Gibson SG Standard Bridge Pickup Guidance

[Lammchop93]

I have a new Gibson SG Standard that I am in love with. I think I got one of the better SGs I've played. No neck dive!!!

Anyhow, the pickup weren't jiving with me. The 490R in the neck was dark and muddy and just terrible sounding. The 490t in the bridge had the right amount of low end, but just seemed muffled sounding to my ears. Not enough clarity.

I picked up a secondhand set of the Saturday Night Specials, and in the neck this pickup was exactly what I was looking for. Tons of clarity! It almost reminds me of a single coil sound. I had a SD Jazz in a former Les Paul of mine, and the SNSn reminds me a lot of the Jazz, but slightly less trebly. It's perfect for the SG, so it's staying put.

The SNS bridge however is not exactly what I want. It's a lot thinner sounding than 490T, too thin for me. I do like the clarity the pickup brings, but it doesn't have enough low-end oopmh to it that the 490t had and it sounds kind of brittle to my ears. I do like a lot of harmonics and not much compression


I've been spending time time browsing lots of pickups and doing comparison with the various EQ charts, and the '78 seems to fit what I need, but the A2Ps and the Antiquity also look appealing too. I keep reading that pearly gates are great for SG, but the EQ chart makes it looks super bright. How reliable are these EQ charts?

For the record, I do have a mojotone solderless 500k wiring harness installed in my SG now. Not sure what was in it originally with the 490's.

 

[jeremy]

are you sure you had a 490t not 498t? the 490t is pretty dang bright and thin to my ears. the sns isnt super fat, but how close do you have it to the strings?

only half trust those eq charts

 

[Lammchop93]

are you sure you had a 490t not 498t? the 490t is pretty dang bright and thin to my ears. the sns isnt super fat, but how close do you have it to the strings?

only half trust those eq charts

yes, just double checked it was the 490t. I had both pickups maxed out height wise, so pretty close to the strings. Maybe I got a darker sounding SG?

 

[jeremy]

maybe? but im still surprised the 490t sounds fatter than the sns bridge

 

[Supernautilus]

I put a set of 59s in my SG and never looked back. It’s about the only pup installation I’ve never questioned afterwards haha. It’s basically the perfect classic rock humbucker tone to my ears.

 

[hamerfan]

I have a 120th Anni SG with a 490T on my bench. Plenty of brite.

 

[Lammchop93]

The DMT Mountain of Tone seems like the tone I'm chasing, but the satin nickel finish is not going to look great with my polished SNS in the neck

https://darthphineas.com/2018/06/dean-dmt-leslie-west-mountain-of-tone/

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Those EQ charts are just to be taken as a guide. IMO, no way the A2P or the Slash have more bass than the Custom 5.

 

[Lammchop93]

maybe? but im still surprised the 490t sounds fatter than the sns bridge

I measured my SNS and it measures exactly 9k, which is less than the stated 9.7k. Maybe that's why it sounds thin? Although the number of wraps should be the same between SNS'

 

[beaubrummels]

I measured my SNS and it measures exactly 9k, which is less than the stated 9.7k. Maybe that's why it sounds thin? Although the number of wraps should be the same between SNS'

9k is within 10% tolerance of the spec. They shouldn't sound different, certainly not enough for one of the same model to sound 'thin'. The resistance does not indicate the output. It only indicates how much wire is on the bobbins, which varies based on the thickness of the wire.

Those BMT charts are not right. a '78 model doesn't have that much bass at all and an A2P does not have less mids than a Slash, IME. All those charts look scooped, but not all those pickups sound scooped.

 

[Lammchop93]

I ordered a ‘78 to try. Will report back to let you all know how it compares to the SNS

 

[Mincer]

I ordered a ‘78 to try. Will report back to let you all know how it compares to the SNS

I look forward to this update. I haven't directly compared the 78 to anything yet, and I am considering one for a project. As far as the charts of the pickups, some are way off, at least as my ears are concerned. Also, some of them look so similar that it is difficult to see how anyone can use them to make a decision.

 

[Securb]

I needed thump in my SG so I put in a Black Winter set and never looked back

 

[Demanic]

If I had an SG, I would put a Mayhem set in it and be done.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

 

[Supernautilus]

I've been looking hard at the 78 model pickups for a while now myself. I found this video of Brett Kingman demoing them and they sound absolutely amazing.

 

[Lammchop93]

I needed thump in my SG so I put in a Black Winter set and never looked back

very nice. I play through a Peavey classic as well

 

[Mincer]

The Black Winter in an SG is the right choice, always.

 

[Lammchop93]

if the '78 doesnt work out, I may give the Phat Cat a try. this video sounds great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjgQtgLlFmY

 

[Rex_Rocker]

As much as I absolutely love Black Winters, I wouldn't say they're "thumpy" myself.

They're not thin-sounding or anything, but I find they're way more tight, focused, and cutting than thumpy.

JMO.

 

[Lammchop93]

Got my '78 installed, and it's a keeper. Very similar to the SNS, but does have a slightly thicker tone. It is brighter, but not on the harsher high end. Easily tamed with my tone control, but it sounds really full and rich. This seems like a great pickup for an SG style guitar IMO.