Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

Chrisp

Chrisp

New member
I'm a bit of a newby to pickups so please be patient. :-)

I've been playing the guitar for over 40 years, mostly on a couple of semi-acoustics acoustically. Recently I've been learning to play the blues and classic rock (think Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Robin Trower etc.) using a Cube 30X, and listening to the tone carefully mostly playing my 2009 Cort Zenox Z44.

The Z44 is very playable, looks a bit like an LP but lighter, contoured, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, 2 volume pots and 1 tone with push-pull coil split, and a pair of humbuckers. The HBs are passive EMG-HZs, an SA1 in the neck, measured DC resistance 7 kOhms, and a TB1 in the bridge, DC 16 kOhms. I'm finding the SA1 a little weak and the TB1 going into overdrive too easily, so it's time to change the pups.

I've just bought an Epi Les Paul with a broken neck for £25 which included a Pearly Gates Bridge pickup along with some other useful spares, a bargain! The Pearly Gates is going into the Z44 but what shall I replace the other pup with?

I like lots of mid and a moderate output, so looking at the SD tone comparison chart this kind of excludes the typical vintage PAF pups, SH-1N, SH-2N, SH-55N and APH-1N leaving the SHPG-1 neck and the SH-16 59/Custom Hybrid. The SH-18 WLH is a bit of an unknown quantity as the tone chart does not give the resonant frequencies or EQ values. Does anyone know what they are?

So I would like to ask the Forums' opinion. What would play nicely with a Pearly Gates bridge for a bit of extra tonal variation? If the SH-16, which should go in the neck position? I could change the volume pots to push-pulls to add some combination of individual coil taps, or with both pups selected, a serial connection or the out-of-phase (Peter Green) mod.

Cheers,
Chris.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

A lot of the choices you are pondering boil down to the final product you picture in your mind. Will you be playing rock, jazz, blues, or something else?

My Les Paul has PG pickups neck, and bridge. I love them. You may be looking for a different sound. Coil tapping that pickup will only happen if it is a wired for it. My PG's are two wire, but they do make four wire ones that are meant for coil tapping. Try a guitar with the Peter Green mod, as it isn't for everyone.

None of us can answer these questions for you. It sounds like you have a good understanding of the options. I think you just need to decide what tone you want the guitar to have in the end.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

Thanks for that Mojosman.

mojosman said:
A lot of the choices you are pondering boil down to the final product you picture in your mind. Will you be playing rock, jazz, blues, or something else?
Click to expand...

Blues and Rock (classic, space, psychedelic, alternative etc.) mostly. Laid back slowish fairly clean stuff with tonal variety and fun effects. (I really must buy some more Pink Floyd CDs.)

You may be looking for a different sound. Coil tapping that pickup will only happen if it is a wired for it. My PG's are two wire, but they do make four wire ones that are meant for coil tapping. Try a guitar with the Peter Green mod, as it isn't for everyone.
Click to expand...

My PG has 4 wires as will all other HBs I buy. I'm quite happy to design and solder the simple passive circuits you find in guitars, and I made a spreadsheet that does circuit analysis and produces graphs of gain against frequency; very handy.

You are right that I should visit more guitar shops and try out more guitars. I did try a Fender (MiM) Telecaster FMT HH recently with a PG bridge and a 59 neck. Very pretty and sounded very good through a valve amp. (Aside: is this a Fender attempt to take some of the LP market away from Gibson?) The trouble is that not many guitars come with SD pickups, especially not the 59/Custom hybrid.

None of us can answer these questions for you. It sounds like you have a good understanding of the options. I think you just need to decide what tone you want the guitar to have in the end.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm looking for opinions and descriptions of tones based on members experiences, rather than answers. I know it is very subjective but I have very little experience with pickups generally. I could go by the numbers but that's not really good enough.

My Les Paul has PG pickups neck, and bridge. I love them.
Click to expand...

An opinion! That's what I want more of. :)



Cheers,
Chris.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

PGN or Seth neck, and I'd wire both pickups so the coils can be placed in parallel. I'd also consider adding a switch that places both pickups in series with each other. That will be mud city if both pickups have their coils in series, but it can be a useful sound if both pickups have their coils in parallel, or even if just one of them does.
 
Last edited:
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

PG neck. Great variation in tone from the PG bridge's voice. Where the pg bridge is bright and sparky, the neck is deep and warm. both have the vintage sweetness of a2. Winning combination.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

ItsaBass said:
PGN or Seth neck, and I'd wire both pickups so the coils can be placed in parallel.
Click to expand...

More switching options, thanks. :) Soon I'll be able to try them out on a no name single humbucker guitar I'm rebuilding.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

gibson175 said:
PG neck. Great variation in tone from the PG bridge's voice. Where the pg bridge is bright and sparky, the neck is deep and warm. both have the vintage sweetness of a2. Winning combination.
Click to expand...

This description of the variation in tone between neck and bridge pickups is just what I want, and is missing from this website. There's the discussion of the limitations of the website and Cathy Duncan's response (thanks Cathy) in the "You know what would be helpful on the Website?" thread, so maybe in 6 month's time we'll all have more info to work with.

Many thanks to all responders,
Chris.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

If you like "lots of mid and a moderate output" and you're using a PG bridge then a PG neck is what you need to go with it!
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

Greetings Chrisp!


Here is how I always break this down:

The Duncan "big 3" PAF's: 59, Pearly Gates, and A2P, all mix and match with each other great. They are all great combo's, but the real question is which specific one will work for you. Just depends what you want:

Assuming a PG bridge…

PG neck. The obviously matching sound. Great for a punchy neck sound, with nice highs, but a sweet top, and not too much bass if the guitar is boomy in the neck.

59 neck - if you need a big bass sound from the neck and sharper highs than the PG. Bass and highs, less mids. Great for clean work and chording in neck, with screaming leads in bridge.

A2P neck - bass and mids with a huge fat sound on top. For a maximum range guitar. bright PG in bridge, dark a2p in neck.

PG neck A2P bridge is great to balance the bridge neck sound and even it out. brightest pup in darkest spot, etc…
PG neck with 59 bridge is a great sound too with extra bass in the bridge where you need it, and less in the neck.
 
Last edited:
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

The excellent Aceman living up to his .sig. Many thanks.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

Aceman said:
So what did you decide?
Click to expand...

The APH-1 N (A2P). For a wider range of tones, it is mentioned as a match for the PG bridge in its SD description page, and it is more available in the UK and a little cheaper than the PG Neck. It will be a week or so before everything arrives and I rebuild the 2 guitars. I'll consider series/parallel and other switching options in addition to the existing coil split at a later date.
 
Last edited:
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

Excellent selection!

You will be able to go to

A fat singing neck tone, very woman tone, to
A sharp stinging bridge tone to
A well balanced middle sound with both pickups on and blend in or out fat/bite with the volumes

You should get a nice grind under distortion from the bass/mid of the A2P in the neck
A nice crunch from the lower bass and mid boost of the PG in the bridge

And The PG is a nice split pup. Don't know about the A2p.

A2P can do way more than "Slash"
The PG is very responsive to volume/tone manipulation

Should be very flexible and very satisfying. Enjoy!
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

My PG has 4 wires as will all other HBs I buy.
Click to expand...
If you're not a stickler for authenticity, the SD Triple Shot replacement pickup rings make for a super easy series/parallel & coil split mod(plus the option to select which coil you want to cut).
They are just a bit softer than normal rings, so you don't want to tighten them down so much they deform.
This is *way* easier than wiring up a push/pull in a semi-hollow and trying to get everything back into those freaking f-holes.

And if you want to go "full Jimmy Page" mod, just add series/parallel and phase push/pulls (which only work when both pups are selected) to just the volume pots.

Good luck!
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

Triple Shot rings! Never seen or heard of them before. Looking at their measurement images here, the front to back rake is missing and they have curved bottoms so won't fit nicely on my flat topped Z44 anyway. Nice idea though. The Z44 has a circuit cavity accessed from the back like a Les Paul so it's quite easy to pull all the wires and pots out to resolder.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

For me, I prefer matched sets. I don't want the pickups sounding too different--I've got one guitar like that, a LP Supreme, with Gibson 490R/498T pickups and it drives me crazy. I want to run back to the amp to adjust the tone controls every time I switch pickups. Maddening! I haven't decided whether to load it with Seths or Pearly Gates yet, but something has to change. It is just too radical a difference between neck and bridge.

Just a thought...

Bill
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

Chrisp said:
Triple Shot rings! Never seen or heard of them before. Looking at their measurement images here, the front to back rake is missing and they have curved bottoms so won't fit nicely on my flat topped Z44 anyway. Nice idea though. The Z44 has a circuit cavity accessed from the back like a Les Paul so it's quite easy to pull all the wires and pots out to resolder.
Click to expand...
My bad, I had just read another thread about a 335 and I thought that was you as well.

Carry on.
 
Re: Matching pickup for Pearly Gates bridge?

MojoMonster said:
My bad, I had just read another thread about a 335 and I thought that was you as well.
Click to expand...

Actually I have a Sheraton II as well so the idea wasn't lost but put on my memory stack in case I ever feel like changing its pickups. Its late '80s Epi pups lack sparkle and are more suited to jazz than rock but I agree with Boogie Bill's comment in the 335 thread about 'letting each guitar do its own thing'.

Variety is the spice of life, so for me in reply to B Bill above, I don't think I'm going to find radically different pickups bothersome. The future is open so I can always change my mind in the months and years to come. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top