SweetClyde99
Active member
I just got a good deal on a 2013 Gibson LPJ, and some of the threads on this site had me curious about swapping magnets in the 498t and 490R. Following some other forum members' advice, I put an A8 in the 498T bridge pickup and put that pickup's A5 in the 490R. The A2 from the 490R currently resides in my spare parts box.
As others have stated, the set seems more balanced after the change. The A8 rolled off some of the 498T's highs, thickened it up some, and gave the low end a satisfying thump when palm muting. These are all positives for me, though some may miss the stock A5's bite. The A5 did clear up some of the 490R's mud and does seem to be an improvement overall, but I am not a fan of neck pickups in general, so someone else would be more qualified than i am to speak to these differences .
Anyway, none of this is news, but i did make a quick and dirty recording of just the bridge pickup before and after the mag swap. I made this for myself, but i thought some others might find it useful as well. I used a fair amount of gain, as that's what i typically use when i play. The Line 6 HD500 patch i recorded this through wasn't set up specifically for this guitar, and i thought that would make for a fairer comparison, since it wasn't built specifically around the A5 in the stock 498T. The first two times the chord progressions play were recorded with the stock pickup, the next two time were with the A8, then the A5 for the next two (plus A5 on the lead guitar), then A8 again for the final two (plus A8 on the lead guitar).
View attachment Stock A5-Modded A8.mp3
As others have stated, the set seems more balanced after the change. The A8 rolled off some of the 498T's highs, thickened it up some, and gave the low end a satisfying thump when palm muting. These are all positives for me, though some may miss the stock A5's bite. The A5 did clear up some of the 490R's mud and does seem to be an improvement overall, but I am not a fan of neck pickups in general, so someone else would be more qualified than i am to speak to these differences .
Anyway, none of this is news, but i did make a quick and dirty recording of just the bridge pickup before and after the mag swap. I made this for myself, but i thought some others might find it useful as well. I used a fair amount of gain, as that's what i typically use when i play. The Line 6 HD500 patch i recorded this through wasn't set up specifically for this guitar, and i thought that would make for a fairer comparison, since it wasn't built specifically around the A5 in the stock 498T. The first two times the chord progressions play were recorded with the stock pickup, the next two time were with the A8, then the A5 for the next two (plus A5 on the lead guitar), then A8 again for the final two (plus A8 on the lead guitar).
View attachment Stock A5-Modded A8.mp3