More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

[Tony_H]

Hi there,
I've been wondering if any of you experienced tone hunters tried some of SD's 'vintage style' humbuckers in the same guitar, and if so, which model is the brightest-sounding?

Like, I have both a '59 and a Pearly GAtes but haven't tried them in the same guitar yet to see which one is more trebly. Has anyone here tried A/B'd them? I believe the highs may be a bit more pronounced on the '59 as the mids are cut a bit, and the Pearly GAtes (as far as I know) has a bit more upper mids.

I have a quite tame-sounding guitar that really came to life with the Pearly Gates but now I wish it had even more cut in its tone, so I'm wondering if the '59 is the way to go.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

Please try them both and let us know what YOU think! I've never tried both in the same guitar...tho I would GUESS that the Jazz would have the most extended highs and then the 59N, followed by the PGn...but that's a guess.

I don't know if the PG actually has extended highs or is just brighter in the upper mids.

Alot of pickups that guys complain about being to bright do not actually have extended highs or alot of upper harmonics...just a bright edgey midrange.



Lew

 

[Tony_H]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

Please try them both and let us know what YOU think! I've never tried both in the same guitar...tho I would GUESS that the Jazz would have the most extended highs and then the 59N, followed by the PGn...but that's a guess.

I don't know if the PG actually has extended highs or is just brighter in the upper mids.

Alot of pickups that guys complain about being to bright do not actually have extended highs or alot of upper harmonics...just a bright edgey midrange.



Lew

Well I will definitely try this the next time I'm changing strings on the guitar. I just replaced a set and the guitar came to life, but it still sounds ... tame. It's a mahogany/maple body with bolt on mahogany/rosewood neck, short scale. The body is quite thin and the maple/mahogany ratio is quite high on the maple side, yet the guitar sounds ... dark. Some would call it muddy. Oh perhaps a Jazz/JB set could be the answer - these pups are told to be rather middy and trebly. Well, guess I know the next two items I'm going to order from Black Rose ...

 

[BachToRock]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

You might want to try putting the A5 magnet from the 59 in your PG... that will make it a bit more aggressive sounding... the PG and 59 are VERY SIMILAR winds, but the PG has slightly mismatched coils which seems to do magic in opening up the response of a pickup...

 

[kevlar3000]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

The PG is brighter, I switched to a 59 from a PG and the nasal highs I don't like were removed. I also put an A2 in my 59, IMO the A2 59 and PG with an A2 don't sound all that much alike. I have tried the PG in two strats over the years and just don't get into them for that guitar. I find the 59 to have a more natural voice and the PG to have a snizzle that I think would work better in a darker toned guitar.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

The PG is brighter, I switched to a 59 from a PG and the nasal highs I don't like were removed. I also put an A2 in my 59, IMO the A2 59 and PG with an A2 don't sound all that much alike. I have tried the PG in two strats over the years and just don't get into them for that guitar. I find the 59 to have a more natural voice and the PG to have a snizzle that I think would work better in a darker toned guitar.

That's good information...thanks! Lew

 

[jeremy]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

i think the 59 has a more open top end, by which i mean the the frequencies are higher on the 59 but i think there is more high frequency content in the pg to my ears

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

i think the 59 has a more open top end, by which i mean the the frequencies are higher on the 59 but i think there is more high frequency content in the pg to my ears

Jeremy,
So then, you think the 59n has a more extended high end with more real highs and upper harmonics...but that the PGn has a brighter overall tone because even tho the highs are not as extended in the 59n, the treble frequencies that are present are more pronounced? Did I get that right? If so, that's my feeling too. Lew

 

[slightly_rude]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

I have tried both pickups in one of my Les Pauls and kept the PG and put the '59 in my Flying V. I agree with what Jeremy says and will also add the the '59 has a lot more bass.. more bass than I was looking for in the neck of a Les Paul. There is more of a midrange presence in the PG making the '59 a slightly clearer (open) sounding pickup.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

I have tried both pickups in one of my Les Pauls and kept the PG and put the '59 in my Flying V. I agree with what Jeremy says and will also add the the '59 has a lot more bass.. more bass than I was looking for in the neck of a Les Paul. There is more of a midrange presence in the PG making the '59 a slightly clearer (open) sounding pickup.

That is what I think too. And the diff you are noticing has to do mainly with magnet type. Alnico 5 is in the 59 and that tends to give a humbucker more bass and highs.

Alnico 2 is in the PG and that tend to bring out the midrange and soften the bass and treble...but the treble is brought back up again because one coil is wound slightly hotter than the other, which lets one coil diminate like a single coil. Sort of. There's also less cancellation of highs (and a little more hum!) when the coils are mismatched.

I use the alnico 2 Seth Lover as a neck pickup because it has less bass than a alnico 5 59...but I also lose some treble with Seth, even tho the overall tone is a little clearer because it has less bass.

As I mentioned, I'v never had the PGn & 59N in the same guitar to directly compare them...I just going by what I know about these pickups.

Lew

 

[Lee]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

Well, guess I know the next two items I'm going to order from Black Rose ...

You may not know this but the guy you are talking to (Lew) is a SD Stockist.

I've bought 5 pick-ups from Lew and I can tell you he takes some beating as a pup dealer. The price is right, the postage costs are very low, and he knows plenty about pups. Give him a go - you won't be disappointed.


Lee

 

[Artie]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

You may not know this but the guy you are talking to (Lew) is a SD Stockist.

I've bought 5 pick-ups from Lew and I can tell you he takes some beating as a pup dealer. The price is right, the postage costs are very low, and he knows plenty about pups. Give him a go - you won't be disappointed.


Lee

While thats true, I believe that Lew is the type of person who enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience of pickups, without any thought towards reciprocity.

(Yeah, yeah . . . been waiting all month to use that word in a sentence.) :laugh2:

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

I'm trying to get a PGn from Blackrose but they've been out of stock for awhile. The waaaaaaiting is the hardest part...

I'm really looking forward to putting my A5 in it though, to see how it compares with the stock version...

 

[Tony_H]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

You may not know this but the guy you are talking to (Lew) is a SD Stockist.

I've bought 5 pick-ups from Lew and I can tell you he takes some beating as a pup dealer. The price is right, the postage costs are very low, and he knows plenty about pups. Give him a go - you won't be disappointed.


Lee

Oh, I didn't know that. I've been spending much less time on the forum now compared to last year and I don't know much about what's going on and who is who.
Anyway, thanks for your input everyone - I think I'm beginning to see the light.

 

[jeremy]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

yeah lew thats what i meant, both great pups with simialr outputs but the tone is quite different. pgs really just flip my skirt

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: More treble please: the '59 or Pearly Gates?

I don't think the PG is necessarily brighter, it just doesn't have the big low end of the 59 masking it.