Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Sailor Charon on April 05, 2007, 08:57:14 PM
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So, I'm replacing my old Strat (Trilogy Suites) with an SG. [The tone's great, just don't like Strats]
Question. Would I be better off with an SG3 (even though the neck's not as slim as on the Goddess) because it has all the right bits to start off with and wouldn't need routing (but is also £150 more) or getting an SG Goddess which would need a 6 way selector fitting as well as routing - the plan would be to use the pickup selector that's there as a split/serial/parallel selector and replace the tone pot with a 6 way rotary selector.
Secondly, I'm torn between ceramic warpig bridge, painkiller neck, painkiller middle, and a set of 3 painkillers. I'm assuming that they can both be split/serial/parallel, but...
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the plan would be to use the pickup selector that's there as a split/serial/parallel selector and replace the tone pot with a 6 way rotary selector.
Assuming you could find an on/on/on DPDT switch which would fit the large hole left by the selector switch, that would only act as a series/split/parallel switch for one pickup. You'd be better off with 3 individual mini-switches.
Alternatively, you could replace the Goddess's existing selector with the 6-way rotary. That would leave you a control arrangement like the SG-3, but then you'd still need to rout the body.
I reckon the SG-3's a better bet, unless the Goddess's skinny neck is a big selling point for you.
(Edit: What about the SG Special Faded 3-Pickup (http://www.gibson.com/Products/GibsonElectric/Gibson%20Electric%20Guitars/SG%20Specials/SG%20Specials/SG%20Special%20Faded%203-Pickup/)? It's got the SG-3 controls, but it's cheaper, presumably.)
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I reckon the SG-3's a better bet, unless the Goddess's skinny neck is a big selling point for you.
(Edit: What about the SG Special Faded 3-Pickup (http://www.gibson.com/Products/GibsonElectric/Gibson%20Electric%20Guitars/SG%20Specials/SG%20Specials/SG%20Special%20Faded%203-Pickup/)? It's got the SG-3 controls, but it's cheaper, presumably.)
Flip but yes it is cheaper. It's less than half the price. It's £500. So with a trio of pickups it's still cheaper than the Goddess. And it doesn't have the (naff, IMO) gold hardware that the SG3 has. I can always get a new paint job :)
Yes, the neck is a selling point. But only because (from what I hear) the necks on SGs tend to be either thick or skinny. There's not much difference in the nut width (1/14 inch) but... [/i]
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The Faded series SGs have a (somewhat exaggerated, IMO) reputation for poor materials and workmanship, but I'm sure you can find a good one if you shop around.
Agreed about the gold hardware. It looks OK(ish) on the black SG, but terrible on cherry.
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Gibson SG necks are all over the place. The cheaper ones have clubby 50's Les Paul types. The best neck for an SG is the 60s slim taper, as found on the '61 reissue and some of the more modern models like the SG Select.
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We have to agree to disagree there! :lol: I like the rounded neck shape of the modern SG Standard, which is very much like my (not-missed) '64 SG Special. My Pete Townshend and my SG-Xs all have that neck shape.
The cross-section is almost semi-circular, so the depth is (just about) half the width all the way up the neck. Fairly shallow at the nut, but nice and fat by the 12th fret.
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Fair doos Phil! I find a chunky neck out of place on an SG. To me:
Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck
It doesn't seem 'right' to me otherwise!
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Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck
This is true.
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Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck
This is true.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! :cry: :evil: :cry:
(throws toys out of pram - not a good idea with those famously-fragile SGs)
I just like fat necks on everything. Hence no Jacksons or Ibanezes (nice as they are) in my collection.
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I can't play fat necks for some reason - Hence the lack of Les Pauls in my collection :p
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I have a Les Paul with a rather slim neck.
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Fair doos Phil! I find a chunky neck out of place on an SG. To me:
Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck
It doesn't seem 'right' to me otherwise!
And
Explorer = tree trunk
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i heard -- i'm not sure if this is true -- but i heard that having 3 humbuckers has the effect of sucking tone out of them because the magnets eat at eachother. Not sure though.
Another thing to think about, is that what exactly would you use a middle pickup for?
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Well, sort of as a compromise, if you see what I mean.
Since the neck pickup is generally more bassy than the bridge, the middle pickup is somewhere in between. (Is that right?)
The plan goes something like this. Ceramic Warpig in the bridge, Painkillers in the middle and neck.
Coil split/serial/parallel switching on a per pickup basis, and some sort of Strat tone-monster wiring.
The problem I have is that the more flexibility you have, the harder it is to get from one setting to another. Plus, of course, the more tones you have the more of them are likely to be very similar.
I had a really dumb idea.
If you run all the wires into an edge connector, then you could swap out the various pickup selectors on an as-needed basis. So you could have a Strat-type plug-in, A Red-special-type plug-in, etc... The problem is that, as far as I can see you can't have an (as it were) programmable plug-in where you could have any 3 (5?, 7?) settings that you can switch between.
Isn't it strange the ideas you have when you can't sleep? (And yes, I was a computer programmer)
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Only Was a programmer - not any more?
