NGD Let Down

[SZjammin83]

So I've been waiting for a Pegasus/Sentient pickup set to show up for a couple days and last night they showed up. I did a hardware swap on my Gibson Les Paul Standard and took off all the chrome hard ware and replaced it all with black hardware using all direct replacement parts, so its all the same, just looks how i like it now. The guitar looks beautifully sweet, but I took out my Pearly Gates Pickups and installed a Pegasus/Sentient set and I have to say, I thought at the very least they would be playable decent pickups and worth a try, (I wanted to try a set of Alnico V's as I have been playing Alnico 2's in one form or another for the past 10 years or more) but these things let me down. Anyone else have experience with these pickups and like them?

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I've sometimes found pickups don't match well with a guitar, or they just don't suit my own personal tastes. Or both.
Also, some pickups - and certain guitars - seem to be pickier than others.
What don't you like about them?

 

[beaubrummels]

You did all the possible adjustments before deciding they let you down? Also, you changed all the hardware at the same time. Hard to say which change caused the problem if you change two things at once.

 

[Mincer]

I had the same problem with a JB. Sometimes it just doesn't work in your application. What were you hoping to gain by the swap? What didn't you like about the Pearly Gates that this pair would fix?

 

[weepingminotaur]

Can't speak to the Pegasus, but I have the Sentient in a guitar and it's a phenomenal pickup IMO. Maybe give it some time and adjust pickup height before you write the pickups off.

I thought for a while that I didn't like the Jazz I had in another guitar, but I'm actually discovering that I like it now, just by giving the tone knob a lot of play and adjusting the pole pieces.

 

[zizyphus]

I just installed a pegasus in my Jackson V last week, and I'm actually loving it, though I'm using that guitar as a one-trick-pony (it's my pointy metal guitar. I don't play any other genre with it, and I have other axes that are much more versatile)

What is it specifically that you don't like? Maybe there's a tweak / fix for what you're hearing (or not hearing)

 

[beaubrummels]

Also, consider changing amp settings more dramatically. If you had something going with Pearly Gates then totally change the pickups, it might take a different amp setup to get to a place you like.

 

[Benjy_26]

The problem is...you took a set of Pearly Gates out of a Les Paul. That's a hard combo to beat.

 

[alex1fly]

Pickups shouldn't let anybody down. They're just little microphones. It's rarely a plug-and-play improvement... take time to adjust the pups, adjust expectations, let the ears get used to the new sounds, learn how the new pups interact with the rest of your gear (live and recording)… several weeks at least should be spent do them justice. Building tone is like cooking, you taste and adjust as you go and the dish develops... you don't just throw out the brisket because it's still chewy after 2 hours.

Or put your PGs back in and do something else with the other pups. NBD

 

[zizyphus]

Just put an Alnico 9 into the Pegasus in my Flying V to try to fill in the mids a bit, and ddaaaaaaaaaaaaamn is it nice for metal

 

[Masta' C]

...I thought at the very least they would be playable decent pickups and worth a try...but these things let me down.

How so? You're not providing much detail. Hard to believe they wouldn't be at least "playable decent pickups", even if they aren't your thing entirely!

 

[Bogner]

I like the Pegasus/Sentient set. I have not put them into a Les Paul but each guitar is different anyway. I would suggest giving the pickups some time so your ears can adjust to the changes and you can dial in all your gear. pickup height, etc to your liking and ride it out for a few playing sessions and see if you feel the same way.

To further complicate things, I have used the same pickup set in one guitar brilliantly and put them into another guitar that was the exact same model, just a different color and didn't like the pickups in that particular guitar. It happens. I can't explain it but it does happen. Double check your wiring and pot values and make sure all that is proper and give them a few plays. Maybe that will shift with a little time for you. Hopefully it works out.

As others have asked, what were the other pickups lacking or what were you hoping for in these? They could be the wrong pickup for that particular guitar.

 

[chadd]

I had a Sentient in a Les Paul for a while, sounded great to me.

 

[Aceman]

Yeah - I'm feeling ear-shock here. They are different, bad is an opinion/matter of taste. I'd like a pair of those for my Schenker V.

Many people do too little research prior to swapping pickups. PG is a classic, gritty, gnarly PAF. Sentient/Pegasus is Uber-modern tone. Way more than just an "A5" sound there.

If you wanted to try A5's, a 59 would have been a better choice to swap to.

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

The problem is...you took a set of Pearly Gates out of a Les Paul. That's a hard combo to beat.

This exactly.

 

[Mincer]

We won't know why until he comes back.

 

[AdrianSD]

Yeah - I'm feeling ear-shock here. They are different, bad is an opinion/matter of taste. I'd like a pair of those for my Schenker V.

Many people do too little research prior to swapping pickups. PG is a classic, gritty, gnarly PAF. Sentient/Pegasus is Uber-modern tone. Way more than just an "A5" sound there.

This is very intriguing for me, as an essentially nothing but a bedroom warrio^H^H^H^player. What makes them modern? Beyond technical data, the marketing flyers and the web pages of all sorts describing them, why are they modern sounding? Scooped? Sparkling? Tight bass? For example I find the Jazz and Full Shred in the neck both tight and sparkling, but they've got something happening in the high mids, does this mean they're not modern? In the bridge Custom into a tubescreamer into an overdriven amp sounds tight, sparkling, very fluid but has this '80-ish gnarl to it. Is this modern or it isn't?
Never been a pro player and haven't tried the Pegasus/Sentient set yet so I don't know what to expect, that's why I'm asking how one sees, hears and listens to a pickup when referring to it as "modern".

 

[Coma]

I've got that combo in the new axe I got from Orpheo here on the forum. They sound freaking great to me.

 

[Mikelamury]

I use the sentient with an alternative 8 and it sounds like a match made in heaven!!!

 

[jeremy]

i really like the sentient, havent tried the pegasus though. going from a pgn to an a5 neck pup will be quite different. im an a2 bucker junkie and i still like a5 in the neck sometimes. curious what you dont like about the two pups