scook

Rain
 
The Viper 1000 Deluxe is quite a deal, at $799. 

The it should be a better deal @ $499 http://www.jrrshop.com/gu...u-black-cherry-b-stock

They can't do that to me - I really need a semi-hollow and an acoustic first.
Not crazy about the EMGs, but that's still an incredible guitar for the price.

Rain
 
 
They can't do that to me - I really need a semi-hollow and an acoustic first.

Hold out for that Riviera P93, bud.
My trusty 35 year old Ibanez LP is still holding her own, but I really like what the Riviera has brought to the table.

RobertB

Rain
 
 
They can't do that to me - I really need a semi-hollow and an acoustic first.

Hold out for that Riviera P93, bud.
My trusty 35 year old Ibanez LP is still holding her own, but I really like what the Riviera has brought to the table.

Yep - I need one. I love my SG but sonically, it isn't exactly what I need for this project. The Les Paul comes closer, but from what I've heard, the Riviera would give me that sound right out of the box.

Leadfoot
Hey Rain, here's one for only $399.
http://www.sweetwater.com.tore/detail/VIPER256STBC

The black one looks pretty nice too.

I was going to say that it's probably because it's made in Vietnam. Then I realized the one I posted was made in Korea, not in the US as I assumed. :/
 
It really is a tempting instrument - if I didn't have other more urgent things on my list.

I'd like to be able to compare how much difference a couple of new pick ups would make on the SGJ.
 
Currently, it's loaded with two Gibson 498. I know next to nothing about that stuff, but I remember one of my pals mentioning that he'd replace the 498's with 57's when I told him I was buying the guitar.
 
From his vague explanation as to why he didn't like the 498's, I'm tempted to believe that maybe they're not the best match for a SG if one is not trying to put the emphasis on the guitar's natural edge but, instead, trying to give it a bit more chunkiness, a bit more warmth.
 
As is, it has plenty of definition, but it's definitely on the thinner side. I'd expect that form a SG, but I'm wondering just how much I could counterbalance by changing pick ups.

Rain
Regarding the set neck - my preference for those is totally subjective. It's a bit like the icing on the cake. 
 
Incidentally, while looking for a tele for my brother-in-law, I stumbled upon very inexpensive set-neck ones, loaded w/ DiMarzio Super Distortion and/or EMG's. Which only goes to show that set neck doesn't mean better or high end.
 
I'd be curious to try a thicker SG-type of guitar. The ESP Viper models seem a bit thicker than the traditional SG. And the twist on the shape makes them quite interesting to look at as well. Originally, I thought they actually redeemed the whole SG design.
 
The Viper 1000 Deluxe is quite a deal, at $799. A shame they messed with the knobs and switch placement.
 

 

 
 

 
Yep... I agree on the switch placement. Bad design. I'm thinking about how easy it would be to grab the volume control and accidentally hit the switch by mistake in a solo...... and totally lose the groove as a result. 
 
On the LP design. I have always liked the looks of the Gibson SG & LP design and some of the other Gibsons as well. (I was never a fan of the flying V designs) The thing that put me off on buying a LP was the weight of that sucker. However, the very first time someone stole my SG, and I was in a working band, so I needed a guitar quickly.... I headed to the local music store and found a Gibson guitar that was new at the time but for some reason never quite caught on with the masses. It was called simply "The Paul" .  Designed after the iconic LP, but lighter in weight and some hot rodded factory pickups.... The guys in the band actually liked how it sounded as opposed the the SG which had cleaner sounding pickups. Hotter pickups on the Paul gave it a fat slightly distorted tone and when you cranked it.... it sang.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Original-1979-Gibson-The-Paul-Electric-Guitar-Natural-w-Case-Nice-/371072779236?pt=Guitar&hash=item5665a943e4
 
I paid $550 for mine.... should have kept it but didn't. One of my musical regrets. I recall it having a wider and fatter neck than the SG.
 
I mentioned that after it was stolen and I got it back....it was dinged up and the finished was scratched quite badly. I sanded it down and painted it white. Here's what it looked like in white.

 
The white looked good but showed the sweat and dirt and ...well..... having the Paul as a backup, I sanded the white off and went back to a natural finish.  
 
Still have the SG, and still have the shotgun on the right. And yeah... in case you're wondering...they're both 100% legal.

