Pearly Gates and Seth Lover neck pickups

BigJim y'all

New member
Looking for an A2 4 conductor neck pickup to match up with a Brobucker.

Looking at Seth Lovers and Pearly Gates, maybe the A2 Pro.

Seems these three models are pretty close, on paper....

What are the sonic differences, if any, between these pickups? I will be wiring to split for single coil tones too...
 
Welcome to the forum!
The EQ on these are a little different...on the PG, it is slanted towards the highs. On the Seths (which are also unpotted, and single conductor) it is slanted towards the upper mids for a slightly honky sound. The A2Pro has more true mids, for that flutey soloing voice that Slash uses all the time. Pick the EQ you want or your guitar needs. All 3 are great pickups!
 
A2P might be a better match for a Brobucker, though a Seth is a great match also.

A2P has a wide round mid peak.
Seth is a more specific, it has a tighter mid peak.

The Brobucker mid peak is in the higher mid range and makes it chimey when clean. The Seth mid peak is lower and gives it a 'honk' kind of sound.

Pearly is like the perfect PAF. Makes any guitar I put it in sound like an ES-335. Pretty even. Doesn't have a strong mid peak, IME (in Les Pauls and SGs). But that might depend on the guitar you put it in.

This is all IME YMMV
 
Thanks!!

Its going into a Schroeder Radio Lane, not really looking to cop PAF tones, more modern with some switching capability..
 
If going modern, I'm wondering why the Brobucker and A2 neck types? And also, what was not working about the stock pickups (did yours have Lollars)?
 
If going modern, I'm wondering why the Brobucker and A2 neck types? And also, what was not working about the stock pickups (did yours have Lollars)?

Its a long story on this. Jason lists "shop bodies, necks and parts" from time to time, I bought an old Radio Lane "husk", and worked with my luthier to finish it into a working guitar.

I had a set of Fralin HOH in it originally, but they aren't a good fit, too hot.

I have a Brobucker sitting here, that I love, so I want to try it in the Radio Lane, just need a matching neck pickup.

I guess I'm seeing the Brobucker as more modern (hotter wind, splittable) as a more modern type pickup, maybe I'm wrong?
 
I always say that I think the PG is voiced like a strat, given the tone characteristics of a humbucker's build, and then jeremy comes and straw mans me to death.
 
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The Pearly does have great sparkle and chime. I love the bridge model in the neck...a little more mids and output (slight but noticeable). Add a DPDT on/on/on micro switch and get series/split/parallel. They are all really good sounds.
 
no, youre just wrong. i have a pgn in one of my main guitars and play a strat all the time. paf tone vs strat... how is that the same?

In the bridge, the PAF construction takes over and that's what you hear. In the neck, I hear more jangly, wet, strat voiced tone, even though the thing is technically built like a PAF.
 
In the bridge, the PAF construction takes over and that's what you hear. In the neck, I hear more jangly, wet, strat voiced tone, even though the thing is technically built like a PAF.

IME, a PG has the inductance of a P.A.F. (4.6 Henry for the bridge model in my archives) but also a higher Q factor than other Duncan P.A.F. replicas. IOW, it has a narrower and pointy resonant peak... reminding the resonance of a Fender single coil, albeit the PAFish inductance locates this resonance @ a typically PAFish frequency.
Hence your feeling VS what Jeremy says: he hears mostly the frequencies at play, you're more sensitive to the shape of the resonant peak giving to this model a narrowed response. IMHO. YMMV. ;)

To come back to the comparison: a Seth has a lower Q factor (= a flatter, more even frequency response), a slightly lower inductance (4.4H for bridge models in my archives) and this 3D vocal mids quality evoked above, making it the best mass produced Duncan P.A.F. clone in my perception too.
Unlike some vintage HB's and replicas, it doesn't produce this squeaky atonal transient / attack that some people find so important in a P.A.F. or P.A.F. clone BUT the Seth is really a rewarding pickup in my subjective experience. I find the PG a wee bit simpler / ruder - and with too much character for bridge position in acoustically bright guitars IMHO. Again, YMMV.:p
 
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