Stock Standard SG needs help

R

Ransom

New member
Newbie on this forum... go easy. I have been playing for 25 or so years, but have never been much for changing pickups out... I usually just switch amps. Maybe it is age or laziness, but I would like to approach this in a different way.

I have a stock SG Standard. The guitar plays fantastic but the pickups just are not doing it (especially the neck). I have been given a few Duncan pickups and before I just start playing Frankenstein, I thought I might get some seasoned advice. I have the following pickups: JB, Custom Custom, Alnico Pro II, and Jazz.

I am hoping to make this guitar as versatile as possible. I am considering split/tap pickups, so I will need to use push/pull knobs. Thoughts?

I am also considering something like an L.R. Baggs "X-Bridge" to add a few "accoustic-like" tones. I have not played one... reviews? Worth the effort? Considering the stereo setup to allow accoustic tones to go to accoustic amp/PA and electric sounds to amp (as normal). Thoughts?

thank you
 
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Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

A good starting point would be to try the custom custom or jb in the bridge, and the jazz or apIIpro in the neck.
The custom2/apII should we a little bit warmer sounding than the jb/jazz i think.
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

Ransom said:
Newbie on this forum... go easy. I have been playing for 25 or so years, but have never been much for changing pickups out... I usually just switch amps. Maybe it is age or laziness, but I would like to approach this in a different way.
I have a stock SG Standard. The guitar plays fantastic but the pickups just are not doing it (especially the neck). I have been given a few Duncan pickups and before I just start playing Frankenstein, I thought I might get some seasoned advice. I have the following pickups: JB, Custom Custom, Alnico Pro II, and Jazz.
I am hoping to make this guitar as versatile as possible. I am considering split/tap pickups, so I will need to use push/pull knobs. Thoughts?
I am also considering something like an L.R. Baggs "X-Bridge" to add a few "accoustic-like" tones. I have not played one... reviews? Worth the effort? Considering the stereo setup to allow accoustic tones to go to accoustic amp/PA and electric sounds to amp (as normal). Thoughts?
thank you
Click to expand...

Hey bro, welcome to the forum.

I have a Std. SG that I'm working through a pickup swap on as well. I've had a '59/Custom hybrid in the bridge, and currently have a Custom Custom.

For me, I'm shooting for that classic SG humbucker tone ala Clapton's Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire tones... the CC and stock Gibson 490R neck just aren't making it. Do a search on this forum for "Clapton SG" and you'll see a couple threads with some great info on pickup suggestions for that particular SG tone. I'm swapping over to a pair of 59s in my SG soon, and after falling in love with them in my Les Paul (which I'm switching over to a set of Pearly Gates) think they will finally give me what I've been looking for.

From those pups that you have listed above, I'd say that the Jazz/JB would be a great place to start. Wiring up to split coils is faily easy as long as the versions you have are 4 conductor...
There are other guys around here that know WAY more than me that will hopefully chime in.

Cheers,
Jason
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

I think a Jazz or '59 in the neck will help. As for the bridge, definitely check out the "Clapton SG" thread, as Tiefighter said. I think we concluded that a '59, Seth Lover, or Antiquity will do the Cream thing. I just swapped out a Custom-5 for a Seth in the bridge of my '61 SG/LP reissue and like it a lot. If you're not necessarily into the Clapton thing, try the Custom-5, or a JB.

Welcome to the Forum, and good luck. No worries, this is a pretty laid back forum. We manage to retain a good sense of humor.

Jeff
 
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Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

Good info in these threads:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=21322

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=21213

Personally I'd try the Jazz/JB combo. Both are alnico 5 pickups and will have more bass than the a2 AIIPro & CC and most SG's need a little more bass.

My favorite pickups in an SG are a set of alnico 5 59's...but when I think SG, I think Eric Clapton and Cream...or Duane Allman who used one for slide.

Splitting your pickups by replacing two of your tone controls with tone controls with push/pull switches built into them is a good idea and the Jazz & JB pickups split beautifully.

Lew
 
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Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

for sheer versatility from country to balls to the wall metal check out the JB/jazz combo
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

I think a JB/Jazz set would go really well in mahogany, the jb has a bit more extra push in the mids, which compensates for quite a bright bridge pup setting which i think is common in some sg's (like my one). and the Jazz is nice and clear and will definetly not be to muddy but still big since the neck spot on an sg is fairly close to the fingerboard.
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

Welcome to the forum...first of all, what type of tone are you looking for? Rock, metal, jazz, country, blues, etc? It's much easier to recommend pickups if you give us that information, along with the type of amp you're using.

For the push/pull pots, get a set of Dimarzio 500k audio tapered push/pull pots. All the parts resellers pretty much have the same cheap push/pulls that Allparts sells them. Dimarzio has their pots custom made exclusively for them, and they are of much higher quality than the cheap imported parts other places sell. Make sure to ask for audio tapered pots, as Dimarzio makes them in both an audio and a linear taper. If you just want to split two humbuckers, you only need one push/pull pot.

The Baggs X-Bridge is excellent, I'm very happy with mine. The bridge itself is of very high quality, and it does give a vey convincing acoustic tone if you use it properly. First, you'll need some sort of preamp unit. I recommend the Ctrl-X preamp made by Baggs for use with the X-Bridge. It can be installed in your guitar pretty easily, replacing one of your volume or tone controls. If you don't want to do that, your other option is to use some sort of external preamp unit. But I recommend the Baggs onboard preamp, it makes it easy to switch between acoustic and electric tones, and it also allows you to mix the piezo pickup with your regular pickups.

You'll also want to run the piezo into an acoustic amp or a PA system for best results. If you have an electric amp with a really nice clean channel, you can get good results running it into that. But the best results are obtained when running it through an acoustic amp or a PA.

