les paul tone from SG ???

[slate]

hi guys ,
i'm new here , so please forgive me if this question has already been asked .

basically ,i want to make my SG's sound like my les paul .

can i do this simply by changing the pickups , and if so , what would you reccomend ?

i have changed the bridge in one of my SG's to a gibson 500t ceramic ( which i have in my les paul ) , and it does sound pretty close to the les - but its still lacking that wonderful " tightness" and focus that the les has .

gibson say they will build me a fatter SG with a maple top ( through custom direct ) , but theyre a bit vague as to whether or not this will actually sound any closer to the les than my standard SG's.
thanks ,
slate

 

[papersoul]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

hi guys ,
i'm new here , so please forgive me if this question has already been asked .

basically ,i want to make my SG's sound like my les paul .

can i do this simply by changing the pickups , and if so , what would you reccomend ?

i have changed the bridge in one of my SG's to a gibson 500t ceramic ( which i have in my les paul ) , and it does sound pretty close to the les - but its still lacking that wonderful " tightness" and focus that the les has .

gibson say they will build me a fatter SG with a maple top ( through custom direct ) , but theyre a bit vague as to whether or not this will actually sound any closer to the les than my standard SG's.
thanks ,
slate

I would say the Rio Grande BBQ in the bridge.

Gibson will build you a fatter SG with maple top?? Don't they already make that with the SG Custom or Supreme or something? I bet the custom shop one will be expensive!!!! Did they quote a price?

Why not get a Les Paul and have both??

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

I would say the Rio Grande BBQ in the bridge.

Gibson will build you a fatter SG with maple top?? Don't they already make that with the SG Custom or Supreme or something? I bet the custom shop one will be expensive!!!! Did they quote a price?

(Papersoul) Why not get a Les Paul and have both??

He already has a Les Paul! :smack: :wink:

I Own a Les Paul and an SG...I can sought of cop the Les Paul vibe,but the Les Paul has overall more sustain and that heavier body going for it..I use a 59N and a Dimarzio Fred in the bridge on my SG,but I treat each guitar for it's own identities...

John

 

[slate]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

thanks for your reply !
all gibson SG's use the exact same body thickness - 1.35 inches .
they all have solid mahogany bodies , apart from the supreme which has .675" mahogany and .675" maple .
ive tried one ( supreme) and it does indeed sound a little more LP-like.

however , gibson dont make the supremes left handed , and being a lefty , i have no choice but to have the custom shop make me one as special order .

i do own a les paul - but i cant play it like i can play the SG - the SG size and weight just does it for me .

thanks again ,
slate

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

thanks for your reply !
all gibson SG's use the exact same body thickness - 1.35 inches .
they all have solid mahogany bodies , apart from the supreme which has .675" mahogany and .675" maple .
ive tried one ( supreme) and it does indeed sound a little more LP-like.

however , gibson dont make the supremes left handed , and being a lefty , i have no choice but to have the custom shop make me one as special order .

i do own a les paul - but i cant play it like i can play the SG - the SG size and weight just does it for me .

thanks again ,
slate

Another Lefty and I feel your pain buddy! :32:

 

[slate]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

you got that right !

the only consolation for being a lefty is that it somewhat contains the already ludicrous amount of time and money that i spend in search of the perfect guitar .

slate

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

you got that right !

the only consolation for being a lefty is that it somewhat contains the already ludicrous amount of time and money that i spend in search of the perfect guitar .

slate

Oh,and you're over in England,as I imagine certain model guitars are harder to get over there? I'm up to like 6 strats,2 teles,a les paul,and an sg..I'm pretty happy really...And a real nice acoustic aLso.... :dance: I keep collecting and building more strats..LOL

 

[RG 2570]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

if it is a newer SG is will accept a trem spaced pup, in that case get a blues saraceno patb-3 for a les paul tone.
the newer gibson bridges are wider and use a trem spaced pup like the 490T,500T, 498T these are ALL tremspaced(52mm) pups :cool3:

 

[nuntius]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

what about a double cut LP?

it'd be lighter and easier to play than a normal LP and would probably sound more like one than you could get an SG to.

