Which p'ups for a Gibson SG Special Faded?

[Ultimate-deFender2015]

So, after finally pulling the trigger one one of this year's offerings from Gibson (faded SG Special in cherry) I've spent a little time messing around and really not loving the sound I get from the stock 490t/490r combination.

I think it's a step in the right direction as I tend not to like the 498t they put in most models but I'm finding they really lack definition and punch.

So currently thinking about either a set of riff raff's or mule's (maybe a mixture of the two) but as I've not had the chance to try either pickup hands on would love to hear some opinions or other possible suggestions?

I tend to play mostly stoner rock / classic rock and I try not to go too high gain, so anything above vintage hot doesn't really float my boat (and I do love that old school PAF tone).

Any help/info would be appreciated

[Dave Sloven]

For your style of music I would recommend the Riff Raff set or a Riff Raff bridge with a Mule neck.

A lot of people who play stoner rock have recommended the Riff Raff for SGs going into a big amp and/or fuzz pedals etc

I use much higher gain pickups in my SGs but I play a different style

[Ultimate-deFender2015]

Thanks for the info! What style do you generally play Agent Orange?

I'm definitely looking at the RR being in the bridge, but torn between another RR in the neck or the Mule.

I did have an LP standard with a Nailbomb in the bridge a while back, was a beautiful 'bucker could get quite a few decent sounds out of it. Ended up swapping it with a friend for an LP DC with Mississippi Queens, just found that they suited my tastes a bit more.

[Dave Sloven]

I play a sludgier, noisier, dronier kind of doom metal with a lot of crust punk and hardcore punk influences, death metal influences (mainly Asphyx and other old school ones), so I have an emphasis on stuff like high gain pickups, reverbs, delays, a compressor, a high gain amp.  I guess the closest bands to what I am doing in this current project are Black Shape of Nexus, Crowskin, Batillus, Torpor, Thou, Shadow of the Torturer, Whitehorse, etc.

I have friends here who do stoner stuff, in bands like Mammoth, Thirteen Black, Crypt, Hydromedusa, etc.  Their sound and set up is generally very different.  They seem to like Oranges rather than Peaveys, for example, and use fuzz pedals.  Their guitars also seem to be set up more vintage, although Josh from Mammoth does have a Les Paul '70s Tribute with Dirty Fingers pickups.

The guitars I use in the current band are an Epiphone Explorer with a Nailbomb set (alnico bridge) and a Gibson SG Special Worn Yellow with a Warpig set (alnico again), both tuned to C standard.  Amp is a Peavey 6534+ with just a clean boost in front and then a heap of pedals in the loop (Custom Comp, Carbon Copy, DD-7, Black Label Chorus, and EQD Ghost Echo would be the main ones, and I sometimes use my PS-6 or my EVH Phase 90).  No distortion, overdrive, or fuzz.  All the gain comes from the lead channel of the amp and the clean boost, which is only set to 9 o'clock

I have to say that I rarely use the neck pickup except for when I am using an eBow ...

[Ultimate-deFender2015]

Nice setup!

I've had my eye on the carbon copy delay for a while, finding it hard to part with my boss dm-2 (at least while it's still working)

My setup is pretty simple really generally play either my LP with Mississippi Queens or my '65 AVRI Strat with Fender grey bottoms, my fx are quite simple re-issue solasound tonebender, vintage phase 90, EHX Small clone, EHX polychorus, Boss DM-2 and Digitech Whammy. All goes straight into my line selector and out to a DSL40 set to dirty and Fender Bassbreaker set to clean.

[Dave Sloven]

Cheers.  There is a video (from today) of me trying to set up a cheap cab I bought in the following thread:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=33841.0

If you listen to it I think you will agree that my setup is not really suited to stoner rock.

[ericsabbath]

I'd go for mules, unless you really need the extra brightness and articulation of the riff raff
Search for mules clips in a Gibson SG by user _tom_ on the players forum
Lots of great clips

[Ultimate-deFender2015]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the info! It seems like the more clips I hear the more I lean towards the mule's over the RR.

I really like the attack you get with the riff raff but at certain points I found it sounded a bit too harsh?

I know it's a bit subjective with pickups and sounding different in every guitar, but the feeling I get is that the mule's will get you closer to a 60's era sound and the riff raff is more like a 70's kind of sound. (I may be totally wrong though)

[Telerocker]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the info! It seems like the more clips I hear the more I lean towards the mule's over the RR.

I really like the attack you get with the riff raff but at certain points I found it sounded a bit too harsh?

I know it's a bit subjective with pickups and sounding different in every guitar, but the feeling I get is that the mule's will get you closer to a 60's era sound and the riff raff is more like a 70's kind of sound. (I may be totally wrong though)

Mules have plenty of attack, but don't sound harsh. I'm with Eric, but in the end the result depends also on yoyr amp and settings.

[Alfi27]

I love the Mules in my SG 61' RI! Very musical, vocal and versatile pickups with more than enough attack and punch (although not quite as much as the Riff Raff). I do play some metal and I hate it when the bass is loose no matter which music genre I play, and the Mules are plenty tight for me at least.

There is only one set of pickups I like better than the Mules: the Nantuckets! The last year I have become more of a P90-guy than a humbucker-guy actually. This is of course a question of nothing else than pure preference, but to me they sound bigger, more in your face, more aggressive (but they can be tamed, unlike Miley Cyrus), have a broader, more muscular and powerful mid range and they are also a tad more versatile.

For a humbucker guitar I would most likely go with humbuckers myself. Nothing wrong with HSP90s, but they will never be 100% true P90s due to their different design (P90s are a bit wider). I have never tried a HSP90 so for all I know the tone is pretty much the same, feel free to correct me on that one!

[Ultimate-deFender2015]

Well from all the info I'm getting Mules sound like the way forward, it was very close but the more I listen the more the mules just seem to have what I'm looking for.

Nothing wrong with a P90 I love the one in my mustang it's one of the early BKP-90's not sure which though as it was already fitted when I got the guitar, wouldn't change the MQ's I've got in my Les Paul DC they are hsp-90's but it just has a tone I couldn't get bored of

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone, looks like I'll be ordering a brushed nickel covered set of mules