The good news is - it seems that my SGJ is equipped quick connect pick ups, so that changing those would be pretty easy even for me. As long as I find QC replacements which I'd like that is.
 
The bad news is - it seems that my SGJ is equipped quick connect pick ups, so this pretty much restricts my list of choices to a few Gibson pick ups. And Gibson pick ups are pretty expensive - it's probably cost me around $300 to have a pair of 57's in there.

I think people are used to the '57PUs because, there was no other pickup except maybe the P90s single coils in the old R&R era. Any guitar that I know of with Gibson had '57PUs because for years I think that was it. So old videos (bad or good as they sound) or vinyl records in that era - 60's and '70's were '57PUs.
 
Yep that what I got in my LP Traditional last year also, which is changed again this year with the PU, and weight or not, a lot of people still bought them last year because it was not chambered in any way, and someone even bought that 11lb. monster last year.
They use to weigh even 14lbs. I think if doing some history reading on the weight they really were back then.
 
According to some that made the tone, but R&R music is not the only kind though, and no doubt a lot of people bought Fenders because - probably among other things, it weighed less.
 
To me the '57's are kind of just bland or perhaps flat sounding through all the frequencies of a guitar and then the strings come into play after that.
?????
 

I never worried much about pick ups - from the moment I finally put my hands on my first US strat, and loved the sound, I figured it was okay.
 
Moving back to Les Paul's (Epi) a few years ago meant going back to humbucker - after decades of single coils, it took a while (and a few other guitars) for me to learn to try and appreciate the differences, besides the thicker, louder sound. And the Les Paul particularities itself had to be factored in as well.
 
As far as I can tell, the pick ups on my SG are much quieter than those on my Epiphones, but they're also more detailed and thinner. So if I wanted to make them smoother/warmer, I guess I'd have to bring them down a bit - but since they're already on the quieter side, I'm not sure I want to go there.
 
As for my preferences - as I once mentioned, judging from my very limited experience, of all my guitars, I seem to like the sound of my LP Traditional which is loaded with Epiphone's copy of a '57 and a copy of a Burstbucker. It's hard for me to make abstraction of what's coming from the LP and what's strictly a matter of pick ups. But, if I could chose, the sound I'm after for the SG would be somewhere in between that of my LP Traditional and that of my SG for the definition.

kennywtelejazz
FWIW…..I would not underestimate  how much you can change the sound of a guitar by simply adjusting the pick ups 
between the height and pick up screws there is a lot of nice tones that can be dialed in ….

 
Excellent point.
 
I have played around with different pickup pole screw configs.... they do change the tone and levels and aggressiveness of the pickup.  I have mine mostly flush at this point in time.....IIRC moving them out and up toward the strings gives an extra level of bite to the sound. Also, the pickup's height is adjustable.....likewise, I have experimented with up, down and tilted to one side or the other.... I think they are now fairly close to the strings.

The PU height is still adjustable, and you can buy pickups at Sweetwater and change them if you want to.
http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/tone-hunting-0309-2011.aspx
 
http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/pickup-height-0514-2011.aspx
 
in fact a lot of people change things on a guitar because it is cheaper than buying a new one, put a graphite nut on it, whatever, PUs, even to the point of Seasick Steve's broomstick hubcap guitar (not really) with a beer can on the end and a bolt for the nut to play slide on it.
 

Yup - which is why QuickConnect is both a good and a bad news. Good because even I can swap pick ups. Bad because I can't change them for anything but Gibson's QuickConnects. So that limits my choices and mans that the options I have are all pretty expensive - as in, approximately $300 for a pair of pickups. 
 
I'm guessing a lot of folks here could just replace the entire electronics, pots and all w/ traditional ones. But that's beyond anything I can do or care to try.I haven't touch a soldering iron in over 30 years and I still have nightmare about it. ;)
 
Considering my tastes, I'd be curious to try Seymour Duncan's Whole Lotta Humbuckers - but, thanks to QuickConnect this isn't going to happen.
 
 

Well, unless you intend to replace everything and throw away the board and the QC option altogether, I don't really think there's anyway to install a regular pick up on a QuickConnect-ready guitar...
 

Look at Carvin.
http://www.carvinguitars.com/
 
Looky here, looky there, looky looky everywhere.
Oh Donny! oh!
Okay, I am gone out of here.