Custom Custom vs Hades Gates

[Butch Snyder]

Some of you have kept up with my journey to find my preferred bridge pickup for my PRS SAS SE. A little history first, I replaced the stock pickups, which were decent (but no one wants "decent", right?) with Duncans. I installed a Pearly Gates in the neck, an Alnico 2 Pro Strat model in the middle, and a Custom Custom in the bridge position. I rewired everything so the 3-way toggle would would in the standard way. The push/pull tone pot would engage/disengage the middle pickup and add it to whatever the 3-way toggle's position was.

Life was good for awhile. Then I started thinking that the Custom Custom was too thick-sounding. I opted to try a Hades Gates. The Hades Gates is a notch hotter than the Pearly Gates; which makes it a great bridge pickup to match with the Pearly Gates neck pickup. I liked it but didn't love it. I realized that I missed the thickness of the Custom Custom. I reinstalled the Custom Custom and I think I'm where I need to be with that guitar. I did a couple of videos to show the differences. They're recorded with my cellphone and not in a studio using Pro Tools or anything. They are also recorded using the rig I would use for recording or gigging.

 

[Archer250]

The Custom Custom is an incredible pickup. It's "just right" lol

Yes it's very thick, but it's not bassy and bloated. It's just nice and full in the mids. It's not too hot either, while being hot enough to drive the signal without the need to be set directly under the strings.

If I could have one desert island SD pickup, it would probably be the TB-11

 

[Mincer]

The Custom Custom is an incredible pickup. It's "just right" lol

Yes it's very thick, but it's not bassy and bloated. It's just nice and full in the mids. It's not too hot either, while being hot enough to drive the signal without the need to be set directly under the strings.

If I could have one desert island SD pickup, it would probably be the TB-11

The CC remains my favorite bridge pickup no matter what guitar it is in. It sounds great in super strats as well as anything 24.75" scale. Most bridge pickups are too trebly for me, and with distortion all start to sound samey. The CC doesn't.

 

[Butch Snyder]

The more I played the Hades Gates, the more I missed the CC. True Story. I could actually do more and say what I wanted to say with the CC. The Hades Gates is a wonderful pickup. It's perfect for players who love the Pearly Gates but want something a little hotter.

 

[jeremy]

the cc is an addicting pup. that milkshake thick mid range is great. compared to the pg, is the hg thicker or just higher output?

 

[Butch Snyder]

compared to the pg, is the hg thicker or just higher output?

Both, but in a subtle way. It's got more mids but not much. As far as output, that's where it shined for me. It was like, if the PG had a volume control on it and you turned it up a notch. You get a little more fire, more output, and a little more mids. To me, if you're wanting to stay in the PAF vein and love the PG in the neck but want something a little extra in the bridge, the HG is perfect.

 

[jeremy]

sounds like a great pup! definitely on my short list

 

[Butch Snyder]

It is, but one thing I've noticed about the CC, in my rig, under a little overdrive, it has a cool, violin-like, quality to it. Love that.

 

[jeremy]

oh i love the cc for solos too! i just swapped one into a mij squire contemporary strat, so fun to play

 

[Mincer]

It is, but one thing I've noticed about the CC, in my rig, under a little overdrive, it has a cool, violin-like, quality to it. Love that.

Absolutely why I like it so much.