saultime
New member
So here's the deal. My only real humbucker-equipped guitar is a 2005 '76 reissue Explorer. Nice guitar, btw. Like pretty much everyone who doesn't make 500K / year, I think that Les Pauls are scandalously overpriced, but the Explorer is a nice piece of wood at a nice price point. Right now, I have a Pearly Gates in the bridge, and I like it -- but I haven't played it out yet. Keep reading.
I hated the stock 500t bridge pickup. Strike that -- actually, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world for about 15 minutes, right up until I figured out that the really cool BRING THE ROCK, BRAH! tone I was getting was the ONLY thing it could do well. Or at all, really. Seriously, I'm all about adjusting the controls on the amp and the guitar to get the sound -- I'm not a "turn it all up to ten" and walk away guy. But I just couldn't change the natural EQ of the pickup enough to suit me.
Beyond that, I'm not so in to high output pickups. It's not that I don't like the sound -- it's more that I think to myself, "hey, I spent 1000 bucks on this guitar, more than double that on this amp, so I really don't want a 60 dollar pickup being the most defining piece of my signal chain." Call me crazy.
First I installed an SD Alnico Pro II -- I mean SLASH uses it, right! -- and I didn't care much for that either. It was like I went from one extreme to the other. It was, dare I say, LOW output, and kind of thin, quacky and single-coil sounding. I'm all about getting distortion from the amp -- up to a point, so I learned.
Then I installed the Pearly Gates, because, I mean, who am I to argue with the Reverend Billy F. Gibbons? That's right -- nobody. And I like the pickup. Or I think I do. I haven't played the thing out yet, and probably won't for a while. So I guess I'm asking, am I crazy for putting this pickup in this guitar? The real reason I'm asking is because I've since learned that some people consider Explorers to be "different." Presumably because it's almost like playing a ffine mahogany coffee table that has a tune-o-matic attached to it.
What do I need to know? I'm of a mind to keep the PG in the bridge. I've read that some people consider it to be overly bright -- but I like bright, jangly, chimey tones. I've got Bardens in my tele, and love them. The only thing I really don't do is whatever you'd call the 500t sound, and really super nasaly stuff. I've got a well-tweaked tubescreamer if I want to bring the midrange hump. If there's some other pickup I should just definitely be using in my Explorer (classic - traditional rock stuff, AC30 / Marshall amps), by all means, let me know. Otherwise, what's to know about rocking the PG in the bridge?
P.S. I still have the 496r in the neck, although I did put a gold cover on it to make it look vintage correct (why doesn't Gibson do this?) I'm not much of a neck pickup player, but this seems like a more versatile pickup. I guess I could change the magnets, but I'm wondering if it would even be worth the trouble of unsoldering the cover.
P.P.S -- I don't understand why Gibson didn't go the extra half yard it would have taken to make the 76 reissues like mine really special. It came stock with black knobs that look just awful with the natural mahogany. It took me all of 10 minutes (literally) before I replaced them with vintage-correct gold knobs that match the hardware and look killer. The same with the cheesy 4 ply w/b/w/b pickguard. It was subtle, but it was still an Ace Frehley-ish touch to what I consider a mellow, late 50's looking instrument. Replaced with a single-ply parchment guard. But back to the pickups -- seriously, 500t? I know Explorers are pointy and everything, but I somehow doubt that most of the people who buy these things (natural finish w/ the gold plated hardware) Are looking to plug into a 300 watt solid state Laney and make cookie monster music. If you're in to that, great. but I'm willing to bet you're using something a little less Skynard / U2 looking to get it done.
I hated the stock 500t bridge pickup. Strike that -- actually, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world for about 15 minutes, right up until I figured out that the really cool BRING THE ROCK, BRAH! tone I was getting was the ONLY thing it could do well. Or at all, really. Seriously, I'm all about adjusting the controls on the amp and the guitar to get the sound -- I'm not a "turn it all up to ten" and walk away guy. But I just couldn't change the natural EQ of the pickup enough to suit me.
Beyond that, I'm not so in to high output pickups. It's not that I don't like the sound -- it's more that I think to myself, "hey, I spent 1000 bucks on this guitar, more than double that on this amp, so I really don't want a 60 dollar pickup being the most defining piece of my signal chain." Call me crazy.
First I installed an SD Alnico Pro II -- I mean SLASH uses it, right! -- and I didn't care much for that either. It was like I went from one extreme to the other. It was, dare I say, LOW output, and kind of thin, quacky and single-coil sounding. I'm all about getting distortion from the amp -- up to a point, so I learned.
Then I installed the Pearly Gates, because, I mean, who am I to argue with the Reverend Billy F. Gibbons? That's right -- nobody. And I like the pickup. Or I think I do. I haven't played the thing out yet, and probably won't for a while. So I guess I'm asking, am I crazy for putting this pickup in this guitar? The real reason I'm asking is because I've since learned that some people consider Explorers to be "different." Presumably because it's almost like playing a ffine mahogany coffee table that has a tune-o-matic attached to it.
What do I need to know? I'm of a mind to keep the PG in the bridge. I've read that some people consider it to be overly bright -- but I like bright, jangly, chimey tones. I've got Bardens in my tele, and love them. The only thing I really don't do is whatever you'd call the 500t sound, and really super nasaly stuff. I've got a well-tweaked tubescreamer if I want to bring the midrange hump. If there's some other pickup I should just definitely be using in my Explorer (classic - traditional rock stuff, AC30 / Marshall amps), by all means, let me know. Otherwise, what's to know about rocking the PG in the bridge?
P.S. I still have the 496r in the neck, although I did put a gold cover on it to make it look vintage correct (why doesn't Gibson do this?) I'm not much of a neck pickup player, but this seems like a more versatile pickup. I guess I could change the magnets, but I'm wondering if it would even be worth the trouble of unsoldering the cover.
P.P.S -- I don't understand why Gibson didn't go the extra half yard it would have taken to make the 76 reissues like mine really special. It came stock with black knobs that look just awful with the natural mahogany. It took me all of 10 minutes (literally) before I replaced them with vintage-correct gold knobs that match the hardware and look killer. The same with the cheesy 4 ply w/b/w/b pickguard. It was subtle, but it was still an Ace Frehley-ish touch to what I consider a mellow, late 50's looking instrument. Replaced with a single-ply parchment guard. But back to the pickups -- seriously, 500t? I know Explorers are pointy and everything, but I somehow doubt that most of the people who buy these things (natural finish w/ the gold plated hardware) Are looking to plug into a 300 watt solid state Laney and make cookie monster music. If you're in to that, great. but I'm willing to bet you're using something a little less Skynard / U2 looking to get it done.
