Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

jalguitarman

jalguitarman

Junior Member
What are the differences between the Seth Lover and Pearly gates neck. I was pretty well set on a PG full set but, after hearing a demo on YouTube of the Seth Lover Pick ups playing a rather Jazzy sounding piece of music I am considering a PG bridge and Seth neck combo. Thank you as always. :)
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

What type guitar is it going in? The short answer is that can be a hell of a combo.

Both are fantastic pickups. I actually came down to those two pickups for the neck position of a Les Paul a few years ago. Here's what I remember, for what its worth. The Seth has a more open quality to the sound.... maybe a little more three dimensional. It also has a smooth, vowel type quality to the tone. I don't want to imply by smooth that the EQ of the pickup is flat or that the treble is dialed back, because it's not at all.

The PG has more mid range bark and high end sizzle, but in a very good way. It's more compressed sounding than the Seth and it takes gain very well. So did the Seth though. The PG just has a unique sound and it sings so beautifully with high gain and it excels at lower gain blues as well. The thing that helped me make my decision was the natural tone of my guitar. With the Seth in my guitar sounded great, but just a little to warm for my taste. That LP had a darker tone and needed the high end of the PG to make it feel more open.

If that guitar had more of a neutral tone, I would have gone with the Seth. The Seth has a certain quality that is hard for me to describe, but I know it when I hear it. I hope that helps a little. At least SD offers a 21 day exchange period for you to test the pickup.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

Seth's are one of the world's great PAF's. They have an rich, open, 3D sound. Why not get a pair of Seth's? I can't see a PGB sounding better than a Seth bridge.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

Leon Of Late said:
What type guitar is it going in? The short answer is that can be a hell of a combo.

Both are fantastic pickups. I actually came down to those two pickups for the neck position of a Les Paul a few years ago. Here's what I remember, for what its worth. The Seth has a more open quality to the sound.... maybe a little more three dimensional. It also has a smooth, vowel type quality to the tone. I don't want to imply by smooth that the EQ of the pickup is flat or that the treble is dialed back, because it's not at all.

The PG has more mid range bark and high end sizzle, but in a very good way. It's more compressed sounding than the Seth and it takes gain very well. So did the Seth though. The PG just has a unique sound and it sings so beautifully with high gain and it excels at lower gain blues as well. The thing that helped me make my decision was the natural tone of my guitar. With the Seth in my guitar sounded great, but just a little to warm for my taste. That LP had a darker tone and needed the high end of the PG to make it feel more open.

If that guitar had more of a neutral tone, I would have gone with the Seth. The Seth has a certain quality that is hard for me to describe, but I know it when I hear it. I hope that helps a little. At least SD offers a 21 day exchange period for you to test the pickup.
Click to expand...
The guitar is a PRS SE Bernie Marsden. Very similar to a Les Paul, but about 1/4" shorter in scale length. I would say that it's unplugged tone is not dark but not really bright either.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

blueman335 said:
Seth's are one of the world's great PAF's. They have an rich, open, 3D sound. Why not get a pair of Seth's? I can't see a PGB sounding better than a Seth bridge.
Click to expand...
I was thinking that the extra high end of the PG bridge would mean better clarity and crunch when using gain. I know a Seth Bridge is going to have a lot of presence in the lower mids and I am not so sure that's what I really want to hear in the bridge position.
 
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Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

The Seths are lower in output. They have more inherent clarity. As long as you have an amp and pedal chain that gives you good control of e.q. and gain, they can be made to sound like PGs much better, and more readily, than PGs can be made to sound like Seths. If you never want a low output humbucker, just go straight for the PGs. Otherwise, get the Seths.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

ItsaBass said:
The Seths are lower in output. They have more inherent clarity. As long as you have an amp and pedal chain that gives you good control of e.q. and gain, they can be made to sound like PGs much better, and more readily, than PGs can be made to sound like Seths. If you never want a low output humbucker, just go straight for the PGs. Otherwise, get the Seths.
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PG's aren't considered low output?
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

Both the PGn and the Sethn are vintage output humbuckers. In fact, the Sethn is spec'd at 7.4k and the PGn is 7.3, so in that regard they're nearly the same. The Seth's are not potted, but the PG is. The PG was designed to sound like the humbuckers in Billy Gibbons famous Pearly Gates LP. The Seth's were built to be as close to a brand new 1950's humbucker as possible; like if you could step into a time machine an go back to the late 50's and buy some Gibson PAF's off the shelf. So, they're both copies of PAF pickups.

The difference is in their wind and the tone that wind was designed to achieve. The Seth is wound to be naturally warmer, smoother, richer, full sounding with a softer high end. Like a "V" eq shape, with the highs rolled off just a touch. The PG is designed to have more midrange bite and treble presence, so it's eq is just different. The PG is still surprisingly sweet in the neck position though. I don't find the PG neck and the Seth neck to be miles apart in tone. It's more just a personal preference than anything.

I really think you could be happy with either. I didn't think to ask what kind of music you play (but nice guitar buy the way). Under lower and medium gain, I preferred the Seth, even if it was slightly darker than the PG. The Seth sounded great under high gain, but the did have a tendency to squeal. The PG won't do that. At that point in my life I wanted to play 80's high gain stuff and be Slash or Warren DeMartini or someone. I still wouldn't mind being Slash though.

The Seth is the more musical pickup. The PG is designed to be a great blues/blues rock pickup with a little extra sizzle and bite. I personally think the sound of the Seth will allow more of your guitars natural sound to transmit through, as well as your style and playing dynamics. Not that the PG covers those things up, but its just voiced differently and designed to growl a little more when you heat it up with some gain.

If you play with anything more than medium output gain most of the time, I would choose the PG, personally. If you played more blues inspired and classic rock type stuff, I would pick the Seth, again personally. Of course then, you can order the Seth lightly potted as a Shop Floor Custom for no additional charge, other than the wait time; but that's a whole nuther box of rocks. If I had my own personal choice to make again between those two, I would buy the Seth. I still play the same type music now versus "then", but if I want to play higher gain stuff now I just pick up a different guitar. Back then the LP was my only nice guitar and had to cover more ground.

FWIW, that's my $.02
 
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Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

Leon Of Late said:
Both the PGn and the Sethn are vintage output humbuckers. In fact, the Sethn is spec'd at 7.4k and the PGn is 7.3, so in that regard they're nearly the same. The Seth's are not potted, but the PG is. The PG was designed to sound like the humbuckers in Billy Gibbons famous Pearly Gates LP. The Seth's were built to be as close to a brand new 1950's humbucker as possible; like if you could step into a time machine an go back to the late 50's and buy some Gibson PAF's off the shelf. So, they're both copies of PAF pickups.

The difference is in their wind and the tone that wind was designed to achieve. The Seth is wound to be naturally warmer, smoother, richer, full sounding with a softer high end. Like a "V" eq shape, with the highs rolled off just a touch. The PG is designed to have more midrange bite and treble presence, so it's eq is just different. The PG is still surprisingly sweet in the neck position though. I don't find the PG neck and the Seth neck to be miles apart in tone. It's more just a personal preference than anything.

I really think you could be happy with either. I didn't think to ask what kind of music you play (but nice guitar buy the way). Under lower and medium gain, I preferred the Seth, even if it was slightly darker than the PG. The Seth sounded great under high gain, but the did have a tendency to squeal. The PG won't do that. At that point in my life I wanted to play 80's high gain stuff and be Slash or Warren DeMartini or someone. I still wouldn't mind being Slash though.

The Seth is the more musical pickup. The PG is designed to be a great blues/blues rock pickup with a little extra sizzle and bite. I personally think the sound of the Seth will allow more of your guitars natural sound to transmit through, as well as your style and playing dynamics. Not that the PG covers those things up, but its just voiced differently and designed to growl a little more when you heat it up with some gain.

If you play with anything more than medium output gain most of the time, I would choose the PG, personally. If you played more blues inspired and classic rock type stuff, I would pick the Seth, again personally. Of course then, you can order the Seth lightly potted as a Shop Floor Custom for no additional charge, other than the wait time; but that's a whole nuther box of rocks. If I had my own personal choice to make again between those two, I would buy the Seth. I still play the same type music now versus "then", but if I want to play higher gain stuff now I just pick up a different guitar. Back then the LP was my only nice guitar and had to cover more ground.

