Leon Of Late
New member
The Custom Shop Pearly Gates set I ordered that is.....accidental light wax potting and all. I’ve had a chance to spend a fair bit of time with them, and they just sound really damn good, period. I’ve spent a lot of time dialing in the height adjustment and the pole piece adjustment. I think I have them where I want them for the most part.
The neck is set lower than I expected, below the level of the neck ring by just a touch, but that’s where it sounds best and balances. Open, airy, breathy, articulate but still warm and full when it needs to be. The neck pickup is just wonderful. The bridge pickup is set lower than I usually set bridge pickups too, not a ton, but maybe 3- 4 full screw full turns. It needed the room from the strings to breath a bit, but it is crispy with great bite and crunch. It sounds nice clean, very crisp but clear and bell like, but overdriven is where it shines. It’s plenty thick and complex with the roughcast A2, (and I did check), and it rings out clearly under gain even using full chord shapes. I can see why and how Joe Satriani used a PG in his rig years ago. I don’t play complex chord progressions like he does, nor can I, but my measly bar chords and the few others I know sound great, even under gain.
I was able to use my DSL40C (though not with new tubes yet), my Boss GT-6, which has some nice amp models that I have set up and tweaked over the many years I’ve had that sucker, and I even took it to Guitar Center with me Saturday Evening. Spent about 30 minutes alone in the amp room with a Deluxe Reverb (the maroon tolex version) and a Princeton Reverb. Boy do I like that Deluxe Reverb....and I am a Marshall guy dyed in the wool. Wow is it lush and rich. The CS PG’s sounded spectacular through that amp. So detailed and alive. Just rich and shimmering and detailed. I run out of adjectives. From heavy OD to light crunch to bluesy licks to just clean with reverb, they sound great.
They do sound different than my Greenie Custom Shop set. These are or at least sound hotter and they have this top end bite that the Greenie set does not. The Greenies are warmer, a bit smoother in comparison. I really think it’s mainly the top end or treble attack. The Greenies sound like they have more mids and a fuller low end.
Anyhow, I did not intend for this to be a review of the pickups, but I guess it’s sort of turned into that. I just can’t stop talking about them, especially after spending a couple hours this afternoon noodling around and adjusting some more. I know a lot of other forums bash on SD Custom Shop and say you need to buy Wizz or OX4 or Re-Wind or Stephens Design or any other number of boutique winders to get a true high quality custom pickup.....that SD is just a high production manufacturer that makes mass market products. I have purchased from several of these other winders and have nothing bad to say about any of them. Some I have really liked and some have disappointed me. All gave me great service and worked hard to build what I wanted. That’s all you can ask.
However, what I can say is that every single Custom Shop order I’ve had from Seymour Duncan over the past 20 years now....6 I believe, have all been fantastic. I’ve bought 2 full sets and 4 single pickups. I foolishly sold 1 of the pickups in a Guitar I sold, but I still have the rest. Never a disappointment. That is saying something about consistency over time...and MJ always remembers me when I tell her who I am......and I’m nobody. THAT is worth it’s weight in gold to me.
Cheers.........
The neck is set lower than I expected, below the level of the neck ring by just a touch, but that’s where it sounds best and balances. Open, airy, breathy, articulate but still warm and full when it needs to be. The neck pickup is just wonderful. The bridge pickup is set lower than I usually set bridge pickups too, not a ton, but maybe 3- 4 full screw full turns. It needed the room from the strings to breath a bit, but it is crispy with great bite and crunch. It sounds nice clean, very crisp but clear and bell like, but overdriven is where it shines. It’s plenty thick and complex with the roughcast A2, (and I did check), and it rings out clearly under gain even using full chord shapes. I can see why and how Joe Satriani used a PG in his rig years ago. I don’t play complex chord progressions like he does, nor can I, but my measly bar chords and the few others I know sound great, even under gain.
I was able to use my DSL40C (though not with new tubes yet), my Boss GT-6, which has some nice amp models that I have set up and tweaked over the many years I’ve had that sucker, and I even took it to Guitar Center with me Saturday Evening. Spent about 30 minutes alone in the amp room with a Deluxe Reverb (the maroon tolex version) and a Princeton Reverb. Boy do I like that Deluxe Reverb....and I am a Marshall guy dyed in the wool. Wow is it lush and rich. The CS PG’s sounded spectacular through that amp. So detailed and alive. Just rich and shimmering and detailed. I run out of adjectives. From heavy OD to light crunch to bluesy licks to just clean with reverb, they sound great.
They do sound different than my Greenie Custom Shop set. These are or at least sound hotter and they have this top end bite that the Greenie set does not. The Greenies are warmer, a bit smoother in comparison. I really think it’s mainly the top end or treble attack. The Greenies sound like they have more mids and a fuller low end.
Anyhow, I did not intend for this to be a review of the pickups, but I guess it’s sort of turned into that. I just can’t stop talking about them, especially after spending a couple hours this afternoon noodling around and adjusting some more. I know a lot of other forums bash on SD Custom Shop and say you need to buy Wizz or OX4 or Re-Wind or Stephens Design or any other number of boutique winders to get a true high quality custom pickup.....that SD is just a high production manufacturer that makes mass market products. I have purchased from several of these other winders and have nothing bad to say about any of them. Some I have really liked and some have disappointed me. All gave me great service and worked hard to build what I wanted. That’s all you can ask.
However, what I can say is that every single Custom Shop order I’ve had from Seymour Duncan over the past 20 years now....6 I believe, have all been fantastic. I’ve bought 2 full sets and 4 single pickups. I foolishly sold 1 of the pickups in a Guitar I sold, but I still have the rest. Never a disappointment. That is saying something about consistency over time...and MJ always remembers me when I tell her who I am......and I’m nobody. THAT is worth it’s weight in gold to me.
Cheers.........
