What are some good mods for an SG?

[painkiller666]

hey, i was wondering if anyone new any good, inexpensive, mods for an SG. I am going to install two new pups a GFS Retrotron Liverpool in the bridge and a GFS p90 soapbar in the neck. Im going GFS cause im on a tight budget. I was thinking bout a Badass style wraparound bridge and some new knobs er something liek that, but i was wondering if you guys knew any other cool mods.

 

i was also wondering if its possible to put a Gibson Trapeze tailpiece, like on the 1952 Les Paul Goldtop, on an SG. and if you could would you need a T.O.M. bridge or would it be fine on its own.

[hbomb76]

One of the most valuable mods I put on my Epi "Vintage" model has to be push-pull coil-taps on the pickups (which are GFS "Boutique '59" humbuckers). Of course you'd have to be installing humbucker models for that to apply, and I think both of the ones you're getting are single-coils.

 

I'm also one for custom pickguards, knob-swaps and nut upgrades.

 

You can use a trapeze tailpiece on the SG, but due to the lack of the angle over the bridge, it may adversely affect playability. If you mean the one-piece trap-wraparound, you would have to make sure it would seat right so your action's not crappy.

 

H-Bomb

[painkiller666]

thanks for telling me that H-bomb. and im pretty sure the liverpool retrotron is a humbucker. i like the idea of a new pickguard is good but im a lefty so there are literally no options for pckguards except for like strat pickguards. and how do you install the whole coil tapping thing and is there a difference between certain pups and their tone with coil tapping?

[painkiller666]

thanks for telling me that H-bomb. and im pretty sure the liverpool retrotron is a humbucker. i like the idea of a new pickguard is good but im a lefty so there are literally no options for pckguards except for like strat pickguards. and how do you install the whole coil tapping thing and is there a difference between certain pups and their tone with coil tapping?

[fartz]

You could put a sticker on it.

[heymisterk]

I know that looks are very subjective, but I really dislike the vintage Kluson-style tuners on SGs. I would definitely swap them out for a set of Grover Rotomatics. They have a much "tighter" feel to them, and in my opinion, look better. Townsend had them on his Special all those years ago.

[cvansickle]

I put a Stellartone ToneStyler on my SG Standard, replacing the bridge pickup's tone pot. The ToneStyler lets me dial in different sounds for different songs. I can get ACDC, Sabbath, Kravitz and more with the same guitar.

[lespaulsrule31194]

I'd put a Bigsby on it. Or, if you're willing to spend more than that, you could have someone cut away wood from the guitar *cringes at the thought* and put a Floyd Rose in.

[hbomb76]

thanks for telling me that H-bomb. and im pretty sure the liverpool retrotron is a humbucker. i like the idea of a new pickguard is good but im a lefty so there are literally no options for pckguards except for like strat pickguards. and how do you install the whole coil tapping thing and is there a difference between certain pups and their tone with coil tapping?

 

Don't mention it.

 

Did I say you had to order a custom pickguard? If you're handy with any kind of tool (or know someone who is), you can make a great 'plate out of all sortsa' crap. Metal, mylar, plastic, lexan, masonite...if it can be worked into shape and can fit the guitar without adverse effects (like messing with your bridge setup, etc), the only limits and rules are yours. I make custom guards for some of my stuff (like Hazel, my hotrodded Aston bolt-neck SG copy with the Peter Green-mod pickups) out of that mirror-like plastic you can get at WalMart for side-view mirror quick-fixes---it cuts with scissors, the edges bevel okay with a dremel (or sanding sponge if you're handy) and you won't cry if it gets messed up and you have to replace it later with another (it's only like, $6 a sheet). That's just one option though.

 

Coil taps are easy, all you need are a push-pull DPDT pot for a volume control ($5 or so on eBay) and a pickup with 4-conductor wiring (all the GFS humbuckers are set up like that). You just wire the appropriate conductors to the poles on the switch-box on the push-pull pot, then wire the middle pole to the pickup where your normal pickup lead would attach, and wire the rest of the pot exactly as it was stock. Then you have normal 'bucker-mode AND the single-coil option.

 

Some pickups don't tap well. I don't like the sound of DiMarzio's tapped, or Carvin's. Duncans, I have limited experience with but wasn't blown away, and some of the other stuff like Stew Mac's house brand are "ok" but not amazing. GFS happens to be the brand I've consistently had the best experience with, in that their "tapped" mode sounds the most like a legit single-coil sound and not just an out-of-phase humbucker half-grounded like some. The GFS' I've worked with seem to retain a good true output (like a stock Strat/Tele pickup when tapped) AND sound like you're playing through just a plain ol' single-coil----plus the GFS are potted well, so unlike most single-coils I've heard your microphonic feedback is much less likely. Even my friend's GFS "Crunchy PAT's" (which are about the same output as the Epi "hot classic" sound much more lively and articulate than the stock Epi pickups, and they tap to sound like a Tele on steroids. That's why I put a set of their '59 "Boutique" style pickups in one of my Epis (soon to be two more guitars equipped similarly), complete with taps on both pickups. I can sound like an SG, a LP, a Tele, a Tele-Custom, and even some almost Danelectro-ish spankiness with both tapped and on the middle position.

 

Hope that gives you some idears and/or confirmation.

 

H-Bomb

[guitar_randy]

I mod my guitars only if I have aspecific thing I want a certain way on it,not just to mod it to mod it.