FWIW, that's my $.02
Click to expand...
Thank you for your input. I play a little bit of everything but much of what I play is in the context of modern worship music. I ordered a Fulltone Mosfet 2 as the Golden Cello pedal I have really isn't working for those type sounds. I like that it allows me to set the tone to more an overdrive then adds a section to allow me to with in an adjustable gain boost. So yes at times I will be using a fair amount of gain.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

Putting a set of Seth Lovers in that Bernie is the safest thing to do.

Too many people think the PG's are too bright...although I don't and neither does Jeremy and many others on this forum.

The Seths get uniformly positive reviews tho.

They're a GREAT set of PAF's.

They are not under wound.

Any pickup that is wound hotter than a Seth is overwound because Seth's sound exactly like the way the man who invented the Gibson humbucker intended for that pickup to sound with one improvement: the bridge pickup is wound on the high side of vintage spec and the neck pickup is wound on the lower side of vintage spec.

So they're calibrated for the neck and bridge positions and wil be more balanced in terms of volume when you switch from one to the other.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

I play mostly worship music these days, and my guitars run a wide range of pickup styles (mostly humbuckers of some flavor like Pearly Gates, Jazz, DMZ Super Distortions, Breeds, Transitions etc.). Our group covers a lot of ground from classic hymns and recent revisions of them to more contemporary stuff like Third Day, Casting Crowns and even some Kutless. So, I have never been afraid to dial in a good amount of distortion for the right songs.

I'll start by saying that I've never played a Seth, but the PG I have is in an older Jackson SLS neck through with a mahogany body and mahogany 24.75 scale neck. I'll say it's a little bright in that context, but I like the attitude it imparts to that guitar. It has a nice cut in the context of our band where we can have multiple guitar players, normally it's just me and the other guy is on acoustic.

It works well with my JTM style amp and pedalboard and equally well with my Line 6 X3 Live presets when I need to run it in smaller rooms.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

I would start with a set of Seths- they sound excellent on shorter scale guitars, and if your guitar isn't inherently dark, I see no reason to boost the highs a bit here. I think the 3d-ness of the Seths outweigh any benefits the Pearly might have.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

jalguitarman said:
PG's aren't considered low output?
Click to expand...

In the grand scheme of things, they are slightly low in output (though still hot IMO). But within the realm of this discussion, i.e. relative to Seths, they are hot pickups.
 
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Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

ItsaBass said:
In the grand scheme of things, they are slightly low in output (though still hot IMO). But within the realm of this discussion, i.e. relative to Seths, they are hot pickups.
Click to expand...


Since resistance isn't a direct indication of output, what are you basing this on? Both have the same magnets.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

Unless I am specifically using a Black Winter set, The Pearly Gates neck pickup is the only neck pickup I will use.

I get consistency and feel out of that pickup no matter which guitar I use or which amp I play through.

It is fantastic in a Strat. It sings beautifully in a Les Paul. I love it so much.
 
Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

blueman335 said:
Since resistance isn't a direct indication of output, what are you basing this on? Both have the same magnets.
Click to expand...

That does not logically follow anything that I stated, and I sincerely doubt that your questioning my source of information is a genuine inquiry. You know very well that what I stated is not only obvious to anybody who has used both of these pickups, but that it is officially published information as well.

Additionally, the published resistance specs for Pearly Gates are below the Seth Lovers, while the Pearly Gates have a higher spec'd output, so I don't know what you even think I was saying about the tie between resistance and output anyhow. In other words, even if I had stated or implied a reliable link between the two, the statement or implication would have been that the Seths are the hotter pickups, not the Pearly Gates. But again, I made no such statement or implication, so the point is moot anyhow.

I said nothing about resistance. All I talked about was output, and how this in turn affects clarity and e.q. The Seth pickups are Seymour Duncan's lowest output regular production full-sized humbuckers; there isn't a pickup in that category that is not hotter.
 
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Re: Seth Lover Neck vs Pearly Gates Neck.

IIRC, Pearly Gates have mismatched coils, where as the Seths are matched, either exactly or more closely, so that leads to a difference in voicing, apart from their different wind counts alone.
 
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