Looking for pickups for my Gibson Sg...

[TotiMhM]

Hello there.

I'm looking for the right pickups for both my guitar and my playing style. I play a lot of neo-classical stuff like yngwie malmsteen and songs by bands like Children of Bodom and Megadeth. I have a Gibson Sg special and the stock pickups don't give me that edge that I want to hear, really dont know how to describe it. I have also been looking at some old threads on this forum and seen that not all pickups will go well with the Gibson Sg's body, so I really need some guidance. What is your opinion?

[Fourth Feline]

1) Welcome !  :)

2) Resident S.G. consultant Twinfan usually recommends  Warpigs for Metal, Riff Raffs for Rock - and ( you won't need this but I'm already typing ) Stormy Mondays for Blues. I have had an S.G. - and remember that Tim usually reminds us that pickups in an all mahogany, need to be vintage enough to work with the wood, or powerful enough to push through it.

I am  ( however) well out of my comfort zone with this one ...  :lol:

[Drexxull]

They're on the front just underneath the strings  :lol:

Just kidding .. I'm new to the forums as well, looking to get my hands on something tasty for my project strat.

Welcome and good luck bud.

[Twinfan]

^ FF is indeed spot on!

The best sounding pickups in SGs for rock, to my ears, have always been Riff Raffs.  Only go for Warpigs if you want a really big fat and doom-y tone.

Riff Raffs rule!

[TotiMhM]

Ok, so I should probably go with the warpig then? How would the setup be then, Warpig in bridge and neck or just bridge? I have never replaced a pickup before so I really don't know what is the best...

[DimeZakk]

Personally I would go for Painkillers in an all mahagony guitar for Megadeth and Children of Bodom...

[Philly Q]

I'm not very familiar with Children of Bodom, and in any case I'm not very good at picking "these pickups for that sound", but I will say that Cold Sweats sound great in an SG.

In the bridge, the CS is bright - but not thin like your 490T(?) probably is.  Bright, but with enough power to give a tight, balanced sound with no "mahogany flab" at all.  And the neck model gives a lovely warm, singing tone, a great contrast to the bridge.

Nothing against the Riff Raff, but it's more of a classic AC/DC sound, bright and quite "dry".  I can't comment on the high-output models.

[dheim]

I'm not very familiar with Children of Bodom, and in any case I'm not very good at picking "these pickups for that sound", but I will say that Cold Sweats sound great in an SG.

In the bridge, the CS is bright - but not thin like your 490T(?) probably is.  Bright, but with enough power to give a tight, balanced sound with no "mahogany flab" at all.  And the neck model gives a lovely warm, singing tone, a great contrast to the bridge.

Nothing against the Riff Raff, but it's more of a classic AC/DC sound, bright and quite "dry".  I can't comment on the high-output models.

i agree... Cold Sweats are perfect in my SG 61, and i play metal...

[ericsabbath]

the usual recommendations are: miracle man for CoB, painkiller for megadeth
so I gotta say cold sweat, since it has an in between voicing, without the excesses or lacks of those models, and it's also said to work great in SGs
it's quite versatile, cleans up pretty well for a ceramic pup, does great tight metal rhythms and that's what Chris Broderick actually uses (to hell with dimarzio :x )

[closetrockstar]

I agree with Twin fan.