I'm planning to swap my old 498T to a short leg baseplate for better adjustability. It has a 2 conductor lead. I'm concerned about overheating the pickup when I desolder the braided ground wire from the old baseplate. I love the way this pickup sounds and I'd hate to mess it up, even though it's cosmetically beat to heck. Any words of warning or encouragement before I dive in?
A little nervous about doing surgery on my 498T
- Thread starter Seashore
- Start date
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I've swapped baseplates on some old DiMarzios with a half-assed soldering iron and no solder sucker some time ago, and it went well. You'll be fine if you're better equipped than I was.
Spaghetti Bolo
New member
I changed my 59 and Seth sets to short legged baseplates. The bobbins and magnet should be free and far away from the baseplate. Just use a good sized tip and high enough temp and the braid will be desoldered very quickly before the heat can migrate.
Thanks man, right on, I've got the solder sucker ready to go. I've just never done this with braided wire before. I would hate to toast it.
after pulling everything apart, i start with the iron tip between the braid and baseplate and work it loose little by little. its easier if you have a third hand to hold the baseplate, and even better if you have a forth hand to hold the wire with a touch of tension so you have use the sucker in one hand and the iron in the other. i have some doctor octopus thing for soldering and it comes in handy
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Best newer Gibson pickup.
Last edited:
I've had this pickup for 26 years and I always thought it was the "498T sound". The original wiring in the Explorer made it pretty muddy, but with shorter runs in other guitars it always sounded awesome. Jeeeeez. I'm reevaluating my life.
I got the braided ground desoldered, but it turns out that the hole for the lead in the Gibson baseplate was too narrow to allow for pulling the braid through, and in fact the braid was terminated at the underside of the baseplate with only the hot wire going through. Ground from the pickup was soldered to the plate elsewhere. So I detached the hot and ground wires coming out of the bobbins and rewired them to another 2 conductor lead I had laying around. I haven't got it all buttoned back up yet but I think it'll work out fine.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I have a 498T from the 90's that I used to drop in guitars that I had no other pickups for. Honestly, it was a great wildcard pickup. Not too hot, not too tame. But I like the 500T better. That pickup is pure aggression. I mean, Amon Amarth and Dark Tranquillity, right?
hamerfan
Well-known member
Its easier with a temperature controlled solder station. I get high as 850F and then you can act fast. If its a standard wattage iron you should use 60 watt.
80's_Thrash_Metal
Slightly_Glazed_Believer
You successfully operated on a 498t and finished with a 500t ! ! !
Talk about amazing!!!
If I mail you a stack of 498's can you operate on them and send em back? Ha ha ha ha!
Talk about amazing!!!
If I mail you a stack of 498's can you operate on them and send em back? Ha ha ha ha!
I like it better than the DD... even though I didn't know what it was. Better detail and more natural sounding up top. Maybe it's just that I'm used to this pickup after having it around for so long. I don't take it out of guitars so I can hear something different in the guitar, I take it out so I can try it in a different setting.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I love the 500T, and I like the Duncan Distortion too... but they're not clones of each other, IME.
I mean, yes, they follow the "hot screaming ceramic" kind of stereotypical soundprint, but they both do it differently.
I mean, yes, they follow the "hot screaming ceramic" kind of stereotypical soundprint, but they both do it differently.
Last edited:
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
Whatever...
Gibson didn't wake up and say "Let's clone the DD" , but the hotness and EQ curve and general tone are close enough that I really don't think it matters. Differences are small at best, or subtle. Between a DD and a 500T, each person will prefer one or the other.
Best description I have seen, and agree with, is that the DD is slightly better for rhythm, the 500T slightly better for leads. Or as I think - so similar that unless you are just sitting and listening for differences - it doesn't matter.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Pretty sure if one can tell the difference between, for example, a '59 and a Pearly Gates or any of the other PAF-types, you can tell the 500T and the DD apart if you compare them side by side.
That's the thing, though. We're in a forum where people discuss the difference between an A5 magnet and an A5 magnet with a little texture to it. It would make sense for people to prefer a DD or a 500T.
That's the thing, though. We're in a forum where people discuss the difference between an A5 magnet and an A5 magnet with a little texture to it. It would make sense for people to prefer a DD or a 500T.
Last edited:
I don't want to say a direct back to back comparison in the same guitar with the same settings wouldn't interest me, but right now I'm just going by how I feel when I play them. Any meaningful comparison for me would have to be about that, no matter what. This Gibson pickup came stock in my fave Explorer and it's handled everything I've thrown at it in a few different guitars for 26 years now, so it makes sense I would feel right at home playing through it.
I never bonded to this extent with a DD-loaded guitar. I have a similar experience to the JB actually, there's a lot I like about the sound of the pickup but I always wind up adjusting stuff and fiddling with settings looking for a sweet spot. I have a DD7 right now in a Schecter, and I just finished up recording a bunch of lead parts with it... sounded great in that context. Writing riffs, not so much. Whereas with any guitar I put the 500T into, things fall into place.
Really happy I didn't bake the thing. Thanks again to you folks for the helpful advice.
I never bonded to this extent with a DD-loaded guitar. I have a similar experience to the JB actually, there's a lot I like about the sound of the pickup but I always wind up adjusting stuff and fiddling with settings looking for a sweet spot. I have a DD7 right now in a Schecter, and I just finished up recording a bunch of lead parts with it... sounded great in that context. Writing riffs, not so much. Whereas with any guitar I put the 500T into, things fall into place.
Really happy I didn't bake the thing. Thanks again to you folks for the helpful advice.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
FWIW, I have had the 500T and the Duncan Distortion in the same two guitars at one point. I found the Distortion fatter and the 500T more agressive and tighter. I find the Duncan Distortion is more like what you'd expect from a JB with a Ceramic magnet, regardles if it is or it's not the same wind. The DD has fatter low mids and is raspy, but not as raspy as the 500T. The 500T is mid-forward, but it's not as mid-forward as the Distortion. The 500T is also slightly hotter.
Then again, I'm not sure if they've decidedly changed recipee for the 500T at some point or it has evolved over time. I keep reading reviews that mention the 500T is fat, and mine isn't. But mine is from 2022.
Then again, I'm not sure if they've decidedly changed recipee for the 500T at some point or it has evolved over time. I keep reading reviews that mention the 500T is fat, and mine isn't. But mine is from 2022.
Last edited:
