Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

[Gunslinger_505]

The SD pickup selector recommended either the Alnico II Pros or the Pearly Gates for both neck and bridge. Has anyone tried these in a PRS SE Custom 24? How did it work out? What's the verdict?

I recently picked up this guitar and want to use it as a one size fits most. I play mostly classic rock and blues. I like the cleaner tones a lot. In single coil mode with the tone turned down a bit a can get some great blues tones. When I'm driving it for the harder stuff through the bridge humbucker it lack a some bite (or balls...). For my taste I'd like a fatter tone. I'm hoping a pickup swap will get me there! I like the form and feel of the guitar, don't want to sell it off so soon.

I'm open to other options too, p-rails and Anderson H2+/H1 set also peaked my interests. It's not clear these will get the tone I want.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

Based on what I'm hearing, the A2P is what you want. An A2P set wouldn't be bad. But you might split the difference….
Go with an A2P bridge and a PG neck. That's a great balanced tone between the two positions, but you will certainly find a range with the split options in each.

Someone is going to recommend Whole Lotta Humbuckers also, I'm sure. I can't see anything wrong there either, but really, I'm hearing you want at least one A2P in that guitar.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I've been thinking about the 59/Custom Hybrid for bridge position on a 20th Anniversary SE24 I picked up last Winter. This guitar has an ebony board and feels nice & snappy in my hands but the stock pickups are definitely a little lackluster. They have lows & highs but the touch response is sort of flat and lifeless. I figure the Hybrid should give me good definition along with being livelier and more complex, while keeping a good strong split tone. Still, I don't know that a Hybrid is going to be fatter for your purposes than the factory ceramic. Richer, sure, and less harshness in the highs. But if you want something with girth that's still bluesworthy you might think about a regular Custom.

Or something like the RioGrande BBQ Bucker- big, fat and warm but still has plenty of bite when you dig in. Excellent pick dynamics and it responds to volume knob rolloff with really nice cleans. A great blues pickup in a brighter axe; I got a Texas/BBQ set for a lightweight korina guitar and I'm very happy with them. I bet the BBQ would split pretty well too. But it'll be a lot looser in the lows than the Custom if you go high gain on it. The matching Texas neck pickup is exceptionally sweet too. And sassy.

You might also consider the BareKnuckle Rebel Yell set. It has a bright classic tone with lots of character & good bluesy dynamic response, and the bridge pickup is aggressive enough to compare with the HFS in an SE. Firmer low end than the BBQ Bucker. This set was a huge upgrade from the stock pickups in my Explorer.

The RioGrandes and BareKnuckles can be somewhat pricey if you're buying new, but I got both of my sets used. There's a used Rebel Yell set for sale right now if you do a search for it.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

"For my taste I'd like a fatter tone."


I'd go with an A2P set or WLH set.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I have a Custom 22 and had a Custom 24.

The double cutaway gives them a thinner, twangier tone than a Singlecut or Les Paul.

Also, your neck pickup is going to sound thinner and less deep than a neck pickup on a Singlecut or Les Paul because it's about an inch nearer to the bridge than its located on most 22 fret guitars.

You're never going to get as fat or as deep of a tone out of your guitar as the tone of a Singlecut or Les Paul.

I did some pickup swapping in both of mine and liked Alnico 5 pickups best and they turned out to be the original PRS pickups: Dragon II's. 8k neck and 12k bridge.

The Alnico 4 pickups I tried were too bright and lacked midrange. Not a sound I ever got comfortable with.

Love the Alnico II Pros in a Les Paul and love the nickel covered Pearly Gates in my Singlecut.

Of the two I like the Pearlys best but the Alnico II Pros are a favorite too.

But if I were going to put A2's in I'd go with nickel covered PG's.

Wish I'd tried the PG's in my Custom 22. I'm still tempted because I do like them a lot and have PG's in one of my Singlecuts and just ordered another set to put in my other Singlecut.

But I do prefer them with nickel covers.

 

[Gunslinger_505]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

They have lows & highs but the touch response is sort of flat and lifeless. .

Thanks for all the responses, keep them coming.

Perhaps this is what's bothering most about this guitar. I don't expect the PRS to be as fat (or dark) as my Ibanez Artstar semihollow with Super 58s, or sound like my AS Telecaster. OTOH, I have a fender HH configured Mustang (double cutaway, alder body) with Fender Enforcer's pu's that has a fatter tone and a lot more life to it. I'm still hoping a PU change can get more out of the PRS.

 

[marcello252]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I have a G&L ASAT deluxe, ok, different guitar but it's a mahogany body and maple top with a 25 1/2 scale, slightly longer than yours: the AHP-1 set I have is THE thing for it, and I have a ton of different tones with the split coil too.
In full HB mode they are rich and warm but the longer scale keep them crispy, the bass is not as spongy as the same set in a Les Paul. When splitted, in single coil mode, they have a nice Tele type of sound.
I'm really impressed by the sound I have now over the stock set, which was powerful but lifeless.

