil. That makes one P-90 humcanceling with /the other one I guess.

It follows that the red/white pair are always for the rails, North in the bridge, South in the neck.

Simplest, right?

 

[beaubrummels]

If you want it brighter, I wouldn't have gone P-Rails. I would have recommended Jazz set first, Pearly Gates set second.

 

[GuitarDoc]

The P-Rails can sound every bit as bright as the Jazz (or more so). Especially if you mount the bridge P-Rail with the rail coil next to the bridge and the P-90 coil toward the neck.

 

[Mincer]

The P90 coil is the brightest of the combinations in the P-Rail...at least it was on my guitar. It doesn't sound like a Jazz or Pearly Gates, but more of that barky P90 thing.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

The P-Rails can sound every bit as bright as the Jazz (or more so). Especially if you mount the bridge P-Rail with the rail coil next to the bridge and the P-90 coil toward the neck.

In other words "put the neck pickup in the bridge, and the bridge in the neck".

I'm just going standard.

I picked the P-rails for a P90 sound option, which I don't have at the moment.

I've got an HH Strat with proper humbuckers (Trembucker bridge, Jazz neck,) and a Tele with Hotrails too.

 

[alex1fly]

Completely standard 2015 SG, mahogany body, mahogany and rosewood neck.

It currently has the original "57 Classic" Alnico 2 pickups with nickel covers. I find them too muddy and want more "bite".

I have a SD Little 59 / Custom Hybrid (zebra) regulat size humbucker sitting in a drawer doing nothing after I swapped it out for the Trembucker equivalent on my HSS Strat.

Wondering if pairing this with a Jazz in the neck would suit the SG. I'd keep the zebra colors because (a) it would keep the costs down and (b) if you've got it flaunt it, right?

Plan B - possibly P-Rails but double the outlay.

Plan C - open to suggestions.

What I want are pickups that don't sound as muddy as the originals. More bite, less gentle chewing. Classic rock.
Thanks in advance for suggestions.

OP - I just put some 1/2” hex head polepieces in my 57 Classic neck pickup. They're shorter than the stock polepieces but fit great and I got the half inch one because that's what SD uses on the Full Shred. Anyways, the sound is a good deal more articulate and responsive and it reduced some of the mid mud. I like this because I have a dynamic right hand with clean Sounds. Sounds like a different pickup to be honest, when you consider that sometimes pickup swaps don't make a huge difference in tone. Send me a PM and I'll be happy to send you some in the mail - minimum order was 100 so I have a few extras

 

[GuitarDoc]

In other words "put the neck pickup in the bridge, and the bridge in the neck".

No, that's not what I said. Keep the bridge P-Rail in the bridge but rotate it so the rail coil is next to the bridge. Since the P-90 coil is so big, it doesn't really affect the sound of the P-90 but it makes the rail coil much brighter sounding closer to the bridge.

I picked the P-rails for a P90 sound option, which I don't have at the moment.

Good choice. The P-90 coil of the P-Rail is a great P-90 sound.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Fair enough, but I, for one, can't see what difference a half or three quarters of an inch change in pickup positions would make.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

If you want it brighter, I wouldn't have gone P-Rails. I would have recommended Jazz set first, Pearly Gates set second.

I have a 59/Custom Hybrid bridge p/u sitting in the drawer looking for a home.

What would you put in the neck to go with that?

 

[chadd]

I have a 59/Custom Hybrid bridge p/u sitting in the drawer looking for a home.

What would you put in the neck to go with that?

I have a Full Shred neck with one and a Jazz with another. They both sound different, but work just fine.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

I was thinking a 59. Classic rock not thrash.

 

[Mincer]

I have a 59/Custom Hybrid bridge p/u sitting in the drawer looking for a home.

What would you put in the neck to go with that?

I'd use either a 59 or Alnico II Pro. I am more partial to warmer neck pickups, so I use the A2P.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Well it turned out I had broken a wire inside the 59/Custom hybrid, so I'm going P-Rails after all. They should be here Thursday now

 

[Mincer]

Well it turned out I had broken a wire inside the 59/Custom hybrid, so I'm going P-Rails after all. They should be here Thursday now

Make sure to let us know how this turns out!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Fair enough, but I, for one, can't see what difference a half or three quarters of an inch change in pickup positions would make.

If you understand the wave form of a vibrating string (a sine wave with nodes and different harmonics at each of the peaks between the nodes) then you could see that, especially next to the bridge, a half an inch can make a tremendous difference. For example, that delightful quack that a Strat gets in positions 2 and 4 would not happen if the middle pickup was 1/2" off.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Well, apart from an honours degree in mechanical engineering... I know nothing

Mode 0 is a half wavelength, that is the middle of the string going back and forth

Mode 1 is a full sin wave

Mode 2 is 1-1/2 sin waves

And so on.

Given the scale length, I reckon you'll be up to about Mode 12 or 13 before the wavelengths get down to the sub-inch level.

But whatever you say.

 

[BluesIsBlood12]

I have a 2016, and I tried Seths, 59s, WLH, and Tonerider AC4. All of them were better than the stock 57s, though that is possibly due to replacing the circuit board for a MojoTone harness. WLH was my favorite, but 59s were fairly similar. Seths were probably my least favorite, as they were too warm for my tastes. I could see how they might work for some applications though, especially if you have a bright amp, but for me they were a bad match for an SG.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

P-rails have been ordered, they should be here and fitted by the weekend

 

[jeremy]

Well, apart from an honours degree in mechanical engineering... I know nothing

Mode 0 is a half wavelength, that is the middle of the string going back and forth

Mode 1 is a full sin wave

Mode 2 is 1-1/2 sin waves

And so on.

Given the scale length, I reckon you'll be up to about Mode 12 or 13 before the wavelengths get down to the sub-inch level.

But whatever you say.

i can only comment on my experience but moving a pup 1/2" does make a noticeable difference in how it sounds. think about the difference between a 22 fret and 24 fret guitar, only maybe 1/2" difference between where the neck pup sits but there is a definite difference in sound

 

[beaubrummels]

Well, apart from an honours degree in mechanical engineering... I know nothing

Mode 0 is a half wavelength, that is the middle of the string going back and forth

Mode 1 is a full sin wave

Mode 2 is 1-1/2 sin waves

And so on.

Given the scale length, I reckon you'll be up to about Mode 12 or 13 before the wavelengths get down to the sub-inch level.

But whatever you say.

I don't have an honors degree in any engineering field, but the part that doesn't sound right above is that the amplitude of the string vibration varies; it's not fixed. You can barely touch an E string, and it will vibrate an E frequency but very little amplitude. You can also slam an E string with a pick and it will still vibrate an E frequency but with much more amplitude. Moving the pickup a few turns of the pickup height adjustment certainly affects how that string vibration disrupts the magnetic field above the pickup, and as a result, the induced sound.