2007 '61 Reissue sound

[philamag87]

Hey everyone I have a 2007 61 Reissue SG and had some questions about getting a better sound out of it. This is my 3rd SG. I went from an SG Special to an SG Standard to this one. I wish I had just saved my money and went right for the 61 RI. But as I have been playing it I've been having a hard time getting a good sound out of it. To me it sounds compressed. I don't know if that's the nature of the guitar, the amp or the PU's. What do people recommend for upgrades, if any.

 

I had the stock Corian nut replaced with a bone nut and had a set up done to it. I'm using Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky 9's coming from GHS Boomers.

 

I have been playing around with the pick up heights. Anyone have any suggestions for PU height? Unfortunately I don't have a ruler with small enough increments at this time to measure the exact heights. I'm going to say they are a little on the low side. I had them set a little to high before but found myself hitting them when I picked. On that note has anyone swapped out the bridge PU? Mine sometime seems like its not getting full volume. When I look at the Les Pauls hanging on the shelf it always seems like those PU's are just about flush with the body, why is that?

 

One of my biggest issues is there seems to be too much bass from the guitar. Is this a PU issue or just the nature of the beast? I've tried cutting it on my amp and that makes my guitar sound lousy. I've been thinking about getting an EQ pedal. I use a Marshall DSL 401 or a Fender Blues Jr.

 

 

I play classic rock and the jam band stuff nothing really heavy. I was interested in the SG because of Angus Young and his sound. Obviously there are a lot of things that go into him getting his sound but hey I can try right?

[sellen]

Hey man , i to got a sg 61 2007(love IT) and a Marshall dsl 401. For pickup height i got ca. 3mm from pickup to underneath string. I have a set with Bare Knuckle Pickups Rebel yell in it. Great pickups, but i do like the 57 classic. For the DSL Marshall i would recommend to put in a celestion vintage 30 speaker and when the tubes are ready to change upgrade wit jj tubes. That's improve the sounds more than changing the pickups i think. BTW i was in sound heaven yesterday with my dsl, found a new sound that was just perfect for my stuff. OD channel 1- Gain 3 -Channel volume 6 -treble 5 -middle 6- bass 6 -reverb 3 and i have a Suhr koko boost(clean boost, but it ads a bit of character) that i cranked up to 8. Anyway hope it works out for you good luck

[philamag87]

Sellen,

 

Thanks for your input!! I have had my Marshall since 2004. All the preamp tubes were gone so I changed them to JJ ECC83S Gold Pins. The power sections are still the original tubes. Do you think the old power tubes add to the sound issue? Any recommendations for power tubes?

 

Someone else had suggest a speaker swap and I think its about time to try that. I will try the celestion vintage 30.

 

I usually run the clean channel only due to the fact that I use a lot of effects. For some reason the OD channels have always sounded "off" to my ears. Maybe a tube issue or speaker issue.

 

Does your SG seem to be to bassy? How do I correct that? Is it pickup height or the PU itself?

 

Thanks again for your help!!

[Widdler]

If you're getting too much bass from your pickups then you first need to look at the height of the pickup on the bass side, drop it a touch and you'll notice a drop in bass, (or if it is already low, you may need to raise the treble side to level the sound). Also the pole pieces are adjustable, again if you screw in a pole piece you will make the string under that pole piece quieter, as always with adjustments, small steps and make a note of where you started from in case you want to go back!

Neck pickups can sound louder than bridge even when they are at equal heights, this is because when you play further up the neck you are fretting the strings so they end up closer to the pickup, if that makes sense. Put a capo on the 12th fret and see how close the strings are to the neck pickup!

 

 

 

Hey man , i to got a sg 61 2007(love IT) and a Marshall dsl 401. For pickup height i got ca. 3mm from pickup to underneath string. I have a set with Bare Knuckle Pickups Rebel yell in it. Great pickups, but i do like the 57 classic. For the DSL Marshall i would recommend to put in a celestion vintage 30 speaker and when the tubes are ready to change upgrade wit jj tubes. That's improve the sounds more than changing the pickups i think. BTW i was in sound heaven yesterday with my dsl, found a new sound that was just perfect for my stuff. OD channel 1- Gain 3 -Channel volume 6 -treble 5 -middle 6- bass 6 -reverb 3 and i have a Suhr koko boost(clean boost, but it ads a bit of character) that i cranked up to 8. Anyway hope it works out for you good luck

[philamag87]

Widdler,

 

If I lower the PU that lower the bass right? But won't it start to get muddy as well? I do like the sound to be clear and tight. But I could be limited in getting that due to the nature of the guitar and PU's.

