Sir Cuitous
New member
This is my first post on an SD Forum, but I felt it was necessary since I am very happy with the product. I opted to put SH-3s in neck and bridge position. First let me say that this pickup may have been designed to split (which I did), but as a humbucker the sound was superior to the stock BurstBuckers from Gibson. My issue with the Gibson pickups was that when the treble was rolled-off it was gone by about 4. The rest of the way was just a "muddy" bass sound. This was true with both Gibson pickups - neck and bridge. However, both Stag Mags maintain a rich usable sound all the way through the tone selection. Both Stag Mags are also hotter than the Burstbuckers as well.
My Les Paul is wired to split the Stag Mags (tone pot switch) and further, when both pickups are selected and split, they are out of phase - something like the 2/4 switch position on a Strat. Some customization was required to achieve this with two SH-3s. My goal here was not to imitate a Strat, but to get many different sounds out of one guitar. Interestingly, the neck pickup, when split, does resemble a Strat somewhat. The height of the pole pieces are staggered like those of a Strat pickup which may help contribute to the similarity. However, on a Les Paul, there is a noticable "drop" on the B string where the pole is the lowest of all pieces. There may be a different string balance on the Gibson that does not necessitate as much stagger.
All in all, the tones are varied and all usable. With a setup such as this, to say that all of the tones are "usable" is not anything less than fantastic. This is unlike many other guitars where I have only liked a few switch/tone combinations. I play through a Peavey Classic 30 which I have found to react well with many different guitars. The clean channel on this amp is astonishingly faithful to a guitars pickups.
To anyone who is considering the Stag Mag, do not hesitate to try it. There is no compromise with the humbucking tone or the split tone.
My Les Paul is wired to split the Stag Mags (tone pot switch) and further, when both pickups are selected and split, they are out of phase - something like the 2/4 switch position on a Strat. Some customization was required to achieve this with two SH-3s. My goal here was not to imitate a Strat, but to get many different sounds out of one guitar. Interestingly, the neck pickup, when split, does resemble a Strat somewhat. The height of the pole pieces are staggered like those of a Strat pickup which may help contribute to the similarity. However, on a Les Paul, there is a noticable "drop" on the B string where the pole is the lowest of all pieces. There may be a different string balance on the Gibson that does not necessitate as much stagger.
All in all, the tones are varied and all usable. With a setup such as this, to say that all of the tones are "usable" is not anything less than fantastic. This is unlike many other guitars where I have only liked a few switch/tone combinations. I play through a Peavey Classic 30 which I have found to react well with many different guitars. The clean channel on this amp is astonishingly faithful to a guitars pickups.
To anyone who is considering the Stag Mag, do not hesitate to try it. There is no compromise with the humbucking tone or the split tone.
