[Mr. Lime]

Dear community,

I currently think of replacing the pickups of my Gibson SG Supreme again.
Since I bought it, I tried several sets and I'm still not a 100% happy.

Basically it's a slim Les Paul with a thick carved maple top.
I changed the bridge to a stainless steel unit with graph tech saddles since I didn't like the zinc bridges Gibson uses stock.
First I tried a Bill Lawrence L-100 Set which looked cool but was to bright for my taste.
I wanted something bass heavier and for a short period I put in a Satchur8 / Humbucker from Hell set.
The Satchur8 wasn't bad but I had the feeling I would prefer it in my Jackson Soloist  1985 San Dimas since I hate the Full Shred Duncan I have in it.
The HFH sounded good in some of my other guitars but was disapointing weak and lifeless in this SG. I have another SG Supreme with brass bridge and a Tone Zone / HFH set which sounds decent but it just didn't work in that guitar.
So I tried an PAF Pro / Dominion set next which till now is the best combination but I hated that set in a Jackson Stars RR. Output wise it feels medium and a little generic to me. It depends on which amp I play the SG. With a VHT Deliverance preamp the set responses better than with my Engl 580 preamp.
Usually I love Bill Lawrence L-500 XL and Duncan Distortion bridge pickups but I'm interested in how the Super 3 would fatten up the SG? I have a Yamaha SG2000 with a regular SD in the bridge which feels a little too vintage to me for the SG Supreme, althought I kind of like the punch in the mids it got. Unfortunatly I don't like the PAF style Dimarzio I have in the neck which is too weak and lifeless.

My question is, which Dimarzio neck PU would you guys recommend for the Super 3?
I would love to have something more quacky than the current PAF Pro, althought I like the quick and bright attack.
Outputwise the Super 2 might be a consideration but I have no clue what to expect from that pickup.
I might try a Bluesbucker I have laying around and usually like in Superstrats but I expect it also to be a little too weak for pairing it with the Super 3.
 
Thanks in advance!

[darkbluemurder]

For a neck pickup to partner with the Super 3 I would probably go for the hottest model that still "makes sense" somehow. Super 2 with the Ray mod (remove the screws in one coil) should work well. Quacky, however, it is not.

If you want something quackier/brighter than the PAF Pro, the Seymour Duncan Full Shred neck (SH-10n) does it. It is lower output than the PAF Pro, though.

Bluesbucker is nice as well but also lower output than the PAF Pro. Its biggest asset is that the split mode does not drop in output compared to the series mode. If you already have one it does not hurt to try.

When you say "the PAF Pro feels ... a little generic" what exactly do you mean by that? What exactly do you want more or less of? That may be helpful. E.g. if you want a more singing tone, Breed neck would be it.

Cheers Stephan

[Mr. Lime]

Hi Stephan,

thanks for replying!
I recently put in the Bluesbucker and although I like it better than the PAF Pro, it doesn't fit the guitar that well. I think it's too thin sounding in it. I loved it in one of my Jackson Soloists but didn't care for it in a Charvel 750XL - really depends on the guitars.
In my experience it's often a problem with SG models, that they are hungry for more mids. The attack of the PAF Pro was nice. Since it's not in the guitar anymore I can't exactly tell what was missing - recalling I would say bass frequencies.

Yesterday I received a guitar with an old X2n from 1979 in it. I might try this in the bridge before I order the Super 3. When I checked for a neck pickup suggestion I found the D Activator X neck pickup, which does look promising on paper! I would have to check the none X neck version in one of my 7 Strings but the website says it has very little bass like the previous pickups I didn't liked that much.
I had almost only good experience with rail pickups. The Tone Zone S, Super D S, Ibanez V5 and most of my Bill Lawrence pickups were neat. The Haven Omnia set was unusable for me.
Isn't string pull less on rail pickups in general? So they should deliver a bit more sustain in theory.

The Full Shred wouldn't fit colourwise with the final Dimarzio I would probably use in cream and I had hard times liking the bridge version in the guitars I used it. I'm also afraid it might have too little bass as the PAF Pro and HFH.
I might try some bridge pickups like the Tone Zone, Norton or Air Norton I have left over. The Air Norton in an Ibanez J Custom I sold recently was disappointing for me but I didn't like the whole guitar so I haven't experimented much with it.
Great results I had in the past with a SH-4 and Al DiMeola Bridge version in the neck position of various guitars so a Norton might do the trick as well.

[Mr. Lime]

Yesterday I installed the Air Norton and it's great fun to play. Sweep picking apreggios can be made with ease and lots of harmonics in single note playing. There might be a tad too much bass as with chords and high gain the lower notes sound a bit muddy and hight adjustments don't lead me to the right balance but overall it's a great improvement compared to the HFH, Bluesbucker and PAF Pro while to me it still has some quacky qualities. If it had the double cream colour I might would stick with the AN.
Heading into the right direction I'm interested in other A5 magnet Dimarzios, especially with dual resonance patent.
There's the FRED and Mo'Joe, which might be even more to my liking. Also the Gravity Storm (6,47 H) or Liquidfire (6,17 H)
 seem to be in the right ballpark, comparing the inductance of the AN (6,27 H). The GS seems to have similar wounds to the AN but using the virtual vintage slugs and hex pole pieces when comparing the technical specs.

[gregr]

What do you mean by quack? The term is normally used to describe the tone created when combining single coils from distinct positions in parallel. You can get quack-adjacent with a single humbucker when you run the coils out of phase though I don’t imagine this is how you’re using it.

If you simply mean bright then the most obvious choice is a Super 2 since it seems clear you want high output. Otherwise the PAF Pro is the overall winner for a bright powerful neck pickup that doesn’t peel paint. I imagine the D Activator Neck is also a good option from the high output category.

I’m not certain dual resonance makes for a particularly bright pickup as the goal is to impart a more vocal quality by broadening out the midrange. Virtual Vintage, on the other hand, provides more output, allowing for fewer turns in order to retain more top-end.

Non-DiMarzio higher output recommendations with a decent amount of treble for the neck:
Seymour Duncan Screamin’ Demon or Perpetual Burn.  EMG 81 (active, but worthy of a mention).

[darkbluemurder]

If the Air Norton has too much bass in the neck spot (for me it would), LiquiFire is an option.

Cheers Stephan

[Mr. Lime]

I rather mean the kind of blooming of notes played usually associated with a Strat neck PU.
Not to be mistaken with the glassy SC sound, which I'm not after. The Air Norten does have that blooming effect I mean while the HFH is missing it - at least in this Gibson SG and the amps I tested it with.
So my resume is that bright pickups just sound thin in this guitar.

Several years ago I tried all kinds of phase switching, series and parallel wirings and how useful all of that is really depends on the guitar and the pickups used.
Usually I find series OoP wirings on the bridge PU more useful. I tend to dislike parallel wirings of humbuckers in itself.

As I already tried some very bright pickups, I'm afraid the Super 2 will disapoint me as it's probably kind of a high power Humbucker from Hell model.
What I really need in the SG are mids and only moderate bass and treble.

I like the recommendation of the EMG 81 since to my understanding the 81 always was ment to be in the neck postition and the 85 in the bridge. I always liked the 85 in the brdige more than those 81 but would rather try a 60 in the neck.
Don't know why would someone put it other way around as most guitars with EMGs are sold with 81/85 for bridge/neck..

If the Air Norton has too much bass in the neck spot (for me it would), LiquiFire is an option.

Cheers Stephan

I recently tried it with my Engl 580 preamp and the Air Norten performs quite well in the bass frequencies.
The Liquidfire and Gravity Storm are probably the best bets, see the technical comparison attached.