Neck pickup for SG

[alex1fly]

I have a Gibson SG that's light and LOUD. It excels at speed metal shreddy rhythm playing with palm mutes and fast alternate picking with high gain. The bridge pickup is a Norton and it sounds great - fat, articulate, sweet, aggressive. Looking for suggestions for a neck pickup and want a similar vibe - articulate, sweet, aggressive, clear with massive gain. The DiMarzio website recommends the PAF Pro, Air Classic, and PAF 36th. I'm thinking that a PAF voicing isn't the way to go, but the PAF Pro could be. Not opposed to other Dimarzios or even going with a Full Shred, Sentient, Jazz, something like that. Thanks!

 

[pskorz]

I’m very happy with a FRED in the neck. I have it paired with a super distortion in the bridge.

 

[Mincer]

The Sentient sounds like it has what you want.

 

[alex1fly]

I’m very happy with a FRED in the neck. I have it paired with a super distortion in the bridge.

Do you find this to be true? From DiMarzio: "Many standard humbuckers have a tendency to fatten up with distortion. The FRED® does the opposite; it gets tighter and brighter, much like a single-coil."

Pretty intriguing, as I'm definitely piling on the gain with this guitar and have certainly found the stock 57 Classic to get a little bloated with high gain compared to, say, the Jazz neck in another guitar.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

SD Jazz in my neck.

SD 59/Custom Hybrid in the bridge.

 

[BluesMan335]

The Jazz isn't aggressive, it's like a milder, brighter, '59 with less low end. Less 'character' than a PAF.

Fred's have very unbalanced coils, which means they have less mids, & more high end and clarity. Part of their sound is humbucker, & part is single coil.

If you want a more aggressive neck, you could use a bridge PAF there, or a Screamin' Demon.

 

[Mincer]

A Black Winter in the neck can be aggressive, too.

 

[pskorz]

Do you find this to be true? From DiMarzio: "Many standard humbuckers have a tendency to fatten up with distortion. The FRED® does the opposite; it gets tighter and brighter, much like a single-coil."

Pretty intriguing, as I'm definitely piling on the gain with this guitar and have certainly found the stock 57 Classic to get a little bloated with high gain compared to, say, the Jazz neck in another guitar.

Yeah, it’s definitely got a unique character. I’d say it seems like it retains a tight character as a neck pickup with distortion. It is the only pickup that’s ever been in that guitar, so I don’t have a frame of reference to compare.

not that you need the waters muddied up, but I’d briefly had a dimarzio super 2 in the neck of an sg. It, too, had a bright character that I was not looking for in that guitar at that time.

 

[alex1fly]

Got a PAF Pro on the way just to keep it simple and in the same family as the Norton in the bridge. I'll report back after some time with it.

 

[Mr. B]

The Liquifire and Fred both work well with a Norton bridge. I prefer the Liquifire.

 

[Condemnedsoul]

The Screaming Demon was mentioned above as neck pickup.

How about another recommendation:

I once paired up a Jazz bridge a with a Screaming Demon in an old Explorer.

From what I remember, the Jazz bridge was smooth with slightly more mids than a Jazz neck.

 

[Demanic]

No one has mentioned the SH6n? Or the D-Activator n?

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

 

[alex1fly]

There is where I'd love to be able to try more pickups without spending a ton of time or a ton of money. Distortion set? Yes please. Freds and Full Shreds and Evos? All day.

 

[alex1fly]

Well the PAF Pro made it into the bridge position of the SG and just sounds incredible. All the description words - round, 3D, rich, articulate. Somehow it's both articulate and smooth. Compared to the 57 Classic that came stock, the PAF Pro is smoother, sweeter, chunkier, sings more in high gain solos, cleans are less muddy, and it hints at the vintage PAF-ey sound. Very musical in that playing on it is more of a conversation between myself and the instrument. Very nice, highly recommend.

 

[Mr. Lime]

Having myself a Gibson SG Supreme I have a clear recommendation for a great clean and lead sounding neck PU.
I already got exited about Filtertron pickups in a Gretsch I had and was looking for an affordable standard-looking alternative.
The Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell or EJ Custom fit the bill. It sits between a humbucker and single coil sound but I much prefer them compared to a P90.
One of the view neck pickups in my guitars, that's really useable for metal is the Humbucker from Hell. PAFs sound boring against it IMO. I hated the 57 Classic in every Gibson I had.
Big fan of the Norton too, I even considered the combination in my Jackson Soloist, currently the Norton is paired with a Bluesbucker which is really a single coil sound (also great in a Superstrat) which might not do the trick in a SG.