pickup suggestions for an Epiphone SG G-400?

[MF]

this one

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-G400-SG-Electric-Guitar?sku=518291


i don't know much about pickups but i'm planning on replacing the stock ones in this (with some help from a friend :wink: ) and i'm looking for some suggestions. Keep in mind that this guitar isn't exactly expensive so i don't really want to break the bank on new pickups.

 

[MF]

nothing?

 

[t0m]

well it all depends on what styles you play? if you want pure versatility, then i would reccommend:
bridge pup
neck pup
I reccomend these because i have them in my axe and i can play anything with this pup combo.[/url]

 

[MF]

well it's my main guitar so some versatility is important, but for the most part i play heavy music (metal/hardcore/punk/etc).

 

[t0m]

i play metal 90% of the time, mostly Lamb of God. One thing you can do is if you have a particular tone of an artist you listen to and you want tone in that ballpark, then just find out on the internet what pups they use. But these pickups will allow you to do everything. plus they are a good price compared to gibson pups and some others

 

[Turumbar82]

I have a G-400 and I put a Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck and a Custom in the bridge. I think they both sound great in this guitar. I like heavier music but don't mind using a passive pickup for it because I switch to pretty cleans sounds a lot. I would say this combo has a lot of versatility. You can do any of the old classic rock stuff with it. You can get a nice bluesy sound with the neck pickup, roll the tone back a little on a clean sound and you have a jazz sound. Or you can have lots of gain going on your amp or pedal and get a great metal sound.

 

[MF]

That sounds like a good combo. While i do play mostly metal in my band, we do have a lot of clean passages as well so that's where the versatility comes into play. Do you have a link to the specific pickups you're using so i could ask for them at my local store?

Speaking of active versus passive, what would be the benefits and drawbacks of each? I've never used an active pickup before and i really don't know much about them other than that they run on batteries or something.

 

[Turumbar82]

Here is the link for the custom

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SH5Blk

and here is the one for the 59

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SH1nBlk/

Passive pickups for the most part won't be as high output although there are some very high output passive pickups. This means you will have the ability to produce more dynamics. You will be able to achieve touch sensative sounds better with passive pickups. Like if you are running a clean channel on a tube amp up high if you hit the strings hard you can get it to break up or if you hit them gently you will get a cleaner sound. There is a little more noise with passive pickups though but nothing worth worrying over.

The active pickups will give you high out put because the battery is use to power a preamp in the pickups to boost the signal. This means your distortion will sound really saturated and heavy. The bass end is a little tighter with active pickups too. The only bad thing about the high output that is you do lose your clean sound alittle if you amp doesn't have lots of headroom. Like on my amp an active pickup with the guitar volume on ten will make the clean channel break up so I have to roll the guitar volume down to get a completely clean sound.

Both are good, you just have to figure out what you like most.

 

[Turumbar82]

if you still want more in your bridge pickup go for the JB bridge. It's hotter than the Custom and will still pair well with the 59. A lot of LTD's have this combo on them.

 

[MF]

i'm playing through a 3 channel dual recto if that helps. would i find a degradation in my cleans with an active pickup? I like the idea of a tighter low end so the idea of an active pickup has me intrigued as well :twisted: .

Thanks for the help btw. I may know enough about other things to get by but when it comes to pickups i'm completely green.

 

[Turumbar82]

well, stereotypically actives are great for metal and heavy sounds and aren't known for being the most versatile pickups.

Passives give you more versatility I believe.


The clean sound breaking up is all dependant on the the head room of your V1 preamp tube and not so much your power tubes going into power tube distortion. I have a 120 watt tube head and it breaks up my clean because the preamp tubes are higher gain preamp tubes.

I think about it this way, Metallica has been known for actives and alot of other bands use actives. Rusty Cooley uses EMG's, and a lot of other heavy players

Petrucci, Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, all use passive.

Like someone said before...look at your favorite guitarists and what they use. That will help you out a lot

 

[Gtr_Pkr]

Maybe once I finishing my basement and build myself a tweak bench, I can install the Burstbuckers I bought for my G-400. I have a #3 for the bridge and a #2 for the neck. Can't wait till I'm done!

 

[R_ADKINS80]

EMG 81/81 combo is my all time favorite for the heavies, howerver i prefer 85 in the neck for any clean stuff. If you do the 18v mod with 2 batteries in series it adds ALOT of warmth and character to EMG's. I stayed away from this for a long time until I watched a video on youtube by a guy named Mizzike doing "Gear chat" vids. He did a live a/b of the same guitar before/after the mod and I did the mod as soon as the vid was over. Night and fvcking day difference!!!! Made my EMG's way more versatile and responsive.

 

[kylek]

PRS #7's all the way

 

[MF]

does anyone have any experience withSeymour Duncan Blackouts?

Also, how much work would it take to install actives on my guitar? Does anything have to be cut out to make room for the 9V batteries? I'm considering going with the actives if it isn't going to take too much work. I don't feel like paying a tech a whole bunch of money to install pickups on a $350 guitar.

 

[MF]

bump.

I'm trying to decide between the EMG 81/85 combo, a pair of SD Blackouts if i go active. If i go passive i'm even less sure...some combo of SD's i suppose, but a buddy of mine has been trying to sell me on the DiMarzio D-Activators.

Trouble is, it's basically impossible to know how any of these are going to sound until i install them. One big concern though, and one of the reasons i want to get rid of the stock pups is that i i'm getting a lot of noise through my setup and i'm pretty sure i've the stock pups as the problem. When my buddy plays his SG with the Iommi pups through my rig there is almost no noise whatsoever.

Any advice before i pull the trigger on something in the next few days?

 

[kiff]

If you do go emg, I would strongly suggest that you get just 85's. I've been using them for a LONG time. I thought my first 85 was an 81... I just didn't know. It came w/ an explorer I bought 2nd hand. When I bought an 81 (which I though I was just getting another of the same), I was totally shocked at how bright and thin it sounded. I had always wondered why everyone said emg's sounded stale, I had just found out why. 85's have a much more natural sound, are much warmer and even have more output than 81's...

but don't take my word for it, Gibson uses 85's for their custom shop guitars (the one's w/ actives)
http://gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson%20USA/Products/GOTM/LonghornDoubleCutBV/
http://gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson%20USA/Products/GOTM/LonghornDoubleCutHS/
http://gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson%20USA/Products/GOTM/ShredX/
http://gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson%20USA/Products/GOTM/ShredV/

You shouldn't have to carve out any wood. you just need to change the vol/tone pots and the jack. I have a gibson LP and explorer, an Ibanez RGsomething and a Jackson DR; they all have plenty of room for the 9v.

also, if you do go emg, I would look into the 18v mod. you basically just add another 9v in series. I haven't tried it yet, but everyone says it's great. It basically gives the emg's built in preamp more overhead making it more articulate and makes it "breathe". that should help w/ clean sounds. it doesn't add gain perse, just makes it work better...

 

[MF]

thanks for the advice. i ended up buying the zakk wylde 81/85 set last night. As soon as i got home i took a look at the wiring diagram and realized that i'd probably be better off getting them to install it :lol: . I'd have no problem trying to install passives but there is too much for me to fuckup on this one so i'd rather not take the chance.