Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

[faisal]

I am not completely happy with my Jazz neck in my Parker Nitefly M. Its too bright and not the greatest for hi gain solo's.

Have narrowed it down to the APH and the PG. Also need nice cleans out of the neck pick up. The bridge is a Duncan Distortion so something that balances well.

Which do you suggest. For versatile rock sound....clean to hi gain.

btw: Does 4 conductor cable mean it can be coil split ?

Thanks
Faisal

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

4 conductor means it'll split.

As far as APHn vs PGn, it boils down to whether you want snarl or sparkle in the high end. Snarl? PGn. Sparkle? APHn. I've found this to hold true no matter what the gain level.

 

[faisal]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

Very nicely put.
How do you define the Jazz ? That being my reference, i'll be able to compare better.

I'm assuming Sparkle would lend to better clean tones ? How does the APH behave under medium to hi gain ?

Cheers
faisal

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

The APH gets smoother and more even when the gain is piled on. There comes a point where it will get mush ans smeary, but at that point we're talking about a lot of gain.

How do I hear the Jazz? Strong top end with lots of chime and clarity, scooped mids, bass that's tight and deep, and slightly lower output than the other two. It's a good pickup, but it is on the thinner side of things. Great for mixing with singles, like in a HSH set or in the neck or a tele.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

I am not completely happy with my Jazz neck in my Parker Nitefly M. Its too bright and not the greatest for hi gain solo's.

Your guitar is acoustically very thin sounding, you'll need an Alnico 2 magnet in that p'up or get another p'up altogether.

I'd try first to change the magnet in that p'up. Ten bucks and halfn'hour job tops even if you have ten thumbs in your hands. If that anyway doesn't float your boat, a Custom Floor Shop order of a potted Seth Lover neck could be the ticket to get you there.

HTH,

 

[faisal]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

LTKojak..... just to make sure, ur not mistaking the Parker Nitely M for a Parker Fly are you ? The Nitefly M is a bolt on all mahogany body guitar, quite a bit more body mass than the thinner Fly's.

Anyhow, replacing the magnet is not an option for me. There are no guitar techs around me till 2 countries away!!!

So buying a new pup is the only option.
So its between the AHP and PG again.......
BTW, which sounds better when coil split ?

Thanks

 

[uOpt]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

What kind of bridge does this guitar have?

The APH1n can be boring (as opposed to the APH1b). The PGn can have too much low-mid push, in particular in a hardtail.

If the Jazz is too boring for you a '59 is also a candidate.

 

[faisal]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

The bridge is a parker Tremolo system, which can be set to float. Its not double locking. The bridge pickup is a Distortion trembucker.

I wud look into th e59 but i wud prefer coil tap functionality.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

You can actually order almost any Duncan humbucker with a 4 wire hookup so you can coiltap. The vintage HB's are just produced with braided single coil as a standard feature because that is vintage correct.

If you want a 59', order it as a "Shop Floor Custom" with 4 wires. The cost will be the same as a regular 59', unless they've added a small fee since I last ordered. It used to take 4-6 weeks, but maybe one of the regular suppliers the forum guys use has one in stock.

Guys, where are some of the great places you order pups from that might have some stock sitting around. I used to always order from BlackRose, but I'm not sure if he is still doing the pickup thing.

 

[dvadneau]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

You can get a 4-conductor 59.

I highly recommend looking around for a 59 Reverse Polarity black back. The one I got came with a Pearly Gates Plus black back. Those were standard on certain Fender H-H guitars - can't remember the model.

The 59 RP is wound slightly cooler. Mine is 6.7K. The other 59's I've tried were all 7.4K to 7.5K. In my LP the other 59's were ok, but the RP was just a little better.

I've seen them come up on ebay every so often (2 or 3 in the past year).

 

[dvadneau]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

Although I haven't ordered any pickups from there yet, banjomikez on ebay sells a lot of shop floor customs.

 

[Crane]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

I have all 3 pickups and tried them out in 3 different mahogany guitars - PRS Mira, Schecter C-1 Plus and Schecter C-1 Classic.
I am not as well versed as the rest of the guys here, but I can tell you the Alnico Pro II had the smoothest highs of the three pickups mentioned in my guitars.
Look at the tone chart and you will see the 'sparkly top' of the Gates = 9 and the Jazz treble also = 9. While the Alnico Pro II = 8.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Alnico pro 2 vs Pearly Gates for neck

Of those you mentioned - I agree with Benjy (because we just do).

But I would seriously consider splitting the difference and getting the 59.

I don't feel the A2P with the distortion as a great combo. Pretty extreme change there from bridge to neck.