Need help finding alternatives to SD JB's on my SG

[O731]

Hey guys, I am looking into bare knuckles pickups and so far i'm lovin what i'm hearing and reading about these things

I am using a gibson Sg standard with a Seymour duncan Sh-4 in the bridge, and Sh-5 in the neck. The tone sounds great, but my perfectionist OCD self wants a little more from them.

The reason why I chose this pickup setup is because I wanted to go for this kind of tone: HIM - I Will Be The End Of You

A metal tone with a hint of some vintage in it, and not overly distorted. The problem is that I find my tone to be a little too "soft and warm" so to speak. Where I want to add a little more of a modern sound and brighter sound. 

So basically.  I am in love with my current setup, SH-4 and SH-5's but I know bare knuckles being hand wound and having an overall higher quality would most likely be a step up from my SD's. So, which bare knuckles are closest in tone to the Sh-4 and Sh-5's? I also don't wanna sacrafice my clean tone's as well.

[BigB]

Reading your description I was about to suggest the Alnico Nailbomb, then I listened to the clip and well, the ABomb would be too aggressive here IMHO. The RiffRaff would probably do a better job if you have the right hi-gain amp, or perhaps a Rebel Yell but I have not tried it myself so better wait for someone more knowledgeable to chime in...

[darrenw5094]

I was going to suggest the Riff Raff earlier. Ticks all the boxes with the SG, but not metal. A high gain amp might coax that tone out for you.

[Philly Q]

Do you really have an SH-5 Duncan Custom in the neck position? 

It's up to you of course, but a relatively high-output ceramic magnet pickup designed as a bridge model, it just seems an unusual choice.

[Telerocker]

RiffRaffs, Rebell Yells, Cold Sweats, alll wil do. I would inspect the CS as well for metal, unless you want an alnico-magnet for the bridge.

[O731]

Thanks for the quick replies folks! I'm new here so Im like totally clueless on the science behind these things. lol

So Yeah, I use an SH-5 and 4  on my SG. I $%&#ing love the tone's, but the problem is that it has a little too much of an air and mud in the low mids. I wanted something a little more tighter on bottom and hotter on top.

I'm looking at the miracle man and holydivers, they seem to be essentially the same as the Seymour duncan JB's but better. Whatc Help me out guys :)  I hear amazing things about these pickups and you seem to know alot about them.

[ericsabbath]

the holy diver sounds very dull in sg's
the rhythms get a bit undefined and mushy, quite different from how it sounds in les pauls and superstrats
not a good match at all, although it still sounds great for leads

sounds like a nailbomb or miracle man might suit your needs
they are very punchy and have a nice cutting top end

not sure about the neck, though
maybe a neck painkiller? (the only ceramic neck model)

[darkbluemurder]

Hey guys, I am looking into bare knuckles pickups and so far i'm lovin what i'm hearing and reading about these things

I am using a gibson Sg standard with a Seymour duncan Sh-4 in the bridge, and Sh-5 in the neck. The tone sounds great, but my perfectionist OCD self wants a little more from them.

The reason why I chose this pickup setup is because I wanted to go for this kind of tone: HIM - I Will Be The End Of You

A metal tone with a hint of some vintage in it, and not overly distorted. The problem is that I find my tone to be a little too "soft and warm" so to speak. Where I want to add a little more of a modern sound and brighter sound. 

So basically.  I am in love with my current setup, SH-4 and SH-5's but I know bare knuckles being hand wound and having an overall higher quality would most likely be a step up from my SD's. So, which bare knuckles are closest in tone to the Sh-4 and Sh-5's? I also don't wanna sacrafice my clean tone's as well.

For that tone and also based on your description I think the Alnico Nailbomb would be a fine choice for the bridge position.
No idea which pickup comes close to a SH-5 in the neck position. Probably the Painkiller neck as Eric said. I would have recommended the VHII neck as a good fit for the A-Bomb in the bridge. I had this combination in my PRS Single Cut until I switched to the Black Dogs, and it is a fine combination.

Cheers Stephan

[BigB]

The ABomb bridge is indeed quite tight and has enough power and cut to not turn to mud in a SG, but the voicing is nothing like a JB, it's much more aggressive and "abrasive".

[O731]

The ABomb bridge is indeed quite tight and has enough power and cut to not turn to mud in a SG, but the voicing is nothing like a JB, it's much more aggressive and "abrasive".

Abrasive is exactly what im going for. My Duncan's already sound very abrasive enough but in a low mid kinda way, when I want more of that high end abrasiveness

I'm considering a Miracleman, Maybe even pairing it with a nailbomb. Will this make my SG too thrashy? I want to add more "modern" metal tone to my combo, but still maintain that Dark Vintage SG vibe.

[darkbluemurder]

I don't hear any high midrange abrasiveness in the Miracle Man. Not that it does not have enough high midrange, but if you want abrasiveness, A-Bomb, C-Bomb, Aftermath and Painkiller would have more to offer in that department.

Cheers Stephan

[BigB]

Abrasive is exactly what im going for. My Duncan's already sound very abrasive enough but in a low mid kinda way, when I want more of that high end abrasiveness

I'm considering a Miracleman, Maybe even pairing it with a nailbomb. Will this make my SG too thrashy? I want to add more "modern" metal tone to my combo, but still maintain that Dark Vintage SG vibe.

Well, the Abomb (bridge) might be a candidate then. It has a lot going on in the low-mids too but in a very different way from the JB, and depending on your volume and tone pots settings can go from a roaring 90s metal grind to a much more classic rock tone. As far as I'm concerned going from the JB (which I didn't find specially "abrasive" FWIW) to the ABomb has been a major improvement (80s SG Standard, rather on the dark side). But it really don't fit as a "better JB" because it has very few to do with a JB (except being a rather hot alnico humbucker). Can't say for the ABomb neck or the MM neck or bridge (never played them).

[O731]

Hmm my decision is narrowing down to the abomb in the bridge and the miracleman in the neck.

I'm confused about the abomb, I don't see a pickup on the website called Abomb. There's a nailbomb, is that the abomb?

[gwEm]

Hmm my decision is narrowing down to the abomb in the bridge and the miracleman in the neck.

I'm confused about the abomb, I don't see a pickup on the website called Abomb. There's a nailbomb, is that the abomb?

abomb is quite an unhelpful "in-crowd" name isn't it? we should all be careful of that.

anyway it means alnico nailbomb - in other words a nailbomb pickup with an alnico magnet. this was the original configuration of that pickup.

[O731]

Hmm by the looks of it the Abomb in the bridge and miracle man or aftermath in the neck seem promising. Any experts wanna chime in on this?

To further illustrate my issue. My current setups seems to lack that articulate tight sound that say...emg's have on the bottom. My palm muted chords seem to be a bit flubbery and wobbly, rather than tight and articulate. the highs seem a bit dull too.

Not sure whether this is an SG thing or my pickups

Also just a side note: Since you guys seem to know alot and are already kindly helping me out here  :D  to go off on a mini tangent. I hear that I should also get new electronics and pots and what not? Where exactly can I find these and which ones are good?  For my SG standard and a les paul standard.