Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

[Monsta-Tone]

I used my McCarty last night with the band. It currently has a set of PATB-1 pickups in it. Yeah, I know they are for tremolo guitars, but I wanted to see what they sound like. The PRS string spacing is almost the same as my Floyd guitars and I've always used a Trembucker spaced pickup in the bridge.

Anyway, I really like the tones, but not quite what I'm looking for out of this guitar.
I love the expressiveness of the PATB-1n, but want more touch sensitivity and slightly less output for more clean playing.

I'm thinking Pearly Gates neck or ???
I had an Alnico II Pro in the neck for years and really liked it, but want something a little hotter with more harmonics.
I especially loved how clear and concise every note was with the Alnico II Pro.

For the bridge, I don't want anything too bright, but I want serious harmonics (ala EVH) incredible sustain and warm crunchy distorted sounds.

What do you guys think? Am I on the right track?
I play a Rivera S-120 combo amp. Think, Fender Tweed/Blackface cleans with lots of sparkle and Serious EL34/6L6 (stereo amp EL's on one side, 6L's on the other) distortion.
The music my band plays is somewhere between STP (distorted odd chords), Rush, Incubus, Widespread Panic and Pat Benatar. Pretty odd mixture of cleans and distortions. I probably change amp channels about 3-4 times in most songs, up to 8-10 in others.

[Rockstar216]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

The PG and CC should get you the tone your looking for but what type of wood is your PRS?

[NewWave]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

what do you use your neck pickup for? do you use it for some clean rhytms (acoustic-like) or for Fingerpicking? a PG neck have little amount of treble (good for jazz even better than jazz hum *From what I heard*) which is good for fingerpicking but not really for some rhytms.. have you check out slash pickups which is hotter than alnico II pro?/jazz hum/Screamin Demon 'Bridge Pickup' (I have experience with it) is a good neck pickup too if you want slightly hotter from alnico II (10k).

You won't get EVH tone from a mahogany and maple cap rosewood fret guitar (alder strat with JB nails them IMO) but you should check out custom 5 first before trying customm custom (I heard that custom custom is darker Oh yeah, I love custom custom in my alder strat.. Hotrodded Vintage Tone!!)

Just my opinion.. I hope it can be any help to you. :-)

[VHTJay]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

The PG and CC should get you the tone your looking for but what type of wood is your PRS?

Standard McCarty is mahogany body and neck with a maple top and rosewood fingerboard. What you expect out of that combo. However, you can also get this guitar with a full rosewood neck; if that is the case I wouldn't do the custom custom....it would be way too dark imo!

[Rockstar216]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

With that guitar and pup combo it might be a lil on the dark side with a vintage feel. It sounds like it should be ok for the music you want to do.

[blueman335]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

No, you're not on the right track at this point. PGN's don't have any more output than an A2P, and I think you'll lose a little note definition if switch to a PGN. That's a pointless switch.

In the bridge, PGB's have a lot of treble and CC's don't have much, and are often fairly dark in warm woods. Don't know that either is ideal for the 'crunchy' tones you want.

[Rockstar216]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

For the STP sound I always think of treble very high and a nice crunch which I think the CC can do and Delo used a LP

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

People have mentioned the Pearly Gates / CC in a McCarty a lot on this forum lately and it has been making me want a McCarty.

Stop it. Put those pickups in your guitar and let me enjoy all the expensive crap I've already bought

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

what do you use your neck pickup for? do you use it for some clean rhytms (acoustic-like) or for Fingerpicking? a PG neck have little amount of treble (good for jazz even better than jazz hum *From what I heard*) which is good for fingerpicking but not really for some rhytms.. have you check out slash pickups which is hotter than alnico II pro?/jazz hum/Screamin Demon 'Bridge Pickup' (I have experience with it) is a good neck pickup too if you want slightly hotter from alnico II (10k).

I use the neck pup for about 85-90% of everything. Jangly cleans, overdriven bluesy stuff, balls out distortion. I haven't really found a bridge pickup that I like in the last 10-15 years. I used to never use the neck pickup because I thought it was too dark and muddy. Now I'm the complete opposite....
The PATB-1b that is in the McCarty now is the closest sound to what I've been looking for out of a bridge pup so far. It's fat and articulate. That pickup is going in an ESP with a Floyd though.

I'm not looking to cop any particular sound. I just want the best all around versatile pups I can get for this guitar. Once in a while, I switch over to the bridge pup and play a little VH, but mostly I just play the original stuff that my band writes.

I have a set of Dirty South Southern Thunder humbuckers with nickel covers in a PRS Torero. I pretty much don't like the Torero, so I am going to harvest the pups and return it back to stock for trade or sale purposes. I'll probably try the Dirty South pups in the McCarty. They sound pretty good in the Torero, but might sound much better in a set neck guitar instead of maple neck through.

My guitar is the standard mahogany neck, mahogany body w/maple cap, rosewood fretboard, new stainless frets.

People have mentioned the Pearly Gates / CC in a McCarty a lot on this forum lately and it has been making me want a McCarty.

Stop it. Put those pickups in your guitar and let me enjoy all the expensive crap I've already bought

Floats like a Cadillac, stings like a Beamer......
I love this guitar. It's so beat up and yet it still plays like butter and always pleases the ear! It's the only non-trem guitar I own.

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

I've had that PGn & CC set in a Hamer Studio. Very, very similar to a McCarty. Same body and neck woods and similar body style.

Loved the PGn but thought the CC was a little to smooth and buttery for my tastes.

So a big thumbs up on the PGn. And a maybe on the CC.

A custom shop Duncan that's similar to the CC but crunchier and "better" is the Duncan '78.

If you can swing it, a PGn and a '78 would be my suggestion.

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

Right on, thanks Lew.
I was thinking maybe a Custom 5. Then, if I want it darker, I can always just insert an A2 mag. I'm still going to try the Southern Thunders, just because I already own them. I'm not really attached to them yet though. Probably only because I don't like the Torero much. It's a great sounding guitar, but it hurts my hand to play.

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

Check this out: http://www.legendarytones.com/evh%20pickup.html

It compares the Custom Custom to the '78. The '78 was once known as the EVH because Seymour created it for Eddie, but it's now called the '78. It's my favorite of all the Duncan bridge humbuckers I've owned.

[NewWave]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

Hmm.. using neck pickup for the whole song? strange.. are you covering pop songs or something? there's the middle position you know..? jangly cleans (not so demon) overdriven bluesy stuffs (I believe demon does it well) Balls out distortion (Yes!! George Lynch!!)

I hope you find what you want.

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates Neck & Custom Custom for McCarty???

Hmm.. using neck pickup for the whole song? strange.. are you covering pop songs or something? there's the middle position you know..? jangly cleans (not so demon) overdriven bluesy stuffs (I believe demon does it well) Balls out distortion (Yes!! George Lynch!!)

I hope you find what you want.

I use the neck pickup most of time too. Use it for rhythm and use it for solos. I'm that way with my ES-335 and I'm that way with my Strats. I'll combine neck and middle pickups for some tones and occasionally switch to the bridge pickup only - but most of the time I'm on my neck pickup.