 

I didn't know I could adjust the individual pole pieces. How do I go about doing that? I'm guessing I have to take off the metal pickup cover first? I know nothing about adjusting things like this. I would take it to the shop and have them do it but chances are it will not be done to the way I would like it.

[Widdler]

It will only get muddy if you go too low. Ideally for a humbucker you are looking at around 3mm, but the best judge of sound has to be your ears, not your eyes! You don't need to remove the covers to adjust the pole pieces, just turn the screws, that is why they are slotted. You may see wax being squeezed out as you move them, that's normal! Think of pole piece adjustment as 'fine tuning' after you have adjusted pickup height.

 

 

Widdler,

 

If I lower the PU that lower the bass right? But won't it start to get muddy as well? I do like the sound to be clear and tight. But I could be limited in getting that due to the nature of the guitar and PU's.

 

I didn't know I could adjust the individual pole pieces. How do I go about doing that? I'm guessing I have to take off the metal pickup cover first? I know nothing about adjusting things like this. I would take it to the shop and have them do it but chances are it will not be done to the way I would like it.

[sellen]

Sellen,

 

Thanks for your input!! I have had my Marshall since 2004. All the preamp tubes were gone so I changed them to JJ ECC83S Gold Pins. The power sections are still the original tubes. Do you think the old power tubes add to the sound issue? Any recommendations for power tubes?

 

Someone else had suggest a speaker swap and I think its about time to try that. I will try the celestion vintage 30.

 

I usually run the clean channel only due to the fact that I use a lot of effects. For some reason the OD channels have always sounded "off" to my ears. Maybe a tube issue or speaker issue.

 

Does your SG seem to be to bassy? How do I correct that? Is it pickup height or the PU itself?

 

Thanks again for your help!!

For power tubes i would go for JJ EL 84, match up with yours ECC83s. Don't really know how big the change are gonna be as i changed to both ECC 83s and EL 84 at the same time. BTW A little thing more to do , those signal cables from amp to reverb tank. Change them with some decent hifi signal cable(if you use the reverb). It opens up the reverb.

[stein]

Just a thought, but sometimes the strings can make a big difference. EB Slinky and GHS Boomers are at opposite ends of the spectrum, both acoustically and plugged in. Boomers are far brighter.

 

My thoughts on pup height, when lowering, I have never got to muddy, but maybe too weak and lacking punch. Lack of harmonics mostly. I think I have my pups maybe lower than most.

 

Don't have an SG, but the humbuckers on my L-7 (jazzbox) are set lower than they could be on a Les Paul, or close to it. My p-90's On the special and the LP are set as low as can go on both, even below the wood a little. Regardless of how I might set them, it is worth a try to lower them and see what you think. No damage in doing it.

[philamag87]

I will keep playing with the pickup height. I had my action lowered a little bit so now I have to go back and readjust the PU height. I will definitely adjust the pole pieces. Which way to I turn it to raise it if holding it in playing position, clockwise?

 

I have set my amps EQ at Treble 7, Mids 1 and Bass 2.5. Still a little bassy but thats before I readjust PU height.

 

I did replace the cables for the reverb with some Rocketfish ones from Best Buy and wow what a difference it makes!! I can actually use the reverb set around half on all the channels now especially the drive channels.

[Lungimsam]

If it was me, I would put Gibson strings on it. The vintage reissue nickel kind they have out. See what you think.

 

Also, a proper set up. Do the tone knobs sound like they are working correctly?

 

Also, you could take it to a tech and make sure the pups are working right, along with all the other electronics. If that didn't work, I would exchange it or call Gibson Cust Serv about it. My 61RI sounded great from the get go. So, I would imagine yours should too. I wouldn't buy new pups for it. I would have Gibson make it right. My 61 gets as bright or warm as you want it. Yours should too.

 

I recently got an SG Bass with a bad pup that I had replaced under warranty. Customer Service was great. I also read a post from a guy who got a replacement axe from Gibson after 5 years. Now that is service!