Cream T Pickups 'Whiskerbucker' & Seymour Duncan 'Pearly Gates' Comparison w/ Tom Quayle
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2020
- Since the release of our flagship set of pickups the Billy F Gibbons 'Whiskerbuckers' we've been asked on countless occasions how they compare to the Seymour Duncan 'Pearly Gates'.
To confirm the 'Whiskerbuckers' are 100% electronic reproductions of the pickups found in Billy F Gibbons 1959 Les Paul known around the world as "Pearly Gates". Billy took the "Pearly Gates" guitar out of its vault and allowed Thomas Nilsen of Cream T Pickups to analyse the pickups and make exact electronic reproductions using the Cream T 'Oracle Scanner'.
This is the first time this has ever been done with the original "Pearly Gates" pickups.
The 1959 "Pearly Gates" guitar owned by Billy Gibbons has been used on every ZZ Top album and is responsible for some of the greatest classic rock tones recorded.
The Seymour Duncan 'Pearly Gates' pickups borrow the name from Billy F Gibbons famous guitar and are wound to have a vintage output with "raw texas punch & sizzle" for classic rock styles.
In this video Tom Quayle will compare both sets of amazing pickups installed in two different "Pearly Gates" Gibson Les Paul guitars. He'll be playing through Billy F Gibbons' very own Magnatone amplifiers.
Back to back you will hear the 'Whiskerbuckers' & Seymour Duncan 'Pearly Gates' in both clean/overdriven tones in all positions.
Use the timestamps below to skip to a scene:
OD Tones
1:55 Seymour Duncan Bridge
2:19 Whiskerbucker Bridge
2:39 Seymour Duncan Middle
3:07 Whiskerbucker Middle
3:34 Seymour Duncan Neck
4:05 Whiskerbucker Neck
Clean Tones
4:36 Seymour Duncan Neck
4:59 Whiskerbucker Neck
5:30 Seymour Duncan Middle
5:55 Whiskerbucker Middle
6:24 Seymour Duncan Bridge
6:53 Whiskerbucker Bridge
Cream T Pickups are available now worldwide!
www.creamtpickupsdirect.com/
They both sound great, but the Whiskers are much clearer and brighter, which I think makes them sound better in a mix, so well done Thomas!
You're right. The seymours sound a little muffled compared to the whiskers. The seymours remind me of listening to 70s guitar tracks.
Used my camera's db meter to monitor the output. The Whiskerbuckers were considerably louder in this recording. Loudness is perceived as better. Hard to really know since they were not recorded the same
@@RickMcCargar I agree. The WB's were a bit louder and I thought they both sounded quite nice, actually. Only in one place- middle position clean, I heard a little bit more of that "random", very pleasing PAF bloom(?), goink(?), glassiness(?) that I associate with vintage Gibson players like Billy Gibbons or Jimmy Page. I dig company's like WB that make the effort to provide gear geeks like us with authentic repro's of our hero's gear.
Great comparison. The Duncans are great p-ups, but the Whisperbuckers are next level. More attack, better definition and more articulate. Fabulous sound.
Maybe already noted....but the WB Les Paul strings were "top wrapped" versus the SD Pearly Gates guitar was strung up through the tail piece. Just saying...wrap can have a small effect on Tone.
Unconvinced. The string vibrates between the tune-o-matic and the nut. That whole "top-wrap makes the strings longer, therefore softer ignores the basic fact that a longer string needs more tension to come up to the same pitch. there is two much snake-oil and fairy dust around top-wrapping.
Wow, these pickups sound crazy good.
Love this Guy's guitar playing!
Some people are saying the WBs were more articulate and bright. I just call it harsh. I felt like the SDs were much more pleasing to listen to. But to each his own.
I know this is a late response, don't you think the WBs are better because even if you find them too bright or harsh, dial back the volume or tone. Just frees up so many options for tone, right?
Billy Gibbons actually uses Seymour Duncans and not Cream T's so of course they sound more on point. Haters just want Duncan to fail. It's hilarious 😂😊
@Steve Life Who's wanting Seymour Duncan to fail? Lol
Pearly gates in a mahogany type body such as an SG will set you free my musical friends.
Whiskers are brighter but the Duncan's sound more like a PAF especially in the middle position
Best reviews on UA-cam.
My dream guitar! I love Duncan's, but cream t's sound amazing!
The Pearly Gates Les Paul is my dream guitar, and I'd be happy with either of them!
The Whiskerbuckers have better note definition to my ears.
