Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

[guitargeezer]

How similar or dissimilar are these two? I know that we start with alnico 2s in both, and both are slightly hotter winds than the straight PAF humbucker. But are there other tonal characteristics that draw them together or farther apart?

This is continuation to another thread I posted recently about pups for my Epiphone Sheraton II semi-hollowbody guitar.

Thanks.

 

[Fiesta Red]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I had a 57 plus and it sounded horrible. Thin and toneless in my LP.

-Mark

 

[modophoto]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I had a 57 plus and it sounded horrible. Thin and toneless in my LP.

-Mark

my buddy has a 57 classic in the neck of his godin/les paul frankenstein guitar. its okay, but any SD will kick its ass right out of the guitar

 

[G&Legacy]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I have a 57 classic plus in my SG Gothic and I think it sounds great.

 

[modophoto]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

i think the 57 classic works better in a guitar like an sg that has a little more high end and a little more bottom end then say a les paul. the tone has an overall wider range on an sg, which is could because the 57 classic is pretty smooth, whereas the PG is raw

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

The '57 came standard in my '61 LP/SG reissue and sounded ok. I switched to Seth Lovers and they made a huge difference (sounds like Clapton's '64 SG he used with Cream). My friend has a newer '61 reissue with stock '57's and it sounds good, but with Seths, it would sound much better IMO.

 

[skyking]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

i just bought a sheraton II yesterday and now im trying to decide whats pups to put in it. i want to get a pretty raunchy sound out of it. like a good dirty blues rock tone. if anyone has suggestions id appreciate it.

 

[modophoto]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

i just bought a sheraton II yesterday and now im trying to decide whats pups to put in it. i want to get a pretty raunchy sound out of it. like a good dirty blues rock tone. if anyone has suggestions id appreciate it.

raunchy, dirty blues rock tone = pearly gates all the ****in way

 

[drpietrzak]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I have had both in the bridge of guitars. The PG is bright and always seems to come off harsh to me. The 57+ is smoother and is actually one of my favorite pups. It reminds me of the Custom Custom (another of my favorite pups).

 

[modophoto]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

ive got the pg b in my explorer thats korina with an ebony neck, which is shimmering to start with, but i think the resonance of the huge body contributes to it sounding so....perfect, i tried it with all sorts of drive pedals, sd-1, tubescreamer, i tried it with my tube amp cranked....hm-2, it worked for all styles

 

[JWR]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I had both the 57 Classic Plus and the PG bridge in my Les Paul. I chose the plain old '59 over both of them. Just my two Lincoln's.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I like the sound of a 57 clean. It sounds fairly warm and clean, but when you start putting the OD/Dist to it it seems to get grainy, and stringy sounding to my ears.

I had one in a LP Custom a few years back that I put an A5 magnet in. I thought it great improved the clarity when chording.

Luke

 

[guitargeezer]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I have had both in the bridge of guitars. The PG is bright and always seems to come off harsh to me. The 57+ is smoother and is actually one of my favorite pups. It reminds me of the Custom Custom (another of my favorite pups).

Thanks...I probably should have said "which Duncan is closest to the Classic Plus?".

And my pup swap will be for a semi-hollowbody Sheraton II...

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

I think they are a bit apart in their world's

The 57 is a pup I rather like, great feel, clear, woddy, a little compression and nice harmonics. It"s a smoother a smoother, and less nasty APH1.

The PG is more open, a lot nastier, and it not compressed at all if you ask me. It has a lot of harmonics, tight bass esp for A2, and it's very respnsive. More of the prototypical, nasty classic rock tone right out of the box.

TUSH by ZZ alwasy reminds me of the PG tone.

 

[Frankenstein]

Re: Gibson 57 Classic Plus vs. SD Pearly Gates

The PG will cut through the mix better than the 57 imo. If you're gigging, I recommend them over the 57, especially if your drummer is very loud. However, I agree with Jeffrec that the Seth's are the shiznit! I think they're the best pups on the market today