best pickup for sg

bluesboy

New member
just wondering what you all think is the best pickup for sg standard, currently have 490n, angus young sig.,bridge, have tried a set of 59,s and a set of duncan dists, looking for a brite sound as guitar seems very dark, mainly for blues& rock,any suggestions?
thanks:banana:
 
Re: best pickup for sg

Hmm, I've always thought of SG as being on the bright side. But if it is darker sounding you may try out a Pearly Gates set.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

I have a standard also. I have a Tony Iommi in the neck that sounds good. I still have my standard pickup in the bridge. Its so damn lame though. Its very weak feeling....Im about to try a custom-custom in the bridge of mine. Too many good reviews for it. Sorry for the thread hi-jack but what do you guys think would sound good in my standard as well?
 
Re: best pickup for sg

thinking about putting the 59 bridge back in and trying a jazz neck, anybody try the jazz bridge?:chairfall
 
Re: best pickup for sg

the angus wasnt bright enough???
what amp are you using?
i love a pearly gates set in a good sg, the bridge pup just barks like mad.
what didnt you like about the 59 set??

im assuming that you mean a gibson iommi. matching almost anything with a iommi in the neck is hard since its sooo fat and has as much output as it does.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

yup . sorry for the spelling. Do you think the custom custom would be a good deal in a sg standard?
 
Re: best pickup for sg

Have you tried swapping out the pots? If I'm not mistaken, Gibson uses 300k pots. Swapping in a set of 500k CTS units should open upthe sound.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

jeremy said:
matching almost anything with a iommi in the neck is hard since its sooo fat and has as much output as it does.
I agree, why not an Iommi Bridge pup to match the neck?
SG's are a picky sort of guitar. Some like balanced pups like '59s and Customs, some like brighter pups like Pearlys or JB's.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

i had the JB/jazz combo in my standard for a while, and they sounded pretty good, but if you want my honest opinion, the burstbucker pros sound SWEET in there.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

really? im not a big fan of the pros. i like the burstbucker 1,2, and 3 much better. a 1 in the neck with a 2 or 3 in the bridge
 
Re: best pickup for sg

debutvm said:
yup . sorry for the spelling. Do you think the custom custom would be a good deal in a sg standard?

If you wanted to get the near exact sound of the pickups Iommi used in the BS days (Black Sabbath...) you could put a pair of Duncan 59B pickups in your guitar...they're just like early 60's Gibson HB's...probably better. I like my neck pickup to be underwound compared to the neck pickup though so I'd use a 59n for the neck pickup. Sounds like youy've gone that route already though.

I think SG's lack deep bass and have alot of twangy mids. I'm not sure the CC would have enough bottem in an SG but I've never tried one in an SG.

Personally, I think the stock Duncan Custom would be a good choice for the bridge pickup. It has plenty of mids, bass and highs.

As for the neck pickup, I don't like as much bass from the neck pickup...I like to be able to get a clear, non-woofy tone when I want to and most humbuckers have to much bass for me to use as neck pickups.

I'd recommend the Pearly Gates neck or if you like a fuller deeper tone that's still clear maybe go for the Jazz neck.

Lew
 
Last edited:
Re: best pickup for sg

Notice Lew's subtle endorsement of PGn/CCb...:27:

No SG experience personally. I say keep the pups you have and get a Les Paul - but that's a slightly more radical solution.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

Aceman said:
Notice Lew's subtle endorsement of PGn/CCb...:27:

No SG experience personally. I say keep the pups you have and get a Les Paul - but that's a slightly more radical solution.

Actually, I was thinking the PGn and Custom...I use the Custom Custom though and like it alot too. Just not sure how it'd sound in a SG. The CC sounded astonishingly good in my chanmbered body Hamer Monoco Super pro but the SG is a whole other thing: skinny body, skinny long neck...kinda twangy sounding guitars without much low end, IMO.

I'd guess great with the amp cranked...and maybe still great but a little lacking in deep low end at cleaner/quieter settings.

I'm kinda partial to bridge pickups with a strong low end (Custom, 59B, etc.) in SG's.

Lew
 
Re: best pickup for sg

i use a gibson goldtone rv-15 amp, the angus pickup is bright enough just seems to lack when playing rythmn, very good for lead, just would of liked 59n a little less bassy or muddy, would disconnecting tone pots add a little brightness, all pots 500k
thanks
 
Re: best pickup for sg

bluesboy said:
i use a gibson goldtone rv-15 amp, the angus pickup is bright enough just seems to lack when playing rythmn, very good for lead, just would of liked 59n a little less bassy or muddy, would disconnecting tone pots add a little brightness, all pots 500k
thanks

Sounds from that like you'd like the Jazz.

Do the 50's mod to both the neck volume control and bridge volume control.

Unsolder the tone cap from the outside terminal of the neck volume control and resolder it to the middle terminal.

I'd do it to both volume controls...in fact, I did.

It'll brighten things up and retain highs when you turn the volume of the guitar down.

Lew
 
Re: best pickup for sg

i put the 59 set back in today, man i don't know what i was thinking when i took them out before, the 59,s sound great, total classic rock tone, glad i kept them,probably would like the jazz in the neck though, some other time
thanks:dance: :banana:
 
Re: best pickup for sg

I had a 59 in the neck of my SG and found it very bright, but I couldn't deal with that woofy-ness. Threw in a jazz and I feel its much better, plus its better matched for the C5 in the bridge.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

I vote custom custom or custom bridge and PG neck.

Or you could put an A2P in the neck. That might warm it up.
 
Re: best pickup for sg

About a month and a half ago I put new pickups in my sg standard. I was seeking a clearer, yet higher output sound used for jazz/blues/rock/some hard rock. I put the jazz neck in the neck and the sh-5 custom in the bridge. The EQ for the jazz is listed as 5/3/9 and the sh-5 is 7/6/9 which seems to be a good balance. The bass is punchy in the sh-5 but tight and I think they sound great, way better than the stock pickups I was using.
 
Back
Top