Pickup choices for SGs

[Dave Sloven]

I know that I was perplexed by this question when I started looking on forums for pickup choices for my SG - I absolutely hated the 490R and wasn't that keen on the 498T either - and found that everywhere the SG was considered to be especially 'finicky' because of the peculiarities of its mahogany set-neck construction and thin body.  For future reference I thought it might be useful to have a discussion based not on abstract principles (e.g., the old 'low output or high output, not mid output') but rather concrete experience with BKP humbuckers in SGs (if you can state the amp and cab you used that would also help).

I'll put next to them what I have read or the vague impression I've picked up reading with a question mark, and for the two I've actually tried I'll put a proper comment.  Please feel free to add to and/or challenge these comments.  I have edited this post to omit the P-90s simply because they all seem to be excellent choices for an SG (see post below).


VINTAGE

Stormy Monday - Good?

PG Blues

The Mule - Very good?

Riff Raff - Excellent?


VINTAGE HOT HUMBUCKERS

VH II - Good?

Black Dog - Very good?

Emerald

Abraxas - Bad?


CONTEMPORARY

Black Hawk - alnico bridge

Black Hawk - ceramic bridge

Rebel Yell - very good?

Cold Sweat - reports on the bridge suggest excellent, I have one in the neck of my SG and find that it is not a good match for the A-bomb in the bridge with gain.  Excellent for cleans. Perhaps a little high in output, or maybe too close to the strings above the screw coil relative to the slug in the standard position.  Reversing the pickup works well to allow the overall height be dropped without loosing output on the rear coil.  Bridge pickup has also now been tested in my SG and is more versatile than the A-bomb, being able to play pretty much anything that could play plus much more besides.  Lacks the 'hairiness' of the A-bomb though, and thus the A-Bomb has the edge for very raw, hardcore type sounds in an SG.  Neck and bridge are well-matched and the cleans on the bridge are excellent, clearer and less warm than the A-Bomb, perhaps because of the slightly lower output.

Aftermath - Good for specific applications?

Crawler - Bad? Muddy?

Nailbomb - alnico bridge - I have this one at present, amazing for hardcore style through Peavey 6534+ and Orange PPC412 V20 cab. Not as versatile as I had hoped.  Moving it out of this SG in favour of a Cold Sweat in the quest for a better match for the bridge and more rock and metal tones, and some better cleans. Had to set the height fairly low and raise pole pieces considerably to get the best sound. Will try it in another guitar, possibly a Les Paul or an SG set up specifically as a hardcore guitar (perhaps with matching Nailbomb neck).  I would rate this as excellent for one specific application - hardcore - and passable in most other metal, good for AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, maybe Guns 'N' Roses? A bit of a bar room brawler with a LOT of attitude.  I think it also depends a lot on your cab.  V30s might be mid overkill. Some SGs might be less middy in their woods, and these characteristics not so present.  Also if you have a less gainy amp you might not see this side of the Nailbomb.  It can be quite well-behaved through something like a Classic 30 or similar bluesy amp.

Nailbomb - ceramic bridge - Good?  More mid scoop lessens the middy effect of an SG?

Painkiller - I've heard this is too middy for an SG

Holydiver - Bad reports. Muddy in an SG

Miracle Man - Excellent reports in SGs.  Very much a metal pickup

Warpig - alnico bridge - I do own this pickup but have not tested it in my SG yet.  All reports excellent

Warpig - ceramic bridge - Excellent?

[Dave Sloven]

Video of Painkillers in SG.

Personally I find it a bit impolite and obnoxious, more so than my A-Bomb.

Diezel Hagen - Gibson SG vs. Fender

It's not all the pickups and guitar though - his Fender sounds pretty obnoxious too!

[Dave Sloven]

I did some research here on P90s yesterday and one of the little facts that popped up was that the clips on the site for P-90s were made with two guitars, one for all the humbucker size P-90s and the other for all the regular size P-90s.

The regular P-90 clips were made with a Les Paul Junior.

The humbucker size P-90 clips were made with an SG.

As one would expect these pickups were all designed with full-mahogany set-neck Gibsons in mind, and should be a no-brainer for SGs (unlike many of the humbuckers, which have been designed with a much broader range of applications).  The half-note seems to have been designed with 335s in mind but tested in a Les Paul, but the Manhattan clip should give an idea as to what it would sound like in an SG.  The Mississippi Queen and Nantucket seem to be closely related and proven in SGs.   The Stockholm is a variation on the Supermassive.

The Pig-90 doesn't have any humbucker-sized equivalent or relative but it is related to the Warpig and I haven't seen any bad reports of the latter in SGs.

[Kiichi]

Makes sense, as you say they are designed for big mahagony chunks. Those guitars have a lot of midrange and compared to HBs P90s have more highs and lows (which also extend further).
Also their SC attack just cuts through it too, so yeah, I can see why it would work well.