Pearly gate height

[gimmieinfo]

I'm just curious....has anyone that uses these found that they sound best and more balanced when set very low in a LP ? I almost never prefer any pickup set really low, but these pickups are very bright and agressive when set to a normal height and i started experimenting with setting them real low and they seem more like normal A2 PAFs instead of the super aggressive tone they get when set where most PAFs work well. Better volume knob cleanup too. I wonder if duncan would have done better to used a more degaussed A2 Even wondering if i should try A3 in them. ike i said, i never seem to like pups set low, and the stock 57 classics go dull and lifeless set low, even tho i never set them near as low as i now have the PGs! (probably 1/4" from the strings, almost level with the rings)

 

[Mincer]

You might also try 250k pots.

 

[gimmieinfo]

You might also try 250k pots.

I have. (470k strapped across 500k pot)

 

[jeremy]

i frequently see paf style pups set about flush with the rings, whatever sounds best is the way to go!

 

[Coma]

Had one in the neck of my LP for a few years, though admittedly that was some 10+ years ago now. But I don't recall it being particularly bright, at least not in any way that stood out to me.

 

[gimmieinfo]

Had one in the neck of my LP for a few years, though admittedly that was some 10+ years ago now. But I don't recall it being particularly bright, at least not in any way that stood out to me.

It's not. I have yet to hear a HB neck in a LP that was overly bright. But the bridge is what i'm talking about.

 

[justFred]

I like the Pearly Gates for the sound you’re describing: hot, sizzling, Texas blues pickups. It’s the way they are described on the Seymour Duncan webpage.

 

[Butch Snyder]

The nice thing about pickups with Alnico 2 magnets is you can set them higher without any weirdness happening (if that's how you like them).

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Personally, if a pickup makes me go to extremes, I'd start to feel like it's just not the pickup for me.

 

[freefrog]

It seems to be systematically forgotten that back in the days, P.A.F. users were often plugging their LP's to the amp through a very long and/or coily cable shifting their tone toward high mids... That's why PRS did design the Santana Sweet Switch, after all.

On this basis, I'd try to mimic the higher capacitance of a longer cable just with a low value capacitor from hot to ground of the bridge PU.

Example of what I'm talking about:

To define the required cap value, count 30pF to 45pF per foot of wire to emulate (a cap from 5.6 or 6.8nF to 10nF should do the same than the 200' of cable in the video if one wants to go extreme)...

That's how I've "tuned" a PG bridge in a way too bright LP copy years ago, for the record (and the idea to use a low value cap for that has been in the Duncan FAQ for years, while it's still displayed in various web pages like those of Bill Lawrence's "Pickupology").

EDIT- And yes, if the PG sounds good when set low under the strings, a less gaussed magnet should be interesting (A3 being to try first, as long as it's real alni3 and not a 600 Gauss bar absurdly sold as A3 while it's most probably A8).

Also: I've nothing against experimenting with height settings. Can be very rewarding. This post is meant to add some elements to the reflection and not to deny other solutions. ;-)

 

[Juanhanglo]

Personally, if a pickup makes me go to extremes, I'd start to feel like it's just not the pickup for me.

But sometimes, that extreme just works. And sounds killer.

It took me years to understand and hear what pickup height and pole height adjustments did. Now, I cant unhear it. Height doesn't just change the volume, it changes the eq balance and feel under your fingers.
Ive noticed that some pickups sound good anywhere, while some need some fairly radical twists of the screws.

My latest ones as an example:
The dark matter 2s I just installed.

Pretty much a vai alternative to the normal evo, I see them as a ceramic breed alternative in a way. That said, there seemed to be an initial....something...in the balance that was off. It seemed like 2 different pickup on the wound and unwound strings. The sound change between the g and d strings was crazy.
Then I lowered them and they thinned out and sounded crap, but the balance issue was better.

Fiddling with the neck, the g is lower than norm significantly, and the d higher. The rest are blended for volume around that. The wound poles are lower that the bobbin and the others higher, with level overall height. Now we're getting somewhere!
On to the bridge.
Man, was this one tough! It likes to be closer to the strings with a noticeable tilt down on the treble side. Now its balanced, but still needed the pole ajustment like the neck pickup.

Aaaannnnddddd............ Viola!

I swapped a mo'joe/ pafjoe combo for these in my rg520qs, and initially thought "what did i do?!", and "yeah, these are going back".

Now, im not so sure. I need more time to tweak. I got down to ⅙ turns on the g/d strings's pole pieces, which made all the difference.
By comparison, the mojoe and paf joe sounded good from the get go. So did the breeds. This was the hardest pickup set I've encountered.

All the radical messing around turned a definite no into a possible yes. The jury is still out, but it's looking very good that they are staying.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

But sometimes, that extreme just works. And sounds killer.

It took me years to understand and hear what pickup height and pole height adjustments did. Now, I cant unhear it. Height doesn't just change the volume, it changes the eq balance and feel under your fingers.
Ive noticed that some pickups sound good anywhere, while some need some fairly radical twists of the screws.

My latest ones as an example:
The dark matter 2s I just installed.

Pretty much a vai alternative to the normal evo, I see them as a ceramic breed alternative in a way. That said, there seemed to be an initial....something...in the balance that was off. It seemed like 2 different pickup on the wound and unwound strings. The sound change between the g and d strings was crazy.
Then I lowered them and they thinned out and sounded crap, but the balance issue was better.

Fiddling with the neck, the g is lower than norm significantly, and the d higher. The rest are blended for volume around that. The wound poles are lower that the bobbin and the others higher, with level overall height. Now we're getting somewhere!
On to the bridge.
Man, was this one tough! It likes to be closer to the strings with a noticeable tilt down on the treble side. Now its balanced, but still needed the pole ajustment like the neck pickup.

Aaaannnnddddd............ Viola!

I swapped a mo'joe/ pafjoe combo for these in my rg520qs, and initially thought "what did i do?!", and "yeah, these are going back".

Now, im not so sure. I need more time to tweak. I got down to ⅙ turns on the g/d strings's pole pieces, which made all the difference.
By comparison, the mojoe and paf joe sounded good from the get go. So did the breeds. This was the hardest pickup set I've encountered.

All the radical messing around turned a definite no into a possible yes. The jury is still out, but it's looking very good that they are staying.

Yeah, to be honest, I've never experienced that kind of imbalance with any humbucker I've tried. The closest I've come to that is the '59 in the neck being boomy on the low notes and scratchy on the high notes, but I don't find it THAT bad as to have to spend so much time adjusting it.

 

[EmiAba]

My PGn is at the same level of the pick-up ring, and I think it is just perfect