 

[Sojourner15]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I'm a newbie, love this forum. Is there a specific reason you liked the nickel covered A2 as opposed to bare naked? It doesn't muffle the sound a bit? Is it the ornamentation?
Thanks

 

[marcello252]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

With the cover on you get a slight attenuation on the highs, not muffled sound, it's just a tiny bit warmer

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

Yes. If you notice, most jazz and blues players use covered humbuckers: BB, Duane, Derek, Albert King, Freddie King, Wes, Michael Bloomfield...Billy Gibbons.

It was the Brits who started removing the covers in the 60's: Beck, Clapton...

Blues/Rockers who played through cranked Marshalls and liked the extra sizzle of uncovered humbuckers.

BUT! A lot of guys here on this forum complain that the uncovered PG bridge is too bright. It isn't to me, but it is for some.

If you get the covered version it sounds a little warmer and sweeter.

I can use it either way but I've come to prefer it covered.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I have a Seth Lover set in my 22 fret version. They are great. I have an Air Zone and Paf Joe combo in an SE 24 fret version. That is a great combo too. Very open and airy, but powerful. The problem I would have with the Pearly Set is the same problem I always have with the Pearly set. The bridge is too bright and thin compared to the fat warm neck. Individually, I like them, but not together.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I never hear the PGb as being thin or too bright.

Never.

It always sounds fat and thick when I play it.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

The problem I would have with the Pearly Set is the same problem I always have with the Pearly set. The bridge is too bright and thin compared to the fat warm neck. Individually, I like them, but not together.

Same experience here. A number of other members have commented on the different voicing's of the bridge vs the neck on the PG set. For some, the difference in EQ is a good thing, for others it's not.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

You guys must not use your guitar's tone control to shape the tone of your bridge pickup.

Or must have a playing style that doesn't compliment the PG.

Warren Haynes sure does not sound too thin or too bright with the PG's. Nor does Billy Gibbons.

But we're all tone shapers. We use both hands in a coordinated way to shape the tone both while picking and after the note is picked.

I use the tip, side and edge of the pick to excite the string and squeeze out that sustain like toothpaste from a tube. And use my fretting hand to add vibrato in a coordinated way to coax more sustain out.

And the tone control is in constant use to bring out those woman tones and vowel like tones. Those "OW" tones.

Maybe if your style doesnt make use of those vowel like tones the PG set isn't right for you.

But it's exactly what my playing style needs.

I play a lot of slide too, where I'm coaxing out sustain with the slide and using vibrato in much the same way as I do with my fretting hand.

Jeremy loves the PGb. I'll bet he plays in the style I'm describing too.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

This is what the PG sounds like if you play in the style I'm describing.

I can hear him squeezing that sustain out each time the pick hits the string.

He's shaping the tone both with the way he strikes the string with his pick and then by the way he holds the note with his fretting hand.

If that's not the way you play then the tone shaping that the PG allows you to do may not be something you can take advantage of or find to be a positive quality.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

Clapton was a real tone shaper too...back in the day. Listen to how he uses both hands to shape his tone and sustain. And how he uses the guitar's tone control.

These are probably short alnico 5 magnet humbuckers in his SG. Maybe T-Tops. Or maybe just the short magnet version of the early 60's humbuckers that came after the true PAF's.

Hard to know because no one seems to know for sure what year Clapton's painted SG was. Some say '64. Some say later. If it was '64 or '65 it was only three or four years old when this video was done. http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/The-Tale-Of-Eric-Clapton-Fool-Gibson-SG.aspx

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I like the Whole Lotta Humbucker set for this. However, the neck pickup won't ever get that fat creamy sound because of 24 frets- the pickup is in the 'wrong' place. I've never been able to get a neck pickup tone on a 24 fret guitar that is as good as one on a 22 fret guitar. This doesn't mean it will sound bad, though, just different. The revious statement was my opinion only, for me. Lots of people are fine with it.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I like the Whole Lotta Humbucker set for this. However, the neck pickup won't ever get that fat creamy sound because of 24 frets- the pickup is in the 'wrong' place. I've never been able to get a neck pickup tone on a 24 fret guitar that is as good as one on a 22 fret guitar. This doesn't mean it will sound bad, though, just different. The revious statement was my opinion only, for me. Lots of people are fine with it.

An SG also has the neck pickup in the 'wrong' place. It's moved about 3/4" closer to the bridge pickup than it would be on a Les Paul. Kind of a plus if you're a slide player like Duane or Derek. Some slide players like the middle pickup on a Strat better than the bridge or neck pickup - for a similar reason I would guess.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

I went Custom Trembucker Bridge, PG neck on mine. Business on the front, party in the back.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Pearly Gates or Alnico II pro's in a PRS SE Custome 24

- Or must have a playing style that doesn't compliment the PG. But it's exactly what my playing style needs.
- Maybe if your style doesn't make use of those vowel like tones the PG set isn't right for you.
- Billy Gibbons sure does not sound too thin or too bright with the PG's.

No PU works out for every guitarist. It isn't necessarily a shortcoming in the guitarist's playing style or skill level, or his hearing. There's a lot of great PAF players who don't use PG's. It's nice that you've found what you want in PG's Lew, but for some of us there's other PAF's we prefer instead. Billy Gibbons isn't really the world's top reference for skill or tone, so what he does or doesn't do makes little difference to the vast majority of players. Besides he's known for having a highly processed sound, at least on stage.