Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

unisafe

unisafe

New member
I'm stumped on what to get, I was even thinking of just swapping out the magnet or something (490t).
I want a pickup that is a bit more dynamic and when you dig into the strings more you really know about it.
I bought this guitar for playing hard rock and metal. It has very clean sound at the moment.
Cheers people.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

I'd recommend the Full Shred, one of the Custom series, or the 59/ custom hybrid. Heres a video demonstrating a bunch of duncan pickups by Keith Merrow. You can hear which one you like best compared to the others.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ryzie8mham8

Plus its all downtuned, so you can really hear the ones that keep their clarity at lower tunings.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the JB? That's a good place to start with the minimal information given.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Shadow1psc said:
Why hasn't anyone mentioned the JB? That's a good place to start with the minimal information given.
Click to expand...

Cause you will have a half dozen guys stampede in here to tell you your wrong and the JB is terrible and inconsistent in mahogany.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Jb is sick too. But when you think of pick dynamics the jb isnt the first to come to mind, as it is pretty dang hot, and it's cleans aren't the best because of it. But it is an awesome pickup that will clean up pretty well with pick control, not as well as others though.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

I would recommend Custom5 or the regular Custom but the Screamin Demon might be a good candidate it's not super hot but If your amp has the gain on tap then yea the Demon might work.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Rockstar216 said:
I would recommend Custom5 or the regular Custom but the Screamin Demon might be a good candidate it's not super hot but If your amp has the gain on tap then yea the Demon might work.
Click to expand...

I forgot the screamin demon. Good one.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Kam said:
Well, at least you're being tremendously helpful.
Click to expand...

I thought it was tremendously funny!

On topic though....for the most dynamics I'd stick as close to PAF hotness as possible. Are you opposed to ordering from the Custom Shop? If you are not a 78 in mahogany would sound great, or an S-Deco I think if you wanted a little less PAF-ness
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Edgecrusher said:
Cause you will have a half dozen guys stampede in here to tell you your wrong and the JB is terrible and inconsistent in mahogany.
Click to expand...

In my experience the JB is inconsistent in everything.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

jimlp said:
In my experience the JB is inconsistent in everything.
Click to expand...

Thers about a 1000 different records from many artists over the years that strongly beg to differ with your experience.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

But seriously I'm sorry to the OP I was feeling a bit cynical yesterday. For some helpful advice you might try swapping the mag in the 490T but I dont think you will find what your after. Sometimes you do have to start with a different pickup. Are you dead set on buying a Seymour Duncan? If not the Rio Grande BBQ is an excellent hot humbucker for an SG. Its not mega output but definitely rude and works well in many situations. If your dead set on SD I would go with a 59/Custom hybrid which isnt super loud either but has a nice range of sounds.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Edgecrusher said:
Thers about a 1000 different records from many artists over the years that strongly beg to differ with your experience.
Click to expand...

Those are the guitars where JB's worked, and the majority of those are in brighter woods. There could be just as many where JB's didn't work out so well. After reading many posts over the years from JB owners, it's clearly fussy about the woods it's in. And many of these came from guys who love JB's in certain guitars. When a JB's likes a wood and/or guitar, it's great; when it doesn't, it often fails in a spectacular way. Like Babe Ruth: either a home run or a strike out.

For those of us with mahogany guitars, stock JB's can be too quirky, and a different magnet usually solves that issue.

And for the OP, a C8 is one of the best bridge PU's in an SG for high output and muscle. Many guys here love that pairing.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

blueman335 said:
Those are the guitars where JB's worked, and the majority of those are in brighter woods. There could be just as many where JB's didn't work out so well. After reading many posts over the years from JB owners, it's clearly fussy about the woods it's in. And many of these came from guys who love JB's in certain guitars. When a JB's likes a wood and/or guitar, it's great; when it doesn't, it often fails in a spectacular way. Like Babe Ruth: either a home run or a strike out.

For those of us with mahogany guitars, stock JB's can be too quirky, and a different magnet usually solves that issue.

And for the OP, a C8 is one of the best bridge PU's in an SG for high output and muscle. Many guys here love that pairing.
Click to expand...

Yeah we've heard all this before, the only place that the JB is fussier than any other pickup about wood is on this forum. You absolutely cannot take away the thousands of great tracks that have been recorded over the years from it. We get it you dont like the JB.. suprise suprise there are many who do they just arent in the vocal minority of this forum.

I agree the C8 is a great option but its not the ONLY option out there. Not by far
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

I have a JB/Jazz set in my SG and it is wonderful. The only tangible argument you'd hear out of a naysayer is that its 'putting mids on mids' and you're supposed to use opposites to create a well balanced instrument, meaning; bright pickup goes to muddy guitar etc. But that just sounds like they're trying to reach the center balance point AKA the mids. Hasn't it also been said that the guitar is supposed to be a mid rangy instrument, and that the tone is in the mids? There's a lot of inconsistencies when it comes to theories like this. Bottom line, if you put a JB in a Gibson style guitar, the most that will really happen is that the big Mid shift from scoop to peak in your amplifier will come a lot sooner (on some amps) than you think (I've seen the change happen at around 2 or 3 at the most, and that's 2/10 and 3/10 not 2 or 3 o'clock). But big deal, you have other knobs to compensate for that. I feel like people on the forum are more concerned with the initial tone of the guitar than how the amp plays into the mix.

-OvenMan
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Forum regulars will be unsurprised when I suggest a P-Rails in a Triple Shot mounting surround.
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

unisafe said:
I'm stumped on what to get, I was even thinking of just swapping out the magnet or something (490t).
I want a pickup that is a bit more dynamic and when you dig into the strings more you really know about it.
I bought this guitar for playing hard rock and metal. It has very clean sound at the moment.
Cheers people.
Click to expand...

My word of advice is: swap the magnets and get an A4/A8 mag combo.

You'll be surprised withh all the different styles of music you'll be able to convincingly play with this mag combo in your 490R/490T set.

After all, it's only a ten bucks investment and halfn'hour job. At these conditions, you just can't afford NOT to try! ;)

HTH,
 
Last edited:
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

Thanks Lt. Kojak, I'm going to give the magnet swap a go before I do anything else.
If that doesn't do it for ,I'll have read through this thread a few times more and hopefully come to some conclusion.
Cheers people
 
Re: Gibson SGJ purchased, recommend a versatile hard rocking bridge pickup

I recently started using a distortion neck pup in the bridge slot. It seems to me as if a 10k demon and a 16k distortion bridge had a baby.

13k, a fat ceramic, and a relatively narrow field(44ga wire). It's not as bright as youd expect either. Standby for sound demos as soon as my new speakers come in.

To my ears it sounds closer to a "PAF on steroids" than the custom does. It does low, medium, and high gain. This is the first pickup i've used that can pull off all 3 this well. I also plan on trying it with an A8.

Just food for thought.
 
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