WoW, ok so I can clearly hear the difference through speakers on my phone and on a bad laptop with bad speakers. This triggered me to listen through better speakers connected to a mac. And it made clearly that the Whiskerbucker pickups is more open and responsive. It is a huge difference. I suggest the folks that only hear a small difference, stop listen on their shitty phones and laptop speakers. If you want to hear this in a proper way, if you are a listen for TONE, connect proper speakers or Headphones. Then you will as I did, hear how big the difference really is. I wanted to do this since these pickups are 100% reproduction of the original pickups in Billy Gibbons Les Paul. This caught my attention big time and man, I'm just blown away. Well done Cream T. I thought after all these years that the SD PG pickups sounded great, but these pickups takes it to another level. So folks, do as I, plug in real speakers or Headphones and enjoy. And Tom Q, you give me new inspiration each time I watch your videos. Well done Tom Q.
Mr. Quayle is such an Amazing, fluid player! He could make a Canoe Paddle with strings on it sound Brilliant! Having said that, I found very few differences in the sound from these pick-up sets. To my ear, the Whiskerbuckers had slightly less output, making them just a tad cleaner sounding. I thought both Guitars sounded amazing. I guess it just boils down to the price.✌
just listening to the open natural sound and sustain; those pick up heights are set beautifully. really producing a true lp sound.
when all is set up to spec, pu heights are critical...
what do i know...
I'm thinking of putting the WhiskerBuckers in my Firebird. I have an excellent luthier and think it would turn the guitar into an animal!
wow sounds exactly like my 300 euro epi great job guys
I think I like the SDs better, I dont care for the extra brightness in the whiskers. They are way too clean, even with grit. And Im droppin them in an SG standard so, they will be slightly brighter in that than a LP. But nothing nails that BFG tone like a Billy Bo and powertrons through a small tube amp cranked. All 3 are great though. I think the most versatile for different genres, is the SD’s. If youre looking at SD’s dont overlook the Saturday night specials. They are fantastic as well. Great A/B great job and excellent playing. I wish I could play like that, but never took lessons. Im just a poor hack..
The important thing is that SD is alnico II and T-cream alnico 5bridge and 4neck there is already a different ratio of heights and it is mainly an advertisement for T Cream, I like both
??huh??
The WBs are the clear winners in this comparison. I have been waffling back and forth on whether or not to get a set of WBs. I think this settles it... time to start saving (ie, they aren’t cheap!). Thanks for doing this comparo!
I can't afford anything too cheap. Lol. Buy once, cry once.
Did you get them? If so, what do you think.
@@qua7771 I did… sort of. I emailed Cream T before ordering and asked if I could get a set of WBs with double cream bobbins and they said they didn’t do special orders for the WBs. But if I wanted double creams then I should just order their Scan 3 humbuckers, which are the exact same wind as the WBs just without all the BFG packaging and paraphernalia (and which they did do special orders for). So I did that and saved myself about $150 in the process as well (and got double creams). As for how they sound… spectacular! :)
@@1allspub Thanks.
What I meant in my previous reply, is that I have spent more money cheaping out then if I would have paid the outlay for quality, and been done. These certainly sound amazing in every video I have seen.
@@qua7771 Yeah, me too! ;) Often it’s better to just get what you really want up front. Saves a lot of hassle buying & selling and taking losses. :)
I would like to see this demonstration through a different amp..Im not enjoying the base tone out of the Magnatone.. Makes all examples of both pickups sound harsh.. Too distorted with no top end sparkle and little definition that one would expect from an old school PAF design.. Great playing as always from Mr Quayle.
Yeah, I was wanting to hear them through a Bluesbreaker or similar as well.
Yes, I feel the same. Also, On said Amp, Use the volume knob !!! To get & showcase the different sounds. That's what The vast majority of ppl playing in the 70's DID !! I, do. ( The types of Pot's & caps in those guitars also make a quite a difference) and, as it is 6/22, Correct audio taper Pot's & paper in oil caps Are available. Sadly, The "Bumblebee" capacitors Gibson installed then are Mica Cap's painted to look like "Bumblebee" caps. I know talking about such particular things can drive ppl Crazy ! But it makes playing "Magic" a lot easier. I KNOW. Been gigging & chasing tone for decades ! W/ Real Burst, & Real Non Master volume Marshall's ect. Despite what MOST players say in guitar mag's or Net interviews, They, Don't want ppl to know their Exact "Tone Recipe" a Great example is Saying "Yeah.. 100 W Super leeds" when many Actually use, Early 70's 50 Watt MK 2's . ( &, They Vary, a LOT ! ) I've been blessed to find an amazing one, The gain @ 6 & beyond is AMAZING !! & All you have to do to get clean , & all points between, is in your Volume knob. That's the Magic wand, the rest is up to you !!
How would the cream t pickups work in a Yamaha sa2200 (335 style) guitar ?
were all the controls exactly the same the creme t sounded much louder for sure, are they both close in terms of output specs?
