SH5's in SG's

[Elessar [Sly]]

I have been looking to replace the WB pickups in my newly acquired Gibson SG Standard and currently I am looking at either a Bare Knuckle Nailbomb set or a Seymour Duncan SH5 paired with something.

I wondered if anyone has any input on how the SH5 sounds in an SG?

I am usually a bare knuckle user but I really want info on the SH5 with an SG, and I really appreciate any help I can get.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: SH5's in SG's

Right away your going to get a bunch of suggestions to skip the normal SH5 and to get a C8 as thats the flavor of the month around here.


But depending on what you want the SH5 might be exactly what your after. I like the normal SH5 in an SG lots around here will poo poo ceramic mags but in the right guitar they have a sizzle that is just killer. If your planning on doing metal I would say SH5 is a great choice its going to be chunky with nice push. If your after mellower tones a C5 might be a better pick.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: SH5's in SG's

Edgecrusher was right...you're about to get a C8 suggestion.

The SH5 is a very good pup, but I don't like the brittle sounding high end. The same pickup with an A8 magnet instead of the ceramic, C8, IMO is one of the best bridge pups you can put in an SG. It has a softer/smoother high end than the stock SH5, has good mids and a solid low end. The SG (compared to an LP) usually has less of these tones and the C8 fills them in perfectly. The A8 mag also gives a nice push to the output which also works great in an SG.

I recently replaced the C8 in one of my SG type guitars with the C/59 hybrid with a UOA5 magnet in it which I even like better than the C8. It has the sparkly highs of the 59 (but a little softer because of the UOA5) stronger/tighter bass and a more vibrant airy sound to it. It's like you took the tonal EQ spectrum of the C8 and stretched it out a little giving it a real wide frequency response. Makes me smile everytime I play it.

Until the c/59 hybrid, I truly believed that the C8 was the be-all end-all bridge pup for an SG.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: SH5's in SG's

I like the C5 more than the C8. Why are people trying to get an SG to sound like an LP?

 

[Elessar [Sly]]

Re: SH5's in SG's

Right away your going to get a bunch of suggestions to skip the normal SH5 and to get a C8 as thats the flavor of the month around here.


But depending on what you want the SH5 might be exactly what your after. I like the normal SH5 in an SG lots around here will poo poo ceramic mags but in the right guitar they have a sizzle that is just killer. If your planning on doing metal I would say SH5 is a great choice its going to be chunky with nice push. If your after mellower tones a C5 might be a better pick.

I do want it for metal. But hard rock/metal rather than anything extreme. I also want a nice sounding neck pup for cleans. The WB Habaneros I have in there at the moment have an amazing clean sound but they don't cut it for anything I want to do.

Need to be able to get good chugg out of the bridge and cool for rhythm/lead but again not too extreme (nor a SD distortion).

 

[dingleberry]

Re: SH5's in SG's

SH5 is a fantastic pickup, never noticed any brittleness of the high end in my rig. Great with a boost for metal, on it's own sounds awesome for rock, very ballsy.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: SH5's in SG's

the sh5 is not a metal only pup it really is just a PAF on steroids tone,
much nicer sounding than the tone zone which is what dimarzio was shooting for and over did it IMHO.
The SH-5 to me is the warmest ceramic model out there and never gets muddy or screechy, i have one on one of my guitars(alder,OFR,all maple neck) and there it will stay. despite what some may say the clean tone on this one is very good especially when split.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: SH5's in SG's

I like the C5 more than the C8. Why are people trying to get an SG to sound like an LP?

Not trying to get it to sound like an LP. That's not really ever gonna happen. Just using that for a frame of reference. I personally like more midrange balls than the SG typically has but is very prevalent in an LP.

 

[blueman335]

Re: SH5's in SG's

Edgecrusher was right...you're about to get a C8 suggestion.

The SH5 is a very good pup, but I don't like the brittle sounding high end. The same pickup with an A8 magnet instead of the ceramic, C8, IMO is one of the best bridge pups you can put in an SG. It has a softer/smoother high end than the stock SH5, has good mids and a solid low end. The SG (compared to an LP) usually has less of these tones and the C8 fills them in perfectly.

+1. Well said.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: SH5's in SG's

+1. Well said.

I dont find the SH5 to have a brittle high end at all? are you guys setting it real close to the strings or something???

 

[blueman335]

Re: SH5's in SG's

I like the C5 more than the C8. Why are people trying to get an SG to sound like an LP?

C5's were the most recomended bridge PU for SG's here for years, until the C8 came on the scene. It took over; players were obviously hearing something they liked. The C5's are very good in SG's; the C8's even better. Pair either one with a '59N.

 

[Elessar [Sly]]

Re: SH5's in SG's

Any youtube vids of the c8?