I have just wired up a mockingbird with the superswitch (4-pole 5-way), to give me
Bridge - series
Bridge - parallel
Bridge + neck
Neck screw coil
Neck Series
This is a great set of combinations, easy to switch between (just like a strat), and every tone is useable.
You could do this with a rotary switch too.
The real problem with 3 hb's is where do you pick, and also the archaic switching that Gibson used.
With 3 pu's and an extra on-on-on dpdt, you could have the above with the middle wired to be alone, or in combination, or just the settings above.
I would use an Alnico middle pickup to give more variety (if you want high gain what about a Nailbomb?).
It can all be wired. Connectors can be done, but I think that you probably wouldn't change the wiring one you had it worked out, and changing the pickups becomes more of a problem.
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The problem I have is that the more flexibility you have, the harder it is to get from one setting to another. Plus, of course, the more tones you have the more of them are likely to be very similar.
Couldn't agree more with that. I used to play around with mini-switches and push-pull pots for coil-splitting, phase reversing etc, but to be honest nowadays I think they're more trouble than they're worth.
Generally two humbuckers and a 3-way switch is plenty versatile enough for me. Unless it's a Strat-type, in which case I'll do something with the 5-way, just because it's there. And a 5-way's just as easy to use as a 3-way.
Your edge-connector idea sounds interesting, but way over my head... :wink:
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Only Was a programmer - not any more?
Nope. And I wouldn't advise anybody to become one either. Unless you enjoy being treated as expendable - or, more accurately, so easily replacable that it doesn't matter how you get treated. It's an ideal job... if you happen to be Rei Ayanami. :) Actually, I suspect that it's not the case if you happen to be one of the few people who understand a particular language that just has to be supported - until the code gets ported to another one of course...
I would use an Alnico middle pickup to give more variety (if you want high gain what about a Nailbomb?).
Sounds a good 'un. One silly(?) question. Given that the neck pickup has more bass and less treble... I'm confused as to whether I should go (ceramic) warpig in the neck [I don't think they do them, do they?] and Painkiller in the bridge instead of the other way round...
EDIT: One other question. Would you put a bridge pickup in the middle slot, or a neck pickup? [I suspect the latter, but...]
It can all be wired. Connectors can be done, but I think that you probably wouldn't change the wiring one you had it worked out, and changing the pickups becomes more of a problem.
That's the problem... :) Working out the wiring. Every time I think I've got it sussed...
Thanks for the help.
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I've been a programmer for nearly 35 years now. I guess I was lucky getting in at the start. Now I do much more specialised stuff for investment banks. Of course I wanted to be a rock star, but that didn't happen and I thought programming would pay the bills until I could make it work!!
Warpig bridge and Painkiller neck I think, though whether you go ceramic or AV with the Warpig depends on the sound you want. I have AV in mine and there is a ton of low end, I would think that perhaps a ceramic would have a tighter bottom end, and more attack on the notes. It all depends on the sound you need.
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I've been a programmer for nearly 35 years now. I guess I was lucky getting in at the start. Now I do much more specialised stuff for investment banks. Of course I wanted to be a rock star, but that didn't happen and I thought programming would pay the bills until I could make it work!!
Oddly enough, what I really wanted to do was work at Infocom writing text adventures... Hmmm... looks like that wasn't exactly a long term view :)
What I ended up doing was 8 years doing Visual Basic/Java/SQL Server - with a certain amount of C and C++...
Warpig bridge and Painkiller neck I think, though whether you go ceramic or AV with the Warpig depends on the sound you want. I have AV in mine and there is a ton of low end, I would think that perhaps a ceramic would have a tighter bottom end, and more attack on the notes. It all depends on the sound you need.
Wouldn't an AV Warpig be very dark in a mahogany body? That's the impression I've been given in the past...
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Wouldn't an AV Warpig be very dark in a mahogany body? That's the impression I've been given in the past...
I have one in a mahogany explorer, which is about as much mahogany as any guitar would ever have, and it sounds great. I matched it with an MQ neck. I have a series parallel switch on it too. The sound is very full, and not really that dark, but mine also has regular pole pieces and a nickel cover, which does affect the sound a bit I think
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Wouldn't an AV Warpig be very dark in a mahogany body? That's the impression I've been given in the past...
I have one in a mahogany explorer, which is about as much mahogany as any guitar would ever have, and it sounds great. I matched it with an MQ neck. I have a series parallel switch on it too. The sound is very full, and not really that dark, but mine also has regular pole pieces and a nickel cover, which does affect the sound a bit I think
Thanks. I guess I'll go for the AV Warpig, Nailbomb, Painkiller combo then. Painkiller for the top end - well, I'm replacing a Trilogy Suite equipped Strat - Warpig for the bottom end - well, I've got a massive bottom end ( :) ) so my guitar should as well :), and a Nailbomb for all-round performance...
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i can play Thin neck as long as they are not Slin/FLAT. I mean Rounder.
and i like thick necks, but, as long as they aren´t that fat like a baseball thing
ahahahahahahahaha
Q:p
JP
my esp MII DELUXE has the perfect fat neck for me.
Q:P
i just foudn the perfect neck shape profile .
jp