Alternatives for Gibson 490

M

MarkRocks

New member
I picked up a very nice 2017 Les Paul Tribute. It came with the standard Gibson 490 pickups. I love it with one exception: The difference in tone between the pickups makes it hard to use one amp setting for both. If I set it up to sound great with the bridge p/u, the neck p/u is too dark. If I set it up to sound great with the neck p/u, the bridge p/u is too bright.

So I'm looking to replace one of them.

If I were to replace the bridge p/u, based on the tone profile, it looks like their Alnico II Pro might work, or maybe the Seth Lover.

If I were to replace the neck p/u, it looks like the Jazz, Full Shred, or maybe Pearly Gates might work.

I don't need to replace both pickups, but I'd sure appreciate any suggestions changing either the neck or bridge. Thanks!
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

Welcome to the forum!

I'd go for the neck, and replace it with a Jazz, but this is depending on what music you play, too. If you don't use that much gain, and rely on technique and picking to get variations in tone, an Antiquity is a great choice, too.
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

Mincer said:
Welcome to the forum!

I'd go for the neck, and replace it with a Jazz, but this is depending on what music you play, too. If you don't use that much gain, and rely on technique and picking to get variations in tone, an Antiquity is a great choice, too.
Click to expand...

Thanks! One of my reasons I was thinking about the Jazz was that I'm trying to stay relatively close to the output of the 490R (Gibson's Neck 490) which they rate at 7.4. The Jazz is right there at 7.5. I'd say my style might best be described as "Jeff Beck wannabe" if that helps. I'm using a nice older Boogie with typical assortment of pedals, most importantly Tube Screamer for to create the sound without having to rattle my walls.

Any other thoughts?
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

MarkRocks said:
If I were to replace the bridge p/u, based on the tone profile, it looks like their Alnico II Pro might work, or maybe the Seth Lover.

If I were to replace the neck p/u, it looks like the Jazz, Full Shred, or maybe Pearly Gates might work.
Click to expand...
Both are bad choices, IMO.

The issue is that the bridge pickup may be too weak for you. You can either replace the bridge pickup with something hotter or raise it and lower the neck pickup.

EDIT:
If the neck still turns out to be too dark (which does seem to be a common complaint), I'd stuff a polished Alnico 5 in it, but not before replacing the bridge. Only after that would I replace the neck pickup.
If it comes down to replacing the neck pickup I'd recommend any of the following:

59N
Jazz
Full Shred
Evolution Neck
PAF Joe
Bluesbucker​

...depending on what you're looking for and what you've already put in the bridge.
 
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Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

Before buying anything, adjust the pickups for a closer balance. Don't be afraid to try extreme adjustments, especially on the neck pickup. Sometimes LP neck pickups sound best when hung below the pickup rings, even.

Remember that the way classic humbuckers are set up, you can control volume and tone *somewhat* independently. Generally speaking, overall pickup height controls your tone, while adjustable pole piece height controls your volume. If a pickup is too muddy, lower it. If this fixes the tone, but makes it too quiet, leave the height where it is, but raise the pole pieces. If a pickup is too thin, raise it. If this fixes the tone, but makes it too loud, leave the pickup where it is, but lower the pole pieces (they will go down a bit below the cover). There are, of course, limits to this, but there is quite a lot that you can do using these simple techniques.

You can also set your amp for the neck pickup, and roll off tone hair at a time from the bridge pickup to make it match better. Maybe you'll end up at 8 to 9 on the bridge pickup tone knob doing it this way.

If you must swap, then keep the pickup that you think sounds the best, and find a replacement to complement that. The will mean either a quieter neck pickup or a louder bridge pickup.

FWIW, your issue is "classic." It's how pretty much all multi-pickup guitars were before the introduction of aftermarket pickups, and what, in no small part, led to the birth of the aftermarket pickup industry.
 
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Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

ItsaBass said:
Before doing anything, adjust the pickups for a closer balance. Don't be afraid to try extreme adjustments, especially on the neck pickup. Sometimes LP neck pickups sound best when hung below the pickup rings, even.

Remember that the way classic humbuckers are set up, you can control volume and tone *somewhat* independently. Generally speaking, overall pickup height controls your tone, while adjustable pole piece height controls your volume. If a pickup is too muddy, lower it. If this fixes the tone, but makes it too quiet, leave the height where it is, but raise the pole pieces. If a pickup is too thin, raise it. If this fixes the tone, but makes it too loud, leave the pickup where it is, but lower the pole pieces (they will go down a bit below the cover). There are, of course, limits to this, but there is quite a lot that you can do using these simple techniques.

You can also set your amp for the neck pickup, and roll off tone hair at a time from the bridge pickup to make it match better. Maybe you'll end up at 8 to 9 on the bridge pickup tone knob doing it this way.

If you must swap, then keep the pickup that you think sounds the best, and find a replacement to complement that. The will mean either a quieter neck pickup or a louder bridge pickup.

FWIW, your issue is "classic." It's how pretty much all multi-pickup guitars were before the introduction of aftermarket pickups, and what, in no small part, led to the birth of the aftermarket pickup industry.
Click to expand...

Excellent! Thank you. I've messed with it somewhat, but not to wide extremes. I'll do some more experimenting. If I can close the gap just a bit between the tone of the pickups, without losing volume balance that'd be great! I'll give it a try.
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

Putting an A5 in the bridge and leaving the neck as an A2 could work as well.

Dial the amp for the neck pickup and just roll the tone back on the bridge and you should be good to go; after what should only need to be modest height adjustments, of course.