It's hard enough finding any decent clips of SD's being used with an SG.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: SH5's in SG's

the sh5 is not a metal only pup it really is just a PAF on steroids tone,
much nicer sounding than the tone zone which is what dimarzio was shooting for and over did it IMHO.
The SH-5 to me is the warmest ceramic model out there and never gets muddy or screechy, i have one on one of my guitars(alder,OFR,all maple neck) and there it will stay. despite what some may say the clean tone on this one is very good especially when split.

And i completely agree here. I have no issues with the ceramic being brittle. Maybe its how i EQ my amps. The SH5 is very versatile.

While the C5 and C8 might be popular on this forum that doesnt mean that the original custom is bad. They are all great just different flavors. It almost boils down to a chocolate vs vanilla, ford vs chevy, coors vs bud sort of argument. You can extoll the virtues of any of them but only the individual can decide which is the best for them.

 

[blueman335]

Re: SH5's in SG's

While the C5 and C8 might be popular on this forum that doesnt mean that the original custom is bad. They are all great just different flavors. It almost boils down to a chocolate vs vanilla, ford vs chevy, coors vs bud sort of argument. You can extoll the virtues of any of them but only the individual can decide which is the best for them.

Agreed. From a blues perspective, C5's and C8's are preferable; alnicos have certain desirable qualities. Nothing wrong with the SH-5, it's just not the 'flavor' I want. As far as ceramics go, SH-5's are undeniably one of the better ones and they're used by a lot of guys here.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: SH5's in SG's

the sh5 is not a metal only pup it really is just a PAF on steroids tone,
much nicer sounding than the tone zone which is what dimarzio was shooting for and over did it IMHO.
The SH-5 to me is the warmest ceramic model out there and never gets muddy or screechy, i have one on one of my guitars(alder,OFR,all maple neck) and there it will stay. despite what some may say the clean tone on this one is very good especially when split.

The guitar that you have the SH5 in is hardly anything like an SG (all mahogany body, fixed TOM bridge, mahogany neck with rosewood board...about as different as you can get from your guitar). Not a good position to be judging from since the OP is specifically about an SG.

But I DO hear what you're saying. The SH5 is a very good pup and probably one of the best ceramic winds, I just value the warmth and smoothness and balls of the C8 much more than the SH5. The highs in the SH5 are a little shrill and unstable/brittle sounding to me in an SG. The C8 just sounded so much more like the perfect pup for an SG.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: SH5's in SG's

I dont find the SH5 to have a brittle high end at all? are you guys setting it real close to the strings or something???

Plus, I was making some comparison between the SH5 and the C8 in an SG. You haven't even tried a C8 and you can't understand how much different/better it can sound than the SH5.

 

[Jeff5]

Re: SH5's in SG's

I do want it for metal. But hard rock/metal rather than anything extreme. I also want a nice sounding neck pup for cleans. The WB Habaneros I have in there at the moment have an amazing clean sound but they don't cut it for anything I want to do.

Need to be able to get good chugg out of the bridge and cool for rhythm/lead but again not too extreme (nor a SD distortion).

I've tried both the Custom and C8, albiet not in an SG. I play simliar styles of music as you do too. What your describing sounds a bit more like a Custom than a C8, but it really is taste. I ultimately went back to a Custom because I liked the solidness and sheer hugeness and muscle of the lows and the bite of the highs. When you hit a power chord with the Custom, especially with the volume cranked your amp, it's something special =). The C8 dials all of that down and is a bit more smooth, harmonic and sweeter overall.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: SH5's in SG's

C5's were the most recomended bridge PU for SG's here for years, until the C8 came on the scene. It took over; players were obviously hearing something they liked. The C5's are very good in SG's; the C8's even better. Pair either one with a '59N.

Yes but I still like the C5 more.... nothing wrong with that right? and it's not like the forum is be all end all for everything. Every time I recommend the C5 someone tells me the C8 is better and I am just not hearing it. When I recommend the C5 people mention something about the forum majority. Am I supposed to bow down to the majority? **** conformity haha.

OP, try them both out, do a mag swap and decide for yourself.

 

[Reload in 5]

Re: SH5's in SG's

to me the SH-5 is THE hard rock, 80s kinda metal pickup.
I finally got one and was the tone I had always been looking for.
Unfortunately by then, it wasn't the tone I needed anymore, so I sold it.
I am now trying to fix that by getting another one.

 

[gripweed]

Re: SH5's in SG's

Yes but I still like the C5 more.... nothing wrong with that right? and it's not like the forum is be all end all for everything. Every time I recommend the C5 someone tells me the C8 is better and I am just not hearing it. When I recommend the C5 people mention something about the forum majority. Am I supposed to bow down to the majority? **** conformity haha.

OP, try them both out, do a mag swap and decide for yourself.

People are crazy around here with all the mag swap stuff. It really gets tiresome. I don't have any problems with mag swaps in general, but the vast majority around here just can't leave well enough alone. Many times a stock pickup is the right choice.

To my ears, SGs are made for a5 humbuckers. YMMV.