Humbuckers for a SG Classic.

[Nick]

G'day !

I have a SG Classic with 2 P90s and I want to change them for humbuckers.
I already have a SG Std with a Stormy Monday/N and a Riff Raff/B ( please read https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=9562.msg121168#msg121168 ) and I'd like to stick to BKP as I'm really pleased with them.

For the Classic I'm looking for something "a wee bit more". The Stormy Monday and Riff Raff are perfect for what I was looking for, now I'd like to go one step further concerning gain but keep at the same time a vintage vibe.

My amp is a Cornell Plexi 7 and the only pedal I use is a Fulltone OCD.

I was thinking about a VHII set or an Emerald set. Even a Riff Raff in neck could be an option with something else in bridge.
I will also change the pots and caps, what would you recommend ?

Thanks for your time and help. :)

[Kiichi]

Does it have actual P90s or HB sized ones? Cause thatīs a potential routing issue.

Plus have you considered BKP P90s at all or is the sound generally not for you?

Sides that I donīt know much about SGs, so I am agraid I canīt help much. Just know that P90s love SGs and that they are picky, generally liking low and high output, but often having more issues with mid.

[Dave Sloven]

Don't do it!

Sell it to someone who wants a Classic and buy a Standard, that would be my advice.

These have regular P-90s, with the same mount as on my SG Junior.  I can tell you that that mount does not work with the baseplates on the P-90s made by Bare Knuckle.  You will need to convert the pickup mounting to the screw-into-wood type.  I found that shims were not necessary, there is plenty of wood under the pickup.  You need to add foam under here though. That is a relatively simple operation for a tech but it will leave those two height adjustment screw holes either side of your pickups empty.  This is why pickguard companies that sell pickguards for the SG Classic offer the option of deleting those holes.

If you want to go to the trouble of converting those mounts over I would recommend a Nantucket set or possibly a Nantucket bridge with a Blue Note neck.  The Supermassive will provide more gain but is EQ might be too bassy for you.  Another alternative is a Nantucket neck with a Pig 90 bridge and just turn the volume down on the bridge when you want less juice

If you convert it to humbuckers you will need a new pickguard and possibly some routing.  If it has a PCB you might find it easiest to install a new harness.

By the greeting I am guessing that you are an Aussie.  If you are in Adelaide you could take your guitar to Pete Jenkins (Dr Guitar) in Happy Valley, he did the pickup mounting conversion to fit my Stockholm P-90 to the SG Junior.

On the pickup mounting and the changes I made to my Junior see the following thread
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31557.0

[Nick]

Does it have actual P90s or HB sized ones? Cause thatīs a potential routing issue.

Plus have you considered BKP P90s at all or is the sound generally not for you?

Sides that I donīt know much about SGs, so I am agraid I canīt help much. Just know that P90s love SGs and that they are picky, generally liking low and high output, but often having more issues with mid.

Yes, it has P90s, but the routing is wide enough to fit humbuckers. I will have to make a pickguard because the HBs will be closer and a pickguard from a Std won't fit.
Yes, I thought about P90s but I'm so tired of them at the moment I don't wanna hear anything about them !
And from what I've heard I won't find the tone I'm looking for.

Don't do it!

Sell it to someone who wants a Classic and buy a Standard, that would be my advice.

These have regular P-90s, with the same mount as on my SG Junior.  I can tell you that that mount does not work with the baseplates on the P-90s made by Bare Knuckle.  You will need to convert the pickup mounting to the screw-into-wood type.  I found that shims were not necessary, there is plenty of wood under the pickup.  You need to add foam under here though. That is a relatively simple operation for a tech but it will leave those two height adjustment screw holes either side of your pickups empty.  This is why pickguard companies that sell pickguards for the SG Classic offer the option of deleting those holes.

If you want to go to the trouble of converting those mounts over I would recommend a Nantucket set or possibly a Nantucket bridge with a Blue Note neck.  The Supermassive will provide more gain but is EQ might be too bassy for you.  Another alternative is a Nantucket neck with a Pig 90 bridge and just turn the volume down on the bridge when you want less juice

If you convert it to humbuckers you will need a new pickguard and possibly some routing.  If it has a PCB you might find it easiest to install a new harness.

By the greeting I am guessing that you are an Aussie.  If you are in Adelaide you could take your guitar to Pete Jenkins (Dr Guitar) in Happy Valley, he did the pickup mounting conversion to fit my Stockholm P-90 to the SG Junior.

On the pickup mounting and the changes I made to my Junior see the following thread
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=31557.0

I regret I won't sell it. Good guitars are hard to find so when you have one, you keep it.

And don't worry mate, I won't butchered it, it will be possible to swap back to P90s like it never had HBs.

(I'm french but I've lived down under. )

[Dave Sloven]

If the bridge pickup will be closer to the neck than on a regular SG that will increase the 'boomy neck & thin bridge' problem that SGs often have.  I would recommend using a neck from a lower powered set with the bridge.

For example, a Riff Raff neck with an Emerald bridge, or an Emerald neck with a Rebel Yell bridge.

Out of the middle-output humbuckers a Cold Sweat works really well in the bridge slot.  The Rebel Yell and Emerald will most likely be somewhat lacking in 'balls' when installed in an SG.

[Nick]

If the bridge pickup will be closer to the neck than on a regular SG that will increase the 'boomy neck & thin bridge' problem that SGs often have.  I would recommend using a neck from a lower powered set with the bridge.

That is a good advice, thanks.
I didn't measured but from what I've seen the neck pup will be closer to the bridge, and the bridge pup will be closer to the neck.

[ericsabbath]

I'd try proper p-90's first
the supermassive looks interesting
you can return them if you're still not happy and get another set

[Dave Sloven]

The Supermassive and Stockholm deliver the classic P-90 sound of the Nantucket but with more bass and output.  SGs generally can do with a bit more bass in the bridge.  My Stockholm bridge took away some of the shrillness of the Gibson pickup and added more 'push' but it still basically sounds like a P-90.  My sound is very much the early Discharge sound (which was an SG Junior with the dogear P-90) on steroids.  The same basic feel and tonality, but with more bottom end push and roar to it.

If I had an SG Classic based on my current experience I would probably fit a Stockholm bridge and a Supermassive neck.  I do think that a Supermassive calibrated set or a Supermassive/Nantucket combo could also work though, although the latter would in some ways be similar to just changing the bridge and as I don't use the neck pickup much anyway on any of my guitars I would probably just change the bridge