Best SD P/u for SG?

DTrickle

New member
Hey guys,

I am looking for a bit hotter/bigger sound from my Gibson SG Standard. It has the stock 498T in there now, and I would like something a bit hotter, just barely, and also a little bigger in tone. I am running it through a Mesa Boogie Road King, so and suggestions for something with a brighter tone would be good. I play modern rock. Thanks! :)
 
Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

Welcome to the forum. :)

The 498T is actually quite a hot pickup (around 16k?), though some people find it sounds thin on account of its focus on the upper midrange frequencies.

The Custom 5 is an alnico V pickup with a more rounded sound and stronger bottom end. It has a great reputation for versatility.

The Custom is a ceramic pickup with a full aggressive tone ("PAF on steroids") that's excellent for hard rock and metal, but cleans up very nicely too.

Both of the above come in at about 14k, which I think is slightly less output than the 498T. However, their fuller tone may give you what you're looking for.

If you want to go hotter you should probably look at the Duncan Distortion or the Invader. I can't comment on those as I haven't played them.

If you are looking for a brighter and bigger sound another thing to consider is changing your volume pots to 500k audio taper. If you have a modern production SG the stock volumes are most likely 300k linear. It may be worth trying a pot change first - pots are a lot cheaper than pickups!
 
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Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

I've had a Duncan Distortion in my SG for over 15 years. I just took it out to try a 500T which I liked in my Les Paul. I have to say I do miss the DD in the SG and I think the 500T sounded better in the Les Paul than the SG.
 
Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

Thanks guys, I will check out the pot thing for sure!

I was thinking of the Custom Custom or so. I have heard that the 498T is around 14.4K, so right around the same vicinity of the Custom. I saw that the Custom Custom had a midrange boost, so I was thinking that might be what I am looking for.

Thanks Peterku, I have had for for a little over a month now and I love it. Here it is:

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Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

How can I tell what pots I have in my guitar though? I have a new (04) Gibson SG Standard, but I want to make sure these pots are 300K before I tear them all out and rewire everything :)
 
Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

DTrickle said:
How can I tell what pots I have in my guitar though? I have a new (04) Gibson SG Standard, but I want to make sure these pots are 300K before I tear them all out and rewire everything :)

The values may be stamped on the sides of the pots or you'll have to unsolder the grounded lugs on the pots and put an ohm meter across both outside lugs of the pots..This will give you the total pot resistance values..

John
 
Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

i had a 59/custom setup in my sg for a while and it was great for modern rock, thick meaty neck tones and a nice chunky bridge. i then put a pgn/c5 in and it was a great match for the more classic rock type tone i use now, a little smoother and warmer, not as aggressive
 
Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

I'm currently using Gibson Toni Iommi signature pups in my SG. I'm very happt with the sound they give. Heavy bottom end, but not muddy, and sharp highs, but not peircing. It does sound very close to Toni's sound, and I also use this guitar for playing AC/DC tune and some punk tunes like Ramones and White Stripes.

But if you want to go with duncans, I would recommend the C5 and '59n. Best pickup combo IMO. And the C5 is a wondeful sounding, very versatile pup.
 
Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

Peterku said:
You could check out some DiMarzios as well. If you're searching for a very modern, quite aggressive tone, the 'D Sonic' could be your way. The 'Breed Bridge' model is friendlier, it has a big and smooth midrange. The 'Air Zone' is less in output, rawer, more vintage and very fat. The 'Norton' has a more aggressive amount of harmonics and it's more balanced than e.g. the 'Breed', it's open sounding. The 'Tone Zone' is barely a distortion class pickup but it sounds BIG, just has to be placed lower under the strings. A lot of people don't like its unusual sound, though. It has a similar amount of midrange as the 'Breed Bridge' but it's aggressive and cuts through easily in situations where the 'Breed' might get lost in the mix. The 'Super Distortion' is a basics in metal and hard rock, it's very fat. Those who like the fatness of the 'Super D' but would like a more defined bottom end, could choose the 'Super 3'. The SuperD and Super3 are really high output.

One of my friends, a very experienced guitarist told me about the Rio BBQ. It's a medium-to-hot output pup, quite balanced. It's similar to the Custom 5 but with a healthier amount of midrange. It's deeper than the Air Zone but less fat sounding. It has that signature dry sizzle of Rio Grande pups, it's difficult to 'hide' it in the mix. This way it could be also compared to the JB but the JB's a much tougher guy, with less bass and the emphasis on the upper mids.

I think the BBQ is thick, rich, and about as fat as you can get with pickups. very harmonically rich and full. Big bass like the C-5, thicker mids, and smoother highs. Superb.

The Custom can come acrosss as hard and cold.
 
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Re: Best SD P/u for SG?

papersoul said:
I think the BBQ is thick, rich, and about as fat as you can get with pickups. very harmonically rich and full. Big bass like the C-5, thicker mids, and smoother highs. Superb.

The Custom can come acrosss as hard and cold.

I have had a few suggestions now on this forum and others about the BBQ, and I'm intrigued. Rio Grande's website really sucks though for info. I have heard the output is less though than the stock Gibson 498T. Does anyone have any idea as to the output?

I have the the Iommi pickup in a PRS, and I didn't like it. Of course, there were a lot more varibles going on there too, but the fundamental tone just wasn't there for me.

I have thought about the Custom. I had it in an LP but through my old Mesa Tremoverb it was just too muddy. I'm wondering if the brighter nature of the SG could balance it out a bit better, and I have noticed that my Road King is a bit brighter, less muddy as well.

Thanks guys for the help!!!
 
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