Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: _tom_ on July 24, 2016, 09:52:06 PM
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Got the itch to mess with pickups for my SG again haha, the stock ones are alright at home volumes but when I get it up to band level they sound a bit thin, grainy and nasal compared to my other guitar. I've had Black Dogs in the SG before and really liked them but my only complaint was they were very strong on the upper mids so got a little harsh occasionally. What I liked about them that I don't get with the 498t was how much clarity and weight they have behind single notes and leads, like each note jumps out and digging in for more bite and harmonics feels really good.
I'm wondering if anyone has compared the BD and RY in the same guitar and what were the differences? Ive had a RY before but it was ages ago so can't really remember what it was like! I think it was a bit too thick sounding in my LP so I'm wondering if this would be a good fit for the thinner sounding SG? Is it much brighter than the BD? On the tone charts it looks like it should have a bit less bass but my experience of it was quite thick sounding!
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No direct comparison, but I know the RY rather well I think. It sure has an upper mid spike. That is kind of its main thing imho. Punchy, but light, bottom end, and the high end consisting mostly of overtones combined with that make for a super rocking tone. It generally works best in LPs, which tend to have low end and low mids a lot, for that reason.
However, I used mine very happily in an Ibanez S series for a long time and that baby is mostly a thin slice of mahahony, so not really dark or with a deep base (rather balanced, but not going deep kind of thing).
So it might work for your taste, though generally, this is not something most people would probably advise.
I do wonder how it compares to the BD though, cause I think the upper mid spike in both does differ, whereas I seem to recall the BD having more high end (in the traditional non overtone way), more growly low mids, and not the same upper mid spike of the RY.
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Someone tried a Rebel Yell in an SG before and found it to be really thin, no bottom end. Emerald would probably have the same problem.
You would be much better off with a Cold Sweat. Out of the three '80s style pickups - RY, HD, CS - it is the only one that works well in an SG. Crawler also seems to have issues. Warpigs and Miracle Mans are very good. Hard to recommend any others out of the contemporary range, although I suspect the Aftermath and ceramic Blackhawk might both work.
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Hmm I'm wondering whether I might be better off sticking with the Black Dogs in the SG and sorting something else out for my LP now!
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Cold Sweat and Black Dogs both seem like good ideas to me but there was a guy on here some years ago who tried an Abraxas in an SG and raved about the results. That would certainly sound fuller and have less of an upper mid spike so could be ideal for you.
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I think an Abraxas might work. I know there are reports of Crawlers and Holy Divers being muddy in SGs but I guess the Abraxas walks the line between a Mule and a Crawler. What SGs seem to be fussy about is middle-output pickups with strong mids. It might be the case that the output of the Abraxas is low enough for the mids to not be an issue, or it might just be that there are some SGs it works well with and others not so well. On the other hand it is fine with an A-Pig, but I think that is just a case of the output of the pickup overriding the characteristics of the guitar. Warpigs just seem to be sensitive to bright/dark, rather than specific EQ issues in the mids. Warpigs don't like bassy guitars.
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I really think you'll eventually end up with mules again :afro:
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Haha nah I didn't rate the Mules in the SG, too polite sounding but maybe an A5 one would be alright. I've learnt with all this tinkering that I prefer higher output pickups in the bridge of an SG and also A5 seems to be my favourite out of the mags I've tried.
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Riff Raff might be an option but I still think you'd like an Abraxas, even with the AIV magnet.
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I have a feeling the RR would be too brivht and thin for me. And low output. I'm tempted to try an Abraxas, I like a lot of the clips I've heard from them and they seem like a more powerful Mule which isn't a bad thing!
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That's essentially exactly what it is; a hot-rodded Mule :evil: