I SHOULD do a bloggicle about WRITER'S BLOCK, and maybe I will someday, but this is Tonefrenzy, and as the name implies, we're all here because we have a fanatical attitude about all things musical, especially the tools of its creation: yep... GEAR.
 

Just a few minutes ago I lost an Ebay bid for a vintage Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickup, and I was outbid BY ONE DOLLAR!!

ONE FREAKING DOLLAR!

Dang, if I'd have been blown out of the water by multiple bidders, and this gem had gone for 20, 30, 40 bucks more than I could swing, I'd be less sore.

I'm finding it a challenge to be philosophical about this.

Why? Good question. This pickup was wound by The Mojo Queen, Seymour Duncan's own Marciela Juarez. I have 2 examples of her handiwork, both from the 1980s: a very musical Distortion model (much more 3-dimensional and versatile than the DiMarzio Super Distortion) AND, more germane to our story, a Pearly Gates PGBJ bridge model that has such gloriously complex, gently scooped mids that when I put it in my Les Paul and tested it at band practice, my bassist commented "wow, that sounds like the world's largest hollow tree!" The Pickup That Got Away was the 7.5K Ohm match to the 8K gem that resides in the bridge position of my 'Paul currently. THAT's what kills me!

Never mind that Fate spared me from spending money that I could ill afford to part with... I'm still pissed! I could have had a match made in heaven!

Ya know what, though?

Sound is all that counts, and I have no idea whether this thing was a treasure or a turd in that department.

Sure, considering that my PGBJ bridge 'bucker sounds even better than my sainted Lindy Fralin Pure PAFs, it's PROBABLE that this gone-forever neck pickup would have been sonic bliss, BUT you never know how anything sounds until you try it. It may've proven to be shrill and overly clanky, as some PAF clones are.

After all, one player's "detailed vintage tone" is another player's ice-pick-in-the-ear nightmare.

...and there IS the fact that I shouldn't have been bidding that high anyway, seeing as I am broke and I already have some nice pickups in my parts drawer looking for the right guitar to call home.

You see what I'm doing here? Bidding on stuff can lead to heartbreak, and it's important to develop Loss Rationalization Skills. Become good at telling yourself you didn't want it anyway.
 

...or spare yourself the agony and buy your ear candy from Tonefrenzy.