I don't know about that one! I've owned and tried BOTH pickups and the DH-1 is a ball-less , bland 'bucker whereas the Pearly has cajones!

I LOVE Fender and Fender guitars.....but Fender CANNOT do Humbuckers!!
I've tried all the types...your DH-1's, Atomic's, and the ones that come in Tele Deluxes. I just DON'T like them!!!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

Pearly Gates and Pearly Gates Plus DH 1 joint design are two different pickups.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Pick up number One

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gate Plus Humbucker Pick up: Fender collaborated with Seymour Duncan® on this specially designed humbucker which is used on the new American "Fat Strat" and "Double Fat" Stratocasters. Made to accommodate the string spacing of American Series and Vintage instruments, the sound is fat and full, with balanced out put that works well with single coil equipped instruments. Parchment color. Also includes 4-conductor wiring to allow for a variety of switching options to increase your tonal possibilities. Get a little slice of heaven with the Pearly Gates Plus! Nothing says big, fat, guitar sound like a hum bucker!

Pick up number two the Atomic Hum bucker

Fender Atomic Humbucker Pickup: The Atomic Humbucker is one of the hottest humbuckers in Fender`s pickup arsenal. It offers a full driving mid range with the best natural harmonic overtones, and the top end is just right for a crunchy edge. This pickup is a great choice for players who love rock solid rhythm crunch and expressive soloing


Not that these two DIFFERENT PICKUPS are every ones piece of cake.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I have indeed OWNED, was very unhappy with, and promptly ditched this pickup!!
I'm not concerned with the multimeter reading of the pickup itself....being Fender's "Hottest", I go by SOUND. It SOUNDED crappy!!
Compared with the replacements I used: in one guitar I replaced it with a Gibson 490T (a total classic rock MONSTER!!) and in another 2 guitars, I replaced it with DiMarzio's 36th Anniv. P.A.F. There, honestly was NO comparison!
The difference was as clear as night and day!!
All 3 guitars came ALIVE!! They sound AMAZING!! I play Blues-Rock and these were IDEAL pickup choices for me!

Again.....Fender CANNOT do Humbuckers!!

_________________
I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

Oh, don't get me wrong. You advice is very well taken, and I may experiment with some different PUP's down the road.

The things that I have noticed about pickups (with the limeted experience that I have with them) is, the noiseless ones that I had in an American Delux Strat (I think they wher the SCN's) where nice and quiet, but they did not quite have that signature Strat tone that the stock ones have, and they actually sounded kinda processed or compressed (to my ears). The American Standard Strat's that I've owned with the standard pickups had the signature tone but had the 60 cycle hum (unless you used position 2 or 4). The hum never bothered me because my pedal has a noise gate that eliminated it. These texas specials sound a lot better than the standard pickups without loosing that signature sound, and the humbucker sounds pretty good (to me anyway). I'm sure there are other pickups that would sound better, and the day may come when I decide to experiment with them.

I went through a phase a while back with different guage strings on my Strats. I tried every brand of every guage from 9's to 12's, both wound and unwound G's, and even flar wounds. I spent a couple hundred dollars on strings over about a two week period. I was obsessed with it the whole time. I wound up going back to the Fender 9's that came on the guitar to begin with...LOL, but I learned a lot about strings, and have learned that the stings are part of what gives Strat's that signature sound that I fell in love with when I first played one. If I ever go on another string crusade, and the tuners can't handle it, I can always upgrade them, but for now these ones seem to be doing the job.

I do appriciate your advice, and I will be picking your brain in the future if it's ok with you.

No problem! You mentioned SCN's as your exposure to NOISELESS pickups.
I've had SCN's and they are NOT representative of what's out there in the NOISELESS dept. They are INDEED sterile and lifeless.
I have jumped on the DiMarzio bandwagon with their AREA series of Strat pups. They are 'Stratty' as all heck and QUIET!
Rarely does an 'off the shelf' guitar meet my needs....so I must 'operate!!

Enjoy the guitar...it IS gorgeous!!

_________________
I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

For some time now I have been staying away from the common Seymour Duncans and Dimarzio's and turning customers onto Bare Knuckle and Rio Grande pickups. Lots of good word for Rio Grande's

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

My wife bought me an American Special 3-tone Sunburst HSS, and I personally did not like the humbucker. I replaced it with a Dimarzio Area'67 and it's awesome. I've been told that the Area'67 is based off of Jimi's sound from the monterey festival. I love the Area'67, its a very versatile pickup from what I can tell so far. But I'm still playing with it and tweaking my amp. But here's my guitar......

I'm probably going to start a thread because I just ordered a replacement humbucker for my American Special HSS, and I'm a bit under the gun (as in, I want to replace the stock 'Atomic' asap).

I really don't like the Atomic...it's not terrible, but it's kinda weak compared to what I usually use (SD JB/JB Jr., Dimarzio Tone Zone).

But that's not why I'm posting. Reason I bring this up is, I noticed with the stock Atomic pickup, there is a mounting screw on the bottom of the pickup, and unlike anything i've ever seen, two screws on top..close together. I actually really like this as it gives you room to adjust your pickup not only for height, but it allows you to straighten the thing out when you've got it at the height you want..unlike standard humbuckers, which can tilt one way or the other.

That being said, I ordered a Duncan Custom SH-5, and I'm sure it's just got the two screws..one on top and one on the bottom. Do I have to replace the pickguard on this thing, as it's the pickguard that has the two small holes on top of the hbucker?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.

Todd

I have the same guitar...absolutely love it. The three tone sunburst is absolutely stunning to look at. Fender really hit a home run with this guitar, considering it's USA-made and relatively inexpensive. It plays great, feels great...and with the right pickup would sound great as well.

I added some small mods, including white plastic bits, Fender locking tuners, and a replacement neckplate with the Fender, Corona Calif. script.
Here's a pic...



I do have a question though...and I'm hoping you guys can help out. I don't like the Atomic bridge hbucker...so I ordered a Duncan Custom SH-5 (play hard rock and metal, so this one should work great for me)...that said, I'm a little concerned with the install...being that the pickguard on this guitar has two holes on top of the humbucker and one underneath..this isn't a typical setup...when I put the new pickup in, will I need to get a different pickguard? Is there anything else I need to know?
I don't work on my guitars myself...other than minor things...so I won't be doing this job myself....but I would like to buy the parts I need before I take this to my tech. If I need a replacement pickguard, I'd like to order it now.

Any info is really appreciated.
Thanks guys!

Todd