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[Not Me]

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[Not Me]

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[Henk]

Sounds you need to have that guitar professionally set up.

B. If you put a weak SG, weak PAF's and a weak amp together, what do you expect? Anyway, if i were you i would ask Tim in the nicest way possible if he minds you try a different pickup because this isnt the one for you, and get some rebels or whatever you would need.

[FernandoDuarte]

the "things" you mean are the frets? :D

No idea, better search a luthier there too see the options and discover what you want, seems to me you're not 100% right about...

EDIT: +1 on asking to Tim about the pickup, you may have made a wrong choice!

[Not Me]

"Sounds you need to have that guitar professionally set up."

 - Maybe. Probably.

"B. If you put a weak SG, weak PAF's and a weak amp together, what do you expect? Anyway, if i were you i would ask Tim in the nicest way possible if he minds you try a different pickup because this isnt the one for you, and get some rebels or whatever you would need."

 - Rebels? Well, surely the Special isn't the Standard, but bothering to pay some 800 euros had me thinking I'd get a decent guitar, anyway. I'm aware of the fact that the H&K probably isn't the best that money can buy, but there's something fishy about the guitar.

I'm not sure I want to bother Tim just yet! I do realize it's a low-output pu, it's not that which I find "weak", but the muddyness I'm getting, which is certainly not due to the amp and probably not the pickup, either.

"No idea, better search a luthier there too see the options and discover what you want, seems to me you're not 100% right about..."

 - Yes, I guess I'd better. Just thought you'd have thoughts on it.

Thanks for the replies. I reckon it's luthier time for me. But I still doubt I've made a wrong choice, as far as the pickup goes. I play alot of blues, rock and hard rock, and listening to a lot of different samples and live examples I was sold on this particular one.

[Not Me]

But would anyone have insight into how bridge heights and bridge / pickup balances (not meaning their distances to each other as such, but seeing as BKP's especially seem to be sensitive to string heights, one would imagine that strings coming at a 45 degree bend over a humbucker from the bridge to the fretboard would have an impact of some sort) would have in the overall scheme of things?

I like researching as much as possible, before I go handing my guitar over to someone that I don't know. Have been flirting with those strings and it would seem that they're happier downstairs when letting ring open, but it could be just me imagining things.

Even though there's structural things to be set, I'm very suspicious of the electronic side of things. And then there's that big buzzing sound whenever strings are idle and loose. Doesn't happen with other instruments.

[Henk]

Well you could come over to Holland and ill have a look at it but...........

Like you say, there is something wrong with the setup of the guitar and i think you should have it fixed, cant help more i guess.

Secondly, at least my BKPs are quite sensitive to pu hight, even so much that after a while, when the magnet/windings settled in, i had to change the hight of the bridge pu several times to correct it. Not so much with the neck pu by the way, kind of odd i suppose.

[Not Me]

OK, thanks, dude.

I'm off to the local music shop tomorrow morning. It's the only thing I can think of.

[Philly Q]

one would imagine that strings coming at a 45 degree bend over a humbucker from the bridge to the fretboard would have an impact of some sort) would have in the overall scheme of things?

That's a design problem with those big-scratchplate SGs and Vs, the pickups sit parallel to the scratchplate rather than the strings.  You can improve things by fitting some standard angled mounting rings on top of the scratchplate.

And then there's that big buzzing sound whenever strings are idle and loose. Doesn't happen with other instruments.

Do you mean strings buzzing on the neck, or an electronic buzz when you're plugged in and take your fingers off the strings?  If it's the latter, it's probably because SG Specials, like many Gibsons, are completely unshielded.  Some conductive foil or shielding paint in the cavities would help reduce this.  But it may also affect the tone a little - some people prefer the "live" tone of an unshielded guitar.

As for the other things you mentioned, sloppy wiring doesn't really affect sound quality - it's more a case of "it works or it doesn't".  A generally lifeless, dull sound may be partly due to the pots - Gibson often use 300k volume pots (more in LPs than SGs, I think, but possibly still in SGs).  500k pots may open it up a bit more.

And finally I would say that the Stormy Monday isn't the kind of pickup where you'll notice a dramatic change.  It's a low-output, alnico II pickup so not a million miles from the 490T you've replaced.  The difference is subtle, and you'll need some time getting used to the sound, fiddling with the pickup height, changing amp settings etc to get the most from it.  Even then, it may not be what you were hoping for- it happens! 

[Not Me]

Thank you, Phil. That was insightful.

[Not Me]

All right, then.

Music shop wasn't of much help.

[Henk]

If the strings are buzzing against the frets, you wont get any tone or sustain only dead sounding strumming noises. Raising the strings only works when you play near the headstock but halfway down the neck you keep the same problem. Main issue here seems to be the lack of a pro setup and probably less then perfect fretwork.

Mounting angled pickup rings on the scratchplate might influence the action, be sure to fix the neck related issues before installing pickup rings because you might run into a problem there.

Also the thin SG necks need some adjustment to take 12's instead of 10's, if you have the guitar set up, get it done with the strings you prefer.

Last tip, dont mess with the thrussrod if you dont know what your doing!

[dheim]

Might have to have a look at the pots. What I heard was seriously phenomenal. I doubt that lack of sustain is a characteristic of the SM. Could be wrong, of course.

lack of sustain is much more characteristic of a buzzing fretboard, i fear! strings are stopped by SOMETHING, and this kills sustain without any hope of saving the day with a pickup change...

i agree completely with Philly, maybe you should give a try to contemporary or hot vintage pickups... and in general to something brighter or more powerful than an AII SM... SGs need bright pickups. or heavy monsters like a warpig!

[Not Me]

Could be settings, too, yeh.

[Henk]

SGs need bright pickups. or heavy monsters like a warpig!

+1

Even more so, SG's always had bright pickups in them originally. P90's, mini HB, 490's.....  :band5: