New to pickups and this forum

[vintage_fan]

Hi

This is my first post here. I've been looking to replace the combination of 490/498 in my les paul. But i'm afraid that i would not like the sound of new pickups if i replace them and i do not have any experiences to pickups. So i need some advices from anyone around here.

I'm looking for a paf type of clean sound and a powerful but clear overdrive in my les paul. After reading the reviews of the 59 model, i guess they are pretty good for what i want. But i've been told to put in the JB model for the overdrive in the bridge and 59 in the neck for clean and another guy told me to put in 59 in the bridge and Alnico 2 pro in the neck. So which combination should i have? Or is there any other combination that you guys recommend?

I play mainly Guns N' Roses type of rock, Blues and jazz. Thanks

[Rainmaker]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

Hey vintage_fan

You mentioned Guns n Roses rock... well, Slash uses a set of Alnico 2 Pros! One in the neck, and one in the bridge.

I can't help you out with much else - because I've only tried two Duncan pups, but theres a old-school member by the name of Jeff H, which on his Soundclick page (music hosting), has 3 clips of the A2P's. Neck, bridge and both combined.

I thought it sounded absolutely beautiful - it will do blues, and I'm not so familiar with jazz at all, so I don't know.

The clips are here:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/4/jeffhaggardmusic.htmScroll down about half-way and the clips are there.
Absolutely fantastic tone.

Hope it helps, and welcome to the forum!
Bee

[Dooogz]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

Welcome to Sd!!!

Umm, as Rainmaker pointed out slash uses the set of Alnico 2!

Personally have the 59 neck and jb bridge combo, and it seems great for my style which is mainly rock!!

[vintage_fan]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

Hi all,

Thanks for all the inputs. I've got one question, will the clean sound of JB sound fuzzy? I use both pickups for my clean sound. I'm thinking of just putting in two 59 models in it cause after listening website Rainmaker provided, the alnico 2 sounds really muddy. (I don't really like slash's tone anyway )

Will two 59 model in a les paul compliment each other well in both clean and overdrive sound? Or should i put in another combination which is jazz model in the neck and 59 model in the bridge? Sorry for all the trouble, this is the 1st time i'm changing pickups so i'm a little picky:P

[Rainmaker]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

Will two 59 model in a les paul compliment each other well in both clean and overdrive sound? Or should i put in another combination which is jazz model in the neck and 59 model in the bridge?

Which pickups (neck and bridge) compliment each other well?
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=5571
According to the replies on that thread, it seems as if matched sets are given the big thumbs up, hence '59 neck and bridge being a good combo.

Reviews of the '59 Model
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=5560
Two pages of good information - all your answers will be covered there.

Sorry for all the trouble, this is the 1st time i'm changing pickups so i'm a little picky:P

Don't mention it - we're all mates here.

Bee

[Curly]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

vintage fan,
welcome
I'm assuming that you've read through the descriptions of the vintage type
the humbuckers

the JB will not be fuzzy ... if anything, some find it bright for their tastes, or their particular guitar

you'll find reviews of both the '59 and JB in the Vault section, for some all around views of those pickups

the 59's are a great all around, vintage type hb, and the alnico 5 magnets in the '59 will give you tighter lows and highs in comparison to the AIIPro, which is warm, a little more compressed, and has a bit more sustain

really, it's hard to miss with any of the vintage type hb's, just a matter of narrowing down the one that's right for your application

I think these are combos that would appeal to you, and after reading through the reviews and descriptions, you should be able to narrow your choice down:

a set of 59's

59n/ JBb

59n/ C5b

Jazz neck/ JB bridge

[flank]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

go for C5/ 59 combo.....or C5/Jazz

the C5 is like a 59, but stronger, theres more bass and more highs..... and more output.....but not too much of anything......its still has vintage voicing, and is very articulate and maintains a very nice clean sound, especially in a Les Paul

the 59 neck will have a good amount of bass..... sometimes sounded woofy and bassy..... but i imagine lowering the pickup a little bit could get rid of that

[tone4days]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

steve has clips of his C5-59 combo in a les paul that sold me on that set for my ibanez (i know, totally different guitar - but my results were very satisfying)

good luck
t4d

[dr.barlo]

Re: New to pickups and this forum

First of all you need to find a reference point in order to understand what the descriptions of various pickups are. Don't worry you already have one. The closest set (considerably better tho) of SD's line to 498T/490R is a C5 in the bridge and a Seth neck (in the neck there are other competitors like Pearly Gates neck or Alnico 2 Pro neck).

The reason is that the construction of the pickups are alike. Naturally the overall results are similar. 498T's, just like c5's, have alnico 5 magnets and are wound similarly (I guess with the same gauge wire as that in C5's but maybe different coating I am not sure, and the winding pattern which makes a huge difference, would be different as well). Nonetheless, their overall vibe is similar, but C5's have less of 498T's annoying uppermid spike and are more clear.

My 490R is 8.00K and has an alnico 2 magnet. Its sound is not bad, but a SD A2 PAF clone neck is sweeter. More clear, more spongy, but when driven it gets thick still retaining the clarity. Clarity under gain is definitely a point that I think SD's pickups clear win the battle against 490R.

Which one among the SD PAF clones to go for depends on your tastes. If oyu wanna have that sweet round tone with spongy bass in your neck go for an a2 PAF clone. Seth neck is great, clear, soft but does great under gain; if you wanna have extra uppermids to cut through easier get a Pearly Gates neck (but that's exactly the point some don't like because it makes this pickup somewhat more upfront in comparison to other SD a2 PAF clones); if you wanna get a rounder tone, thicker but with slightly less clarity (some would disagree I know, but that's what my ears are telling me) go for a alnico 2 pro. Well if you wanna get a soft, sweet, clear, tone that blooms (with pick attack) instead of being full of uppermids (during the pick attack), get my favorite the antiquity neck HB. You won't regret it. + getting into magnet swapping turns this HB into one that stands tall against any of the very pricey, high quality boutique PAF repros.

If you wanna get less spongy bass, more defined tone in the neck with more uppermids and less lowermids (the bass as I said will be more in your face, i.e. less spongy) go for an a5 PAF clone in the neck. Competitors are 59n, and Jazz-n. The result would be a more strat-neck sounding HB. 59n always delivers, but I have to admit that it is not very high on my personal list. All my 59n's have alnico 3 magnets, instead of alnico 5's.

For the bridge again it is upto your tastes. In the bridge if you wanna have a LedZep kinda biting tone, go for a 8.00-8.70K a5 PAF clone. Pagey's set features a 59 kinda bridge pickup at 8.70K. Getting an antiquity and modding it with an a5 magnet gives excellent results. 59b is great too. If you wanna have less thumb, but still maintain the bite, get a PGb, a great pickup. For softer ones Seths and Antiquities (sorry I did not try the a2p in the bridge) are the ones to consider. I think for softer tones antiquities cannot be beaten, they have the mojo.

Hope that helps.

B