490R/498T adjustment and magnet swap

[Ivan.ddt]

Hi everyone. First post here after lurking for a long time. Posting during work so I have no access to my guitar now but I have been thinking for some time now to do some adjustments to my Les Paul. I am very new to tinkering with pickups but here are some details anyway.

The Guitar: Gibson Les Paul '50s Tribute Humbuckers. Mahogany body and neck with maple top, baked maple fretboard. This is bone stock. I have no clue what electronics are in there, but I bought it new and seems like there is a circuit board in there.
The Pickups: Stock 490R/498T in their default positions, never touched them beside sending the guitar for a set-up. Uncovered.
The Setup: Guitar into either a Vox Pathfinder 15R or a Zoom G3 with headphones, sometimes with a Barber DDSS overdrive or Danelectro Cool Cat Distortion in between.
The Music: Mainly covers of modern rock/pop and some classic rock. Can go from clean rhythm, to 'lighter heavy' stuff like Metallica. Nothing too high gain.

The Issue: The neck feels to muddy and sponge-y, no matter the settings on the amp or G3. The 498T in the bridge is mostly okay giving good definition at high gain, but can be too bright and tight at times for classic rock tones.

Question 1: Since I am getting too muddy a sound from the 490R and too bright a sound from the 498T, I am thinking to lower both pickups slightly. However I am unsure about how to lower them. Should I be lowering them equally on both sides, or lowering them only on the respective sides I want to remove the frequencies from? Do you guys think adjustment of pickup height can achieve what I am aiming for?

Question 2: I am also thinking to swap the magnets between the two pickups involved (since this is free, without buying additional magnets). However I am afraid that the Alnico 2 in the 498T will make it too mid-dominant and flabby. Also worried that the Alnico 5-equipped 490R will over-power the Alnico 2 498T. What do you guys think?

Bonus Question: The tone that I really like is just like this guy is getting in the video below. Be it the clean-ish, or gain tones. How would you describe that? Honky? Twang?



Thanks for the help!

 

[blueman335]

Re: 490R/498T adjustment and magnet swap

I put A5's in my 490R's (in SG's) and I think they work nicely: much more clarity and a firmer low end. For me, 498T's need more mids and less treble, so I use both UOA5 and A8 to get that. With those changes, they make a well-matched set.

Although some players put the A2 from the neck into their 498T, I found it too dark, and couldn't get the edge and bite I need. Other options for the 490R would be an A4 or A3.

 

[pflug]

Re: 490R/498T adjustment and magnet swap

I didn't like the 490/498 combo in my Epi Prophecy LP- playing with amp settings could give a decent sound for one pickup or the other- taking the muddiness out of the neck tended to leave the bridge a bit bright and thin- dialing in the bridge left the neck mud

I ended up swapping the A5 to the neck and putting an A8 in the bridge-and like the set a lot now

 

[blueman335]

Re: 490R/498T adjustment and magnet swap

I didn't like the 490/498 combo in my Epi Prophecy LP- playing with amp settings could give a decent sound for one pickup or the other- taking the muddiness out of the neck tended to leave the bridge a bit bright and thin- dialing in the bridge left the neck mud

I ended up swapping the A5 to the neck and putting an A8 in the bridge-and like the set a lot now

Exactly! EQ'ing an amp so that both PU's in a 498T/490 set sound great can be mission impossible. The EQ differences between them are too big to be workable for many players. For those that have kept the set in their guitars, I think most probably EQ their amp for on PU and don't play the other one. I don't understand how Gibson can have let this go on for so long. It's the most mismatched PU set I've ever seen.

An A5 in the neck and an A8 in the bridge make it Gibson's version of a C8/'59N, which also is a great sounding and versatile pair.

 

[Ivan.ddt]

Re: 490R/498T adjustment and magnet swap

Hm... Seems like A8 is quite the favourite, but unfortunately buying magnets from Addiction-FX doubles the cost due to shipping. Anyone know where I might be able to get magnets shipped to sunny Singapore at a reasonable rate?