Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates

Passive humbucking pickup with split wiring, which allows for single coil operation. Not sure about impedance.

This pickup is installed in the neck and bridge position on my Japanese Epiphone Scroll (SC 450). They replaced the original pickups which I found lacking in dynamics and tone. The guitar's original pickups did not complement the sustain and bite that this guitar has (all maple body & neck with rosewood fingerboard).

The PGs have a significantly larger output when compared to the original pickups; even the single coil selection sounds good - not the thin and brittle sound I got earlier.
I play my guitar through an old solid state marshall (5010) and I don't use effects. These pickups are incredible: they complement the guitar's tonal characteristics and realise its sound potential. Neck position sounds full, warm yet well-defined and the bridge position is bright with a real bite to it! The pickups respond well to dynamic play and the fairly bright tone is easily controlled with the tone knob.
I don't really play a particular style and focus mainly on practising technique these days - and these pickups have certainly open my eyes to what you can do with a guitar without any effects!

I have owned effects in the past, but at present I do not have anything other than my guitar and marshall amp. I would certainly buy these pickups again if I had reason to do so - I am impressed with seymour duncan quality! I have had a telecaster with lace sensor pickups, but I prefer the PGs - the warmth and dynamics are superb! I can't think of a better pickup at this moment. I was advised to have these pickups installed in my guitar by an excellent repair shop in Arnhem - and I am totally satisfied. I do wonder why pickups are as expensive as they are though... !

Humbucker pickup.

Installed in a 1954 Oxblood/special ebony finish VOS Les Paul Standard

Replaced a BB 2 in the Bridge.

SD Alnico II in the Neck.

modeled after the Rev. BFG (ZZ Top)'s PAF, Warren Haynes, Dickey Betts use it.

The BB 2 was to shrill in the highs for me; no balance with the neck. Wanted it "fatter" in the bridge.

Unreal fatness; all I can say. The treble is high, like other people havve mentioned, but the balance is rounded enough where you can control the tone better when rolling the knob down on said knob. I use a Fender Blues Junior, and the break-up is very good on this little amp; I first played it on a Diezel Herbert, so you can imagine the HUGE difference, but the PG works fine in the BJ as well. I think on its own for leads, and in the mid position with the Alnico II is fantastic, as the kind person below mentioned. These two PUPs are Reeses Peanut Butter Cups: two tastes that go great together!

I play Hard Rock, Classic, Metal: that part of the tone is in your hands alone. A good tube amp helps. I go straight through the amp with very few boxes: mainly a Line 6 ??ber Metal, EHX Small Clone, and a Dunlop CryBaby Classic with Fasel. I think this PUP is great if you like the raw, bluesy sound.

Been Playin 20 yrs. on n off, but know what I like. I worry about the treble getting on my nerves, but as the kind person below said, the Alnico II in the neck with the PG creates a balance that makes you know you got the right thing! The Pearly Gates IS the definitive vintage American Rock sound in my opinion. It works alone. I don't play as well as Dickey and Warren, so two of them would bore me out; I need some smoothness in the neck. If destroyed, will replace.

Check out the SD homepage, and match up. The Gibby BBs are great, but as you know, the tone hounds that we all are know that the LP are great in constuction, but the PUPs are not what makes 'em for th most part. Any player will eventaually upgrade, and that's the fun. PGs in the bridge just FATTEN up that weak BB 2 sound...check it out: If you are hankerin' for the grease!

A four wires passive humbucking

Installed in the bridge position of a Gibson Les Paul Classic instead of the original ceramic pickup

In the neck position an SD Alnico II pro APH 1 replaced the original ceramic pickup

I replaced the original pickups because I found the sound (clean and dist) was too metallic and inexpressive

I play the guitar into a Koch Studiotone combined with a Maxon OD808 and an MXR Microamp

I mostly play blues, power blues (ex. Cream or first AC DC), rock and hard rock

Pearly gates in the bridge position is a very good choice for the style I play (more than 20 years that I play that kind of music and I'm never bored).
But I think that I obtained the absolutely perfect sound combining the Pearly Gates with the Alnico II pro: I was surprised hearing that the mid position (both pickups) with both pickups splitted on single coil gives the sound I have ever dreamed...fantastic
I found what I was looking for!!!..the real brit crunch but a little heavier...lovely!

all passive bucker

this came stock in my fender showmaster, set in the bridge.

alot of reviews say that this pickup is definitely not a heavy pickup. oddly enough, i play primarily prog-metal with the damn thing!
has a reaaally full sound, especially when you compliment it with a tube screamer or equivalent (in my case the zoom g9.2tt).
This little bastard has AWESOME sustain, it gives a really fluid sound to arpeggios and scaled runs. CLEAN, CRISP and ARTICULATE!
when played clean, its pretty treble heavy. however, this seems to be the case with most of my other bridge buckers. if your guitar has a tone knob, this shouldnt inconvienience you much. i prefer using it along with the duncan 59' reverse polarity in my neck pos (i swear b.b. king just played something out of my amp...)

i still use this thing for all my studio lead work

if this thing got demolished, i would hold a vigil, then pick another one up.
obviously from everyone else's reviews you can get a classic rock/blues sound out of it.

what you can take from this review,
the thing can easily do metal, so long as your not lazy and actually hit your notes. crisp articulation and liquid sustain are any metal lead player's best friends.
ive been playing for 11 years, had this pickup for 4 and its still my favorite to play.
ive got a Dimarzio Evo 2 in an HM strat, and it sounded a whole lot thinner and weaker than this. as a result, this guitar has been banished to the guitar rack (damn shame).
This thing is also my number one compared to an emg 81 in my jackson rr24. why? sharper edge and waaaaaay cleaner articulation. remember, i do prog metal. heaviness is definitely there but this thing is BRIGHT!

for a non high-output pickup, those sly Seymour Duncan executives had me confused...

