software

So.

About three years ago I bought a '97 Big Apple Strat, but at the time I felt that the bridge humbucker (Pearly Gates ) was too bright and low output for me, so I changed it for a Dimarzio Super Distortion. Of course, my taste has changed since then and I don't favor as much distortion as I used to. I have a Flying V that I'm changing the pickups out of; I have a GFS hot P-90 for the neck, and I was wondering what to put in the bridge when I realized that I still have the Pearly Gates . So what I'm wondering is, before I break out the soldering iron (which I've never done, PS), is this the right pickup for me? I basically haven't even looked for pickups in three years, so I've forgotten how to go about this.

What should I do?

since you have it, my suggestion is to throw it in and see what ya think. if you can tell what you like and what you dont about the pup we can go from there.

that said, i dont like the pg all that much. i do however love the normal pearly gates. the pg has a tighter bottom with a cleaner mid range and a brighter more open top than the more mid focused pg. ive never tried a pg in a flying v, but my guess is thru my amps it would be too bright. my too bright could be your perfect

What is a Pearly Gates Plus?

From the SD FAQs section:

What's the difference between your Pearly Gates pickup and the Pearly Gates Plus on a Lone Star Strat®?
The Pearly Gates is rather different than the quot;Pearly Gates Plusquot; that is on the Lone Star StratTM. The Pearly Gates Plus is only available on that guitar and not made for retail sales. The main difference in these pickups is that a Pearly Gates has Alnico II magnets, while the Pearly Gates Plus has Alnico V magnets. Alnico V magnets tend to give a brighter, glassier tone, while Alnico II magnets tend to have a warmer, rounder, more mid-rangier tone. The closest pickup available in our regular line to a Pearly Gates Plus is a '59 Model with 4-conductor cable. The '59 is an Alnico V pickup with a wind very close to that of the Pearly Gates Plus. The '59 usually comes in single conductor cable, but it can be ordered with the 4-Conductor wiring option.

What are the specs on the Pearly Gates Plus?
We do not list the specifications of the Pearly Gates Plus in our Tone Chart because this pickup is not sold retail and can only be found in the Lone Star Strat®. For comparison purposes, here are the specs:
Hum canceling: Yes
DC Resistance: 8.65k
Magnets: Alnico 5 bar
Resonant Peak: 6.62khz
4-conductor wiring

Got it, Pearly Gates with Alnico 5 mag. Easy mod to make, just swap out the magnets -- instant Pearly Gates Plus.

Though 8.65k is just a smidge hotter than the 8.5k on the Tone Chart. Not a significant difference though.


Originally Posted by jeremysince you have it, my suggestion is to throw it in and see what ya think. if you can tell what you like and what you dont about the pup we can go from there.

that said, i dont like the pg all that much. i do however love the normal pearly gates. the pg has a tighter bottom with a cleaner mid range and a brighter more open top than the more mid focused pg. ive never tried a pg in a flying v, but my guess is thru my amps it would be too bright. my too bright could be your perfectToo true. I'm using a couple of very bright amplifiers, (Twin Reverb, Peavey Butcher) so maybe the brightness of the PG would be overkill. I'm removing the stock humbucker in the V because it sounds too congested. Almost like it only has one frequency, in the midrange. From the description in Duncan's FAQ, it sounds like the PG is pretty much a slightly brighter and hotter '59. I do love the '59 in the neck of my other guitar, so maybe it will be right for me. Like you said, I guess there's only one way to find out!

As a corrolary: If I ended up putting a hotter pickup in the bridge, like a Custom or something, do you think it would overpower the P90 in the neck? It is a hotter P90, I think somewhere around 8k or thereabouts.

You could also try a 250K pot for the dedicated PG pot (whether it be tone or volume) that will tame down the high end.

The custom won't overpower the P90, they are very beefy pups.

Also Welcome to the Forum!

Luke