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Author Topic: SG standard pickup replacement  (Read 5695 times)

markesmith65

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SG standard pickup replacement
« on: January 11, 2014, 07:41:42 PM »
Hi folks,

I've seen a few posts around the issue  but nothing that quite answers my question, so hopefully you can help.

I've got an SG standard, my dream guitar, but the factory pickups are a little too soft and warm. I'm looking to up the attack to get more "kah" than "chuh" (technical term). Nothing too extreme.

It seems like the Riff Raff or VH2 may be a good fit. has anyone any experience of either and is there any advice on which to go for or if there's a left field choice I've missed.

Any input most appreciated for a newb.

Thanks Mark

darrenw5094

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2014, 07:50:54 PM »
Would help if you name some bands or guitarists you want the SG to sound like.
BKP: Abraxas - Les Paul
Holy Diver - Charvel
Mule - Les Paul
Rebel Yell - Les Paul
VHII - PRS CU22
Emerald - Les Paul
Warpig - Caparison Horus

Kiichi

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2014, 07:53:24 PM »
Hi and welcome.

Now I do not know what your gear is or what music you play, but pickups for an SG which have more attack, less softness,  and one could say brighter edge, while being classic and the archtype of a good SG sound the Riff Raff is nearly without a question what you want. Pretty much made for SGs, classic and clear, crunchy and punchy and able to go far beyond those familiar australian riffs and raffs.

BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

Slartibartfarst42

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2014, 07:58:32 PM »
The usual advice on an SG is to go either low or high output but avoid pickups that are in the middle ground. It's not always true but works as a rough rule of thumb. I know the Riff Raff is seen as a great choice for an SG and someone recently had great success with a Cold Sweat set; it may be Agent Orange but I'm not sure. I would imagine Mules would work well too, as would Warpigs at the other end of the spectrum. As long as you stay broadly low or high output I think there's a lot that could potentially work for you (not Holydiver) so it would be handy if you could be a bit more specific. Without knowing anything else, I'd go with Riff Raffs as a safe bet.
BKP owned:

Bridge - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; A-Bomb; Holydiver; Miracle Man; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Neck - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; Holydiver; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

markesmith65

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2014, 08:00:41 PM »
Hmmm, difficult question, more of the brightness of Angus young. Or the squall of Omar Rodriguez Lopez.  So something with some good treble without  losing the humbucker depth.

So the Holy grail of humbucker with a hint of single coil....

Now laugh at the newb :D

Dave Sloven

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2014, 11:24:13 PM »
Yes, my Cold Sweat set works really well in my 2011 SG Standard.

The issues with SGs arise from the construction, which tends to produce a very resonant guitar focused on the mids, with a strong resonant peak somewhere between the 'mid-mids' and the low mids.  Some pickups that are especially strong in that area can sound very honky and skew the sound of the pickup to the point where it simply isn't recognizable from the clips.

I had an A-Bomb with that issue, which is apparently quite common with SGs. Some atypical SGs that are darker sounding have not had this issue, or it has not been so pronounced, as in the case of BigB's.  Personally I think pickups like A-Bombs and Painkillers that have strong mids are too much of a risk in an SG.

The other issue is a relative lack of bass.  While the Rebel Yell set avoids the issue above it can feel lacking in bass in an SG as there is not a big bottom end (as in, say, a Les Paul or Explorer) in the instrument itself to fill that out. Then again your lower output pickups such as the Riff Raff are the same; the point is I guess that the RY will not feel so much like a high output pickup if you are doing a lot of chunky metal rhythm playing, that it will be more of a screaming rock pickup.  It does avoid that mid hump issue though.

The Crawler and Holy Diver are to be avoided in SGs.  They have a tendency to sound muddy for some reason.

In the high output range the Miracle Man has the best reputation with SGs, due to its 'scooped' character, which adds in bass and highs while the natural mids of the guitar lessen the scoop.  The Cold Sweat is much the same, and provides better cleans and is generally more versatile in terms of its application than the MM, which is strictly a metal pickup.  The Warpig apparently works well in SGs, both in alnico and ceramic versions, as the bassiness of the pickup is reduced by the brightness of the guitar.  I've noticed a bit of a preference for the C-Pig even, which is a pickup that a lot of people find too bassy but seems to work well in SGs.  The C-Bomb apparently works fine too due to its 'scoop' relative to the A-Bomb.

In general though the two contemporary pickups that are 'no-brainers' for SGs are the Cold Sweat and Miracle Man.

In the vintage hot range to be honest I haven't seen a lot of comments regarding SGs.  I do remember that someone had a good experience with VHIIs, but it's hard to say how typical the SG was.  I suspect that the Emerald set might be like the Rebel Yell, but possibly brighter, maybe too bright.  I think I also read somewhere that the Black Dog works.  I would avoid the Abraxas due to its similarities to the Holy Diver and Crawler.

Out of the vintage range it seems that most will work because the interaction between pickup and guitar seems to be less of an issue.  People have had good results with Riff Raffs and Mules.

