Thoughts on the Gibson 496r/500t

[Inflames626]

Today's specimen:

Stock Epi Futura/Extura with Epi Floyd Rose

496r/500t with Triple Shots
Phase switch on neck pickup
Shadow killpot on bridge pickup
Independent volume controls

500t measured about 15.5 k. 496r measured about 8.5 k.

I built this guitar as a lead guitar counterpart to my Hamer Scarab, which has a Classic 57+/498t setup and is mainly used for rhythm tracking. In a mix I would use the 498t on the left and the slightly brighter 500t on the right side and then mix to taste.

I only played the Epi through a clean amp but I was very impressed with how even and well matched the pickups were.

Going through Triple Shot configurations didn't seem to do much as the pickups were pretty transparent. The TS was good at reducing the output via parallel, though, if needed.

The 500t reminded me of a slightly hotter Duncan Custom (my Custom measured 14ish). It also reminded me a little of the EMG HZ1 bridge pickup which was also around 14k and generally modeled after a hot PAF I think. All are very even and lack the fizz, presence, and midrange spike of distortion oriented pickups, which is why I like using these PAF inspired pickups for tracking rhythms.

Mostly I was surprised at how relatively warm and even the 496r was in the neck considering it is a ceramic pickup. I tried at EMG 81 in the neck once and did not like it. I expected a similar experience here but was pleasantly surprised.

Not exactly sure if I have a Futura or an Extura. It has a Floyd like a Futura but is shaped like an Extura without that ridiculous flat Moderne style flat part on the upper side of the neck. So it's basically an Explorer with a Floyd without the style concessions to look "edgy" and futuristic. It has a set neck. It reminds me a little of the Gothic line Gibson and Epi were putting out back in the 00s.

Build quality was great for an import but with some strange things I had never seen.

Toothpicks and a foam pad were in the very deep neck pickup cavity. I guess this was to allow the neck pickup to back down and keep it at an angle. I could leave all the lead on the 496r and the Triple Shot and it still fit easily with the pickup backed all the way down into the ring. It was probably the deepest pickup route I had ever seen for that thin a body.

The bridge pickup route was very shallow. I had to clip the 500t lead very short to use it with the Triple Shot so it would all fit in the cavity. I dislike doing this in case of swaps/reinstalls but it was absolutely necessary.

Other curiosities included 500k linear pots for each volume and a 500k audio for tone with .22 uf cap. I had come to think these should be reversed but I realize it is personal preference. They probably used whatever they had on hand at the factory.

Build quality was very nice. I prefer gloss over matte black but matte keeps its looks and does not show imperfections like gloss. No inlays. Only a Roman numeral XII was at 12th fret.

Overall very classy and stylish. I would prefer it over a real Explorer, I think. The only way it could have been improved was for the bridge pickup cavity to be deeper.

Even the stock bridge was nice and kept its tune fairly well despite the Floyd being removed off the bridge posts for pickup installation. Only the low E string came out of tune 1/2 step. The bridge even flutters slightly like a real Floyd/Schaller. It's good quality for a licensed bridge.

I can see why Epiphone has become more popular over the last few years. I had always considered Epis rather cheap in the 80s and 90s but build quality seems up relative to many imports.

My only concern now is whether I want to keep the 496r or maybe try a 498t/500t combo. The 496r will be more versatile but the 498t in the neck will probably be a lot warmer and better for soloing from the neck.

I dislike wasting resources on guitars with the same pickups in the same place--for example 2 500t guitars. I will keep the 496r a few months and then decide.

Ultimately I'm quite happy.

I'm not sure why so many people are down on Gibson stock pickups aside from their price and the fact that Gibson rips you off in that you have to buy aftermarket pickups to get 4 conductor wiring. Someone who buys a $2,000+ guitar should not be held back with two conductor pickups stock.

So far I haven't played a Gibson pickup I've disliked. I only traded away my 57 Classic because it just wasn't designed for what I had in mind.

Hope this helps and comments are welcome from people more knowledgeable with Gibson gear than I am.

Thanks.

[Inflames626]

Aceman is always welcome here as I think this post would be right up his alley.

[Aceman]

You really need to listen to a 500T next to a Distortion. It will more than remind you.

[Inflames626]

You really need to listen to a 500T next to a Distortion. It will more than remind you.

Is my current love affair with the PATB-1 close enough?

[Chistopher]

Other curiosities included 500k linear pots for each volume and a 500k audio for tone with .22 uf cap. I had come to think these should be reversed but I realize it is personal preference. They probably used whatever they had on hand at the factory.

I'm not an expert on Epiphone pots, but I'm pretty sure they all (or at least the "normal" models) of them do that. I don't know why, but I've noticed it on a few of their guitars that I had, and I didn't like it.

