Need help selecting pups for a 1972 SG

[Plutonious]

Hi guys,

I've got an old beat up 1972 SG I'm doing some work on. The guitar had been long stripped of all original parts before it got to me, and it currently has some fairly hot Duncans in it (not sure exactly which models) that give the guitar an extremely muddy sound.

This would be my first set of BKPs. I've heard so much good about BKPs in general that I'd love to try some out. I've been trying to narrow my selection...and may have widened it instead. This SG is pretty light, 6.9lbs with a bigsby on it, and I plan to remove that. It seems like darker guitar in general. I run it through a Blackstar HT Club 40.

I mainly play blues up to 80s metal. Not much heavier about that. It seems like there are a few good options in the vintage-vintage hot range. I've done a bunch of research in existing thread and it seems like the following are my preferences. The Mule, Riff Raff, Black Dog, and Mississippi Queen all seem interesting. Hoping to get some opinions. A couple questions to start off with:

Are black dogs dark? I know they are recommended if I want a hotter bridge.

I love the thickness of the MQs. How noisy do you find these, and can you crank them to 80s metal levels comfortably?

I'm a big fan of PRS' 57/08s, which is why I have interest in the Mule.

Any opinions would be great here!

[Dave Sloven]

In this SG you might want to consider the VHII.  I would probably avoid the Rebel Yell for this application.  I don't think it has enough bottom end for an SG.

[Telerocker]

Lenny Kravitz' has Mules in his Gibson V. That's a good benchmark. Mules are balanced, dynamic, sweet and crisp. They can handle loads of gain, but of course they remain PAF59-copies, not your first choice for metal.

Black Dogs are tighter on the low end, but might be too middy for an SG.
 
MQ's are certainly a good option, providing fatness with that crispy topend. They will be less polite than Mules, but if you love the P90's-bark, don't rule them out.

[Plutonious]

In this SG you might want to consider the VHII.  I would probably avoid the Rebel Yell for this application.  I don't think it has enough bottom end for an SG.

My only fear for the VHII is that it isn't as great for blues. I'd rather have a guitar more on the blues side capabilities wise then metal. Part of the reason in the Black Dog, as it seems like it can go in between well. Haven't found a VHII blues demo.

Lenny Kravitz' has Mules in his Gibson V. That's a good benchmark. Mules are balanced, dynamic, sweet and crisp. They can handle loads of gain, but of course they remain PAF59-copies, not your first choice for metal.

Black Dogs are tighter on the low end, but might be too middy for an SG.
 
MQ's are certainly a good option, providing fatness with that crispy topend. They will be less polite than Mules, but if you love the P90's-bark, don't rule them out.

I think I'm favouring a mule in the neck regardless. I'm not too concerned about metal on them. they seem similar to the 57/08s and I can dial those in for metal needs just fine.

The demos of the MQs seem great. Do you have any experience on how noisy they are? They seem able to take a good amount of gain.

[ericsabbath]

the VHII sounds great in SGs, but it's quite metal sounding indeed
the black dog sounds more opaque and dense, though
if you want to retain openness, you better try the riff raff or mule
mule sounds better at low gain and cleans and has a smoother response
riff raff has better string separation under gain, brighter mids and a very lively picking response

[Telerocker]

If you're yourself most of the time a bluesguy go Mules or RiffRaffs, however I find Mules more bluesy somehow. Depends also on the guitar. I have VHII's in an ashstrat and those are better for (hard)rock.