Alnico Warpig for my SG

[Garfish]

Hi,

I know this topic has been touched a lot, and I have read many of the threads here regarding warpigs in SG's. However, I still need some advice.
I recently bought a Gibson SG silverburst Robot. Plays amazing, really resonant and light. The problem is I don't like the stock pickups( probably the 490T/498T set).
I usually play my '79 LP custom in C# 12-60 with a vintage Dimazrio super distortion through a Laney GH100TI into a Orange 4x12 loaded with V30. I play heavy stoner-doomish metal (Sleep, Sabbath, The Sword, High on Fire, Mastodon, CoC, Down, most of Wino's stuff etc.). I have a pretty fat sound with that setup, but due to the weight of the LP, I want to play my  SG more.

I want to fatten up SG - make it sound huge and tame the highs. I read somewhere that for SG's its either hot vintage outputs or high outputs, I think someone said Black dog or warpig. I've haven't heard the warpig in an SG and I question the versitility of the pickup. I know a lot of the guys that I dig play Lace pickups, but I'm not really a fan of active pickups, so I figured I should try some passive ones first.

Is there an alternative to the warpig or is it just the go to pickup?

As the for technical stuff, the pickup should have long legs and 53mm spacing when replacing the stock Gibson ones?

I hope you can help me out

[JimmyMoorby]

The alnico warpig in an SG is perfect for the bands you've mentioned.
I have mine paired with a mule neck in my SG and I love it as you say it really thickens it up.

[Dave Sloven]

I have a Warpig set (with alnico bridge) in my SG Special Faded and I really love it.  The stock pickups were 490R/490T (which Specials have generally come with for the last twenty years) but I also have an SG Standard that had a 490T in the bridge, so I know what that sounds like.

Believe me, you will notice a drastic improvement, especially for the style of music you play, with the A-Pig.  Out of all the BKPs this is the pickup that is a match made in heaven for an SG playing metal.  It will REALLY thicken your sound up.  I would say that the Cold Sweat bridge in my Standard is more versatile in the sense that it can play a wider range of stuff, but it is not as convincing on the really heavy stuff as the Warpig.  The other pickup you should consider is the Miracle Man, which kind of sits between the two

Long legs yes, I used 50mm spacing but I think if it has a 498T you could use 53mm.  I guess they must have changed the spacing on the Nashville bridges at some point, but I couldn't pick it on mine by eye.  In any case I have since gone to a TonePros bridge on the Standard which is 50mm and I use the same bridge on my Special.

You can see my Special with the Warpigs in the following thread.  I haven't had to change the wiring at all yet.  I might do it later but it's not necessary

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=32270.0

[Garfish]

Thanks for the replies! I'm getting pretty close to pull the trigger on one of these badboys.

I measured the width on the bride pickup and it seems to be 52/53mm from the e/E mid poles.

I guess my SG comes with 500k pots, like most of the gibsons. Do I have to change them or will it do just fine with the original pots? I'm not very informed on pots.

[darrenw5094]

Lot of Gibsons have 300k pots, so check the spec

[ericsabbath]

I'd go ceramic

[Dave Sloven]

I wouldn't go ceramic over alnico for stuff like Sleep, High On Fire, The Obsessed, St Vitus, Sabbath, etc.  I think the A-Pig gives a very close approximation of that kind of sound.  I tuned mine down to C# standard today and it sounded pretty good playing Snowblind and Children of the Grave

I would just change the pickups first and see how you feel about the pots after that.  If it sounds muffled or dark then install brighter pots and caps.  It can't hurt you to try it first. At least it will give you the sense that the pots and caps have actually made a difference when you eventually install them, and you can get a clear sense of the impact of each change.

Like I said before the 498T does seem to have the wider spacing but when I changed to TonePros I ended up with the regular Gibson spacing on that guitar anyway.  When I first installed the 50mm pickups it looked off but then when I changed to the TonePros it looked like they were lined up.  Given how common that upgrade is you might want to consider that.  Otherwise I think the 53mm will be fine.

[Garfish]

I wouldn't go ceramic over alnico for stuff like Sleep, High On Fire, The Obsessed, St Vitus, Sabbath, etc.  I think the A-Pig gives a very close approximation of that kind of sound.  I tuned mine down to C# standard today and it sounded pretty good playing Snowblind and Children of the Grave

I would just change the pickups first and see how you feel about the pots after that.  If it sounds muffled or dark then install brighter pots and caps.  It can't hurt you to try it first. At least it will give you the sense that the pots and caps have actually made a difference when you eventually install them, and you can get a clear sense of the impact of each change.

Like I said before the 498T does seem to have the wider spacing but when I changed to TonePros I ended up with the regular Gibson spacing on that guitar anyway.  When I first installed the 50mm pickups it looked off but then when I changed to the TonePros it looked like they were lined up.  Given how common that upgrade is you might want to consider that.  Otherwise I think the 53mm will be fine.

I agree with no going with the C-pigs.

I think the robots come with a different bridge, so atm. I have no plans of replacing it. I like your idea with just testing the pickup as is, and then determine if I should replace the pots.
I just measured my bridge pickup and it reads 53-ish from  the mid of e to E poles.

[darrenw5094]

I always assumed that the bridges were 50mm

[ericsabbath]

most common gibson tune-o-matic bridges I've seen are somewhere around 51-52mm
they file the slots to match the stock pickups, and most gibsons used to come with 490t/498t/500t pickups for a long time
those pups aren't exactly f-spaced, but close
most aftermarket models (gotoh, schaller and tonepros) that eventually come factory-notched  are usually 52 or 53mm
I've never seen a gibson copy with a stock 50mm spaced bridge

[everyemptyvein]

I know Lee from Bring Me The Horizon used an SG with a Warpig in the bridge while in the studio for Sempiternal.

Here is a good example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rMyAUqWV3Y
(There's a lot of swearing so don't listen near kids/grandmas  )