Shop Keyboard Deals, Financing, and More

Seymour Duncan SH-PG1b Pearly Gates Bridge Humbucker Pickup - Black

Moderate-output Bridge-position Humbucker - Black
$119.00

Earn $6 back in Bonus Bucks OR pay $5/month with 24 month financing*

Or we have a demo model for just $107.10 ! Learn more
In Stock!

Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Seymour Duncan SH-PG1b Pearly Gates Bridge Humbucker Pickup - Black
In Stock!
$119.00
Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

Seymour Duncan Pickups - It's all about the tone!

The SH-PG Pearly Gates pickup was originally conceived to conjure tones similar to the pickups found in the venerable 1959 Les Paul Standard (the guitar that set the standard for blues guitar tone). And chock-full of tone it is! Described as "sweet but slightly rude," the SH-PG Pearly Gates pickup makes your amp come alive with the perfect blend of sustain and harmonics, not to mention a nice, bright top end. A versatile pickup, the SH-PG Pearly Gates can be paired with virtually any humbucker for a variety of tonal options.

Seymour Duncan SH-PG Pearly Gates at a Glance:
  • Sound
  • Complete setup
Sound

The SH-PG Pearly Gates pickup has a tone that can be characterized as warm, with a slightly hotter-than-vintage humbucker output. You've heard the SH-PG on everything from blues to classic and southern rock to modern rock, its versatility is the key to its success. Originally designed as a re-creation of the pickups in the '59 Les Paul Standard, the SH-PG mimics the tone that defined the raw, rebellious sound of Texas blues-rock. The Pearly Gates pickup is sweet but slightly rude, with great sustain and a bright top end that makes harmonics jump out of the guitar. It comes with a 4-conductor hookup cable to facilitate a variety of pickup-switching options.

Complete setup

The SH-PG Pearly Gates pickup is often used in both neck and bridge positions and can be used in the bridge with an APH-1 Alnico II Pro in the neck for smoother tones. A Pearly Gates pickup in the neck with a SH-11 Custom works well for heavier rock sounds from the bridge position. The SH-PG Pearly Gates pickup is great for brighter-toned instruments and works especially well with maple and ebony fingerboards. It also works great with hollow and semi-hollowbody guitars.

Seymour Duncan SH-PG Pearly Gates Features:
  • Humbucker
  • Standard spacing, Learn more...
  • Moderate output
  • Black
  • Bridge Position
  • 4-conductor wire
  • Great for a variety of tones
Your tone begins with Seymour Duncan pickups! Why Choose Seymour Duncan?

Quite simply, it boils down to tone. Seymour Duncan has spent the majority of his life refining the art of creating pickups. Seymour Duncan is dedicated to getting the best tone possible from his pickups, from modern metal monsters to faithful reproductions of gems from the '50s and '60s. We know tone is important to you which is why we choose to carry Seymour Duncan pickups. With the massive amount of pickups available from Seymour Duncan, you're certain to find the sound you've been looking for.

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • Type: Humbucker
  • Position: Bridge
  • Active/Passive: Passive
  • Magnet Material: Alnico II
  • Number of Conductors: 4 wire plus shield
  • DC Resistance: 8.2K
  • Connectivity: Soldered
  • Number of Strings: 6
  • Covering: Uncovered
  • Color: Black
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 11102-49-B

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

Incredible Tone

Incredible! Pairs unbelievably well with a Marshall style amp. I replaced a different Duncan humbucker that I like, but this Pearly Gates is just next level. For ZZ Top, Black Crowes, and such, it's perfect. And it actually gets rather close to early Satriani tone, which maybe shouldn't be a surprise since Satch is a huge Billy Gibbons fan. I have this in a Tele with a Duncan Classic Strat single coil in the neck, and that's a killer combo (much like what Gibbons plays these days).
Rated 5/5

10 Stars!

Wowzers! I recently installed this lovely electro magnet in my SG and I couldn't be happier! When I bought the guitar it actually had a Duncan '59 bridge pickup in the neck position and a Dimebag Darryl humbucker in the bridge. I loved the chime and sensitivity of the '59 and though the Dimebag Darryl was really good, it's tight, modern sound just didn't match the old school '59 to my ears. I tried a Duncan JB humbucker, and though it was closer to the mark, it still seemed too modern and was in some ways darker than my neck pickup. Thus enters the Pearly Gate Bridge pickup. I was concerned the output wouldn't be different enough from my '59 pickup but it's actually just right. It's got all the same chime and dynamic sensitivity of the '59 but it's boost in the upper mids gives it some extra crunch and bite that is oh so satisfying when switching from neck to bridge position. I can see this pickup working for any genre of music and is a perfect match for the 70s and 80s rock sound!
Music background: Professional Church Musician
Rated 5/5

Much better

I bought this for my Fender Player Series HSS Strat. I love the single coils but I wasn't crazy about the humbucker. I picked the Pearly Gates based on online reviews in Strats. Specifically those with 250k pots like this one. I like the 250k pots with the single coils and didn't want to change them. Installation was moderately difficult due to the extra hole I had to drill in the pickguard. Check the Seymour Duncan wiring diagrams for installation with Fender single coils. You need to reverse the green and black wires or the 2nd position won't sound right. It has to do with the reverse polarity. Well now it sounds awesome. A lot of clarity with delay for ambient worship songs. Add moderate drive or select a dirty amp for great rock tones. The lead tones sound way better too. Now I love my HSS Strat!
Music background: Worship, country and rock.
Rated 5/5

New pickup flavor

I have an older Mexican Strat HSS. The factory ceramic humbucker in position 1 left a lot to be desired. The harmonics/feedback on high gain produced a squeal rather than a tasty pitch. One more bit of info about my Strat original wiring: the H position had no tone control. I swapped the humbucker to a new Pearly Gates and wired it up with a tone knob. The 2 pickups with the same tone position were very different. I instantly noticed a lower output (which I wanted), and the sound was more balanced on every string. The feedback on high gain produced a more natural lower pitch than before. All of a sudden, the guitar gave me a reason to play it. Obviously, the new tone wiring helped a lot with the versatility. With the tone backed off, I can get a good cocked wah tone with definition. All in all, I know for sure that the Pearly Gates Humbucker is a far superior pickup that's basically made for a Strat. Playing Ted Nugent is now a lot more convincing. Plus the pinch harmonics and feedback are just so easy to coax in position 1. I believe the new Alnico humbucker complements the ceramic single coils more efficiently.
Music background: Semi pro
Rated 5/5

Sounds great

Buy this pup and put it under your pillow the first night. Your beard will grow 12 inches over night. Then install this in your guitar and hear the magic happen. You won't be looking for some Tush. It will look for you.
Close Close $2,000 Pick Your PRS Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Success!

Your email, has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!