Ryan
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

You guys are awesome!

Lew, Thank you for the threads. GREAT information. Where have you guys been all my life?

To answer a few questions. I am looking for a fairly straight ahead rock tone with maybe a dash on blues. (I like metal as well, but I generally play this for my own amusement rather than live.)

As far as amps... I have a very high end PA setup and use it to my advantage. I try to keep stage levels on the lower side. I use a Fender Blues Junior, Mesa Mark IV, and a Line 6 Flextone II Plus. All are set to go balanced line out w/o mics.

rspst14, How does the L.R. Baggs X-Bridge compare in quality to the TonePro?

Thanks again to all for letting me in the door.
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

welcome to the forum bro

i too would suggest the JB/Jazz combo for you, its not Seymours fav combo for no reason hehe
 
What's Up with SGs?

What's Up with SGs?

I bought a SG standard about 10 years ago. Besides the neck being uncomfortible, the 490s were extremely weak tonally. I'm a big Duane Allman fan, as well as Clapton. Derek and the Dominoes is the whole reason I picked up a guitar 25 years ago. Are the SGs of the mid '90s indicative of the early SGs? Is anybody happy with their 490s? What kind of pickups were in Duane's SG?

I considered shaving the neck and replacing the pickups, but I thought it'd be easier to sell it and buy something else. Which I did. I'm still a Fender man at heart,...but I do still stray.

----------=-=-=-=-=-=----------

And then one day you find
Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run
You missed the starting gun
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

SKH515,

I cannot speak for others... but the neck on my SG rivals anything that I have played. Fast, slim taper. As a matter of fact, that is the reason I am willing to consider all this work on this guitar.
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

In that case, I'd do the same thing. A good neck can be hard to find, but electronics can always be changed.
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

If you play mostly rock with a bit of blues, I think a JB bridge/Alnico 2 Pro neck would be the best combination based on the pickups you have available. The Alnico 2 Pro is my all-time favorite neck pickup, it's great for blues and warm, smooth rock tones. The JB should work well in a darker sounding guitar like an SG, I would definitely use it instead of the Custom Custom, which would be too warm. Your other option would be to replace the alnico 2 magnet in the Custom Custom with an alnico 5 magnet, which would make it a Custom 5.

I have a Tonepros Tuneomatic bridge on my Hamer, and I really like it. It's kind of hard to compare it to an X-Bridge though, as my X-Bridge is the two point tremolo model, and I have it installed on my Strat. The main advantage of the Tonepros bridge is that it uses a small set of screws to lock the bridge and tailpiece in place, for better sustain, better intonation, and hassle-free string changes if you decide to remove all the strings at once. Actually, you can turn any Tuneomatic bridge into a Tonepros bridge by having a machinist drill a small set of holes into the bridge and tailpiece, and then using hex screws to lock the bridge against the posts. If you want a Tuneomatic bridge with a piezo pickup system, you could always order a set of Graphtech Ghost piezo saddles and use them as a replacement for the stock saddles.

Ryan
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

rspst14 said:
If you play mostly rock with a bit of blues, I think a JB bridge/Alnico 2 Pro neck would be the best combination based on the pickups you have available. The Alnico 2 Pro is my all-time favorite neck pickup, it's great for blues and warm, smooth rock tones. The JB should work well in a darker sounding guitar like an SG, I would definitely use it instead of the Custom Custom, which would be too warm. Your other option would be to replace the alnico 2 magnet in the Custom Custom with an alnico 5 magnet, which would make it a Custom 5.

Ryan
Click to expand...

Ryan,

How tough is it to swap out magnets in the Custom Custom? Cost?

Also, is it best to stick with the same type of magnets when pairing your pickups (i.e. alnico 2 with alnico 2 or alnico 5 with alnico 5)?

thanks again
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

Not tough at all...just unwrap the fabric tape from around the perimeter of the pickup, unscrew the four screws from the bottom of the baseplate, slide the old magnet out, and slide the new one in. The only thing you need to be careful about is that the new magnet needs to be oriented the same way as the old one, with north and south facing the same way as they did with the original magnet. Otherwise, the pickups would be out of phase with one another when you have both pickups selected. An alnico 5 magnet costs about $5, you can get one from here:

http://www.blackrosecustom.emerchan...19325-176606538-1170996838&A=41&B=Electronics

There's no need to stick with the same magnet type. Lots of people like Alnico 5 in the bridge and Alnico 2 in the neck. That happens to be my favorite pairing.

Ryan
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

I have a 59n/custom combination in my SG, and I get some awesome rock/blues tones out of it if that helps at all.
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

This forum is a tone chaser dream really! On recommendations I'd say the jazz/jb or set of 59's or a C5 in the bridge. In my opinion a solid mahogany guitar needs A5 mags to brighten it. On the magnet note I personally like A5's in the neck I think it cleans up the sound. I like the A2 in the bridge because it keeps the top end from getting harsh. Thus my Jazzn/A2P bridge combo in my heritage.


Luke

P.S. WELCOME TO THE FORUM!! :dance:
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

As far as spiiting coils on humbuckers... do I then need to play with both pickups on? Are there any other wiring tricks that I want to consider when going to 4 conductor pickups?
 
Re: Stock Standard SG needs help

You don't need to play with both pickups on when the coil split is activated, but you may get some hum with just one pickup selected. If you wire it properly, you will get a hum cancelling effect when both pickups are split and selected at the same time. If you want to go all out, you could always do the Jimmy Page wiring. It's a pretty complex wiring scheme, so it might be kind of expensive if you're paying a tech to do it. I don't remember exactly what it involves, but it gives you a couple of different wiring tricks you can do using four push/pull pots.

Ryan
 
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