Merits of a single pickup/junior-style gibby vs. regular?

[stevejamsecono]

Hey All,
Now that I have finally finished paying off my Bassman, and my tax return money to come in February being definetly laid down towards an AVRI JM (with a little help from Mom and Pop christmas money.... sweet!), I'm looking to take on another facet of my own GAS. As such, I'm really interested in nailing down some sort of Gibson. Specifically one with P-90s. The choices I seem to have at the moment are as folows:
SG Junior RI - 600$ish bucks
LP Special Faded w/P-90s - 600-700$
SG Classic - 700$ish
Now all of these seem like good options, but what I'm wondering is if there's more merit to going with a single pickup RAWK machine ala one of the Juniors vs. one with two pickups. Are there really going to be a lot of sounds I'm missing without the neck pickup? I mean I don't switch around a lot when using my Strat or Tele, but I do like to get bang for the buck and have the option to do so. I've also heard that without the interference of another magnetic field, that you get better tone out of a single pickup. True? Rumors?

Any owners that can give me a testimony either way?

Thanks

-Steve

[mynameisjonas]

i'm having the exact same thoughts, i'm jonesing like crazy for a SG jr, but i'm put off by the lack of neck pickup (since i mostly use the neck pickup on my JMs). but then again i have never heard a better bridge pickup sound than on an SG jr... tricky :-\

[northern_dirt]

With both my LPs (deluxe with min hums and LP special p90's)
Id use the Lead pickup for Rythmn and the Neck pickup for Solos..
This was through a JCM 900 playing chugga chugga punk rawk..

I dunno If ill be keeping either of them..

[stevejamsecono]

::crickets::

anyone? any takers? Bueller?

[Orang Goreng]

THere's an SG junior reissue? Wow! Links?

The "second pickup adversely affects tone" thing makes sense on at least a theoretical level. With only one PU, you have half the magnetic pull on the strings, so, on paper, your sustain should improve and "stratitis" symptoms should be less. If all this is audible, I don't know; I guess a lot depends on how high you set your pole pieces.

Advice I can't give you, I think (hmm, did that sound like Yoda?). I've played a couple of SG juniors, and really, those things don't need a second pick-up, as they sound absolutely fantastic through just the bridge P-90. With the band I'm currently in, I barely use anything else than the bridge PU (exclusively on the SG standard, 90% of the time on the JM/Jags), but YMMcompletelyV.

Ooh, forgot the bottom line. I like SG juniors, so I'd be inclined to go for that one. The fact that it's cheaper would definitely influence my decision even further. But those other two options you mention are definitely highly attractive guitars.

Second edit: JUst found the junior RI on Musician's Friend. It has the assy big PG! That would be a thumbs down for me....in that case I'd personally go for the LP faded DC.

[Regan]

I would say it's just according to your style and/or preference. I have a '62 SG Jr. Since I was playing metal I was not satisfied with the sound of the stock pickup. Plus, mine had a slight issue with the high E string sounding dull when it was stretched pretty hard. I chose a Seymour Duncan Trembucker, partly because of their claim that the unique magnetic set up would surround the strings with a magnetic field, hence no drop off. Well, believe it or not, it worked. I achieved the killer sound I sought, and after some further mods, it was one of my top guitars.

Here is a pic:



Like I said, it depends on preference. Back when I did the mods, I preferred humbuckers, and this one screams,  but now I've mellowed some and I might be satisfied with the P-90.

Regan

[stevejamsecono]

I'm actually a fan of the big pickguards personally, but yeah, it was mostly between one of those and a DC Faded. I guess I'd need to try one to A/B it and see what I liked better.. but I kind of just wanted a RAWKRAWKRAWK guitar, so one pickup is usually enough for that..

and Regan, as big a fan of P-90s as I am, that is one sick looking SG. I don't even like Floyd Roses usually, but that seems like it'd be a fantastic hardrock/metal machine. Granted, I'm less into the "oh leave it alone, it's old, and when it was old it was best!" mentality, just because I figure if you're going to own a guitar, you should make sure it plays best for what YOU want, not for what a bunch of doddering collectors who won't even play the damn thing want. Probably means I won't fall much on the "investment" side of axes, but I'll always be happy with mine.

[fourmations]

FWIW

i would be strongly inclined to get a les or an sg (whichever your preference)
with regular humbucker spacings and put a 90 type in the bridge
and keep a humbucker neck, that a versatile machine,
to me theres nothing like a driven bucker in the bridge of a les
and you will have that option in the future, whereas a stock p90
routs are harder to match backwards,

i did it the other way round, i have a 90 type in my neck and a humbucker bridge
(i'm a slave for that classic zep type lead sound on the bridge, im a lead freak)

if you dont tend to like neck sounds, get a very bright neck pup
or replace the capacitor on the neck pup for a brighter take
or further still, there are some bridge pups that suit the neck on an lp

anyway, i'm rambling now, you get the picture..
i would be unlikely to ever buy a one pup guitar, too limited for me

just my 2c

rgds

4

[Regan]

I'm actually a fan of the big pickguards personally, but yeah, it was mostly between one of those and a DC Faded. I guess I'd need to try one to A/B it and see what I liked better.. but I kind of just wanted a RAWKRAWKRAWK guitar, so one pickup is usually enough for that..

and Regan, as big a fan of P-90s as I am, that is one sick looking SG. I don't even like Floyd Roses usually, but that seems like it'd be a fantastic hardrock/metal machine. Granted, I'm less into the "oh leave it alone, it's old, and when it was old it was best!" mentality, just because I figure if you're going to own a guitar, you should make sure it plays best for what YOU want, not for what a bunch of doddering collectors who won't even play the damn thing want. Probably means I won't fall much on the "investment" side of axes, but I'll always be happy with mine.

Thanks, Steve. It is well-suited for metal. I agree with you on the mods. I have pretty much hurt the value on all my electrics except for my Custom Shop B.C. Rich Warlock. It came stock the way I wanted it. But the SG was not playable for me. I got it for a really, really cheap price back in the early 80s, and I knew right away I had to customize it. Some might disagree, but for me it is a much better guitar now than it was then. I honestly wouldn't have had it to play the way it was. It would go out of tune to look at it! It had that awful tremelo system. By the way, the locking trem I put on it is made by Washburn. I chose it so I would not have to do any routing. I had Kahler's on everything, so the Washburn took a little getting used to, but it will do some things like no other.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide and how it turns out.

Regan