Hey guys, I recently installed a set of pearly gates in my lp studio and found that they were a bit too bright and thin for my taste. I've been playing with the pole pieces and pickup heights which has helped a bit, but I need a little more thickness and warmth. Ive heard people using 250k pots with good results. However I've got alpha 500k push pulls in it at the moment and don't want sacrifice the switch for a new pot. I've heard of prople using 470k resistors with good results. Now my question is this, should I just put the resistors in the vol pots or the tone pots as well? Also is it possible to wire the resistors to a switch to be able to toggle between 500k and "250k"? If I find that it still is quite warm and fat enough, what are my options? Could I use a higher value resistor? Or something else? Obviously new pickups would be an option but I'd like to make these work if possible. Plus it's nice to have a better understanding of pickup tweaking. Thanks in advance for any help!
Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
- Thread starter pafplayer
- Start date
Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
250k pots will smooth off some treble, but you won't get any extra meat in the low end.
I like PG's for what they do, but it seems like you are looking for a different sound to what they offer.
They are popular pickups, so you wont have any trouble pulling them out and selling them to go towards a different, chunkier set of pickups.
Perhaps a custom bridge and 59 neck will be more to your liking if you like heavy tones, or a whole lotta humbucker set if you like more 70s style sounds.
If you really want to try everything to fatten them up before selling them, try installing an Alnico 8 magnet in the bridge. This will increase your low end and also the output, but buyers will be wary of a pickup that has been modified - especially if you have nickel covered ones and you have broken the solder holding the cover on.
250k pots will smooth off some treble, but you won't get any extra meat in the low end.
I like PG's for what they do, but it seems like you are looking for a different sound to what they offer.
They are popular pickups, so you wont have any trouble pulling them out and selling them to go towards a different, chunkier set of pickups.
Perhaps a custom bridge and 59 neck will be more to your liking if you like heavy tones, or a whole lotta humbucker set if you like more 70s style sounds.
If you really want to try everything to fatten them up before selling them, try installing an Alnico 8 magnet in the bridge. This will increase your low end and also the output, but buyers will be wary of a pickup that has been modified - especially if you have nickel covered ones and you have broken the solder holding the cover on.
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blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
PGB's are considered bright, but in warm woods PGN's are usually not bright. if your guitar happens to have bright-toned wood, that would explain it.
You can use a 470K resistor (across the outside lugs) to turn a 500K pot into a virtual 250K. Real easy to do and resistors are cheap. You can try it with alligator clips to see if you like it. Or you can always cut it off after you solder it. Try a resistor on the volume pot(s) first. That may be enough. If not, then do it on the tone pot(s) too.
PGB's are considered bright, but in warm woods PGN's are usually not bright. if your guitar happens to have bright-toned wood, that would explain it.
You can use a 470K resistor (across the outside lugs) to turn a 500K pot into a virtual 250K. Real easy to do and resistors are cheap. You can try it with alligator clips to see if you like it. Or you can always cut it off after you solder it. Try a resistor on the volume pot(s) first. That may be enough. If not, then do it on the tone pot(s) too.
audiocheck
New member
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
how about using your tone pot?
how about using your tone pot?
DrNewcenstein
He Did the Monster Mash
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
Or EQ on the amp.
Or EQ on the amp.
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
Well, if you have put the tone on say 7, and it sounds good, cool. Go for the 250k pots.
But...'thin' sounding seems odd. It isn't what I'd call thick, but still. Might want to check the wiring once over, just to be sure all is well. That said, I agree PG's can be bright sounding. Could be a bright Les Paul. It happens....
If the tone on 7 and moving amp knobs etc... still doesn't do it for you, I think PG's are just the wrong pup. Try a set of A2P's instead.
Don't forget to check into Duncan's exchange policy!
Well, if you have put the tone on say 7, and it sounds good, cool. Go for the 250k pots.
But...'thin' sounding seems odd. It isn't what I'd call thick, but still. Might want to check the wiring once over, just to be sure all is well. That said, I agree PG's can be bright sounding. Could be a bright Les Paul. It happens....
If the tone on 7 and moving amp knobs etc... still doesn't do it for you, I think PG's are just the wrong pup. Try a set of A2P's instead.
Don't forget to check into Duncan's exchange policy!
Rockstar216
New member
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
If you don't think the PGs are the right pups I suggest you look into the WLH set.
If you don't think the PGs are the right pups I suggest you look into the WLH set.
freefrog
Well-known member
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
Adding a 470k resistor to a 500k pot gives an overall resistance of 242k... Such resistors can be soldered at various places but it seems logical to put them between the "hot" point of each pickup and the ground.
Yes, it's possible to wire the added resistors on a switch but it's the same than lowering your 500k pots. The only benefit of permanent added resistors is to define a "fixed" resistance that we can't always reach precisely just by turning a 500k tone pot down.
Yes, you could use resistors with other values. Pot loads do the job from 100k to 1M (although a pickup with a 100k pot might sound pretty dull).
If these tricks don't work well enough, there's a last solution which is often ignored or forgotten : capacitive load.
Use a long cable (6m or more) between your guitar and the first input in your sonic chain OR solder a small value styroflex cap between the hot and ground of your output jack. with a 1n cap (which is the equivalent of 6m of standard cable), you should already hear a difference if you plug in a typical 1M input...
If you want to fine tune this solution: adding 1m of cable is the same than adding a 150pf capacitor (so 10m = 1500pf/1,5n and so on). Increasing capacitance tames the high range and shifts down the peak power of the pickup towards the mids. That's why a curly cable of 9m would give a beefy middy tone even to the thinnest sounding Strat. It works with any passive pickup. So it should work with your PG's too (at least that's my personal experience with PG's).
Good luck!
