sg special replacements

[feeble knievel]

hi! ive just got a gibson sg special and want to replace the pickups but im stuck between mules in both positions or mule in the neck and blackdog in the bridge. i tend to play classic rock and blues but also some placebo, bit of black keys, that sorta stuff. also want to know how warm the mule in the neck is :).  Cheers!!

[Miracle Man]

Welcome to the forum!  :)

I think the consensus is that the Black Dog doesn't work that well in SGs. It's a warm pickup with quite a bit of bass and a tame top end. The way an SG resonates doesn't work with medium output warm pickups like the Black Dog. If you want a low output pickup the Riff Raff is a PAF type that will cut through all the mahogany. For the type of music you mentioned (including Placebo) I think a set of Riff Raffs would work VERY well in your SG.

[feeble knievel]

i never even considered the riff raff, makes sense though as i think its meant to be an angus young pickup i think. cheers :)

[Miracle Man]

It's much more than an Angus pickup  :)  It's a great PAF with lots of bite and I guess it's similar to the pickups Gibson put in SGs back then. Since Angus played SGs, that's where the name comes from, but it's just a vibe thing. It will do metal, jangly pop and everything in between. Tim (of BKP) says that the Riff Raff actually comes closest to the pickup in Jimmy Pages original LP.

[feeble knievel]

nice, well im sold :), just gotta save up the last bit :(

[BigB]

i never even considered the riff raff, makes sense though as i think its meant to be an angus young pickup i think. cheers :)

The RR is _not_ a "angus young pickup" - it's mostly based on the early 60s PAFs that featured a shorter AV magnet and came stock on the first SGs. These pups are brighter, punchier and more focused than (most of) the earlier "canonical" PAFs (if such a thing as a "canonical PAF" exists). They of course do the early Angus tones (if you have the proper amp and fingers), but they also excel for blues, classic rock, old-school hard-rock, indie stuff, etc.

The Mule neck works fine in a SG if you want a very warm tone BTW (going from splendid jazzy cleans to massive stoner distortion) but the RR neck is really great too - so far my fav neck 'bucker.  

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Definitely RR here.

[BigB]

Definitely RR here.

Well, _tom_ may have something to say about the Mules too ;)

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28288.0
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28325.0
http://soundcloud.com/tom_the_beast/170812-2

[feeble knievel]

what are the mids like on mules/riff raffs? the bridge pickup on my special lacks power and sounds too bright, mules might be the way forward. so much choice!

[Telerocker]

I have Mules in a bolt-on all mahogany Saint Blues and that's a great combo. They are full, deep, 3D, yet with a crispy topend that makes mahogany alive. The neckup is quite warm and round, but I don't miss highend. I play a lot of classic rock and hardrock with this guitar. That said, RiffRaffs work great in SG's.

[feeble knievel]

cheers, gunna get another pair of ears in on this before i buy lol