Pearly Gates vs. Pearly Gates Plus?

[Toejam]

I've got a Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge of my Fender Double Fat Strat, with a '59 in the neck. The PG+ seems a little bright and fuzzy sounding, the '59 is nice but can get a little too warm and muddy at times, but I like it overall, and they do blend well together when using the middle position or the second position of the five-way switch with the inner coils on.
I usually prefer warmer bridge pups mixed with brighter neck pups, so would a regular Pearly Gates be warmer in the bridge and match better with the '59 or should I look into something else? Or maybe a PG in the neck would be a better match with the PG+ in the bridge? I'm confused.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Pearly Gates vs. Pearly Gates Plus?

do some searching on the forum...Dr. Barlo has done several shoot outs with the PG, and the PG+...

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Pearly Gates vs. Pearly Gates Plus?

Taken from the FAQ page:

What's the difference between your Pearly Gates pickup and the Pearly Gates Plus on a Lone Star Strat®?
The Pearly Gates is rather different than the "Pearly Gates Plus" that is on the Lone Star StratTM. The Pearly Gates Plus is only available on that guitar and not made for retail sales. The main difference in these pickups is that a Pearly Gates has Alnico II magnets, while the Pearly Gates Plus has Alnico V magnets. Alnico V magnets tend to give a brighter, glassier tone, while Alnico II magnets tend to have a warmer, rounder, more mid-rangier tone. The closest pickup available in our regular line to a Pearly Gates Plus is a '59 Model with 4-conductor cable. The '59 is an Alnico V pickup with a wind very close to that of the Pearly Gates Plus. The '59 usually comes in single conductor cable, but it can be ordered with the 4-Conductor wiring option.

 

[Toejam]

Re: Pearly Gates vs. Pearly Gates Plus?

Cool. Thanks, guys! So the PG+ in the bridge is already similar to the 4-conductor '59 in the neck. Interesting. Seems the regular PG may be what I'm looking for, but I'll have to do a search for Dr. Barlo and his results now.

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Pearly Gates vs. Pearly Gates Plus?

Curious as to why the '59 sounds closest to the PG+ only with a 4 conductor wiring. The 4 conductor wiring doesn't change the sound in any way, only if you use it for the different wiring options, so I'm not sure why this was pointed out? A single conductor 59 and a 4 conductor 59 should sound exactly the same if wired series...

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: Pearly Gates vs. Pearly Gates Plus?

ONly because the 59 usually is single conductor. PG and PG+ are always 4-conductor. There is no sonic difference (that I know of) between single conducotr and 4 conductor.

I wonder if the only real difference between the 59 a PG+ is that the PG+ would be stagger wound....

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Pearly Gates vs. Pearly Gates Plus?

ONly because the 59 usually is single conductor. PG and PG+ are always 4-conductor. There is no sonic difference (that I know of) between single conducotr and 4 conductor.

I wonder if the only real difference between the 59 a PG+ is that the PG+ would be stagger wound....

I don't think so. I think the PG+ is a regular PG (with an a5) wound a little hotter. My 8.75K PG+ sounds awesome, and am using it in the bridge of one of my LPs. Gotta do that brown polish trick, it does not look very good in there.

B