I actually just recently purchased that set..... I also returned it less than a week later. I play some metal, but mostly alternative type music, and just good ol' rock n roll. I have in my recent years developed a sincere affection for blues as well. This is no surprise, as Blues is where all the rest of it originated from. I think there is a part of just about anyone who plays guitar that can appreciate Blues. And I have realized that in learning more blues licks and just practicing from that angle, I have become better all around. It has just opened my playing up and caused me to think about things differently than I had for as long as I can remember. Anyway, what drew me to the Pegasus/Sentient set was the fact that they are Alnico V pickups, and I was looking for something different to try other than my Pearly Gates which are Alnico II magnets. I know that you can't really base what a pickup will sound like off of what type of magnets they have alone. Well, I know that now that is. Up until I tried the Pegasus/Sentient set, I had always had the idea that generally speaking, Alnico II pickups are the 50's, warmer PAF type tones, and Alnico V pickups were a bit hotter and spikier sounding, having a bit more bite and high end attack. I always liked the alnico IIs better because of their low end, among other things. The Pegasus/Sentient set though, was none of those things, especially in comparison to my Pearly Gates. PGs are Alnico II PAF type pickups that have what I consider to be "that thing" that just defines what a Les Paul sounds like to me when I think of them, only just a hair more output. Instead of 7k, they are 8k (neck) and 8.4k (bridge), and with them there seems to be a bit of extra everything, but mids is most noticeable to me. (Compared to my other favorite Alnico IIs, the Gibson 57 Classic/ 57 Classic Plus set, and others as well) The Pegasus/Sentient set just seemed to be lacking all around. The best way I could describe them is the way many folks describe EMGs, just sterile, and lifeless (which I would not at all consider EMGs). Now I'm sure there are many people out there who get them to work just beautifully, after all, the majority of it is in the hands of the player anyway, and ultimately, I think those pickups and I just didn't jive for some reason, and that is okay. That little detour is what taught me that with my Les Paul, if it aint broke, I'm never trying to fix it again. I was an idiot for wanting to take the pickups out of a guitar that I could literally use to play anything with, AND sound great no matter what it was. When I think about it now I laugh, and I appreciate the fact that rather than assuming there must be something better out there, that its also entirely possible (and more likely) that I was actually lucky for once when I picked those pickups out, and I managed to purchase the absolute most remarkable pickups for ME and a Les Paul on the first try. That guitar is my number one, and I don't ever see that changing. It is literally my favorite guitar in the whole wide world, and someone could offer me something different, and I would certainly take it, and likely even love it, but my Standard will always have that spot locked down. It's just as Les Paul as a Les Paul could possibly be in my book. I've heard people say to be patient when you shop for a Les Paul, and play the hell out of a bunch of them and eventually, you'll find the one, and when it happens, you'll just know. Well that guitar is my "The One".
