Pickup choice for SG Deluxe

[Strat1127]

After being a Les Paul/Strat guy for over 30 years I finally got my first SG! A 2013 3-Pickup Deluxe...my wife bought it for me for my 50th birthday.

First of all...I'm in love with this guitar! From the finish to the Bigsby...never had a blue guitar either so that's cool. The neck is perfect and it plays like a dream. This one has MOD stamped on the back of the headstock. Not sure what the mod was but the top appears to be more figured than most Deluxes I've seen. I will be adding a TonPro's roller bridge to help with tuning stability with the Bigsby..so far it's staying in tune fairly well with the locking tuners and lubed nut.

The electronics are not original. The previous owner removed the "Togpot" and replaced it with a standard 3-way and wired the middle pickup to one of the tone controls (standard mod). Sloppy job and very noisy. I ordered a pre-wired harness (with all 500k Bourns pots) with basically the same setup. Master tone with B&N volumes with a third volume to just dial in the middle pickup. I'm not a fan of 57 Classics so I plan on swapping them out. I am going with SD Whole Lotta Humbuckers in N & B and am considering an SD Phat Cat (humbucker size P90) in the middle. I will be using all 500k's so I'm not sure whether to get the Phat Cat bridge or neck model. I'm assuming that have the P90 in the middle will reduce a bit of high end bite caused by the 500k. Any thoughts or opinions on this setup?

 

[Securb]

Sounds like a dream setup, I could rock that. I would go with the Phat Cat bridge.

 

[esandes]

Your wife rules!

P90s are born for 500k pots. Humbuckers really shine at 300+ kohm.

I can't speak to A4s or the WLH. What tone are you looking for? Or you're already set on them?

of the 2 different HBs I have in two different guitars with 500k pots I wouldn't say 500k pots make them overly bright in general.

 

[elelpe]

Or going HSS with Phat Cats in the middle and neck position. Happy NGD!

 

[Mincer]

The Phat Cat works fine with 500k pots but will hum due to it being single coil.

 

[hamerfan]

After being a Les Paul/Strat guy for over 30 years I finally got my first SG! A 2013 3-Pickup Deluxe...my wife bought it for me for my 50th birthday.

First of all...I'm in love with this guitar! From the finish to the Bigsby...never had a blue guitar either so that's cool. The neck is perfect and it plays like a dream. This one has MOD stamped on the back of the headstock. Not sure what the mod was but the top appears to be more figured than most Deluxes I've seen.

This is the MOD collection. One different spec to standard, chosen by Gibson. Their are sold directly from Gibson, its their kind of Reverb like sale.

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Guitars/Collection/Gibson-Mod

Its often the color or a trem. So i guess its the Bigsby on your guitar.

 

[Strat1127]

Your wife rules!

P90s are born for 500k pots. Humbuckers really shine at 300+ kohm.

I can't speak to A4s or the WLH. What tone are you looking for? Or you're already set on them?

of the 2 different HBs I have in two different guitars with 500k pots I wouldn't say 500k pots make them overly bright in general.

I have WLH in my new Epi LP Modern and LOVE them. It's like, where have you ben all my life? The tone and clarity are fantastic even with hi gain settings on my Orange. I have SD's in both of my Gibby LP's with all 500k audio pots. Really curious to see how the PhatCat will out in the middle with 500ks on this SG. It's a bright guitar to begin with.

 

[Strat1127]

This is the MOD collection. One different spec to standard, chosen by Gibson. Their are sold directly from Gibson, its their kind of Reverb like sale.

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Guitars...ion/Gibson-Mod

Its often the color or a trem. So i guess its the Bigsby on your guitar.

Not sure when the MOD series started. This SG is from 2013 and it's the only year they made the Deluxe's as far as I can tell. It's one of the standard colors from this range (Cobalt Blue Fade) and the Bigsby's were standard. I'm guessing it's the top. They listed AA in the specs and mine looks more like AAA or AAAA. The pickup rings are also translucent blue which I've never seen before..nor could I track any down on the internet. Hmmm...

 

[zizyphus]

Maybe consider the Freeway 3x3-07 switch. It'll let you get every pickup combo!


Side note: I find the Gibson warranty and return policy on Mod Shop and Demo Shop axes very disappointing.
They don't allow returns, which is scary considering the high price and their rep for poor quality control
Your 2-year warranty is voided if you change ANYTHING on the guitar, so if you swap a tone cap and your neck starts to warp, the tone cap mod has hung you out to dry.