What a difference! Loving the PGb

jonathane40

New member
I just changed the bridge pickup on my VM Les Paul and i am very pleased.

I used to have a custom on there and was never happy with it. I think it had too much output for my taste. On the bridge i have a jazz and i liked it. However, i want to put in a 500k pot on the neck to get a bit more highs.

Tomorrow i will try the PGb with a bit more volume and gain and see if i like it the same.

Are any of you loving a jazz on the neck and a PGb?
cheers,
Jon
 
Re: What a difference! Loving the PGb

Hello...
Please post an mp3 or youtube clip of the PG brigde cause i´m thinking of the whole PG set for my Gibson Les Paul...
But i was thinking of making a custom order at the custom shop to get the brigde PG overwound to about 10K and some more mids...
Would really like to hear how your guitar sounds with lots of volume and gain
 
Re: What a difference! Loving the PGb

How does the PG work for hard rock/ metal stuff ? Is it tight enough compared to the Custom? How's the treble / high mids in the PG compared to the Custom? I have a Custom/PGn set and while the custom is great for aggressive rhythm stuff, it could perhaps be a bit weak (not in the sense of output, mind you) when it comes to less distorted tones and lead playing.
 
Re: What a difference! Loving the PGb

I like the PGb, but I still prefer A5 mag based vintage style pickups in the bridge if that's the type of tone I'm going for. There's just something that's a little too "soft" in the tone of A2 bridge pickups for me. I love them in the neck though. When I finally break down and buy another LP style guitar, it'll have a 59 bridge and A2P or PG in the neck.
 
Re: What a difference! Loving the PGb

There's just something that's a little too "soft" in the tone of A2 bridge pickups for me.

Haha, It's kind of the opposite for me - every time I've had a magnet that wasn't A2 in the bridge of my strat, it sounded harsh and wrong, but as soon as A2 is in it (Custom Custom, Custom Custom/78 Hybrid, VHPAF, Unpotted VHPAF) it sounds right. A2 has just the right amount of 'give' for me, and it feels like it's got more swagger than A5 to my ears, which sounds way to bright and sterile unless it's degaussed some IMO. In order of preference for magnets, it would go something like this:
1. Degaussed A2
2. Degaussed A5
3. Any Gauss A3
4. Full Gauss A2
5. Full Gauss A8
6. Full Gauss A5
7. Ceramic 5 or 8
8. two way tie - degaussed A8 and A4
Also, the PGb is a fantastic pickup - made my sub- $200 epiphone starter guitar sound like a decent les paul, which is saying a lot considering the guitar is basically built out of plywood.
 
Re: What a difference! Loving the PGb

I've used the PGb in my main guitars for years (although now I'm using a custom) and am still a big fan.

It's IMO, a very versatile pick-up... great for almost anything really. I could manage great metal/punk/whatever heavy tones with it (although the custom's a bit better for the very heavy applications, hence its presence in my main guitar at the moment) but I'd without hesitation use another one in another les paul. It sounds amazing clean and dirties up very very nicely. The "softer" or spongier lows (very apparent when palm-muting on the low-e) sounded terrific to me, I just loved the way it sounded. Not for everyone I rekon but very very cool sounding to my ears.

The major thing with the PG is that you have to use your tone-control knob a bit more than others to adjust it just right to your rig. I used to have it around "8" for general applications and turned it all the way to 10 when it came time to solo... it just cut through beautifully.
 
Re: What a difference! Loving the PGb

I got to try it a bit more this morning and it is really great. I haven't been able to try it with high gain though.

Swedishhumbucker, i am not able to post sound clips cause i don't have a way to make them. About the PGb for hard rock/metal i am not sure cause i play mostly classic rock. One reason why i wasn't happy with the custom is because i felt that it was better suited for more aggresive rock even though you could get some nice classic tones by playing with the tone and volume knobs. I feel the PGb can handle hard rock and metal but maybe not as well as the custom.

Surgeon, i agree with you about the tone knob. I find myself using it more now than before.

I think the custom is a good pickup; i just did not like it's high output. I prefer lower output humbuckers. And the PGb sounds less aggressive to me.

Also, i haven't been able to notice the sizzle that everyone talks about. Maybe i'll notice it later.

cheers,
Jon
 
Re: What a difference! Loving the PGb

Haha, It's kind of the opposite for me - every time I've had a magnet that wasn't A2 in the bridge of my strat, it sounded harsh and wrong, but as soon as A2 is in it (Custom Custom, Custom Custom/78 Hybrid, VHPAF, Unpotted VHPAF) it sounds right. A2 has just the right amount of 'give' for me, and it feels like it's got more swagger than A5 to my ears, which sounds way to bright and sterile unless it's degaussed some IMO. In order of preference for magnets, it would go something like this:
1. Degaussed A2
2. Degaussed A5
3. Any Gauss A3
4. Full Gauss A2
5. Full Gauss A8
6. Full Gauss A5
7. Ceramic 5 or 8
8. two way tie - degaussed A8 and A4
Also, the PGb is a fantastic pickup - made my sub- $200 epiphone starter guitar sound like a decent les paul, which is saying a lot considering the guitar is basically built out of plywood.


Well if were talking Strat pickups, then it's a different story. I'm not a huge fan of any traditional single coil in the bridge. But I really dig the 5/2 and the Twangbanger in the bridge of a Strat. The TB is all A2 mags, and the 5/2 has A2 mags on the unwound strings.
 
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