I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

[ledzepp29]

hey, i need to know what humbucker is some where near a 498t, something with an alnico 2 magnet, but with a little more clarity, and power. just something thats like the 498t but better. i don't want anything with a bunch of output or anything ceramic, i was looking into the aph2 for bridge and neck.but i am not so sure about it in the bridge. hit me with the recomendations. thanks

[jeremy]

Re: I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

the 498 is alnico V magnet, id say with an alnico II neck, c5 bridge. i used to have a pgn/c5 combo n my sg and it was great!! it has a nice big bottom and smoother top with a medium output that balances well with a low output neck pup

[PRG]

Re: I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

A buddy of mine used to use the 498T in his LP and switched over to the Screamin Demon, fairly similar to my ears, although the Demon is more scooped. I know it's Ceramic, but the Custom is quite similar to the 498T. Both are bright and sometimes harsh and work great in thick guitars. The 498 isn't a bad pickup, I love it for hard rock and metal, you might just want to stick with it.

[dr.barlo]

Re: I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

The duncan that is closest in terms of the specs (both ~14.50K and have a5 magnets) is, as Jeremy said, the C5. It does not have the mid spike the 498T has and is way more open, yet otherwise pretty similar.

A JB would sound in the neighborhood of the 498T as well.

B

[Lightning]

Re: I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

Doc,

You speak as a man who has BTDT and found his way back home to the #42 8.7k. You're ahead of me and I know your right. I think I found a way (neck PU) to balance out a 10k #42 bridge though, but right now I'm shooting out the high z 43 and 44 gauge bridges. The 498 mid spike, where is it at in ref to the C5, could it handle an a2? Warren Hanes' just kinda lays there for me (no Duane Filmore sizzle). I need to buy a fuzzface and retry all my PUs. I enjoyed your sound clips, could hear the Duane influence, but your not a Duane clone. Same way here, I can steal the guy's tone and only a serious Duane freak would know just how much a Duane/Coltrane freak I am.
B...I did find the Blue Sky neck pickup...Yea man...Can't tell you...you'd laugh (there cheap...not SAE gauges) but I've got them in 3 guitars already and more to come. There 8k and the bottom isn't woofie, a2 is Blue Sky (thick mid, like caramel), a3 is like Hendrix in the West, a5 proving to be an experiment only. Maybe the 498t with an a2 or a5 is the compliment for the a2 neck. for the a3 neck I put the ceramic back in my DD and that's magic. I think the 498 pickup gets a bad rap because of the 300k pots. Later, Chuck

[Robert S.]

Re: I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

The Custom Custom has an alnico II magnet and the same wind as the C-5. It is more mid prominent than the C-5 but it's mids are more spread out when compared to the 498T giving it a far smoother tone and feel. If you are talking Duane/Warren tone with a bit more push, the CC may be the way to go.

[dr.barlo]

Re: I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

Howdy Lightning,

Thanks for the kind words. And I absolutely agree DUANE rules, but I don't think being a Duane clone is something I'd want. I love ****ey's playing as well, Gibbons, Clapton, Greeney, Steve Gaines (what a player he has been ), Winter, ... many others too long of a list.

You are right in guessing I have been trying (for quite a time) hotter HBs wound with thinner wire, CC, C5, JB, 498T, 500T, DD, custom, megadrive, X2N, SuperDistortion ... I am forgetting some of them. And I came back to 8.40-8.75 PAF style (wound with #42) A5 bridges. The big slap on my face was when I decided to check the custom shop PG (8.40K, no logo, long legs) I bought in 1991 from a fellow player. After buying it I used it for 3 months, then went for a high output HB. That PG rested in my drawer for more than 9 years, what a dumbass I have been! When I was trying to find a tone that is not very upfront, which can cut as well. I swapped the Custom with that PG, and boom! Instantly I got the tone I wanted!

Anway, in the neck I have 2 focal points. Either a 7.70-80K a2 thick, round but full of bloom PGn like neck HB, or ~8.10K woody sounding, smooth yet blooming neck HB.

