Sorry about this - it seems all I have are questions...

[Sailor Charon]

So, I'm replacing my old Strat (Trilogy Suites) with an SG.  [The tone's great, just don't like Strats]
Question. Would I be better off with an SG3 (even though the neck's not as slim as on the Goddess) because it has all the right bits to start off with and wouldn't need routing (but is also £150 more) or getting an SG Goddess which would need a 6 way selector fitting as well as routing - the plan would be to use the pickup selector that's there as a split/serial/parallel selector and replace the tone pot with a 6 way rotary selector.
Secondly, I'm torn between ceramic warpig bridge, painkiller neck, painkiller middle, and a set of 3 painkillers. I'm assuming that they can both be split/serial/parallel, but...

[Philly Q]

the plan would be to use the pickup selector that's there as a split/serial/parallel selector and replace the tone pot with a 6 way rotary selector.

Assuming you could find an on/on/on DPDT switch which would fit the large hole left by the selector switch, that would only act as a series/split/parallel switch for one pickup.  You'd be better off with 3 individual mini-switches.

Alternatively, you could replace the Goddess's existing selector with the 6-way rotary.  That would leave you a control arrangement like the SG-3, but then you'd still need to rout the body.

I reckon the SG-3's a better bet, unless the Goddess's skinny neck is a big selling point for you.

(Edit:  What about the SG Special Faded 3-Pickup?  It's got the SG-3 controls, but it's cheaper, presumably.)

[Sailor Charon]

I reckon the SG-3's a better bet, unless the Goddess's skinny neck is a big selling point for you.

(Edit:  What about the SG Special Faded 3-Pickup?  It's got the SG-3 controls, but it's cheaper, presumably.)

Flip but yes it is cheaper. It's less than half the price. It's £500. So with a trio of pickups it's still cheaper than the Goddess. And it doesn't have the (naff, IMO) gold hardware that the SG3 has. I can always get a new paint job :)

Yes, the neck is a selling point. But only because (from what I hear) the necks on SGs tend to be either thick or skinny.  There's not much difference in the nut width (1/14 inch) but... [/i]

[Philly Q]

The Faded series SGs have a (somewhat exaggerated, IMO) reputation for poor materials and workmanship, but I'm sure you can find a good one if you shop around.

Agreed about the gold hardware.  It looks OK(ish) on the black SG, but terrible on cherry.

[Twinfan]

Gibson SG necks are all over the place.  The cheaper ones have clubby 50's Les Paul types.  The best neck for an SG is the 60s slim taper, as found on the '61 reissue and some of the more modern models like the SG Select.

[Philly Q]

We have to agree to disagree there!  :lol:  I like the rounded neck shape of the modern SG Standard, which is very much like my (not-missed) '64 SG Special.  My Pete Townshend and my SG-Xs all have that neck shape.  

The cross-section is almost semi-circular, so the depth is (just about) half the width all the way up the neck.  Fairly shallow at the nut, but nice and fat by the 12th fret.

[Twinfan]

Fair doos Phil!  I find a chunky neck out of place on an SG.  To me:

Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck

It doesn't seem 'right' to me otherwise!

[noodleplugerine]

Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck

This is true.

[Philly Q]

Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck

This is true.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!    
(throws toys out of pram - not a good idea with those famously-fragile SGs)  



I just like fat necks on everything.  Hence no Jacksons or Ibanezes (nice as they are) in my collection.

[noodleplugerine]

I can't play fat necks for some reason - Hence the lack of Les Pauls in my collection :p

[Prawnik]

I have a Les Paul with a rather slim neck.

[MDV]

Fair doos Phil!  I find a chunky neck out of place on an SG.  To me:

Les Paul = full neck
SG = slim neck

It doesn't seem 'right' to me otherwise!

And

Explorer = tree trunk

[the_bleeding]

i heard -- i'm not sure if this is true -- but i heard that having 3 humbuckers has the effect of sucking tone out of them because the magnets eat at eachother.  Not sure though.  

Another thing to think about, is that what exactly would you use a middle pickup for?

[Sailor Charon]

Well, sort of as a compromise, if you see what I mean.
Since the neck pickup is generally more bassy than the bridge, the middle pickup is somewhere in between.  (Is that right?)
The plan goes something like this. Ceramic Warpig in the bridge, Painkillers in the middle and neck.
Coil split/serial/parallel switching on a per pickup basis, and some sort of Strat tone-monster wiring.
The problem I have is that the more flexibility you have, the harder it is to get from one setting to another. Plus, of course, the more tones you have the more of them are likely to be very similar.

I had a really dumb idea.
If you run all the wires into an edge connector, then you could swap out the various pickup selectors on an as-needed basis. So you could have a Strat-type plug-in, A Red-special-type plug-in, etc... The problem is that, as far as I can see you can't have an (as it were) programmable plug-in where you could have any 3 (5?, 7?) settings that you can switch between.
Isn't it strange the ideas you have when you can't sleep? (And yes, I was a computer programmer)

[PhilKing]

Only Was a programmer - not any more?

I have just wired up a mockingbird with the superswitch (4-pole 5-way), to give me

Bridge - series
Bridge - parallel
Bridge + neck
Neck screw coil
Neck Series

This is a great set of combinations, easy to switch between (just like a strat), and every tone is useable.

You could do this with a rotary switch too.

The real problem with 3 hb's is where do you pick, and also the archaic switching that Gibson used.

With 3 pu's and an extra on-on-on dpdt, you could have the above with the middle wired to be alone, or in combination, or just the settings above.

I would use an Alnico middle pickup to give more variety (if you want high gain what about a Nailbomb?).

It can all be wired.  Connectors can be done, but I think that you probably wouldn't change the wiring one you had it worked out, and changing the pickups becomes more of a problem.