496R as a bridge pickup...

[ItsaBass]

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.

Got it. I have heard of those Airbuckers, though I did not know where they got the name. I just wasn't sure what you meant by half-air-thing.

I am not even sure where I would get a keeper bar for a 500T. Mojotone has 53mm bars, but this pickup is not quite that wide. I've laid their 53mm bobbins over the top of the 500T, and the screws do not line up. So if I cannot find a supplier, I'd have to cannibalize another bridge-spaced Gibson pickup that uses a keeper bar. A 490T or 498T, perhaps?

 

[formula73]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Beats me, man...I've only ever swapped one magnet and didn't care for the results!

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Yep, you'll need a bar from a bridge spaced Gibson pickup, although I think, emphasis on think, that Duncan designed bridge pickups have the same spacing. I used a bridge spaced gibson cover on a deto and it lined up perfect.

 

[rumblebox]

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,

hmmmm. i must try this.

 

[Chad]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Tried the stock 496R in the bridge last night with the band. Highs were way too shrill and this stood out even more in a mix at volume.

Tonight I put in an A8. Will see how that works out.

BTW, it took me a good 30 minutes of careful tinkering to get the coils and magnet freed from the wax potting. WAY more difficult than the last Duncan I mag swapped in.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

BTW, it took me a good 30 minutes of careful tinkering to get the coils and magnet freed from the wax potting. WAY more difficult than the last Duncan I mag swapped in.

That's weird, I've never had trouble with swapping a Gibson, just did 3 the other night.

 

[Chad]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

That's weird, I've never had trouble with swapping a Gibson, just did 3 the other night.

The stock ceramic magnet was just a hair over 2", which added to the difficulty. There was nothing to grab to enable pulling it out. So I tried to push from the wire end, but the bobbins, magnet and baseplate were so bonded/caked with wax it was hard to break free. Finally it broke loose and I pushed it ahead on through.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Tried the stock 496R in the bridge last night with the band. Highs were way too shrill and this stood out even more in a mix at volume.

Tonight I put in an A8. Will see how that works out.

BTW, it took me a good 30 minutes of careful tinkering to get the coils and magnet freed from the wax potting. WAY more difficult than the last Duncan I mag swapped in.

I would expect that from a relatively mildly wound humbucker (about 8.5 KOhm) with a ceramic magnet. The ceramic bridge pickup on my Strat (7.0 KOhm) is the same way. I like it, but I have it wired through the middle pickup tone pot. That way, if I want to take off the edge a bit, I put the pot on 7 or 8. Did you try rolling back your tone pot just a little?

I just used a mini screwdriver as a pry bar to release the mag from the wax on mine. Took about 0.25 seconds. Did you unwind the outer layer of coil tape before trying? if not, it'd make sense that you had trouble getting the coils out, since that layer of tape goes over the lips on the baseplate.

 

[Chad]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Yeah, I did try running my tone pot lower and that helped, but I'm mostly an "everything on 10" player. And I especially don't like messing with a tone pot that controls more than one pickup because it affects the other pickups too, and I can't fuss with that live because I have a lot of other effects switching and so forth that I have to keep on top of while playing.

Yeah, I did remove a good portion of the tape. I pretty much had to lift a coil to where I could grab on to the magnet and break it free. Then I got it to finally push through and come out.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

A pocket knife works real well for that.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

I stole the keeper from my JB trembucker when I changed my 500t to AlNiCo 2. It's a really ballsy pickup. I have the 496R with an a5 magnet in the bridge of my strat and it sounds really good too. The 500T is wound a big hotter than a 498T. My 500T is 15.7k. I imagine it sits between a custom wind and the JB wind.

Whatever 'style' of wind it is I like it much better than a custom or JB with a5 or a2.

 

[Chad]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

Long time no post in this thread. Anyway...

I tried an A8 in the 496R with it in the bridge position. Highs were subdued a bit compared to the stock ceramic mag, but the pickup was still bright and thin in my Explorer.

I ended up putting the stock pickups back in (500T in the bridge and 496R with ceramic magnet in the neck) and am gonna leave it that way for awhile. I did install gold covers on them before I put them back in. My Explorer is natural finish with gold hardware and the gold pickup covers really make it look nice.

This experiment showed me how much pickups can change your overall tone. I was amazed how much different the 500T sounds vs either version of the 496R in the bridge. The difference was HUGE.

As a side note, I did put in a new 500K tone pot and converted it to a no load tone pot. I did this to brighten things up a bit especially since I put covers on the pickups. On "10", a no load tone pot gives a sound very similar to what it would have sounded like if I'd switched the volumes from 300K to 500K and left in the stock tone pot. I was surprised how subtle the difference is. Sure the sound gets a bit brighter with higher resistance, but it is subtle. Maybe it depends on the guitar and pickups as to how much pot changes affect the sound. Anyway, enough rambling.

Oh yeah, ItsaBass, I ended up with an extra keeper bar for the 500T. I never did install one, but I held it up to the screws on the back and it lines up perfect. If you want one for free, let me know.

 

[mariosyjp]

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,

I'm currently using a classic 57 with A4 in the bridge of my LP and it sounds almost perfect for what I'm aiming.

Do you think that the 496R with A4 will sound a bit warmer?

 

[LtKojak]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

I'm currently using a classic 57 with A4 in the bridge of my LP and it sounds almost perfect for what I'm aiming.

Do you think that the 496R with A4 will sound a bit warmer?

The 496R is a darkish wind... you may even like it.

 

[SFW]

Re: 496R as a bridge pickup...

A 496R with an A2 makes a really good bridge pickup.