Bridge pickup — BKP vs Burstbucker for my SG Standard ‘61 Reissue

[Daddy D-Rock]

Hey all,

I’m currently in the process of trying to find some pickups for my Gibson SG Standard ‘61 Reissue

TLDR — I want a ballsy mid output Bridge Pickup that can do mid/high gain (not death metal), while maintaining note clarity — without harshness, squealing or becoming too compressed

Candidates:
Riff Raff, Cold Sweat, Nailbomb Ceramic

How do they compare to a Burstbucker?


Additional info — I keep this guitar tuned to half-step down or half-step drop D.

The guitar comes stock with ‘61 Burstbuckers. They are pretty good, but could be better. Overall, I find them a bit scooped, and compressed. They also squeal like a banshee with a lot of gain. Looking for something fuller, balanced, more open and less microphonic. The guitar already has a good amount of mids, high-mids, so I probably don’t need anything that accentuates those too much.

I don’t do extreme gain metal tones or anything like that, but I do need a bridge pickup with some balls.

Here are the tonal improvements I’m trying to make:

With med-high overdrive, the stock pickup starts  to get compressed and a bit mushy. Has a good amount of high-mid bite too. I would prefer just a little less of that— Something slightly smoother. I have to be careful with the presence and treble controls on my amp or things quickly get too spikey. Decent note clarity, and string separation overall, but I suspect I could find something even better. The worst part is how much it squeals and feeds back under medium-high amounts of gain. It’s really annoying. It’s also a bit lacking in the lows (as most SG’s are), so I’d like something with some balls and low-mid girth to make up for this, while remaining tight — not flabby or loose.

Thanks in advance for the insights!

[timmy_pix]

The stock pickups are unpotted, which is why you're having the squealing problems.

Riff Raff - probably the most similar to what you've got, but more open, more focus in the midrange, but they take to gain *really* well. Doesn't have balls in terms of output, per se, but the voicing is such that they sound mean and clear when you pile on the gain.

Cold Sweat - extremely tight, relatively scooped but that's more because they have boosted bass and treble - note I say bass, but not low mids, they don't sound particularly girthy relative to other med-high output pickups in the range because the bass response is big but extremely quick. In the wrong guitar, they can feel stiff - I had them in a Les Paul that hated them, but they're now in a different one and they're much happier. That extra treble could come across as harsh depending on the amp, too, the bridge pickup is pretty bright.

I can't comment on the C-bomb, I'm afraid. I think the A-bomb would do some of what you want but it's been ages since I've played one and I haven't got around to installing the ones I've got sat on the shelf yet!

If I were you I'd be looking at the True Grit. Still open and with some hot-PAF character, even mids, smooth high end, and a bit more weight in the low mids.

[Daddy D-Rock]

Thanks for the advice!

I'm worried that the Riff Raff's might be too bright in my guitar. I've also read that they're pretty lacking in the lows.

As of now, I've currently set my sights on the Stormy Monday Neck and Mule Bridge in my SG.

Any thoughts?