About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

[Lewguitar]

It's funny how this stuff goes.

A year or so ago, just a few players here used the PG neck, but they bragged it up and loved it...but just as many or more players complained that it was to bright and edgy! :smack:

I wonder now how many of those who claimed it was to bright and edgy never actually tried one and were just repeating what they'd read somewhere?

Now it seems that alot more guys must have actually tried the PG...because it's now very popular and we rarely read this nonsense about it being to bright!

Bright to me is an alnico 5 Strat single coil...not any paf style humbucker...especially an alnico 2 paf like the PG!

It's my favorite neck humbucker...I like it better than any expensive boutique humbucker I've tried.

And split, it just can't be beat. Stellar single coil tone from a humbucker, IMO!

Lew

 

[ErikH]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

You're right, Lew. I've noticed "trends" like this but I have a feeling it's not a trend this time.

The PGs have always been favorites but I think some were just turned away from them based on their EQ ratings without taking in to account the type of magnet used and that affects the tone.

Only in the last couple of years have I come to understand all that myself to a degree. If the PG was an A5 pickup, it might be icepick in the ears but since it has an A2, it's perfect.

 

[skyydogg01]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

so what are some bridge pickups that you would recommend to complement the PGn?

sorry for the hijack

 

[Aceman]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

Is Billy G. harsh?...I think not! Case closed.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

Been saying this at least for 3 years now. It is a GREAT neck HB.

The only reservations (for best results in terms of delicate fine tuning) I have are:

1. Depending on the guitar it might be a little thicker than what I want. Yes you guys read it right. That's why I have been using in my PGn (7.40K) an a3 magnet for more than 3 years now to improve its clarity. But as I've said this is about the match between that particular PGn and my guitar!

2. It might be a tad hotter, like 7.70-80K. Those of you who love it should find yourselves a weak bridge version like 8.00K, and raise its screws and maybe change the magnet to an a3. It is at least as good as them boutique buckers I have tried. Indeed, it sounds like a bit brigther version of a timbucker neck, very woody, full of harmonics...

Anyways, as far as non-custom shop PAF replicas go, I think they are the best out there.

B

 

[ErikH]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

so what are some bridge pickups that you would recommend to complement the PGn?

sorry for the hijack

PGb obviously, CC, Custom, C5 maybe. Those are it's best matchups.

 

[claytonc]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

Has anyone matched a PGn with a Brobucker? I have a PGn coming I plan to try it out soon.

Lou, can you select a PGb with a resistance of 8.3-8.4 instead of the 8.0-8.1 that seem to be so common lately?

Thanks
Clayton

 

[JeffB]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

I don't think it's nonsense at all, Lew...you are comparing it to a "standard" (A5 strat pups) that has no bearing on what "standard" *I* hold it to, since I'm not a strat player..thats apples and oranges to me. I'm comparing it to other PAFs from a variety of manufacturers.

I like it as a neck humbucker, but it's still very bright, and def too bright for me in some guitars (as is the 59n). The bridge model is even worse in the wrong piece of wood, it's absolutely horrid..icepick.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

Has anyone matched a PGn with a Brobucker? I have a PGn coming I plan to try it out soon.

Lou, can you select a PGb with a resistance of 8.3-8.4 instead of the 8.0-8.1 that seem to be so common lately?

Thanks
Clayton

I matched my trem spaced BroBucker with a 8.00K PGb in the neck. Works great!

B

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

I wonder now how many of those who claimed it was to bright and edgy never actually tried one and were just repeating what they'd read somewhere?

That's what I wonder alot in the Amplifier Central :smack:

 

[Aceman]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

I always try to make sure to say "I have heard/read" any time I pass third party info. It's just couteous and polite - not to mention honest! It happens though - peopel come to "know" something just because they have heard it so much. I'm a trained scientist - it's my job to make clear distinctions between what is fact and opinion and where it came from. Most of the revered tone gurus out here sound very credible to me...

I have owned a PG neck for....5/6 years or more. And I have heard numerous times in person and played a PG bridge a couple of times. I don't think it's harsh at all. But I still think PG/CC is just an awesome combo. The two pups are very different and really blend well in the both on situation.

 

[ErikH]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

Well, if you toss a PG in to a Swamp Ash Strat or Tele or even a Maple bodied Strat, sure, it's probably gonna sound harsh with that high end sizzle on it because of the body wood being so bright as it is. It can be EQ'd out though. The PG is really at home in a warm natured guitar. That's where that sizzle really gets thick and just sounds incredible.

 

[BachToRock]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

My favorite neck humbucker is the 59/Jazz Hybrid, but the PEARLY GATES definitely comes right in at 2nd place along with the SETH LOVER.

I think anyone that would describe it as bright and edgy is really describing the acoustic(or lack of) properties of their guitar... probably a bad piece of wood that no pickup can really cure.

 

[JeffB]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

I think anyone that would describe it as bright and edgy is really describing the acoustic(or lack of) properties of their guitar... probably a bad piece of wood that no pickup can really cure.

This definitely can be true BTR! and in most cases probably is :bigthumb: You should always base your pup decison on the inherent tone of the wood obviously, But apples to apples a PGn or 59n is a brighter pup than a AP2 or what have you...just the nature of the beast. I still find in a well balanced (tonewise) paula it can be too piercing *for me* through my preferred amp/speaker rig when used with 500K pots. I've played a PG set in another well balanced (acoustically) Paula that had the stock 300K Gibbo pots (god only knows what they actually measured LOL) and I thought it sounded magnificent.

I think in an all mahogany guitar like a V or Explorer the PGn would REALLY work well, and am considering it as a mate to a Brobucker on the bridge for a new all mahog axe I picked up.

 

[JWR]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

I prefer the '59 with the PG neck. I tried the PG Bridge, (not for me) a Custom 5, a Screamin' Demon, a 57 Classic Plus and for my Les Paul, the '59 did it for me. It blends well with the PG. The PG neck has less boominess in the low end which I like and it still has that nice singing tone with the LP in above the 12t fret.

 

[Aceman]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

That may be a big part of it Jeff- the 500k pots. Many out here are into them. I like the 300k in the bridge. That may be the difference. Bright Paul + 500K + PG = harsh. Dark Paul + 300k + PG = Have Mercy!

+1 for LISTEN to the axe acoustically. If the sound isn't there - a pup can only amplify crap. If something is there, the wrong pup can pup it wayn too far over the top.

 

[gripweed]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

Lew has got great ears and I trust them! The PG is one pickup I'm dying to try, but I only have so many guitars . That having been said, not all players are going to like the same pickups. We need to take that into account.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

I've always dug it.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

How does the PG neck compare with the Jazz neck in a Les Paul? I want a neck pickup that has the bright top end of a '59 but a less boomy bottom end. I've tried the Seth, Ant and A2Pro and love the softer bottom end (in the neck position) but they all lack the top end cut of the '59. I'm planning on trying a Jazz next, but the PG is the other glaring omission in my quest so far.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: About the Pearly Gates neck pickup:

2. It might be a tad hotter, like 7.70-80K. Those of you who love it should find yourselves a weak bridge version like 8.00K, and raise its screws and maybe change the magnet to an a3.

Not a bad idea, especially for a 24-fret guitar...