Dex378 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Hey there everyone just a question that will get more of an opinion type answer than an exact answer. Anyway I recently acquired a really nice Epiphone SG G-400 Les Paul Custom. I really like the guitar and it is in very good shape other than the previous owner thought it would be cool to take some paint thinner to the finish to give it a "relic" look. Its came set up and intonated, it plays great and I only paid $150 cash for it, a great deal IMO. My only issue with the guitar is that even though it has three (3) humbuckers, they all sound the SAME! My question is what 3 humbuckers would you replace the stock ones with to get 3 totally different sounds such as a clean, a distortion and a blues sound or something different than that? I would like to stay away from active pups so most EMG's are out of the equation. Thanks you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claydots Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Hey there everyone just a question that will get more of an opinion type answer than an exact answer. Anyway I recently acquired a really nice Epiphone SG G-400 Les Paul Custom. I really like the guitar and it is in very good shape other than the previous owner thought it would be cool to take some paint thinner to the finish to give it a "relic" look. Its came set up and intonated, it plays great and I only paid $150 cash for it, a great deal IMO. My only issue with the guitar is that even though it has three (3) humbuckers, they all sound the SAME! My question is what 3 humbuckers would you replace the stock ones with to get 3 totally different sounds such as a clean, a distortion and a blues sound or something different than that? I would like to stay away from active pups so most EMG's are out of the equation. Thanks you! The best thing you could do is drop two Duncan 59's in it and leave the middle pickup as a dummy. Seriously... I did this to mine and it was the best thing that ever happened to that guitar. You will have to buy covers or take the cover off the middle one, either way, you will be much happier wih the sound. That middle pickup causes more mud and loss of tone.... guess that's why they never really caught on. Now if you put 3 Duncan Phat Cat's in it, you basically have a Strat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dex378 Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 The best thing you could do is drop two Duncan 59's in it and leave the middle pickup as a dummy. Seriously... I did this to mine and it was the best thing that ever happened to that guitar. You will have to buy covers or take the cover off the middle one, either way, you will be much happier wih the sound. That middle pickup causes more mud and loss of tone.... guess that's why they never really caught on. Now if you put 3 Duncan Phat Cat's in it, you basically have a Strat... SD 59's were at the top of my list, I was thinking maybe one in the neck, then going with a Gibson Dirty Fingers in the middle (only because I have one here) and then something else in the bridge that is different than those 2. I was thinking I wanted 3 distinct differences to get more versatility out of the guitar. What do you think? I'm also under the assumption the 3-way switch selects each humbucker individually already (if not I'll wire it that way). Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I'm also under the assumption the 3-way switch selects each humbucker individually already (if not I'll wire it that way). I think the middle pickup is always on. For example, "treble" position = bridge and middle pup, "middle" position = all 3 pups, "rhythm" position = neck and middle pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Lunatic Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I'm somewhat baffled by what the OP says about all 3 pickups sounding the same. It makes me wonder about the selection switch and what pickups are operative in each position. Like any guitar, I would expect some differences. If it's true that the middle pickup is always on, that would pretty much explain the sameness, so I'm thinking that a 6-position rotary switch, like some SG3s have, would give the best flexibility. Now if you put 3 Duncan Phat Cat's in it, you basically have a Strat... Not really. P90s and Fender-type single coils sound very different, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickman Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Wow, I was looking at a SG custom today thinkin to myself, "3 EMG's in this thing and it would be a monster!" I also thought each pickup was separate on the selector switch. 3 volumes and one tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dex378 Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I just got it so I'm not too sure how its wired, but yes it does have 3 volume pots and one tone pot. A six way rotary switch would be a good idea. As to the amp question I have an old Marshall JCM800 half stack that I play through most of the time but just picked up a mint VoxAC4TV8 to mess around with. (I bought it the same day as the SG, its a nice little amp so far and it was only $80 on Craigslist). Basically it still comes down to the question of 3 different sounds out of the one guitar, so thats where I'm at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dex378 Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Oh and yes I just ran through all three pickups turning the volume off on the middle while playing the bridge and neck, then turning the volume off on the bridge and neck while playing the middle and believe it or not there is not much difference between the three. Pretty weird because I'm 99.9999% positive it is stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickman Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Maybe try going through the selector switch with the volumes up full and tapping on the pup covers with a pick to see which ones are on in each selector position. Through an amp of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickman Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I kinda strayed from the original question, sorry. The only problem I can forsee with useing vastly different pups is the volume output of each individual pickup could vary greatly. Otherwise the possibilities are endless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 This thread prompted me to pull out my G400 Custom after more than a year in the case, first thing I noticed is my neck pup is dead (using the tap on pole pieces test) but I can confirm that the middle pup is always on, regardless of switch position, so at the very least to get the 3 independent positions you would prefer, it will require re-wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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