There is much more "attack" on the Whiskerbuckers. The Seymour Duncans sound jazzier by comparison, especially on cleaner tones.
They are both great sounding pickups but the whisker pickups are cleaner and more soulful
Both nice. No complaints at all
I like the whisker bucker on the neck but pearly gates bridge
But what would they sound like through a Plexi?
I have the SD PG bridge and love it but these whiskerbuckers sound a lot better
Cream t sounds fantastic :)
Kinda leaning to the WB's. To my ears, they have a little bit more "bite" in both the bridge or Neck position.
Excellent review Whisker Buckers for me! I'll take the money I'll save on razor blades and buy me a set!
What burst is that guitar?
Whisker Buckers much more clarity and a lot closer to Billy's tone. I assume that it was the same amp settings on both.
More upper mids and treble in the WB. Nothing some EQ wouldn't fix with the duncans. Plus, these are two different guitars. No two guitars sound the same. One thing I do with muddyish pickups is just take off some bass in the amp's eq, works miracles
Great review. The whiskerbucker are brighter and fatter in all the right places. Will you be doing a review/demo of the Bernie Marsden Bernie Bucker?
In this instance I thought the Seymour Duncan sounded more like original PAF but both are great.
Neither sound like an original PAF they are meh.
Fantastic sound, but a little bit too weak for us.
Are these pick ups available as high output?
Greetings
Hey bud, don't know about the whiskerbuckers but they have just released the afterburner which definitely sounds like it has more punch with the higher output
I'm very interested in Cream T but very disappointed by this demo's production. How can I evaluate anything where the respective volumes between the Duncan and Cream T are so out
of whack?
The Cream T is twice as loud, and clipping on clean tones.. Why? Pushing the levels like this wrecks tone and does nothing for the Cream T.
The Duncans don't lack volume or clarity but that's the impression it gives..
I look forward to a more balanced representation of these pickups
Great comparison. The whiskerbucker have more treble and more "twang" allmost single coil quality to them compared to Pearly Gates. In my ears the whiskerbucker sound wery similar to Gibson Burstbuckers I have guitars with both Burstbucker and Pearly Gates. Gotta try these!
What kind of burstbucker?
There are 3 completely different versions
@@dezionlion Yeah. There are even more than that if you include the '59 tribute, Custombucker, etc...
Excellent. I suggested this show down!. Great tones from each guitar. The Duncans sound darker by a lot. Now to do the WhiskerBuckers vs the BFG Bangers. Please? Great video and playing.
I thought the Duncan bridge sounded best on the high gain setting. I liked the Whiskerbuckers for everything else. The Whiskerbuckers have that "fat tele" sound that is very similar to the original P.A.F. sound.
Both sounds good as mine 57`s Gibs no significant change as with Lollars Imperials
I'm thinking on using an old set of 57's instead of the BB's that were stock The 57s came from a 97 R9
Yesss! I can hear that difference. The whiskerbuckers have a much better tone!
How can you compare pickup sounds with over and under wrapped bridge.? This makes 0 sense
Whiskerbuckers sound like TV Jones Magnatrons...which were requested by Billy Gibbons.
whisker buckers definately sound hotter and with more body and persence but the strings are top wrapped ,on the pearly gates there string through the tailpiece ,i always topwrap my les pauls cause it gives more body and reasonance .i dont see much difference until the set up is identical im afraid
If you're using the SD Standard Run PG, you're not getting the real ones. SD has a Custom Shop wind that is the Gibbons wind, but it's not the same as the stock model.
Ive been looking for those pickups but i cant find it in the SD web site, any idea of the price?
@@antoniojazzyguy1754 The CS Wind you have to explicitly ask for when ordering from the CS. They all run $160 per pickup i believe, as they are made to order and not mass produced like the Standard run Pearly Gated
@@salzulli6290 thanks so much for the info, i will send an e-mail to SD
dont waste your money on th SD custom shops spend the extras and get the cream Ts ive had both and the cream at far supassed the SD custom shops
@@johnyockel8787 I don't disagree. Unless you're getting a truly unique wind, or are trying to balance a specific wind with a pickup from a different set, the SDCS isn't worth it. You can find a better fitting set for what you're looking for (without spending an extra $50+) by looking at similar sets from different companies
Whiskey Bucker would've been a better name for these. They sound great.
Whiskerbuckers smoked the Duncans, but to tell if they're Pearly like, would have preferred to hear these through a Suhr Hombre. The Magnatone is a bit too muddy for this. It's a good sound, but it's not the sound the customers for these pickups are after.
The whiskers sound like they have a little more output which if your playing straight through an amp you dont necessarily want
Lol went through the trouble of doing a time line then realized you put it in the description box.
