Bridge PU: C5, CC or DD

[mwalluk]

Since all work well with rosewood fingerboards, and my SG being Mahogany and thin, which would work best for me in the bridge.

I'm contemplating the DD, which may suit my style a lil better,

Would a DD in bridge and A2P in neck be a killer combo?

[blueman335]

C8 and a '59N, the magic combo for SG's, in most genres.

[King IzzO)))]

DD doesn't have much bass, the SG makes it even less with the pickup so close to the bridge and the thin body. I've done it, very, very thrashy & tight, no low end at all. Stick with the Custom or C8 like Blue suggested unless that's the sound you're going for. A2P would be too mellow and warm in comparision to the DD, it would match up better with the Customs, but Blue is right again, 59 is right on. If you're afraid of the lack of mids from the 59 you could try a PG, a DDn or go dimarzio.

[mwalluk]

Thing is I have a 59n in one guitar and a PGn in the other, so I'm trying a new combo in the SG. Other than the 59 and PG whats some good neck PUs

[mwalluk]

Is the C8 the custom custom

[blueman335]

Is the C8 the custom custom

No, the CC has an A2 and is too dark in mahogany. The C8 is any of the Customs (CC, C5, or Custom) with an A8 mag. The C8 is arguably the best one of the bunch; works for classic rock, blues, metal, etc.

[Kam]

Jeez man, how many threads do you need?

Custom 8 and either a '59 or PG in the neck. Probably a PG if you want to play rhythms without getting boomy and without changing magnets. On that subject, if you're not into mag-swapping then a normal Custom 5 will be awesome too.

But a Custom 8 will be better.

No, the CC has an A2 and is too dark in mahogany. The C8 is any of the Customs (CC, C5, or Custom) with an A8 mag. The C8 is arguably the best one of the bunch; works for classic rock, blues, metal, etc.

This.

[Soulcrusher_X]

Ive used the DD in an older SG of mine and thought it was really nice. I actually prefered the DD in the SG rather than my LP. Sure, it doesnt have a lot of bass, but that's not what the guitar does, right? It was pretty aggressive sounding, not as stiff as in my LP, and the cleans were actually really nice and chimey. Worked perfect with my MKIII and greenbacks.

[misterwhizzy]

In your other thread, you mentioned modern rock. With the thin mahogany body of the SG, it sounds like you'll probably want something that has more low-end than the Distortion. And again, I think you probably want high-output. That puts the recommendation squarely in the court of the Custom wind.

So now it boils down to which Custom. I don't think you want Custom Custom because it won't have the bite you probably want. And I don't think you want the Custom 5, because it will be a little vintagey for your tastes, and it's probably still a bit thin for the SG. So that leaves you buying a Custom and an Alnico 8. Then take your pick. I like the Custom 8, but I also like the Custom. For my tastes, I like the Custom 8 a little better, but that's just because I hear a bit of sag in the Custom 8, and I like a little more focus on punch than sizzle.

Since the departure of Wymore Guitars, I don't know of anywhere you can buy a Custom 8, so you have to buy some version of the Custom and do a mag swap. I say the SH-5 and Custom 8 are your best bets, and you'll be forced to choose between them.

I'm trying to be scientific about this, but I really like the Custom 8. Like, a lot.

[mwalluk]

I don't feel comfortable doing the mag swap myself. I never did it before and wouldn't want to mess with it as my first trial

[metlking]

I've got two 61RI SG's, both with covered DD's and they work well for me!

[blueman335]

I don't feel comfortable doing the mag swap myself. I never did it before and wouldn't want to mess with it as my first trial

None of us every did it before our first time either. There's all kinds of posts here from guys who were afraid to do it, finally did it, and then said "What was I dreading and why did I wait so long." You can be one of them.

[misterwhizzy]

I've posted this before, and I'll say it again. No one screws up a magnet swap. You've got two things going for you. First of all, you don't want to screw it up, so you'll be careful. Secondly, it's easy.

Here's are my instructions for what you do:
1. Pull the pickup out of the body. Don't desolder it.
2. Unwrap the tape and set it aside.
3. Loosen the four screws on the baseplate. Don't pull them out. Just rotate them three times or so.
4. Loosen the baseplate from the coils a little bit.
5. Find the magnet between the baseplate and the coils on the side where the wires come out.
6. Taking a small screwdriver, put it underneath the wires and on the magnet. Push it halfway out the other side. It's usually a little tough to get it moving, but don't worry. If you're underneath the wires, the only thing resisting is wax. No big deal.
7. Once it's halfway out, match the new magnet up. It should stick to the side. (I think there's more to it than this, but that's all I've ever done, and I don't usually use the middle position.)
8. Pull the magnet the rest of the way out and put the new one in using the orientation you just determined.
9. Screw the baseplate back down, keeping the coils from warping in case you screw it down too tight.
10. Put the tape back down, and screw the pickup back in.

Seriously, we're talking about ten minutes. And look up John Spina's (Stratdeluxer97) How-To if you want pictures too. And dude, this is your backup guitar, right? The worst risk you're taking is mucking up a backup pickup for a backup guitar. Sounds like a risk you should be willing to take.

And for what it's worth, I felt exactly like you a little over a year ago. I just went and did it, and I'm really glad I did.

[King IzzO)))]

^^^^^ This +1,000,000. It's hella easy and the C8 will be worth it over the SH-5 or a DD.

[Franknfilms]

None of us every did it before our first time either. There's all kinds of posts here from guys who were afraid to do it, finally did it, and then said "What was I dreading and why did I wait so long." You can be one of them.

That's me. No handy man skills required (I don't have any). After doing the first swap I must have done 5 or 6 swaps since, at this point it only take me a few minutes.

I've posted this before, and I'll say it again. No one screws up a magnet swap

Me again. I screwed up my first magnet swap, tightened the base plate screws so tight that the coils slightly split apart. Even with this colossal screw up I didn't damage the pickup at all and it was easy to fix thanks to advise from forum members.

Bottom line, Custom 8 is the ideal pickup. Regular Custom is also pretty amazing, but more suitable for a heavy LP type guitar.

[Franknfilms]

I'll add my two cents to this as well, some people (like me) need the obvious things pointed out:

1. Pull the pickup out of the body. Don't desolder it.
*remove strings or just loosen and get them out of the way
*unscrew pickup ring from guitar (4 screws, don't lose them!)
*unscrew pickup from ring (2 screws and springs)
2. Unwrap the tape and set it aside.
*I never do this, I just lift up the tape with a flat head screwdriver on each side so that I can see the magnet, be careful not to touch any wires
3. Loosen the four screws on the baseplate. Don't pull them out. Just rotate them three times or so.
4. Loosen the baseplate from the coils a little bit.
5. Find the magnet between the baseplate and the coils on the side where the wires come out.
6. Taking a small screwdriver, put it underneath the wires and on the magnet. Push it halfway out the other side. It's usually a little tough to get it moving, but don't worry. If you're underneath the wires, the only thing resisting is wax. No big deal.
7. Once it's halfway out, match the new magnet up. It should stick to the side. (I think there's more to it than this, but that's all I've ever done, and I don't usually use the middle position.)
*sides attract, ends repel
8. Pull the magnet the rest of the way out and put the new one in using the orientation you just determined.
9. Screw the baseplate back down, keeping the coils from warping in case you screw it down too tight.
10. Put the tape back down, and screw the pickup back in.
*heat up the pickup with a blowdryer to get the wax flowing if you find that you are getting much more feedback than before the magnet swap