Passive humbucking pickup but you probably already know that.

I put this pickup in a Gibson Les Paul Special. Gives it a sweet tone! I paired the pickup with another SD Classic. These replaced the standard Gibson ceramic humbuckers. My main reason for buying it was to get that ZZ Top Pearly Gates tone. This guitar does not quite get there, but it is an amazing tone either way.

Much louder than the stock Gibson. Mine gives a crystal clear tone throughout all levels. Distorts nicely as well. Definitely not a "metal" style pickup more for classic rock or blues. I play a lot of classic rock and it is a perfect match for that. I mounted mine in the bridge, have not tried the neck version.

I have been playing for a very long time 20 plus years. Thsi is by far the best pickup I have ever had. I did just buy a LTD EC-1000 with Seymour Duncans in it and I will judget hem later. But for now this is the best.

Passive humbucking

Model of guitar or bass: a 1979 Gibson ES 335 td CRS
Position: bridge & Neck (I only use the Neck pickup)
Pickup being replaced: Dirty Fingers
Artists using this pickup: Billy Gibbons
You musical style(s): Punkrock

Play it through a 1979 Marshall JMP 100watt amp.
I have a lot of guitars and amps, like: Gibson ES 369, Gibson Marauder, Gibson LP Special, Gibson ES 335 dot, Gretsch tennessian, Hagstrom p64 Deluxe, Epi Crestwood, fender blues deluxe amp, Marshall JCM 800 Slash amp etc..)but the combination of the Semi hollow ES 335, the pearly gates and the amp is the best i have ever heard!!
The tone is middy and a bit bassy, but dont get me wrong here...
It's definatly a good pickup for leads, high tones just cut through!

If they would die on me i would get the same ones rightaway!
Just a great pickup..

Humbucker
Passive
F Spacing

Humbucker F Spacing bridge position on American Delux Strat.
Eric Johnson PUPs on middle and neck.
This is the calssic zz top sound. LOVES overdrive, and pinched harmonics (La Grange) is just naughty!

High output compare to orginal strat humbucker.
Using Fender Supersonic amp, PUP is a little on the trebly side to balance with strat single coils , not a bad thing.
I play New Country, Classic Rock in a cover band, I use this guitar 80% of the time.

I buy/sell gear often, but I will keep this PUP in some guitar.
It is a nice hot humbucker.

Humbucker with 4-conductor wiring. Fits standard Gibson-type Les Paul, SG, 335, etc.

Installed in the neck position of a Heritage H-140CM. This is a guitar based on the Les Paul design, with a much narrower body.

Output level is slightly higher than the PAF pickup. It sounds great with a Krank Distortus Maximus distortion box, Hermida Mosferatu, and the Durham Sex Drive or Durham Mucho Boosto. The 4-conductor wiring enables coil tapping, which is essential for those of us who want to be able to choose single coil clarity or humbucker overdrive at the flick of a switch. Excellent for blues, blues-rock, classic rock wailing.

I am combining the Pearly Gates in the neck with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge position. Highly recommend this combination.

2 Les Paul projects. Telecaster FMT.

Pleasing balanced sound with both maple and mahogany solid bodies. Excellent note bloom on solos. One of the best of breed for traditional rock and roll genre, and fairly versatile with coil tap options. Will make even crappy guitars sound like money.

Given the needs of shredders and thrashers in the last decade these seem be viewed as old school, iconic, the 70s-80s LP sound I guess. Still, a great all around HB if you're not into that hot ceramic thing. You can play them all day and not get bored. They balance well between neck and bridge, I have a "matched" non-PG in one of my guitars and it doesn't sound nearly as good as two PGs in the other..they make a nice set. Change in volume or tone control yields a big change in sound and dynamics. Only HB I've tried that rivals the overall playbility characteristics of PGs are Gibson Classic 57s. Never muddy, and they love pedals behind them. One of best for what they do, fair price.

Humbucker, specs listed elsewhere.

Epiphone Les Paul Ultra, stock pickups have a "classic" sound, but not enough gain for my tastes. I replaced the bridge pickup with the PG.

Output:medium, a little louder than stock. Currently using a Carvin MTS3212 compbo amp with JJ tubes stuff inside and a compressor in front to drive the signal. The PG has less mids than a Duncan Distortion, but it has a nice upper mid presence which is exactly what the Epiphone Ultra needs. The chambered body has a LOT of natural midrange so a big mid pickup, like the Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon simply won't work well. With the PG I can dial just a little off the highs with the tone knob and the sound is cutting (through effects) yet still sweet. For rock, a little country, and heavy metal, the Pearly Gates is a great pickup!

I'd get it again, and again, and probably once more after that too, should I be thrice cursed! I've been playing badly since 1987, over half my life so far. I've also tried a JB and the Screamin' Demon in this guitar. Both had a little too much midrange, although the JB is a cool-sounding, it didn't have enough "balls". The Screamin' Demon had enough of those, but too way too much midrange too. I'm satisfied for the moment, but have a new Vox AD120VTH head on the way, and may want something a little brighter later, like Gibson's 498T. I'll just have to see how it all sounds together.