Don't forget too that the HSP-90 range all work well in SGs.  In fact the clips for those are all made in SGs.


I'm going to test my A-Pig set in my SG next string change, just to see whether I might want to buy another SG to use them in.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2014, 11:26:08 PM by Agent Orange »
BLACK HAWKS
IMPULSES
COBRA-T
WAR PIGS
STOCKHOLM
COLD SWEATS
MIRACLE MAN
TRUE GRIT

https://slovendoom.bandcamp.com/releases

markesmith65

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2014, 11:42:26 PM »
Thanks Agent Orange some great detail in your reply and now you've said it, the over riding "mid" to my sound rings true. I'm going to do some research on whether to go scoop or t the riff raff boosted treble with the risk of a reduced bass.

Dave Sloven

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2014, 12:07:44 AM »
The Cold Sweat bridge is a really good option for the SG.  It covers a lot of ground.  The only thing it really doesn't do is the real high output screaming (see Miracle Man) or 'hairy' hardcore type sounds (see C-Bomb).

I'd like to hear more on the VHII in SGs.  With only one person I can remember saying it worked - but nobody saying it didn't work - the sample size is too small to say for sure.

With the SGs being so sensitive in the mids the simple charts on the BKP site aren't much help when it comes to comparing the VHII and RY, but I suspect if the VHII works it will give a tight, chunky, but not 'big' low end, much like the RY in an SG, but with its own distinctive tonality.

With the Cold Sweat I can go pretty heavy when I need to, into Pantera, Slayer, and Celtic Frost territory, but I can also get stuff like Thin Lizzy or 'Sad Wings' era Judas Priest from it.  I have a Stockholm SG Junior and an A-Bomb Explorer for playing hardcore stuff, which I find the Cold Sweat to be a little too 'refined' for.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2014, 12:16:04 AM by Agent Orange »
BLACK HAWKS
IMPULSES
COBRA-T
WAR PIGS
STOCKHOLM
COLD SWEATS
MIRACLE MAN
TRUE GRIT

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Kiichi

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2014, 12:28:59 AM »
Hmmm, difficult question, more of the brightness of Angus young. Or the squall of Omar Rodriguez Lopez.  So something with some good treble without  losing the humbucker depth.

So the Holy grail of humbucker with a hint of single coil....

Now laugh at the newb :D
Ok, I can not add too much to what Agent Orange said as he really laid things out here...man this is almost a full SG guide! What he only briefly touches upon though is the P90, which slipped my mind, although I am perhaps even known to be somewhat of a fan of that PU type. For the reasons Agent Orange stated already, mainly that mid character of the SG, P90s really work like a charm in those guitars as they do add extra high end and low end in comparison to HBs, plus they do open up the midrange to which they also add a unique growl.

Coming back to what I quoted of you I think you can go in three directions here, mixtures of the three of course possible.
1. Riff Raff. Perhaps the SG humbucker. Bright, sparkly and just all on Angus and beyond.
2. Cold Sweat. That perfect Gibson HB sound, working with the tonal qualitys of the SG type for a versatile sound, though distinctly more modern than the Riff Raff.
3. Mississippi Queen(s). Either as a set or just the neck these deliver the best of both world. The fatness of a humbucker and the attack and full response of a single coil. You can take it from screaming to singing easily and it will rip your SG open and deliver full on. Classic sound at its heart, but also veeeery versatile.
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

Slartibartfarst42

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2014, 12:40:07 AM »
A P90 option could be a really good shout on this as it should give you some of that humbucker depth you want with a bit of single coil.

By the way Kiichi, I played a friend's guitar (Strat) the other day that had a bridge MQ fitted in the neck position and I was hugely impressed. Plenty of bite and a beautiful Blues tone to go with it.
BKP owned:

Bridge - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; A-Bomb; Holydiver; Miracle Man; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Neck - Emerald; Cold Sweat; Crawler; Holydiver; Sinner; Trilogy Suite

Dave Sloven

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Re: SG standard pickup replacement
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2014, 12:55:14 AM »
The main reasons I didn't say much about P-90s are that (1) they all work in SGs & (2) the clips for the HSP-90 range were all recorded in an SG.  Thus you can go to the clips and get a really good indication of what those will sound like in an SG.  They also give a good indication of what the corresponding/related regular P-90s might sound like in an SG.

I have a custom Stockholm in a standard P-90 format in my SG Junior.  A great, great pickup.  Keeps up with the A-Bomb although people say that my Explorer is now more 'middy' and 'cutting' than the SG Junior since I replaced the A-Pig with the A-Bomb.  The Stockholm is definitely a contemporary sounding pickup though.  For more classic tones I'd go for the MQ.

An MQ neck and CS bridge would probably work, although the CS neck is such a great pickup I think I'd stick with the set.
BLACK HAWKS
IMPULSES
COBRA-T
WAR PIGS
STOCKHOLM
COLD SWEATS
MIRACLE MAN
TRUE GRIT

https://slovendoom.bandcamp.com/releases