Just that can go a very long way to fix the balance issue without having to resort to extreme adjustments in height.
 
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Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

MarkRocks said:
I picked up a very nice 2017 Les Paul Tribute. It came with the standard Gibson 490 pickups. I love it with one exception: The difference in tone between the pickups makes it hard to use one amp setting for both. If I set it up to sound great with the bridge p/u, the neck p/u is too dark. If I set it up to sound great with the neck p/u, the bridge p/u is too bright.

So I'm looking to replace one of them.

If I were to replace the bridge p/u, based on the tone profile, it looks like their Alnico II Pro might work, or maybe the Seth Lover.

If I were to replace the neck p/u, it looks like the Jazz, Full Shred, or maybe Pearly Gates might work.

I don't need to replace both pickups, but I'd sure appreciate any suggestions changing either the neck or bridge. Thanks!
Click to expand...
My suggestion is to change the magnet of the bridge p'up and replace it with an Alnico 6.

That'll take care in a way you'll be able to use your amp with both p'ups with the same settings.

/Peter
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

I would go with a set of APH II, or a set of Seth Lovers. Both of those sets hold my #1 and #2 favorite neck humbuckers. I prefer the Seth in the Bridge vs. the APH. I have 2 LP's including a 57' RI and 4 other guitars that are mahogany/carved maple construction with 2 HB's and 2 volume 2 tone. I have more Seth Lovers in those guitars than any other type of HB. They're that good.

The Seth Lover has the brightness I need in both positions without being harsh. In the neck it provides great clarity but with the vintage warmth of an A2 pickup. In the bridge it bites and barks, but also without being too harsh. And if you know how to use your tone controls, there are untold numbers of different tones they can give you.
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

gregory said:
Putting an A5 in the bridge and leaving the neck as an A2 could work as well.
Click to expand...

This is extremely bad advice. The bridge is already too bright (comparatively) and putting an A5 in the bridge will only make it brighter. If a mag swap is called for, an A4 or A5 in the neck would be a better recommendation. But my advice would be as Itasbass recommended...play around with pup and polepiece heights, even to what may appear to be extreme. This is the easiest and cheapest and quickest thing to do and may just give you all the results you're looking for.
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

GuitarDoc said:
This is extremely bad advice. The bridge is already too bright (comparatively) and putting an A5 in the bridge will only make it brighter.
Click to expand...
Extremely bad advice? Nonsense.

What an A5 will do is make the bridge position louder and shift the resonant frequency higher, which can be easily tamed tamed with the tone control, with plenty of cut on tap when needed. Granted, while not a popular choice in the SDUGF bubble, it's easy to try for very little to no money.



But my advice would be as Itasbass recommended...play around with pup and polepiece heights, even to what may appear to be extreme. This is the easiest and cheapest and quickest thing to do and may just give you all the results you're looking for.
Click to expand...

In case you missed it, that was my initial advice as well:

gregory said:
The issue is that the bridge pickup may be too weak for you. You can either replace the bridge pickup with something hotter or raise it and lower the neck pickup.
Click to expand...
 
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Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

Another option which I like better than the A4/A5 is to put an A3 in the neck and leave the bridge as is with an A2.

As for the A5 it doesnt have to be polished, or even fully oriented for that matter. Solving the addressing the level imbalance is the key. It isn't like an A5 will make the bridge sound thin, unless you also put an A5 in the neck, not adjust the height and run all your controls on 10.
 
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Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

Something even more "unacceptable" than my "leave the 490R and stuff an A5 in the bridge" suggestion:

An 8.8k Epiphone 57CH in the bridge
Duncan 59N or Jazz in the neck

...or leave the 490R in the neck and pop an A2 in an 8.8k Epiphone 57CH for the bridge.

While they are sh!tty in the neck, they make a decent overwound pickup for the bridge and can be had for $20 all day long.

If you find the cheapo A2 Epiphone has the right output but lacks clarity, go for a Slash bridge, or stuff an A2 in a WLH, or an SNS Bridge either with the stock A4 or (again) with an A2. Heck, even a stock WLH could easily get the job done with judicious use of the tone control.
 
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Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

gregory said:
An 8.8k Epiphone 57CH in the bridge
Click to expand...
The 57CH doesn't go over 8.5K.

Anyway, even in the bridge is not such a good-sounding p'up, not even replacing the baseplate, screws. slugs, keeper bar, magnet, cover and getting rid of the wax. Believe me, I tried!

/Peter
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

Discharged said:
The 57CH doesn't go over 8.5K.

Anyway, even in the bridge is not such a good-sounding p'up, not even replacing the baseplate, screws. slugs, keeper bar, magnet, cover and getting rid of the wax. Believe me, I tried!

/Peter
Click to expand...

You know if you'd gone just a bit further & replaced the bobbins as well I bet it would have sounded fantastic, LOL!!!

(It's funny because it would be a completely new pickup at that point.)
 
Re: Alternatives for Gibson 490

You know what I find unacceptable? All the guys talking out their @$$es about which pickup the OP needs when they haven't even asked what kind of tones he wants, what it is about them that doesn't work for him etc. But - hey; Don't stop giving your own very personal preferences....regardless of how they will crap up the OP's sound, just in different ways.

OP - stop reading the specs. They don't even come close to telling the whole story. Tell us what SOUNDS you want, or don't want.

And wha music, how you use each pup (neck - rhythm, solos, both?), and what amp etc....



The only advice I concur with here is to really spend some time with a screwdriver and work the overall height/poles hard.

That and Wattage's "Just throw some 59's" in there....
 
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