Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

L

lttoler

New member
Okay I'm thinking of trying some different Duncan pickups (or anything for that matter). I have a custom built alder Tele style guitar with only a bridge pickup and 1 volume control. I like to keep things simple and will probably not add a coil tap but it's not out of the question. I want a pickup that can sound great clean, overdrive and also pull off some of the heavier modern stuff. I like pickups with lots of pick attack since I usually play Teles in my other bands. I have a JB now and I don't think it's what I'm looking for. Some of the gainy stuff sounds good but I don't like the clean sounds for some reason. I am leaning towards a Pearly Gates but wanted some opinions. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

Any of the lower resistance ones will be good for a clean tone, but if you like pick attack, I'd go with a pickup with an A5 magnet. I think a '59 would be good for covering lots of ground.

With the JB, you'll get a decent clean tone if you split it.
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

lttoler said:
So you would pick the '59 over the Pearly Gates for my application?
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Yes only because the PG has an A5 magnet which is going to give a softer attack. Of course you could always try out the PG and if it feels too soft you could do a magnet swap.
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

GoDrex said:
Yes only because the PG has an A5 magnet which is going to give a softer attack. Of course you could always try out the PG and if it feels too soft you could do a magnet swap.
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Thats interesting. I always got the impression it would be the other way around for these pickups since the PG is "slightly ruder"
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

In a guitar like that, I'd personally go with an unmodified Demon. This should give you enough brightness to cut through and cop single coil type sounds, as well as enough low end wallop and thickness for heavier things.
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

PG+ has A5, PG has A2; either could be very good options for what you're doing.
for a 1xHB tele i'd seriously consider a screamin demon, or even a DMZ airzone.
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

The Demon is a bit hotter, a bit brighter, and a bit tighter/chunkier. From what I've heard, the Demon is a Pearly Gates tweaked to Mr Lynch's liking.
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

I recently swapped out a Pearly Gates for a '59 on my Iceman. The other pup is a Screamin Demon. The '59 & Demon are very similar. The Demon being tighter & grittier.
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

some say you can sort of "get close" to 59b tone with the JB pulled down more than usual - farther from the strings - I'm not really sure, but try it out
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

lttoler said:
Thats interesting. I always got the impression it would be the other way around for these pickups since the PG is "slightly ruder"
Click to expand...

yes but the A2 magnet makes the pick attack softer
 
Re: Pickup for a cover band guitarist?

So what if I traded the magnet in the PG to an A5. How would it compare to the 59 and the Screamin Demon then?
 
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