This is usually put in the comments section and pinned by the channel. Haha
By the way, mine are on the way. After listening on my surround Speaker TV setup, clearly The WhiskerBuckers are my favourite and I immediately ordered a set. Looking forward to their arrival. A weeks worth of research and battling out all the different PAF builders out there I finally choose your pickups. There were a lot of great contenders but in the end the choice decision was clear. Cheers!
I wish the guitars had been strung up the same, one is top-wrapped, the other is not. Hard to say how that affects the comparison.
I like wb neck and sd bridge
WB’s are more BFG tonally accurate. They are the finest humbucker pickups available.
In the first 2 clips of the crunch tone the WB sounded more opened but maybe more lose and not as focused also thinner at the same time. I kinda perfered the PG as it was focused and sounded tighter with still good clarity as well. Just sounded more rocking the PG to me anyways.
Thanks.
The others that said that they liked the PC's didn't express why. Now it makes since. I thought I liked the WB's, but in terms of versatility I can see why some would choose the PG's.
Depends what you like, the Duncan is more versatile but the whisker is singing it off a dream
Good video but it’s not a fair comparison!!
The guitar with the Wiskerbuckers is TOP-WRAPPED. This makes a small sonic improvement in my Les Paul which is why I do it.
I like them whisker biscuits.
WhiskerBuckers. No contest
I think the difference is that whiskerbuckers are scatterwound while seymours arent
The Duncan custom shop versions would have made a more equal comparison.
We wanted to start with the pickups found in the Gibson Custom Shop Collectors Choice Pearly Gates Les Paul.
The Duncans sound awesome, but then they sound almost muddy compared to the Cream T's. Wow.
That’s usually because the eq is set to make one set sound better than the other. Don’t believe everything you see on the internet. The WBs sound identical to every PAF copy out there using A4 and A5 magnets on a low wind. The PG sound like themselves and not much else. I have ran a lot of boutique pickups, and I have found they almost all follow the same formula, especially since they all probably buy the same reproduction parts to build the pickups with. Just food for thought.
@@yrahcaz1967 Great comment. Very informing and eye opening. Thanks for sharing your experience.
As much as I like Duncan pickups--and have a guitar (which I've not played in years) with a Pearly Gates p/u in it--the WhiskerBuckers are far more pronounced in chording & to some degree, lead tones.
The Whiskerbuckers are more open and a little more mellow
Cream T's seem to be clearer and more articulate, but also less 'forgiving'. Duncan s a bit warmer and more even, maybe a bit better for a harder natural attack.
The Cream pick ups sound great but more of a Jimmy Page middle twang than Billy Gibbons.
I honestly on UA-cam think they both sound the bloody same. Both great pickups
Yeah, deffinitely a difference to hear. The Whiskers are much more present and have better definition.
A=B to me, and i is a fanatic about tone. I wish I could have heard any difference but couldn't
First listen was with ear buds and the differences where dramatic. WB were WAY better. Then I listened again with my Sony MDR7506 and the differences were not as great…ymmv
The DrunkenDesigns sounds absolutely horrid compared to the Whiskerbuckers. Why would anyone not buy the Whiskerbuckers after this demo ? Convinced me period. Huge difference. I can see why Billy like them.
Actually prefer the Duncan here. The WBs are just brighter
Play some ZZ Top stuff..
not even close to the same pickup different pickup profiles all together. i think ill stick to what b gibbons plays if i want his pickup tone.
whiskerbuckers all the way.
I prefer the Seymour Duncan's, but what you need to try are Amber Spirit of 59's .. the very best 😉
The Seymour Duncan's Pearly Gates, much like almost any SD pickups are not great. You get what you pay for. Even in this video, through my computer, without proper speakers the SD's sound thin, and frail comparatively. The lack of harmonics makes the SD's sound like a toy. I used to own a set of Pearly Gates pickups from Seymour Duncan, they were the worst pickups in any of my guitars. Having tried SD's time and again on the recommendation of any number of talented, but apparently misguided folks, I give up, never again. The difference here is so clear and obvious *shrug* Save the extra hundred bucks and get some real pickups like the Whiskers. Pair them with a nice wiring harness and watch everyones jaw drop.
Jaw dropping comment. Nothing has ever matched up to my Seths. They are on point! Also still love the Jazz/JB combo.
Those Whiskerbuckers sound pretty good to me. Just not $400.00 good. Peace.
You said his name a hundred times and compared his endorsed products, but can't play a few bars of his music?
Seymour must be cold blooded, pickups always sounds like he has a blanket on
The Duncans sounded better 👍
Play one
Play the other
Repeat
Done
Every player is different, I still prefer the duncans
It looks like the Cream Ts are with new strings, and not the SDs which is cheating!... :D
The SD's sound very dull
I thought that too especially in comparison to the whisker Buckers.
WOW! Whiskerbusters blow away the duncans