SG pickups

[Craig S]

I've been running into a few players with SG's lately and I know a few here like em'. Given a a choice would you prefer P90s or Humbuckers in an SG?

[Steve Haynie]

It all depends on what sound you are after. Pete Townshend of The Who and Michael Bruce of Alice Cooper were two P-90 guys.

Jason Lollar makes an SG copy with p-90's. I suppose you could ask for humbuckers, but he chose p-90's.

I grew up with humbuckered SG's. For me it was never about the pickups. It was about finding an SG that I liked. Those things varied a lot.

[straightblues]

I have owned and played both. Both are great and you can not go wrong.

[marcnorth]

Why not just get one of each.

[Camstone]

Dont buy either, get a Hamer.

Hamers are manufactured with a much higher level of craftsmanship, out of better materials and will have a ton more tone.

But you probably already knew that, I'm just reminding you.

Unless you are going to buck up for something in a pre-Norlin Gibson, go for a Special or a Studio. Lollar P90's are killer.

[Craig S]

I already have Hamers and SGs so the question is just one of curiosity stemming from a conversation I have a with another guitar player on the weekend... He was a die hard p90 SG guy... SG Juniors and Specials... I currently have some humbucker size P90s in my Standard...

[guitfiddler]

Or, you might consider a 3rd. alternative, one that I did.

Frank Marino (Mahogany Rush) prefers STRAT pickups in his customized SG's.

I love Frank Marino's live (stage) tone. The first time I went to see him, I was taken a-back because I could hear a gorgeous FAT (and a bit on the dark side) Strat-ish tone from the guitar he was playing....yet it was obviously an SG. I wasn't familiar with his gear. The tone was different from anything I had heard before, but I loved it. I squinted a bit, looking real close and noticed that the SG had been fitted with a custom-made black pickguard, with 3 Strat pickups in it. How he had this wired-up, considering the SG's controls I'm not sure. I believe he goes into more detail about that on his website, but I haven't had time to check it out yet. I've since learned that he has 5 or 6 similar SG's including a couple custom SG-clones as back-ups, and they all use Strat pickups

Anyway, to make a long story short, I have a Tokai replica '61 SG and wanted to try something like that. But instead of having the body re-routed and a custom pickguard fab'd, I looked for a pair of humbucker-sized single-coil pickups that were lower in output than typical P-90's, that might happen to emulate a good fat Strat tone. I ended up using a pair of GFS "Dream 90's".... they do it well.

You might want to try that also.

[Turdus]

I recently picked up one of those SG classics (p90s). Maybe I was lucky and got a good one. Plays great. I've never appreciated a neck pickup, and wondered why guitars came with them, lol. This is the first git I've owned, where I think I could actually use the neck p/u.

humbuckers sound too dark to me these days.

[straightblues]

I sold my last SG after I got my Artist Mahagony. The Artist sounded a lot like the SG but better. I was surprised.

[BadgerDave]

I've developed a fondness for a mullet style "business in the front, party in the back" pickup combo. Nothing beats a P-90 in the neck position, but I like a humbucker at the bridge.

Fortunately with the plethora orf P-90 sized humbuckers and humbucker sized P-90s available, this is a completely reversable experiment. Try it!

[santellavision]

Tonequest did a couple of articles on recent SG specials. The ones with HBers. I found one on the Bay and damn, if they weren't spot on. A few tweeks (A Lollar and a Fillmore, Tonepros bridge/tail) This thing just kills. Super resonent, light and sounds are good as any guitar I've ever owned. A keeper.

[hamersandstrats]

SGs always sounded great to me-warm mids with great bite. Plus they have the best upper fret access of any guitar period. I am a big fan of the Live at Leeds tone w/ P90s, but as an everyday player, P90s have always worn on me. I just cannot stand the pushed mids after a while and I yearn for a good humbucker. BTW, The Rio BBQ is a great bridge pup for the SG.

[Brewmaster]

Picked up an SG Classic for cheap early last year year, put in a set of Lollar P-90's and have played the crap out of it since. It gets 90% of the usage, I can't put it down. No pushed mids with the Lollars, they are very balanced and musical.

I also have a HB SG but it sits with the rest. I put a set of Manlius Fat Dianes in it and it sounds really good, just not good enough to unseat the Classic.