Some guitar pickup/gear questions
 

Hey, I'm trying to replace my guitar pickups. I have an Epiphone SG. It's my first ever electric (over 3 years old). I haven't quite found a better guitar that I really like yet, and since I really like the shape of my SG I'm trying to replace the pickups. So... what would you reccomend? I'm thinking Seymour-Duncan humbuckers, but I'm not entirely decided. Also, what are the differences between EMG humbucker pickups and Seymour-Duncan humbucker pickups?

Another somewhat random question, but what's the difference between an active and a passive guitar/pickup? I see those words around sometimes, but I have no idea what they mean.

And finally, I'm trying to get a new distortion pedal. A year or two ago, I bought the Boss DS-1 distortion pedal. I guess it's cool if you're constantly looking to have a grainy overdrive-y sound which I do like, but there is little if no room for variation as far as tone. The sound is mostly distorted and mostly very grainy, regardless of the setting. I'm looking for a distortion pedal that allows me a lot of variation for the type of distortion and amount of distortion, as well as a lot of leeway regarding whether I want overdrive or bass-y distortion. Do you guys have any reccomendations? I found one called the Hot Cake. It's pretty good as far as different tones/amounts of distortions, except that the plain distortion sound is a bit too bass-y, and the pedal itself is almost $300. So yeah... I'm looking to buy a pedal that gives me a lot of variation as far as tone and the amount of distortion, any help/reccomendations are much appreciated.

Thanks.

Ok first of all, What is it that you don't like about the pick-ups that are currently in your SG? Secondly, what type of music do you play?
Active pick-ups are battery operated and have a hotter signal than normal passive pick-ups. IMO, upgrading to actives can make a huge improvement in the tone of a bass guitar, but tend to be a pretty big waste of money for a six string.
My reccomendation for a distortion pedal never changes: The Big Muff by Electro-Harmonix. Buy one. It's all you need.

Active pick-ups on guitars sound horrible. But I would suggest a Visual Sound Dr. Jykll & Mr. Hyde dist./OD pedal. It is a little more expensive then a Big Muff but it has the sounds of a Tube Screamer and a Ratt.

The pickups in the SG are just really bad. They don't absorb distortion very well; the distortion is always really crappy, regardless of the setting. There isn't a very broad range of tone either. The sound is really shallow, somehow. It was ok in the beginning, but after playing numerous Fenders, Gibsons, PRS, and ESPs, I just... really dislike the sound. Like I said, I can't really discribe it, but I think shallow is the best word to describe how the sound is.

I play a lot of stuff clean; I'm rather into funk as well as slow rock/accoustic/jazz stuff. For distortion I mostly use overdrive. I don't very often use very bass-y distortion, but I tend to play a rather wide range of things as far as distortion.

Will check out The Big Muff, thanks.

Hmm.

I can recommend instead of changing a distortion pedal, maybe a Bass EQ (u can check out what I wrote on a thread posted on the stereo/gear section).. because it cleans up the sound and makes it more.. dynamic. But be sure to plug the OD/Dist pedal before the EQ pedal.. this is my current setup:

Guitar >> Dist >> bass EQ >> wah >> amp


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

I would reccomend you a Gibson pickups and Hughes and Kettner Tubeman

Epiphones are made of cheaper wood, with a flash finish, so what you're hearing really isn't all the pick-ups fault.

try some DiMarzio Super Distortions to get more beef, and if you don't have a BOSS EQ pedal, get one, as it will really help you shape your sound.

anything thats not active for a start!!!!