6 Best Pickups for Gibson SG Electric Guitars

Working with humbuckers is a lot simpler than single coil pickup mods. This is partly because all dual humbucker guitar body setups will fit just about any two humbuckers. This is not true with say Stratocaster and Telecaster pickups. Yes, they're both a type of single coil, but the fit is not the same. If we want to replace the humbuckers on an Epiphone or Gibson SG, we just take our pick and make the swap. In this article we're going to look at a few humbuckers that we've used, tested and recommend for Gibson SG pickup mods.

Fishman's venture into electric guitar pickups has been wildly successful. Their stacked coil technology has revolutionized the pickup industry by producing a sound that has the thickness and aggression of a humbucker, but also the subtlety and nuance of a single coil. Some have also described it as the meeting of sounds between active and passive pickups.

The Fluence Classic set is entirely free of noise and hum, due in part to the technology used that does not rely on traditional pickup wire winding methods.

This PAF set is a vintage voiced humbucker designed for classic rock fans by Seth Lover, who also helped develop many of Gibson's signature humbuckers. This set pairs really well with a classic-style tube amp with a lot of warm, smooth chords and a little bit of percussive response from the silver covers.

Alnico 2 magnets are used in both the neck and bridge positions with a silver-plated cover.

We put the P Rails on this list because they do a great job handling moderate amounts of gain, something SG players and styles have historically been known for. Seymour Duncan designed this set to incorporate humbucker, P90 and single coil Strat tones into one pickup. While we can't put them above the Fishman Fluence sets, in this regard, they still do a great job of providing a ton of versatility and a base tone that pairs really well with either Epiphone or Gibson SGs.

With the exception of extremely high gain settings (which the P-Rails weren't really designed for anyway) we didn't have any serious noise issues with this set. Though keep in mind, it does house a single coil-style rail that could be more prone to noise and hum than your average humbucker.

This is the SG pickup of choice for fans of a good clean tone. It's Lindy Fralin's personal favorite, and one of the cleanest sounding humbuckers we've ever tested. Break up holds out longer than most humbuckers, so even your moderate gain settings will sound smooth and bluesy. It's a vintage pair with a clean tone that could appeal in a variety of musical genres.

Both the neck and bridge humbucker use an Alnico 2 magnet and 42-gauge plain enamel wire.

EMG's James Hetfield signature set is a versatile humbucker design with a smooth active tone that also brings in some of the clarity and tight picking attack you get from passive single coil pickups. It's similar to the Fishman design, though not quite on the same level. Still, they're fantastic for someone who wants their SG to be heavier, with the option to dial things back to subtler tone.

This purchase includes EMG's solderless installation system that also sets you up to connect a 9V battery (since the pickup set is active). It's much easier to use the solderless system for the mod, though you can install them the old-fashioned way to a soldering gun, if you prefer. 

We like this set for distortion fans, especially those who might be playing a more modern style with their SG.

Epiphone SGs are getting a massive upgrade with the this particular set. Even if you have a Gibson SG with something like the Gibson '57 humbucker set, we like the EMG Hetfields better.

Seymour Duncan's Saturday Night Special humbucker set is the pair we used in our Epiphone SG mod earlier in 2018. While the Alinco 4 magnets and 4-conductor wiring suggest a more vintage intent behind the design, the Saturday Night Special set has a lot of thick low-end in their EQ profile, giving them a distinctly heavy feel. At the same time, they sound great at lower gain levels with soft chords and bluesy, distorted lead melody.

Again, we used this set to upgrade a cheap Epiphone SG that came with some kind of stock humbucker that wasn't very good or memorable. Upgrading against a Gibson SG might be more of a lateral move, depending on what kind of tone you're looking for.

Choosing pickups is a highly subjective matter, since a lot of guitar customization is centered around trying to achieve a particular tone. In this case we focused on pickups that would be most complimentary to the SG's conventional tone profile.

• Classic rock
• Power chords
• Vintage distortion
• Wide range of gain levels

The pickups we've chosen can handle these responsibilities while also sounding good overall. Because having an SG doesn't mean you'll automatically fit into a stereotypical SG playing style. Thus, we've recommended these pickups based on broad appeal to a wide range of tones and styles.

They can make your Epiphone or Gibson SG electric more versatile and a better instrument, able to tackle a wider range of sounds and responsibilities.

• Magnet Type: Typically pickups use either a type of Alnico or Ceramic magnet
• Output: This can generally be defined as how much gain the pickup produces on its own or how "hot" it is.
• Tone Profile: Pickups are often built for a specific style, based on their tone profile. This could include light, bluesy, rock, aggressive, metal or other such musical genre descriptors.
• Active or Passive: Active pickups run off a 9V battery and typically produce a smoother, more modern tone. Passive pickups do not need a battery and are generally better vintage styles and highlighting the nuance of right hand picking movement (pick scrapes, strumming, lead technique, etc.)

• Quality at a Wide Frequency Range: Humbuckers should sound good on both high and low notes, as well as high and low EQ profiles. You need some thickness, but at the same time you should get a nice chime and ring out of your higher notes.
• Stylistic Flexibility: Pickups are often designed for specific styles and sounds, though the best pickups can produce great tone through a wide range of styles and intensity levels (blues, rock, high gain, low gain, etc.).
  

Most Gibson SGs ship with Gibson-brand pickups. For example, the 490T "Modern Classic" is a common fit at the bridge position, retailing for around $130. This is certainly not a "throw away" stock humbucker, though it's not always a safe bet that you'll be happy with them. Swapping for a new humbucker set should be considered if you want a specific or more nuanced kind of sound out of your SG. It doesn't necessarily mean the Gibson humbuckers are better or worse, it just means you're looking for a different sound.