Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Walgraeve

Walgraeve

New member
Hello SD fans

I would like some experience-based information on a dilemma that's been ennoying me for months now. I currently posses a VOX AC4TV, stack, and an Ibanez AF55 hollowbody, both pieces of gear which are extremely good value for their money. The problem is that the stock pups in my ibanez kind of bum me out, they simply don't satisfy me because they sound rather weak, especially on the mids, and they lack the nice spongie low end and mind-piercing high end I would like to have in my sound. So I'm planning to replace both my pickups, but first of all the bridge pickup, because that's my main pickup and I'd like to see if swapping my stocks is worth the money. I play a whole range of sounds, from jazzy-blues to heavy blues (bonamassa-gibbons style) and classic and hard rock to drifting indie and alternate rock. So the pups should have a wide range of possibilities, and I've narrowed them down to either Pearly Gates or Alnico Pro II's. My guitar has an full maple body, mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard. The things that hold me back on the Pearly Gates is the fact that I've read some reviews about them lacking a lot of low end and sounding harsh and gritty in any fase, the pro's that I like the idea of a cutting high sound with a slight touch-responsive edge to give my sound some hair. The contra's on the Alnico II's for me seem that they have quite a low output, so I'm afraid I will need a more powerfull amp in order to not getting a dull sound, and that they seem to lack those piercing high's I like. I hope this was enough information, please help a poor guy out :)
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Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Both of those PU's are low output, so that's a level playing field. I have a set of each and much prefer the A2P's. PGB's are pretty bright and the PGN's are very smooth and mellow without much treble. They're okay but nothing to get excited about. The A2P bridge is warmer and fuller, and the neck has more life to it, a bit more treble. I changed mags in both PG's, but didn't need to with the A2P's.
 
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Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

I reckon the PG has fairly more output in comparison to the A2P's, do you think if I would combine a pearly gates neck with a A2P bridge the neck might actually overpower the bridge pup? And has your A2P bridge enough balls and attack to actually cut through a mix?
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Why would a neck PG overpower a bridge A2P?!

The PGn is 7.3k ohms resistence.
The A2Pb is 7.85k.

They are virtually the same.(if anything, the A2Pb has a slightly higher output).
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Aight no prob then, I simply read a couple of reviews of this combo where the owner claimed the PG seemed to overpower the A2P bridge which didn't seem too irrealistic to me as I thought A2P's were considerably lower output, but I guess this problem might have something to do with the pickup height on the guitars...Thanks for the correction anyway
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

GuitarDoc said:
Why would a neck PG overpower a bridge A2P?!

The PGn is 7.3k ohms resistence.
The A2Pb is 7.85k.

They are virtually the same.(if anything, the A2Pb has a slightly higher output).
Click to expand...

Yeah, where does he get that PG's have so much more output? They're both low-wind PAF-types with low-output A2 magnets. Neither one is a powerhouse.
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Solves the issue about the A2P bridge being inferior in balssiness to the PG I guess :p
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

It really sounds like you're going for versatility in your guitar.

Neither the PG nor the A2P are going to give you a huge bottom end. ESPECIALLY in the bridge position. They tend to be very loose pickups especially with high gain. Think - the main riff in Guns N' Roses - Paradise City. Driving rhythm, but definitely not thick. The PG will give you very much the same thing.

If you like to solo with your neck pickup, for those flutey tones, I'd go with the A2P.
If you like to riff with your neck pickup with a real thick dirty tone, I'd go the PG.

Either way, I'd look for something with a better bass and mids EQ for your bridge pickup if you want a guitar that can "do it all."

You might want to check out the DiMarzio 36th PAF bridge pickup if you want more bottom end. They'll match well with the A2P, PG, or even the SH-55 Seth Lover.
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Have you even considered the P-Rail? You can get anything you want out of that...Thick/rich tones (coils in series), bright Tele type clangy highs (Rail coil), full mids with lots of bite (P-90), very articulate crystal clear tones (coils parallel). Run it through a Triple Shot to get all combinations without the need for any extra switches to install.
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Thank you, but I had already considered the 36th dimarzio's and I found them fairly alike to the PG's, but without the spank and rude edge I find so interesting in vintage sound which the PG does posses. And as for the low end, I do like a spongy, not-too-compressed low end, I think it gives power chords more drive by not swamping them in bass, so that's no contra :)
 
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Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

GuitarDoc said:
Have you even considered the P-Rail? You can get anything you want out of that...Thick/rich tones (coils in series), bright Tele type clangy highs (Rail coil), full mids with lots of bite (P-90), very articulate crystal clear tones (coils parallel). Run it through a Triple Shot to get all combinations without the need for any extra switches to install.
Click to expand...

