Pickup change - Gibson SG Standard / Rock&Blues

[gueorgues]

Hey guys - it's my first post.
I know there are lots of threads for the SG - I read them all - but the only ones that worked for me (in terms of type of music that I want to play) were the ones mentioning AC/DC > ergo the answer there is Riff Raffs.
I like AC/DC, however, I want more versatile tone, because I don't play only ACDC. Definitely vintage and not too hot.
What I like is the sound of: Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton (I know I will get a stratocaster sooner hopefully), Mark Knopfler, the Who, (AC/DC too), etc. So it's blues and old rock.
I play through all valve amps (currently a small 5 watt combo, but I am close to getting the Marshall Haze 40 or a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe) and use some effect boxes - that's the setup and I don't think it will change.
Are the Riff Raffs good for Blues?
What about the PG Blues set?
Thanks in advance.
P.S.: short legs or long legs for a Gibson SG?

[AndyR]

I use Riff Raffs in my SG, and my tastes are roughly like yours.

A lot of the time I noodle around playing blues stuff with it. My main guitars are strats, and that's really where my heart is... but I do love my SG for a bit of humbuckery.

I went for the Riff Raffs for the "70s classic rock" tone - and they do that nicely, but they also clean up nice when you use the volume and tone on the guitar...

And I very rarely play any AC/DC riffs nowadays :lol:

I think your other option might be Stormy Mondays, or the the PG blues set if you want that out-of-phase Peter Green thing going (I understand the two sets are quite similar otherwise).

I've not tried the Stormies, but I am quite interested in them. I believe the name is referencing the Allman Brothers guitar tones from around the "Live at the Fillmore East" time.

I have to say though, my Riff Raff'd SG is doing pretty good impersonations of that sort of tone anyway. HOWEVER... my SG is quite a warm sounding one, and I'm using paper-in-oil capacitors on the tone controls, which take some of the edge off and make the guitar sound more "vintage". The guitar my Riff Raffs were originally in was quite "hard" sounding, they were still very nice, but not quite as organic as I've ended up with now.

Unless it's a really bright guitar, I don't think you'll go far wrong with Riff Raffs - they just sound like "what a humbucker should" to someone with tastes like yours and mine. The minute I installed mine in the original guitar (they were my first BKP set), I went "Oh yes... :D"

Leg-length... hmmm... It's ages since I bought humbuckers, I think it's short leg you want - but check with someone who knows what they're talking about!

And welcome to the forum :D

[Twinfan]

An SG Standard or Faded Special needs LONG leg humbuckers!  They stick out of the scratchplate a long way!

I think you'd do just fine with Riff Raffs for the tones you're after  :)

[Tellboy]

Short legs will be OK in early, small scratchplate SG Standards where the pickups are ring mounted and not pickguard mounted.

[gordiji]

Irrelevent post to follow...
                                           Now you mention AC/DC and i'm not a fan, but from time to time i google 'night prowler
just to listen to angus's beautiful tone on his opening rif.
If indeed it is rif rafs that get this sound then gas is rising for a set and something to install them in.

[BigB]

Hi and welcome

Well, I'm not a real connaisseur when it comes to SG's, but since you mentioned the Who and no one else commented on it, Pete Townsend's SG were mostly P-90 ones (cf http://www.thewho.org/sg.htm).

my 2 cents...

[Philly Q]

An SG Standard or Faded Special needs LONG leg humbuckers!  They stick out of the scratchplate a long way!

I think you'd do just fine with Riff Raffs for the tones you're after  :)

+1 to long legs, assuming you have the big batwing scratchplate.

And +1 also to Riff Raffs; if you want a warmer sounding neck pickup you might consider a Stormy Monday or Mule.

[Twinfan]

Now you mention AC/DC and i'm not a fan, but from time to time i google 'night prowler
just to listen to angus's beautiful tone on his opening riff.
If indeed it is rif rafs that get this sound then gas is rising for a set and something to install them in.

There's a lot of Malcolm on those opening chords too, with his Gretsch.....

[gueorgues]

Thanks a lot guys! It is a Standard SG with big scratchplate, yes.
On the Gibson forum they said that long legged pickups fall off. Are you sure about the long legs?
The SG is quite thin - the bridge pick up is way up, but the neck isn't.

[Philly Q]

On the Gibson forum they said that long legged pickups fall off. Are you sure about the long legs?

Fall off??  :?

The long legs work best with the scratchplate mounting because the pickups (especially the bridge) sit higher than they would in mounting rings.  You could use short legs if you want, but you'd also need very short springs.

[AndyR]

Yep, I checked my old order after the long/short debate moved on... I have long legs on my Riff Raffs...

I ordered mine for a pickup ring mounting guitar originally. And then when I switched to a batwing scratchplate guitar, I just, er, whipped them out of one and into the other without even thinking...

In fact, they look so much like all the pickups I've replaced, in various guitars, with my three humbucker-sized BKP sets, I'd completely forgotten that there is a long/short question to be dealt with when ordering! :lol:

By the way, the long legs work fine on my batwing SG :D

[Tellboy]

Long legs are fine in batwing pickguards (my son has had a long leg Nailbomb in his SG for 3 years and it hasn't 'fallen off' yet  :)). With the small pickguard the rings already lift the pickup up off the front of the guitar so you don't need long legs. The problem you can get with long legs in small pickguards (which I experienced with my '62 reissue) is that if you like your neck pickup set 'well down' or flat with the top of the ring, the pickup legs will hit the bottom of the neck pickup cavity restricting how far you can lower it.

[cerpintaxt]

I have a "Vintage" SG copy which is essentially a rough copy of a '61 SG, small scratchplate with a glued neck. When I ordered over the phone, the chap said it was long leg, because of the angle then neck joins the body at. Might be worth giving them a call just to be sure.

For what it's worth, I have exactly the same taste as you, and I went for Riff Raff (A5) bridge and Stormy Monday (A4) neck. I'm going to install them next week though, so am yet to try it out.

Stormy Monday - "Renowned vintage sound, warm, rich and sweet with outstanding clarity and harmonic detail".
Sounds perfect, no? ;)

[Philly Q]

For what it's worth, I have exactly the same taste as you, and I went for Riff Raff (A5) bridge and Stormy Monday (A4) neck. I'm going to install them next week though, so am yet to try it out.

That sounds a good choice.  I have an A2 Stormy Monday neck (in a V, not an SG, but it's a similar sort of guitar).  In retrospect I think I might prefer A4 to tighten it up just a bit.