So how do they sound and how do they differ?
The stock set is a little lower in output. Brighter. More space in the tone. Not as dense in the mids. I always thought of them as being full and thick but the CS PG's are even fuller and thicker.
The CS set is a little higher in output. Not as bright. Warmer. Denser in tone. Thicker. Fatter. Rounder.
Both sets sound fantastic. Really, really good.
But there is a difference.
Although I never thought of the stock set as having an edge, they do have more of an edge than the CS set.
And although I never thought of the stock set as needing more output, the extra output of the CS set is welcome.
The bridge pickups in both sets do great pinch harmonics.
Like the bridge pickup, the neck pickup of the CS set is a little warmer and fuller. Although both necks are great and I can get wonderful clean chord sounds from either, the CS is fuller...richer.
I can set my amp for an overdriven sound for a tune like Santana's Europa and without changing the settings on my amp, I can clean up the neck pickup and start playing chords by lowering the volume control of the guitar. The sound doesn't get dark or muddy...it cleans up.
I'm very happy...and it's nice to have both guitars sounding a little different from each other.
Is the CS set worth $100 more? I think it is but it's not necessary to go for the CS set.
If I had just bought another stock set for the Sunburst Singlecut and never heard the CS PG's I would still be very satisfied.
Basically, both sets do the same thing. But the CS set has a little more growl, warmer treble and thicker mids. And, of course, a little more output.
I'll tell you what. When I plug in a new guitar and find myself just playing instead of testing that's a good sign.
When I start writing a new song that's an even better sign.
When I start to groan and make those soulful vocal noises we all make when we're really relaxed and playing well, just grooving and lost in the music, that's another very good sign.
And when I start to catch myself drooling a little (Yep...it happens) that's another good sign.
And I found myself doing all of the above while trying out the new Antiquity Pearly Gates.
They are fantastic. But then, so is the stock set.
Let's see...
The neck and bridge are nicely balanced. The neck pickup balances very well with the bridge pickup in both sets, but maybe even more nicely in the Antiquity set.
And: neither pickup in either set is too thin or too bright. Both are fat and full.
I don't know how that too thin/too bright nonsense got started but it's 100% untrue of the PG stock set and it's even more untrue of the Custom Shop set.
Both bridge pickups have a beautiful vowel like tonality and I can enhance that "OW" sound
by using my guitar's tone control.
I find myself shaping the tone with my tone control all the while I'm soloing with the bridge pickup, sometimes turning it almost all the way to zero but usually having it between 3 and 7.
That's another thing about the PG's: if you like that vowel like quality (what Clapton called his "woman tone") the PG bridge pickup has it in spades. Don't be afraid to use your tone control.
And if you're a player who doesn't use the guitar's tone control while you're soloing on the bridge pickup, I'd recommend learning how to use it. Because that's how you dial in the various "vowel" like and "vocal" like lead tones that are so much a part of the sound of the PG's.
