Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

[jtougas]

So, two of my guitars have the stock pickups in them, and I'm having thoughts...

Dangerous things, thoughts.

I've got an Ibanez AS83.

I've also got a Gibson SG.

For pickups, I've got a covered '59n, and a pair of P-Rails I bought from a fellow forumite, with the intention of putting them into the SG. But I'm not sure I can bring myself to turn the SG into a switch monster (or, actually, a push/pull pot monster) to get the full use out of the pickups. However, I have no such compunction about doing that with the AS83. What I do have compunctions about with the AS83 is not using covered pickups.

So, I'm torn between

1) getting either a covered PGb or '59b to go in the AS83 with the '59n, and putting the P-Rails in the SG (as originally planned).
2) putting the P-rails in the AS83, and the '59n and whatever in the SG.
3) something else altogether, as I'm thinking the SG (in the Faded Brown) would look killer with a zebra set of some type or another (maybe WLHs?), and the '59n + xxx in the AS83, and save the P-Rails for a future project (of which I already have a few).

Decisions, decisions...

 

[jeremy]

Re: Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

does the sg have a big guard or small guard? if its small guard, id go triple shots and prails on that. sg + p90 = money

 

[jtougas]

Re: Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

The critters in question:

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

What color P-Rails? I put creams in my AS-83 and I wasn't sure if I'd like the look, but now that they're there I love it even more!

[emoji450]Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [emoji441]

 

[jtougas]

Re: Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

Ah.

Hm.

Mine are black. Yeah, that cream isn't bad... How's it sound?

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

I love it now that I pulled out those crappy stock ACHs. I find it to be extremely versatile, enough so that it can easily replace my #1 solidbody for gigs... in fact I bring it as a backup, but still play it just because I like to!

The P-Rails are much hotter than the stock ones were and they have a nice thick tone that works really well for classic rock, which is what I play. I even get decent pinch harmonics that I really had to struggle for before (although still not as easy to get as on a solidbody guitar... just a fact of life). If the series humbuckers are too thick, you can use the parallel very well and (of course) the P-90s or rails.

If you want to use Triple Shots, look closely at the picture I put up. You definitely need the arched ones, but the contours of the AS-83 seem to be a little different from normal. I ended up using the short ring for the bridge and the taller one flipped around for the neck in order to get the pickups to sit correctly.

Here's a link to a vid of my band playing "Balinese" about 6 weeks ago. I'm just playing rhythm for the song, but it gives a good idea of how the bridge pickup sounds in series:

 

[jtougas]

Re: Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

How does the Custom do in a semi-hollow? Or a Custom 5?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Decisions, decisions... 2 guitars, 3 pickups...

Both the Custom or Custom 5 can sound good for heavier music, but you get into the range where you have to watch for feedback from the higher output pickups. If the guitar itself is really mid-heavy, the C5 is a better choice, as the mids are scooped. I kinda like the mids in a semi hollow to be there, though.