From 490 to Pearly Gates
- Thread starter tcarnes68
- Start date
Nagisa
New member
Re: From 490 to Pearly Gates
I did just that.
The PGn is very good for cleans and imo lower gain stuff. I personally still don't think it can match an a5 neck for heavy leads. Others disagree.
I also swapped out the PGb. Thin. If you want a vintage paf bridge, it may be good. I learned that I want more modern sound in my LP so I got a Custom.
All that said, there is no magic here. Duncans are not "better" - just a different flavor.
I did just that.
The PGn is very good for cleans and imo lower gain stuff. I personally still don't think it can match an a5 neck for heavy leads. Others disagree.
I also swapped out the PGb. Thin. If you want a vintage paf bridge, it may be good. I learned that I want more modern sound in my LP so I got a Custom.
All that said, there is no magic here. Duncans are not "better" - just a different flavor.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: From 490 to Pearly Gates
IME PGs sound brighter and have some bottom chunk to them, and not too punchy/thick in the mids like most other pickups with A2 mags tend to be.
IME I see the progression of Gibson/PAF-ish pickups that expand the top end and bottom end and clarity goes something like this (not exactly, but just a generalization):
490/498 >> 59 set >> Alnico 2 Pro set >> Seth Lover set >> Whole Lotta Humbucker set >> Pearly Gates set
That doesn’t mean one is better than the other. It just means the frequency response changes, moving from warm to bright, in my experience. Even the Alnico 2 Pros have top-end chime, but they also have quite a mid bump that gives a warmer impression. So this isn’t an exact science, just my overall impression from sticking all these in the same Les Paul and SG.
There are others that could be inserted here also, like Custom Shop Skinnerbursts and the like. But I just listed the regular production pickups I’ve tried.
IME PGs sound brighter and have some bottom chunk to them, and not too punchy/thick in the mids like most other pickups with A2 mags tend to be.
IME I see the progression of Gibson/PAF-ish pickups that expand the top end and bottom end and clarity goes something like this (not exactly, but just a generalization):
490/498 >> 59 set >> Alnico 2 Pro set >> Seth Lover set >> Whole Lotta Humbucker set >> Pearly Gates set
That doesn’t mean one is better than the other. It just means the frequency response changes, moving from warm to bright, in my experience. Even the Alnico 2 Pros have top-end chime, but they also have quite a mid bump that gives a warmer impression. So this isn’t an exact science, just my overall impression from sticking all these in the same Les Paul and SG.
There are others that could be inserted here also, like Custom Shop Skinnerbursts and the like. But I just listed the regular production pickups I’ve tried.
