Replacing my 498t ( Gibson SG )

[DannyDowd]

Im looking to replace the bridge 498t in my gibson SG standard.

It isnt a warm enough tone for what i want and has too much bite.

Im looking for a 70's heavy/classic rock tone and I'm unsure on what would be the best option..... please help hah

I play through a jcm900 head and a 1960a cab and have the bass on 9 and the mid's on 7 to try and get a nicer full sound and am in need of something with a nice amount of gain, tone and power.

P.S Im only planning on buying the bridge pickup as I never, ever use the neck pickup i just use pedals for what i need in terms of tone and boost's, could this affect the sound of the bridge pick up or does it run from a totally different wiring output therefore is not noticeable ( i havent a clue about pickups )

Thanks for your time guys.

[ericsabbath]

mule

and sell your JCM 900 for a good 50w non-master JMP

[DannyDowd]

thanks man, heard a lot of good things about the mule, might get that in my bridge, any other suggestions people. pro's and con's of some of BKP's Pups....

[Telerocker]

Mule or Abraxas, if you need a bit more push.

[richard]

When you say the 498T has too much bite do you mean that it is too high in output ? Or that it is too sharp sounding ? 498T is a pretty high output pickup so an Abraxas or a Mule would have a lot less power if that's what you're after. I replaced mine (in a Firebird Studio which is like a big SG) with RYs at Tim's suggestion. But I'm not sure that's what you're after either.

I found the 498 to be an extremely annoying pickup as at lower volumes through my amp it was sharp and scratchy but at higher volumes it turned to mush like it had been wrapped in a sock. It had to go. What does it sound like when you turn the 900 up high ?

I would think that for 70's heavy rock you MIGHT find the Mule a little low in output.

I haven't played through a 900 in years. The last one was a combo that blew the transformer after I'd played for a about 30 seconds so I don't remember what they sound like.

I've used an SG with a JB in it for years and it sounds really good.

[Philly Q]

I don't think the Abraxas would be a lot less hot than the 498T?

Normally I'd say the default option of Riff Raff for an SG, but it's not going to give you the warmer sound you've described.  So yeah, Mule or maybe in this case you should break the "no medium output pickups in an SG" rule and try the Abraxas.

I might even say Crawler based on the full sound you're describing, but I really think it would be mushy in an SG.

[ericsabbath]

I would think that for 70's heavy rock you MIGHT find the Mule a little low in output.

he stated he uses boost pedals, so that wouldn't be a problem
that's what I do as well
the mule excels for that 70's tones and much much more when boosted

[Telerocker]

Mules can do 70's (classic) rock easily, certainly on a Marshall. Maxon OD or something similar in front and you have a nice solotone.

[ericsabbath]

by the way, is the amp the regular 2-channel jcm 900 with reverb or the '91 mk III single channel version?

[darkbluemurder]

by the way, is the amp the regular 2-channel jcm 900 with reverb or the '91 mk III single channel version?

I was going to ask the exact same question. I always thought that the SL-X was a very good sounding amp and liked it way better than both the High Gain Master and High Gain Dual Reverb models.

As regards the pickup I think that the Black Dog bridge would be what you want - a bit more output, bass and mids than a vintage PAF style humbucker.

Cheers Stephan

[DannyDowd]

thanks for all the replies people, yeah in terms of the current pup having too much bite im talking the sharp sound it has as apose to the actual output of the pickup, i agree with the pickup sounding way too scratchy when my head is turned down to around 1-1.5, on about 2.5-3.5 it starts to sound slightly better but you need to stand well back as if you are stood within around 5-7.5 metres its got too much high end and isnt warm enough.

Also in an output sense how will this affect the overall sound ( being a lower output than the 498t) ? I use an EHX LPB for solo's which gives it some sustain and volume so i should be fine in that sense, then for general playing i just sit on my bridge pickup for pretty much all my playing. and yeah its the 2 channel jcm 900 reverb head, channel A for cleaner playing, channel B is more overdriven, which is where i sit :)

[DannyDowd]

thanks darkbluemurder, its looking like a choice between ' The Mule ' ' Black Dog ' and ' Abraxas ' , now im just going to have to decipher the pro's and con's of those three and go for it. Ahhhhhhhhhhh decisions .

[DannyDowd]

by the way, is the amp the regular 2-channel jcm 900 with reverb or the '91 mk III single channel version?

sorry man im new to this site so im just figuring out how to respond hah, there is some more details in above comments, but yes it is the 2 channel ( A and B ) jcm 900 reverb head. :D

[darkbluemurder]

thanks darkbluemurder, its looking like a choice between ' The Mule ' ' Black Dog ' and ' Abraxas ' , now im just going to have to decipher the pro's and con's of those three and go for it. Ahhhhhhhhhhh decisions .

I never played a Mule but you will not go wrong with either the Black Dog or the Abraxas. The Abraxas would be closer in output to the 498T. Compared to the Black Dog the Abraxas has more midrange and a creamier tone whereas the Black Dog is the clearer and glassier of the two. To be clear I am talking only bridge pickups here.

So if a creamy tone is most important to you, go Abraxas.
If clarity is most important, go Black Dog.
Both have a warm tone, and neither of them is harsh or muddy.
If it is still hard to decide - get another guitar and get both  :D

The only SG I ever had was a very middy guitar so I would have gone with the Black Dog for that to balance it a bit out. I don't know however if that is also the case with your guitar. If it's a bright guitar acoustically the Abraxas could balance that out.

Cheers Stephan

[DannyDowd]

thanks darkbluemurder, its looking like a choice between ' The Mule ' ' Black Dog ' and ' Abraxas ' , now im just going to have to decipher the pro's and con's of those three and go for it. Ahhhhhhhhhhh decisions .

I never played a Mule but you will not go wrong with either the Black Dog or the Abraxas. The Abraxas would be closer in output to the 498T. Compared to the Black Dog the Abraxas has more midrange and a creamier tone whereas the Black Dog is the clearer and glassier of the two. To be clear I am talking only bridge pickups here.

So if a creamy tone is most important to you, go Abraxas.
If clarity is most important, go Black Dog.
Both have a warm tone, and neither of them is harsh or muddy.
If it is still hard to decide - get another guitar and get both  :D

The only SG I ever had was a very middy guitar so I would have gone with the Black Dog for that to balance it a bit out. I don't know however if that is also the case with your guitar. If it's a bright guitar acoustically the Abraxas could balance that out.

Cheers Stephan

Thanks Stephan man, yeah that has helped a lot, any idea on which overdrives and sustains better, a nice 70s marshall vintage sustain.... But its looking like the ' Black Dog ' at the moment for me.