[STLMTLHD79]

I have had a 500T in an 88 LP Custom since 1997. I really love it for metal, especially chugs for thrash. With that said, its not the most articulate pickup. It works very well with 500k tone and vol pots and after I made that change, it did become a tad more articulate. I think a 498T would be pretty muddy as a neck pickup. I have not used a 496R in a very long time however, I recently picked up an MIJ Epiphone Elite LP Standard that had EMG's in it. I am going to do 50s wiring with 500K CTS Pots and .022 orange drop caps with the 500T/496R combo. Looking forward to the results.

[Inflames626]

As an aside, other things I liked/disliked about the pickups:

1) The wires came stripped in such a way that they were very easy to install. The ends could be removed with fingernails and the wiring jacket was stripped far enough back that the wires could be moved but the solder joints to the Triple Shot stayed intact. Sometimes the small things count.

2) The humbuckers were of the long legged variety--probably a concession to Gibson's obsession with tradition. For the bridge pickup this made the install nearly impossible even with the pickup lead shortened. The 500t still sticks up a bit and cannot be lowered without bottoming out in the cavity.

I assumed these would be short legged pickups since they were not Gibson 57 Classic style reproductions. But the long legs were there even on these more modern pickups. Even with the notches at the edges of the pickup cavity, those seeking to install long legged pickups into shallow guitar bodies should be cautious. They may not fit without removing wood.

[Rex_Rocker]

I somewhat agree with you on your comparison with the 500T and the Custom.

I agree in that it is a more balanced pickup in the mids than say, a Black Winter or a Distortion, even. It's not as mid pushed.

I disagree in that the Custom has a bloated low-end that I hate. The 500T is not like that at all, IMO. It's also not slightly hotter, IME, but WAY hotter. It's almost Black Winter kinda output, just not quite. I'd say it's hotter than the Distortion for sure.

I love my 500T, personally.

[Inflames626]

To my knowledge--now that the Angus Young and Tony Iommi signature Gibson pups are out of production--this only leaves the Dirty Fingers in terms of increased output.

Maybe that would be a fairer comparison to the Distortion than a 500T?

[jeremy]

the angus young pup wasnt all that hot. it was bright as hell though

[Inflames626]

Thanks jeremy . I was going by this highly scientific chart.

I have a 490r/490t set but I've never tried them. They seem very similar to the 57 Classics--almost to the point of being the same pickup but with four conductors instead of two.

Would that be an accurate statement?

[Inflames626]

Also I'm not sure how they're defining "output," whether it be loudness, or how much the pickup distorts a clean signal (which is how I define it), but I'm not hearing the 496r being slightly hotter than the 498t.

If one uses resistance as a way to measure output I don't think my multimeter would reach that conclusion, either.

[jeremy]

i dont think the 490 and 57 classic sound all that similar to me. the 490 has a more modern voice to my ears.

i assume the output chart is just that, how loud a pup is. a louder pup will distort a clean signal more, but that is somewhat frequency dependent. i feel like a mid heavy pup will distort a clean signal more than a scooped one even if on paper they have the same output

[Chistopher]

i assume the output chart is just that, how loud a pup is. a louder pup will distort a clean signal more, but that is somewhat frequency dependent. i feel like a mid heavy pup will distort a clean signal more than a scooped one even if on paper they have the same output

I think that's one of the biggest issues with trying to talk about pickups, that people assume their ears are linear at detecting volume. Two signals one smile shaped and one frown shaped with the mids at the same volume will sound more similar in volume than the same signals with the bass and treble at the same volume.

in other words, just because a db meter hears things at the same volume doesn't mean we do. And some things that sound the same volume distort an amp more or less.

And to make things worse, our ears are more sensative to low bass and high treble at louder volumes.

[freefrog]

Also I'm not sure how they're defining "output," whether it be loudness, or how much the pickup distorts a clean signal (which is how I define it), but I'm not hearing the 496r being slightly hotter than the 498t.

If one uses resistance as a way to measure output I don't think my multimeter would reach that conclusion, either.

For the record, the output of passive pickups is always relative anyway, since it depends not only on height settings but also on pots resistance, cable capacitance, input impedance of the first host and so on.

Regarding DCR, let's keep in mind that a same number of turns in a coil with different wire gauges will provide the same inductance but a higher resistance with the thinner wire, giving actually a lower output from the highest DCR... if you wind a PAF clone with 4506 turns per coil, the whole PU will measure around 9.14k with AWG43 vs 7.43k with AWG42 but the one wound with 43 will be sligthly weaker.

About "the" 496R: my archives mention a measured inductance of +/-4.8H (vs 7.8H for a a 500T) and a moderate magnetism when measured at the surface of the poles - while the same readings on a 500T show a magnetism almost 3 times higher than with a "normal" HB, hence the very high output.
The warm tone of a 496R appears to depend a bit on the alloys choosen for the magnetic poles and mainly on a very high stray capacitance, giving a low pitched resonant peak...

FWIW - a mere attempt to share, as usual. I whish you all a nice day. :-)