And yes the P-rails were top on my list for a while, and still high, but the extra cost of 2 Triple shot rings + extra installation difficulties and costs (which I'm gonna get done by a luthier) scared me somewhat, I'm a student so my budget is rather modest. I simply love the concept of the P-rails though, and when I might posses a larger budget later on I will surely install them in a fitting guitar, but I'd like this guitar simple and straight to the point, although I'm hesitating about maybe putting a boost-switch on it
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

False economics.

Get what you want/what works the best in the first place and save money and trouble in the long run.
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

GuitarDoc said:
False economics.

Get what you want/what works the best in the first place and save money and trouble in the long run.
Click to expand...

I do agree 100%, but IMO are neither the PG's nor A2P's inferior to the P-rail, simply a whole different concept, and as much as I would like the install the P-rails later on in, probably, a Les Paul to make it a as wide in possibilities as you can get, this is my workhorse guitar. I bought it in a Jack White-given impulse to start with something really basic and to the point, and four years later I'd like to keep it that way, and P-rails don't fit in that context.
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

Hi Walgraeve,

Quick answer: what you say of your needs makes me recommend the PG's, nickel covered : covers are an elegant and efficient way to tame the high range with this PU. The A2P is bassier and might have less richness in the mids in an instrument like yours (That's what I had noticed when I had tried it in a guitar made of sycomore).

Regarding output levels: whatever are the DCR specs of the two PU's, the PG’s are a tad more powerful because of their magnets, IME. They are also less compressed than the A2P.


Signed: a dude whose father was born in Belgium. !-)
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

freefrog said:
Hi Walgraeve,

Quick answer: what you say of your needs makes me recommend the PG's, nickel covered : covers are an elegant and efficient way to tame the high range with this PU. The A2P is bassier and might have less richness in the mids in an instrument like yours (That's what I had noticed when I had tried it in a guitar made of sycomore).

Regarding output levels: whatever are the DCR specs of the two PU's, the PG’s are a tad more powerful because of their magnets, IME. They are also less compressed than the A2P.


Signed: a dude whose father was born in Belgium. !-)
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, this is a really usefull comment, you pushed my mind more towards the PG idea when I had almost decided for the A2P's (I have some sort of Slash stereotype sound in my head but I don't really except to conceive this with a full hollowbody guitar and 4-watt Vox :p

Greets from Belgium :)
btw a little thanks in the form of some high-class Belgian music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwQYorHuV1k
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

freefrog said:
your needs makes me recommend the PG's, nickel covered : covers are an elegant and efficient way to tame the high range with this PU. The A2P is bassier and might have less richness in the mids in an instrument like yours (That's what I had noticed when I had tried it in a guitar made of sycomore).

Regarding output levels: whatever are the DCR specs of the two PU's, the PG’s are a tad more powerful because of their magnets, IME. They are also less compressed than the A2P.
Click to expand...

Sycamore? Not a wood I've seen mentioned here before, possibly not a good reference wood. Don't agree with a couple things: I find A2P's to be 'richer in the mids' and fuller-sounding than PG's.

How can PG's be 'a tad more powerful because of their mags' when both use A2's?
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

blueman335 said:
Sycamore? Not a wood I've seen mentioned here before, possibly not a good reference wood. Don't agree with a couple things: I find A2P's to be 'richer in the mids' and fuller-sounding than PG's.

How can PG's be 'a tad more powerful because of their mags' when both use A2's?
Click to expand...

Sycamore is English maple.softer but gets a flame easier than real maple. Gibson uses it nowadays...

I love the pg and a2pro and the hybrid is like a dirtier version of the 59/jazz.

Now that's out of the way.

Pg is brighter and slightly more smokey than the a2pro. I get the association of a BBQ with lots of marinated beef with the pg and a simple steak and chips with the a2pro.

I am not fond of either neck pickup.both are too clean for my taste. Flutey really fits the bill for the a2pro where the pgn would be more of a sonore oboe.i prefer the bell like chime and sonore resonance of a horn and bassoon like 'woofyness' of the 59b in the neck.

Pg in bridge and 59b in neck is my favore paf style pickup combination if I wanted great versatility and I had to stick to regular floor shop pickups. Aka. No antiquities or customshop.
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

A2P bridge, PG neck. Done...

Disregard the output - let the amp, or the overdrive of choice do the work.
 
Re: Pearly Gates vs Alnico Pro II

To me, comparing the Alnico II Pro and Pearly Gates is kinda like comparing honey and maple syrup. They're both sweet, but have a slightly different aftertaste.

The Alnico II Pro sounds very natural to me, very clear, not artificial at all. The PG just has a hair more brightness, but is similar to my ears.

I like the above idea of using a PG with a cover to slightly tame the high end. Personally, I use Alnico II Pros in the necks of my guitars, but have an open-faced cover to retain the high end.
 
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