496R as a bridge pickup...

C

Chad

New member
I took the 496R out of the neck position of my 2006 Explorer and put it in the bridge position. It is regular spaced but the strings still lie above the poles and I'm not having any string volume issues.

It actually sounds pretty good and balances well with the Duncan 59' that I have in the neck. However, the high end is a bit scratchy. I'm guessing that is from the ceramic magnet.

Anyway, thoughts on using a 496R as a bridge pickup? What is this pickup similar to in the Duncan line? Mag swap ideas?

Thanks.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Pretty sure a 496R with an Alnico V would make it a 490R or 498R (which there is no such pickup from Gibson). The 500T ceramic would be a 498T if you removed the 2 smaller magnets and swapped the ceramic for an Alnico V. Having said that I actually really like the 496R stock in the neck position. Very aggressive for a neck pickup which I love. Much better than the muddy 490R.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

The 496 is hotter than the 490 too. I think Pepe has done this, maybe he'll chime in.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

It'd probably be better as a bridge pickup than as a neck one IMO.

I have an A5 in mine. Have had it there for maybe a month or a bit longer, and I think two gigs and some practices with it. I really liked it at first, because I was comparing it to the original ceramic mag. But after some time, and without the memory of the way it sounded with the ceramic being right there in my mind, it is now kind of "dry" sounding. It is still good, and certainly much better than it was, but I'd like to increase the mids. It needs more "chewiness" and "spank." I am thinking of putting in the A4 that I have here instead.

Fusion1 said:
Pretty sure a 496R with an Alnico V would make it a 490R or 498R (which there is no such pickup from Gibson). The 500T ceramic would be a 498T if you removed the 2 smaller magnets and swapped the ceramic for an Alnico V. Having said that I actually really like the 496R stock in the neck position. Very aggressive for a neck pickup which I love. Much better than the muddy 490R.
Click to expand...

490 = Alnico 2, 498 = Alnico 5, and 500T = fat ceramic mag plus two small ceramic side mags

My 500T now has an Alnico 3, and I like it a lot. Very "thin" and crunchy sound, but the heavy windings of the 500T keep it from being excessively rebly. It was a HUGE drop in output when I switched to the A3. The A5 496R that I have it paired with is now much louder than the 500 as well.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

That doesn't sound right. I know dc resistance doesn't always directly correlate to power but the 500 has almost twice the resistance of the 496. Are you sure you didn't screw up a coil? I had a slightly janky coil in a Super D and it sounded very thin and crunchy but weak and wouldn't register anything on a meter. That was what clued me in.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

formula73 said:
That doesn't sound right. I know dc resistance doesn't always directly correlate to power but the 500 has almost twice the resistance of the 496. Are you sure you didn't screw up a coil? I had a slightly janky coil in a Super D and it sounded very thin and crunchy but weak and wouldn't register anything on a meter. That was what clued me in.
Click to expand...

Hi,

The pickup is working OK. I have tested that (before and after putting the strings back on).

I get the following with the pots (all 1 Meg) dimed:

8.53 K for the 496R.
15.15 K for the 500T.
5.49 K with both pickups in parallel.

I am just guessing that the Alnico 3 is a relatively weak magnet. And combine that with the fact that the 500 is in the bridge spot, which is generally the quieter spot for a pickup. Also add the fact that I cannot adjust my neck pickup down that low in the Explorer, or the screws hit the bottom of the cavity and the pickup starts tilting. And if I raise the bridge too high, it loses it's nice crunchy treble. (However, if I go too low, it loses way too much output and is impossible to balance with the neck pickup; the sweet spot for this bridge p/u is very narrow.) I've got them pretty close now, actually, though it took some time.
 
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Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Right on, man. Crazy. I guess I'll be skipping the A3s, for the forseeable future. :lol:
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

formula73 said:
Right on, man. Crazy. I guess I'll be skipping the A3s, for the forseeable future. :lol:
Click to expand...

Well, don't get me wrong. I do think it sounds great with the A3. It was just a bear getting it to match the other pickup.

Sorry to go off topic so much.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

formula73 said:
Right on, man. Crazy. I guess I'll be skipping the A3s, for the forseeable future. :lol:
Click to expand...

:smack: Something just occurred to me. The 500T does not have a keeper bar as stock, and I did not install one when I removed the fat ceramic mag. I used a maple spacer on each side instead. Could that be weakening the output of the screw coil? Before doing the swap, I asked here, and someone said that I did not need to install a keeper bar if going to a standard-sized magnet in a 500T, but that may not be true after all.
 
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Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

You've got me thinking about modding my 500T and I'd like to know if I should use a keeper bar as well. I'm wondering how an A4 would work with it in my Explorer.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

BTW, I'm guessing the overall height of the 500T shrunk when you put in a normal mag and spacers?
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

I have a 496R and so far I've gotten good results with UOA5 and A8 mags.

It's a really nice bridge p'up and it has a very particular voicing that I haven't heard in other brands, including Gibson itself. The closest I can think of with an UOA5 in it is an APH-1B in steroids without the rage, if this makes any sense.

HTH,
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

ItsaBass said:
:smack: Something just occurred to me. The 500T does not have a keeper bar as stock, and I did not install one when I removed the fat ceramic mag. I used a maple spacer on each side instead. Could that be weakening the output of the screw coil? Before doing the swap, I asked here, and someone said that I did not need to install a keeper bar if going to a standard-sized magnet in a 500T, but that may not be true after all.
Click to expand...

Yeah, man. If there's a gap in there, it'd be like a half-air-thing.
 
Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Like the DMZ Airbucker concept. It basically leaves a gap that prevents direct contact of anything ferrous to the magnet. They end up a hair weaker than their conventional pup bretheren.
 
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