I need an opinion

[wes]

I am replacing my pickups on a Gibson SG and a friend recommended '59 in the neck position and an HB4 JB at the bridge. OPINIONS PLEASE.

[CaughtLikeFire]

I am replacing my pickups on a Gibson SG and a friend recommended '59 in the neck position and an HB4 JB at the bridge. OPINIONS PLEASE.

some questions first: what model SG do you have? what do you like/dislike about the current pickups or your current overall sound? too dark? too bright?

do you need a pristine clean sound from the neck and really aggressive tone from the bridge? or do you go for the gritty Marshall "clean" and vintage crunch tone from both pickups?

what type of music are you playing? what type of amp do you play through?

a 59n/JB may be nice depending on your gear/setup and music style

[Thunder]

59' neck definetely.

[blueman335]

You probably have a 498T/490R pair, which as they come from the factory aren't all that popular with a lot of players. The neck is too dark & sometimes muddy; the bridge in comparison is too bright & thin. However, with a few dollars & a few minutes, you can greatly improve their tones. Here's what I do to mine:

490R - Really needs an A5 magnet to bring it to life & give some sparkle (it comes with an A2, which has strong mids & a loose low end).

498T - I like mine with an A4 (comes with an A5), this add some mids & take off a little of the excess treble (A4's have a balanced EQ, A5's are scooped).

With the stock magnets, I'm not impressed with them. With the magnet swaps I do (above) they're some of my best-sounding PU's (as good as a Duncan). The quality's there, they just need a little tweak to sound their best (which Duncans sometimes need too).

If you don't want to buy new magnets, you can simply swap magnets between the two of them, and that itself is a big improvement.

First rule of PU's: work with what you have. Every HB is actually 6 different PU's in one; one for each of the common magnets (A2, A3, A4, A5, A8, and ceramic). If you're not satisfied and only try it with the magnet the manufacturer put in, you're not giving a PU a fair chance, and will end up spending a couple hundred dollars on a new set that you might not like any better.

This forum is all about teaching players to do basic work on their guitars, and we're glad to walk you thru it.