Re: What SD in Gibson SG Standard???
An SG is a different animal than most guitars because of a number of reasons. Pickups that work or don't work in a Les Paul for example may or may not work in an SG.
The SG's bridge pickup slot is located VERY close to the actual bridge. This means you have to compensate with a pickup that is warmer, smoother on the top end, louder and with more midrange than in other guitars.
The neck slot is located closer to the bridge than in most guitars (it is NOT right by the end of the fingerboard at the 22nd fret). This means you can get away with a bassier pickup here than in a Les Paul.
I have tried EVERYTHING in my SG's (I am not kidding).
In my opinion (and it is just that, no more), something like a JB is the way to go. You will get some nice body to the notes while still maintaining a degree of upper end brightness.
Something like a C5 which was mentioned earlier was a disaster for me. It is very light in the mids so the notes sounded thin, weak and tinkly.
I liked the Custom better than the C5, but it still was a bit too bright. The Custom Custom and it's hot wound alnico ll magnets didn't afford enough cleans (the combo of hot winding and easily distortable alnico ll's was a bad combo for my taste). The JB is voiced VERY well to keep notes fat, but not sacrifice treble.
Pickups that sounded good:
Bridge:
Duncan JB
Duncan Custom (can be too bright if your taste leans towards warmth)
Rio Grande BBQ (like a JB but darker and bassier - can be TOO warm if you like bright)
DiMarzio Air Zone (a hair brighter than the JB and more polite)
DiMarzio Breed (very similar to the JB but more polite)
Neck:
Duncan '59
Duncan Pearly Gates (less bassy and more mids than the '59)
Rio Grande Genuine Texas (works well with the BBQ)
Good luck! :burnout:
