New bridge pickup for my SG

[yanngiraud]

Dear all,
I'm new to this forum and pretty much new to BKP in general.
I'm trying to find a new bridge pickup for my SG. I've had several of them over the years and none really delivered the sound I expected. The stock pickups (490R/490T) I did not like much. I've played with a couple of P94 which were nice (especially the neck pup) and more recently replaced them with an APH1n and a Pearly Gates for the bridge. While the APH1n I find wonderful (it has an extremely endearing sound with its spongy bass response), the PG1b does not do anything for me. I know it's a well regarded pickup but on my SG I find it quite sterile, it's a lot of mids and not much else (in particular the lack of bass response is quite problematic). I need something that opens up my guitar quite a bit. Until last night, my best guesses were either a Gibson 498T, a DiMarzio Norton or a Seymour Duncan SH-5 or SH-14. And then, searching on the Thomann website, I've discovered the BKP Boot Camp line. Unfortunately, there's not much to chew over on the web, no sample on BKP's website, very few reviews on the web and even fewer videos, except for the excellent Rabea Massaad (but this guy would kill it even on a Ukulele, so this is not very helpful).
I play a mix between Shoegaze and Post Metal, using a variety of distortion pedals (I don't get my distortion from the amp). While I occasionally do palm mutes and riffing, what I am mostly after is a thick and tight clean sound and that's why I don't think the Brute Force (or any ceramic pup) is what I am after. So my question is about the True Grit, how would it compare to the pickups I mentioned above (498T, SH-5 and Norton).
Thank you very much for your answers and advices.
Best,
Yann

[ericsabbath]

I loved the true grit humbucker set in les paul studio
the bridge pickup sounds huge, like a fuller and less aggressive alnico nailbomb
a bit similar to the holy diver too, but punchier and less mid-centric
neck pickup is pretty good too, and delivers a great clean tone
the bridge pup does have some similarities with the 498t and sh-5 voicings, but it's a lot clearer and no near as compressed and fizzy as those
I think Tim's intention was to deliver a middle ground voicing that should work well for any style in any guitar

BUT, in my experience, SG's sound better with lower output pups, and that's why most would recommend a riff raff or mule
the vhII is a good alternative with a little more output and a fatter low end than the riff raff or mule
I didn't like the holy diver I put in a SG (I had it in 4 les pauls with great results), but a friend loves that combination, so maybe the true grit might work for you, considering you're after a thicker sound

[yanngiraud]

Thank you very much for this.
This is really helpful. I think the True Grit could really suit me considering your depiction.

[Dave Sloven]

I honestly think you need to get a bridge pickup with a flat or scooped EQ for an SG. They don't like middy pickups.  I don't know much about the True Grit but the Cold Sweat and Miracle Man both work well in my experience and I suspect the Impulse and VHII might too.  I would seriously consider low output pickups though like the Riff Raff or Stormy Monday.

Also it is hard to go past a P-90 in an SG.  SGs don't seem to be especially fussy about P-90s, unlike humbuckers.  A Nantucket / Blue Note combo might be the ticket.  Or even a Supermassive set for your style of music.

[ericsabbath]

I honestly think you need to get a bridge pickup with a flat or scooped EQ for an SG. They don't like middy pickups.

I agree, but I wouldn't say the true grit is on the middy side, compared to known mid heavy models, like the holy diver, black dog or rebel yell, but definitely not scooped either
it has a flatter midrange voicing, like the warpig or emerald, but without the extra bass or treble of those two
personally, I would actually pick the emerald over the true grit for a SG, since I love some extra brightness (my favorites bridge models are the riff raff and rebel yell)
the true grit has a thicker low end, more compression and rounder top

[yanngiraud]

Thanks again, guys. I must say that your advices bring a lot of doubts to my mind. Now I'm tempted by the Old Guard. It's an Alnico II like my SD pup and it seems to have lower mids than my Pearly Gates, as well as a slightly higher DCR.
On the other hand, I never really had a hot (or even a medium hot) HB on my SG. That would plead for the True Grit.
I forgot to insist on two things: the Alnico II Pro neck is here to stat. That's my favorite neck pickup ever so I have to take this into account. The other thing is that while all the other BK pups are really interesting, too, because of the quarantine, I cannot really order a pickup in the UK because I'm not sure this will be delivered properly in these very strange times. Hence the Boot Camp line which I can order from a continental seller.
But, once again, thank you very much for your advices, this is REALLY helpful.

[yanngiraud]

After taking into consideration your opinion that low output pups are better suited for an SG, I wrote to BKP to ask more information about the Old Guard and it seems to me exactly what I am looking for. It is more scooped in the mids than my Pearly Gates and also slightly hotter. So I've just ordered one and we'll see!
I'll review it when I'm done, although I'll have to wait until the end of confinement in France to have it put in my guitar.

[ericsabbath]

After taking into consideration your opinion that low output pups are better suited for an SG, I wrote to BKP to ask more information about the Old Guard and it seems to me exactly what I am looking for. It is more scooped in the mids than my Pearly Gates and also slightly hotter. So I've just ordered one and we'll see!
I'll review it when I'm done, although I'll have to wait until the end of confinement in France to have it put in my guitar.

Nice!
I bought a bridge Old Guard from a US store but got the neck version instead
The bridge pup sounds amazing in every video I found on youtube
The neck model works pretty well with the bridge Rebel Yell in my old Les Paul Custom

[yanngiraud]

There's this video of Danny Beardsley playing one and the guy's taken to task in the comment section for playing heavy music but the fact is that he's got amazing clear and dirty sound out of it, although it's quite difficult to say what portion comes from the nice P-90 he's got in the neck.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTQ7g1LSK8U
Anyway I really look forward to it!

[jeff5371]

If you want to shy away from a Ceramic pup but were considering the Duncan SH5 (it is a ceramic pup) there is an Alnico version, the Custom 5, that may fit your bill.   It has extended lows and high and a scooped mid which, as some said, may be good for a mid-heavy SG.  It would pair well with the AII Pro neck from Duncan that you like too.   

[yanngiraud]

Thanks. The Sh-14 was also on my radar as well as the SH-11 because it's an Alnico II (but is apparently mid-heavy). Quite weirdly, in most videos I've seen about the Custom 5, I found that it sounded a lot more mid range than what the SD specs indicate.
Anyway, now that I've made my choice, I'll tell you if that was the right one.

[ericsabbath]

There's this video of Danny Beardsley playing one and the guy's taken to task in the comment section for playing heavy music but the fact is that he's got amazing clear and dirty sound out of it, although it's quite difficult to say what portion comes from the nice P-90 he's got in the neck.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTQ7g1LSK8U
Anyway I really look forward to it!

That guys videos was pretty much the reason I bought the bridge Old Guard and the True Grit set

[yanngiraud]

Just received it today. I'll keep you posted on how it sounds once it's mounted (not before at least another three weeks).

[ericsabbath]

nice
remember to set it as close as possible to strings for a fuller sound

[yanngiraud]

Quick update about my Old Guard bridge humbucker. It's now mounted on my SG and I had the occasion to do a quick test.
Even though I do not have access to a "real" amp with all the headroom that would help me evaluate the sound, I can already say it's much much better for my tastes at least than the Seymour Duncan it replaced. More open, more full. I don't have this feeling that most of the spectrum has been taken out and that I'm just left with a meagre slice of mids. The clarity of the pickup is much much better, too.
Only weird thing about it: I find that the middle position sounds a bit weird, like the two pickups are out of phase. I sense a very noticeable volume drop and now the middle position sounds more like a Telecaster than an SG. I must say I do not find it annoying because 1) I almost never use a middle position on any guitar, especially not on this one and 2) that very thin sound has its charm and I am sure it might be very useful for chord play. But I'd be interested in the reasons why it sounds this way. If you have any idea (I did not mount the new pickup yself and had it done by the guy at my local dealer)...
Anyway, I'll write more later.