Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

[impetustheimpaler]

I have a 498t and 490r in my sg that I like but as everyone else says they aren't a great combination. I play blues, rock n roll and doom. I'm not very savvy so I'm not really interested in swapping magnets, I would just like to find the best possible stock pickup combination for this type of music. I've read the crazy 8 and 59n are regarded as "the best", is that still the general consensus around here? Thanks guys!

 

[Demanic]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Why do you want to change them if you like them? Don't necessarily listen to others opinions, especially if it's "What sort of pickups do you have? Oh, those are no good for such and such, you should use these." If you are jamming with others and they directly tell you that your tone is terrible, that's a different story.

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[Demanic]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Just reread your post. Are you saying that you like the guitar but don't like the pickups? Just trying to clarify.

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[OsvyRock]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Just reread your post. Are you saying that you like the guitar but don't like the pickups? Just trying to clarify.

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Exactly. Seems like I'm not the only one with a love/hate relationship with a SG with the 498t/490r set installed.

 

[impetustheimpaler]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Im sorry, it is a little confusing. Well, I like the 498t a little more than the 490r but they aren't paired well together in that if I eq everything for the bridge then the neck pup sounds bad and vice versa.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Well, the 59 set might be a good place to start. Or maybe a 59n with the 59/Custom in the bridge.

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[impetustheimpaler]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Ok, I'll look into the custom and thanks for the reply.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

blues, rock n roll and doom + SG.

Of the combos I've tried, for the above I might recommend:
59 bridge, Pearly Gates neck
Pearly Gates bridge, Seth neck
Whole Lotta Humbucker set
500T / 496R
Duncan Distortion / 496R
JB/Jazz (old production, not newer ones)


What amp/speaker?

 

[impetustheimpaler]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Rivera k tre reverb head and vintage 30's...

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

The 59n pairs well with the 498t. With a lot of tweaking of polepieces and height, the 490r can balance much better with the 498t as well.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Exactly. Seems like I'm not the only one with a love/hate relationship with a SG with the 498t/490r set installed.

Problem with PU's with such polar differences in EQ, and this set is one of the more extreme examples, is: how do you set your amp's EQ? To warm and thicken up the bridge PU, or clear up & thin out the neck? I think some players just play one of the PU's and ignore the other.

I recommend working with what you have first, rather than spending the money on a new set that you may or may not like in that guitar. For several dollars you can modify the 498T/490R & get some nice tones. Take the A5 out of the bridge PU and put it in the neck (mud gone!), and put either an UOA5 in the bridge (for warm, rich, more vintage tone), or an A8 (for a warm, muscular tone). They sound like totally different PU's.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Rivera k tre reverb head and vintage 30's...

Based on that info, listening to demos of the amp; from what I can tell, for blues, rock n roll and doom + an SG, I would revise my suggestions down to

59 bridge, Pearly Gates neck
Whole Lotta Humbucker set
Duncan Distortion / 496R

...but there are many other options out there, some that have potential to work even better maybe (Screamin' Demon, Parallel Axis, Full Shred, Perpetual Burn, Pegasus/Sentient ?), I just haven't tried them can can't speak to them.

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

What everyone else says it's none of your business if you like the tone of your guitar. the infamous pair 490R/498T is the argument of almost 1000 threads but they are not so bad. And under certain conditions, they get the job done fairly well because the tone you want is the combination of different factors (the woods, the ampli, the pickups, the effect chain, the strings, your hands). I have a les paul, completely stock, loaded with them and I have never thought to get rid of them. Because it sounds good to my ears.
So my first advice is to adjust the EQ of the ampli trying to find out a good compromise (it is not impossible) and the height and poles of the 490R. Second, check the pot of the neck pickup: if it's a 300K, swap it for a 500k. Swap the cap also. Easy and inexpensive. If you act this way, you add a little amount of treble to the 490R. If that is not enough, take into account what blueman335 said regarding the magnets. Only if, at the end, you are not satisfy change the pickups. I have an SG loaded with a paf pro and a super distortion. I bought it second hand and in a good shape years ago. The first owner swapped the gibson stock pickups ( don't know really which they were: burst buckers?) with the aforementioned dimarzios. It's a rock machine.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

I think if you like your pickups, and you are just looking for something the same, but better, it isn't reason enough to change. Go with what you like- there is nothing wrong with your tastes. If you wanted them to do something they simply weren't doing, then that would be one thing. Consider it an act of rebellion to just keep the stock pickups in there.

 

[NotCardio]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Well, he said HE wasn't happy with them, so that's enough reason to change for me.

I personally wouldn't even begin to know how to interpret 'blues, rock and roll and doom'. To me, that's about as vague as you can get, not to mention the fact that I wouldn't know 'doom' if it bit me in the ass.

 

[Despair]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

Doom's usually fairly easy, tends to be more about fuzz or stacked gain than the pickups, though there are a few iconoclasts who focus more on tone shaping and output at the pickup. All about the pedals and big bassy amps. Big Muff variants [Way Huge Swollen Pickle, Black Arts Toneworks Pharoah Supreme, Proco Rat], or maybe a DOD Carcosa... Or any weird obscure thing you find and like.

Given that gamut, I'd lean towards vintage hot or medium output pickups. SH-5 Custom at probably the punchiest for bridge, '59/Custom Hybrid, '59 Bridge are pretty much the gamut. '59 or Sentient neck would be first things I'd check out. Could also look at a Screamin' Demon in the neck, particularly with the hotter pickups [A lot of people find the standard neck humbucker location in SGs a bit frustrating, something hotter but with controlled lower mids is one of the more common solutions]. Whole Lotta Humbucker set is another good classic humbucker sound. Or to focus more on blues/classic rock, Saturday Night Specials.

I'd suggest trawling around youtube a bit, see which ones grab you.

A lot of the pickup suggestions I and others make are centered on "PAF" humbuckers, because those are the most flexible. Rock and metal-oriented pickups tend to sacrifice dynamics making them less appealing for blues, and be much pickier about what fuzzes they work well with, on the doom side. Though there are more flexible exceptions.

If you want pickups that can do it all, a P-Rails with Triple Shots set might appeal. Tone Zone-ish huge fat humbucking series tone, more light & bubbly PAFish tones in parallel, split to P-90 and a rail single coil. P-90s and parallel are the most obvious choices for doom, anything but series most likely for blues, and anything goes for rock.

There are people who like hot ceramic pickups like the Distortion for blues or other unusual combos, but that's really choosing to fight your equipment...

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

This is my favorite tone from a SG.

It's coming from Alnico 5 1960's Gibson pickups, a cranked Marshall and a genius doing the playing at a time when he was at the top of his game.

I can get a similar sound (minus the genius part) with Duncan 59's.

I saw Clapton playing this SG in '67 or so and his lead tone was to die for.

His rhythm tone was a bit muddy though.

I think the '59 set actually gives a better/clearer rhythm tone and the bridge pickup sounds very similar to Clapton's lead tone.

When I put Roughcast A5 in the 59 set, the tone got even closer to the tone in the video.

I use them in a PRS Custom 22.

 

[stef89]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

The stock pickups in your sg is great for the type of music you play, they are also incredible versatile. Have you tried experimenting with your pickup heights? Specially the neck pickup since you dont like the eq when switching between them. The tonal difference from say 3mm to 1.5mm with your last fret pressed down make a huge difference. The only reason I could think of changing them is if you wanted a higher output pickup or more clarity in the neck like a Phat cat or a jazz.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Gibson sg pickup recommendation?

These would work for the blues and rock & roll part (not quite mushy for doom):