Pearly Gates Plus tone

[onlytwin]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking at a Lonestar Strat right now and I'm curious about the tone of the PG+ pickup.
Generally I like single coil tones, although Strat bridges tend to be a bit shrill to me.

On the other hand, I have a cheaper HSS guitar and the bridge humbucker is too muddy to my ears.

Is the PG+ fairly bright and more balanced with single coils, or would I be better off getting a SSS Strat and putting a warmer bridge pickup in there?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Pearly Gates Plus tone

Is the PG+ fairly bright and more balanced with single coils

Yes. The PG+ has the extra grunt that you would expect of a humbucker but not to the extent that it eclipses the single coil middle and neck pickups.

Browsing catalogues and web sites is no substitute for auditioning the guitar in person.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Pearly Gates Plus tone

PG+ are bright, as are PGB's (A2 version). How a PU sounds has a lot to do with the wood it's in, which varies one guitar to the next. What PU's in your cheap guitar that sounds muddy? Is it a cheap PU in cheap wood? That may be the issue more than it being a HB.

 

[onlytwin]

Re: Pearly Gates Plus tone

Yes. The PG+ has the extra grunt that you would expect of a humbucker but not to the extent that it eclipses the single coil middle and neck pickups.

Browsing catalogues and web sites is no substitute for auditioning the guitar in person.

Yeah I agree with that. I wish I could demo that guitar but nobody carries it around here. Only way I can do it is order the guitar and send it back if it's not to my liking.

PG+ are bright, as are PGB's (A2 version). How a PU sounds has a lot to do with the wood it's in, which varies one guitar to the next. What PU's in your cheap guitar that sounds muddy? Is it a cheap PU in cheap wood? That may be the issue more than it being a HB.

I definitely wouldn't trust the humbucker in that guitar, although I do find many to be less clear than I would like.
If it's capable of bright cleans, then the PG+ will probably work for me.

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Pearly Gates Plus tone

^ it's definitely capable of bright cleans : ]
i really got to like it once i got it set right (read: really low). i've not played one in a strat though, which is a shame as it was designed as part of a balanced strat pickup set.
it has a dynamic and percussive honk to it which i must really like playing on, as it's still in my LP
there's info in the Q&As re the PG+ if you're interested, no specs anywhere else i'm aware of.

at the time i tried it i had an A5 A2P/demon hybrid and JB8 in an indo tele, and an A3/A4 neck A8/ceramic bridge P90 set in a korean PRS, and a PGn and the PG+ in an LP;
the bridge P90 and the PG+ got most of the love.

if you're already looking at the lone star strat, i wouldn't let the bridge humbucker put you off; even if you don't get along with the PG+ there are a lot of other "humbucker form factor" options out there