epi SG custom pickup advice

[dinky]

Just got an epi sg custom for xmas. I changed the b P.U. to gibson bb3. This is going to be a keeper. I play mostly blues/rock and would like to hear some views on a neck and mid pickup that would match the bb3. my other guitars all have sd pups so Id like to keep this gibson.

[theboatcandream]

Everyone seems to think of the blues buckers as bright pickups, so it doesn't surprise me that it would do well in an epiphone. My experience with them is limited to trying gibsons at stores.

If you like the blues bucker in the bridge, then chances are your best bet would be blues buckers in the other positions as well. I have a seth lover in the bridge of one of my epiphones and I love it. If putting it in the neck means giving it more body and a more singing lead tone, then I see no reason to have it in the neck if you use your neck pickup enough to warrant it. It's supposed to be in the same territory. I think the 59 would be too bassy based on my experience with those BB equipped gibsons, but that might be a plus depending on what you're after.

[Janglin_Jack]

I went '59 bridge and Pearly Gates Neck. LOVE IT!!

Jack

[viewaskew2k5]

Phat Cat!!!

[blueman335]

Just got an epi sg custom for xmas. I changed the b P.U. to gibson bb3. This is going to be a keeper. I play mostly blues/rock and would like to hear some views on a neck and mid pickup that would match the bb3. my other guitars all have sd pups so Id like to keep this gibson.

This subject has been discussed several times recently. The majority feel that HB's have a disappointing sound in the middle position, whether due to magnetic field overlap or a poor location for string vibrations, or both. I've had triple HB guitars and gave a lot of thought to PU selection, only to say "What happened?" when I played the middle PU. The exact same PU sounds nothing like it did in the bridge or neck position.

Probably the biggest proof of this being a questionable idea is that almost all electric manufacturers offer HSH & HSS guitars, but Gibson/Epiphone are almost alone in the few HHH guitars they offer, and only doing it for "historical" reasons. Face it, if it worked, everybody would copy it (look at the Super Strat concept). Lots of companies have copied Gibson designs (LP's, SG's, hollowbodies, etc), and Gibson hardware (tune-o-matic bridges), but they avoid the HHH set up like the plague. Red flags should be going up.

So to get a mediocre-sounding middle HB, you: 1) add weight, 2) increase the cost, & 3) have a small space for picking. To top it off, factory HHH guitars are wired so that the middle HB is clumsy to get into use by itself. Not a great trade off.

Triple HB guitars are undeniably beautiful, and there is a solution, which is what Gibson should have done 50 years ago. Add a P-90 in the middle, or middle & neck, which for us would be SD Phat Cats or Gibson P-94's. What you are doing is creating a HSH or HSS guitar after the fact, and making the guitar what it should have been in the first place.

[dinky]

I thank you all for replies. I have never tried the p-94 but the phat cat is a great pickup. I will probably go this route for the middle. and maybe the neck.

[dinky]

After a lot of thought I decided to stick with all epi/gibson components. I installed gibson 57 classics in all 3 positions. After getting the height set and poles adjusted they sound really good. The pickups I took out were epi 57 classics. The Gibson have a lot more sparkle and more clarity. I always end up going the SD route in the end so I'll just have to wait and see how these work out.