What I'd say you might wanna check out is a CC, as RobS said. It is a great pickup, pushes a little bit, not too much. So does not get blurry, or too upfront, as some of the other high output pickups do. If you think it is on the too round side, then swap the magnet with an a3, works great. It retains the CC character, yet gets more open, the eq gets flatter. For a mid-heavy body, C5 I believe is the way to go. I had my share of problems with C5, and even tho I love a5's in PAF brdiges, I think I don't like c5 as much as CC or C3.

What is that neck pickup you are talking about? C'mon, am curious. A ~8.00K 490R is not a bad pickup. If you have not done so, getting a cool ~8.00K PGb and using it in the neck also gives great Blue Sky tone!

B

[Lightning]

Re: I need pickup advice, something in the ballpark of a 498t

Didn't mean to hog Led Zepp29's thread.

I thought responses to my questions would somehow give him some insight to. Also B's been there and back, Zepp29 is talking about going back (back meaning #42 bridge PU).

B, I bought a guitar last year (76 Ventura maple/maple bolt neck LP copy with alder body (even has black trapezoids) and both PUs measure 8.36 and came with a3s. No Blue Sky PU but great for Live Hendrix and Jimmy hearing tone. I'm not saying they sound like single coils but the eq and the lack of compression...as close to a Fender neck distorted lead tone as I want to be and cleans up well.

Also it required no re eq-ing of the amp when switching to a guitar with a BB2 8k (sounds like Betts neck on the first album) or 57 classic 8k (sounds like Duane's 335 on Mountain Jam) in the neck. I bought those PUs in my pre forum days (after getting on the forum I would have know better than to buy a 8k neck PU) and regretted not getting a BB1 7.6k but that's cool BB2 can just sit on the shelf cause I have some T tops I can mismatch coils with to make a BB1.

But that Idea came to a halt when I bought a '88 Burny LP copy with the VH-1 PAF copies (8k a2 Blue Sky). So now the American 8k's go back into guitars for comparative analysis. They are bass heavy (woofie) the Japanese aren't and produce a killer mid.

My theory...metric wire gauges are slightly smaller in diameter. I thought I'd have to buy another Burny to get more of those neck PUs but check this out, I bought a Golden Age pick up the other day. The Stew Mac site said #42 a5 9.75k. Remember when I ask you the DC resistance on the Angus Bridge? Well that's what inspired that.

So when the Golden Age came in...what...7.9k. I called Stew Mac. In the 50mm neck models they have both winds mixed together on the shelf so you have to ask for the tech to pull your order to get what you want.

I have those metric 8ks in three guitars and if I switch to a guitar with a 7.3 or 7.6 I have to re eq the amp so the 8k metrics are going in all my gigging guitars and the 7+k neck PUs will go in the closet guitars that represent the first half of my life.

Man 200 ohms on a neck PU or metric VS SAE can completely change your bridge PU.

The Blue Sky tone amp settings…If your PU doesn't produce a lot of mid then turning up the mid on your amp increases the mid some but brings extraneous noise up too. Since I've been using the metric PUs in the neck the mid on my distorted amp has increased and the treble decreased. This has left the JB and DD mid noisy and treble starved (I didn't know you could do that to them).

You know when I first got on the forum I thought the C type was a under wound JB and avoided it. Now I know that the JB is a #44 and the SD (10k), DDn (12.7k), and C type (14k) are #43.

So if my amp settings to get the Blue Sky neck PU tone rendered the JB lacking in treble shouldn't I get a DDn and put an a2 in it for the bridge rather than a C type? Your opinion (LOL Is get rid of the 8k neck PUs your answer)? Oh I'm shooting for the You Don't Love Me bridge PU tone.

Hey you know I've already tried the Filmores. Built on Dimarzio airbucker concept (air gap/a5) #43 neck 10.3 bridge 13.2 and I thought they were to dark. Kinda like a SD in the neck and a DDn in the bridge with airbucker mag arrangement.

Later, Chuck