 

[Thames]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

I dont think a SG can sound like a LP, maybe close, but never equal. I've been torn between SG and LP over the last year... bought a SG, sold it for LP, sold the LP, bought another SG, and then re-sold the SG for a LP :lame:

I agree with the Rio Grande suggestion. The BBQ/Texas set adds some LP-like thickness to a SG. I tried 'em in mine last summer, and yes, they are great for that!

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

I definitely don't think that BBQ will be the answer to what you are looking for. Yes it is dark yet you need body. BBQ has lots and lots of uppermids and that does not help in getting a LP tone from an SG, because those uppermids on an SG will be more pronounced. The result ain't bad tho, immediate early 90's angus tone. How do I know, well I used a BBQ texas set for over 3 years now, on an SG that I have sold I might add.

Anyway, I'd say check CC, that's what I think you would love. Smooth creamy mid heavy (not particularly uppermids, but more on the lowemid side) smooth spongy bass. On an SG the intrinsic amount of highs help CC deliver a LP kinda tone. I think you'd get pretty close.

On the other hand an antiquity bridge version has the same +s, and is more open, better for clear stuff. Can do the gain excellent. Think of a might fine 490T! The stock dun-aged magnet will help to wash off exessive highs from the body of the SG. Check them out.

I'd say forget all a5, and ceramic buckers for what you want.

B

 

[papersoul]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

He already has a Les Paul! :smack: :wink:
John

D'oh!!

 

[papersoul]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

The only reason I don't like the idea of a CC in an SG is that an SG is loaded with mids, and more so than an LP. Doesn't the CC have a boat load of mids? I would think that would be overkill. Doc, you would know since you have had both.

Personally, I have had the BBQ in about 5 guitars and it is the best pickup I have used thus far for all styles. I actually don't find it as dark as people suggest. I think it has more than enough highs, thick mids, and solid bass. Still, not as much bass as the C-5. I never hear the upper mids people talk about but I also never hear that in the JB. My ears may not be able to differentiate various mids.......only mids in general.

 

[sanrafael]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

I think that the type of body a guitar has makes a real difference in the sound, but am interested in what everyone thinks. The LP has a small but heavy body, very different from the SG, and I do not think they can sound the same. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

 

[Dirtyking]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

I had a 500t in my SG which was too muddy and loose on the bottom end. I then tried an Invader which is an unholy pup. Lots of bass and mids with punch and sustain, but lacking the vintage touch for me. I'd look into an Invader or a Custom.

BTW, I ended up with a Demon pup that hit the spot. But I still may switch to a Custom in one of my SG's.

 

[MattPete]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

Try a Blues Saraceno trembucker. It will add body/low-end and some of the high-end that the LP gets from a maple cap.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

SG has a thinner body with a thinner neck (comparing to 59 and early 50s taper LP necks). In comparison to SG, LP has a huge mass of wood. The weight should reflect that anyway.

SG does not have that much mids, it sure has uppermids, but not that much lowermids. Hence a LP sounds bigger, sounds with more base, deeper... In order to offset too deep a tone, Les 'the magnificient' Paul came up with the maple cap, to restore some of the bite that might be lost with an all mahogany construction. Sure the customs are all mahogany, but then they have ebony boards, which add bite to its tone.

Hence, CC would compensate for the lack of lowermids on a SG.

I always was not comfy with SGs. The bridge as I said can be done with a CC or Ant bridge or a 59 with an a2 magnet. Yet the neck position is what annoys me. It simply is too bright, and no matter what I have done I could not get a LP neck tone out of it. Looks like I don't like 24fret neck positions, even tho some may love them.

B

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

BTW by the same token, my humble opinion is that due to that issue with uppermids, PGb in the bridge of a SG does not do that well. The same issue as that of BBQ, yet the magnitude of that with PG is way less. I think that texas sizzle ain't no good for SGs.

B

 

[RG 2570]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

one guy here had a SG that no matter what pup he tried it sounded anemic
he put in a dimarzio breed and loves it now?

 

[sanrafael]

Re: les paul tone from SG ???

If the primary differences between the LP and the SG are frequency response (different levels of mids, etc.), then you can make them similar if you can find a pickup that has a frequency response that "corrects the problem". Why do this with the pickup? Why not use the tone controls on the amp or get a preamp with a better equalizer if necessary? To make the question more general, why do you ever need to change a pickup to get a different frequency response? Surely if you can compensate for wood with a pickup, you can compensate for a pickup with an equalizer.