Adding a 470k resistor to a 500k pot gives an overall resistance of 242k... Such resistors can be soldered at various places but it seems logical to put them between the "hot" point of each pickup and the ground.
Yes, it's possible to wire the added resistors on a switch but it's the same than lowering your 500k pots. The only benefit of permanent added resistors is to define a "fixed" resistance that we can't always reach precisely just by turning a 500k tone pot down.
Yes, you could use resistors with other values. Pot loads do the job from 100k to 1M (although a pickup with a 100k pot might sound pretty dull).
If these tricks don't work well enough, there's a last solution which is often ignored or forgotten : capacitive load.
Use a long cable (6m or more) between your guitar and the first input in your sonic chain OR solder a small value styroflex cap between the hot and ground of your output jack. with a 1n cap (which is the equivalent of 6m of standard cable), you should already hear a difference if you plug in a typical 1M input...
If you want to fine tune this solution: adding 1m of cable is the same than adding a 150pf capacitor (so 10m = 1500pf/1,5n and so on). Increasing capacitance tames the high range and shifts down the peak power of the pickup towards the mids. That's why a curly cable of 9m would give a beefy middy tone even to the thinnest sounding Strat. It works with any passive pickup. So it should work with your PG's too (at least that's my personal experience with PG's).
Good luck!
Wabash Slim
New member
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
But none of that will thicken up a thin sounding pup, his original complaint. I've put Pearlies in several guitars and while I love them currently in a Carvin semi-hollow I've always thought the PG bridge was a little too light in the bottom compared to the neck, but it's not a major deal and I like the snappy sound too much to swap or experiment. Never thought the neck was thin, in fact, in my Norlin Les Paul it had too much low-low bottom while the bridge had none. I agree the Alnico IIs or a 59 - Custom would be the way to go for pafplayer.
But none of that will thicken up a thin sounding pup, his original complaint. I've put Pearlies in several guitars and while I love them currently in a Carvin semi-hollow I've always thought the PG bridge was a little too light in the bottom compared to the neck, but it's not a major deal and I like the snappy sound too much to swap or experiment. Never thought the neck was thin, in fact, in my Norlin Les Paul it had too much low-low bottom while the bridge had none. I agree the Alnico IIs or a 59 - Custom would be the way to go for pafplayer.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
'59's are brighter and thinner than PG's, that's going in the wrong direction. For a forum member named 'pafplayer', who's asking about PAF's, the recommendation of an overwound ceramic HB (Custom) is totally out in left field. Come on, you can give better advice than that.
'59's are brighter and thinner than PG's, that's going in the wrong direction. For a forum member named 'pafplayer', who's asking about PAF's, the recommendation of an overwound ceramic HB (Custom) is totally out in left field. Come on, you can give better advice than that.
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
Turning volume down make it quieter, but it also changes the sound a bit in the same direction that a lower value volume pot would. If you don't think it sounds much better with volume turned down (and boosted to compensate for the volume loss in this test) then you won't be getting much out of 250Kohm pots either. For the tone pot it's even easier, turning it to where it reads 250Kohm on a meter actually is the same thing as using a 250 Kohm pot in the first place.
Are you saying the PG is too bright and thin even in the neck?
What pickups did the guitar have before?
Turning volume down make it quieter, but it also changes the sound a bit in the same direction that a lower value volume pot would. If you don't think it sounds much better with volume turned down (and boosted to compensate for the volume loss in this test) then you won't be getting much out of 250Kohm pots either. For the tone pot it's even easier, turning it to where it reads 250Kohm on a meter actually is the same thing as using a 250 Kohm pot in the first place.
Are you saying the PG is too bright and thin even in the neck?
What pickups did the guitar have before?
Lewguitar
New member
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
That video sounds so bad that I deleted the post of it. But maybe I shouldn't have. Way to much buzzy distortion for my tastes.
That video sounds so bad that I deleted the post of it. But maybe I shouldn't have. Way to much buzzy distortion for my tastes.
BirdsOfFire
New member
Re: Need help: Pearly gates too bright?
I usually just lurk here, but after reading so many posts about Pearly Gates being bright, I figured I would share my experiences. I've used them in several guitars and experimented with electronics and have come to some conclusions - some may not agree, but here goes.
250k volume pots take the life out of them - even the bridge. The harmonics just don't seem as nice.
I had really bad luck with them on Ebony fretboard Les Pauls - YMMV. I was never satisfied with them with an Ebony fretboard with any pot or cap values. Rosewood always worked the best.
Quality covers smooth them out without killing the harmonics, but I like them better uncovered. (Would like to try an unpotted version some day).
They seem more sensitive to capacitor type for the tone control than any other pickups I've used. I had the best luck with large 630v poly capacitors - I always ended up using 22nF values on both neck and bridge. Ceramic or cheap 100v Radio Shack caps just never seemed to work for me in this application, although they've worked perfectly fine with other pickups.
I usually just lurk here, but after reading so many posts about Pearly Gates being bright, I figured I would share my experiences. I've used them in several guitars and experimented with electronics and have come to some conclusions - some may not agree, but here goes.
250k volume pots take the life out of them - even the bridge. The harmonics just don't seem as nice.
I had really bad luck with them on Ebony fretboard Les Pauls - YMMV. I was never satisfied with them with an Ebony fretboard with any pot or cap values. Rosewood always worked the best.
Quality covers smooth them out without killing the harmonics, but I like them better uncovered. (Would like to try an unpotted version some day).
They seem more sensitive to capacitor type for the tone control than any other pickups I've used. I had the best luck with large 630v poly capacitors - I always ended up using 22nF values on both neck and bridge. Ceramic or cheap 100v Radio Shack caps just never seemed to work for me in this application, although they've worked perfectly fine with other pickups.
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