Re: Bridge PU for Les Paul Studio
I am pasting a rather long post I have done to vintage_fan's thread asking for pickups for his LP with 498T/490R set. I thought you could benefit reading it.
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First of all you need to find a reference point in order to understand what the descriptions of various pickups are. Don't worry you already have one. The closest set (considerably better tho) of SD's line to 498T/490R is a C5 in the bridge and a Seth neck (in the neck there are other competitors like Pearly Gates neck or Alnico 2 Pro neck).
The reason is that the construction of the pickups are alike. Naturally the overall results are similar. 498T's, just like c5's, have alnico 5 magnets and are wound similarly (I guess with the same gauge wire as that in C5's but maybe different coating I am not sure, and the winding pattern which makes a huge difference, would be different as well). Nonetheless, their overall vibe is similar, but C5's have less of 498T's annoying uppermid spike and are more clear.
My 490R is 8.00K and has an alnico 2 magnet. Its sound is not bad, but a SD A2 PAF clone neck is sweeter. More clear, more spongy, but when driven it gets thick still retaining the clarity. Clarity under gain is definitely a point that I think SD's pickups clear win the battle against 490R.
Which one among the SD PAF clones to go for depends on your tastes. If oyu wanna have that sweet round tone with spongy bass in your neck go for an a2 PAF clone. Seth neck is great, clear, soft but does great under gain; if you wanna have extra uppermids to cut through easier get a Pearly Gates neck (but that's exactly the point some don't like because it makes this pickup somewhat more upfront in comparison to other SD a2 PAF clones); if you wanna get a rounder tone, thicker but with slightly less clarity (some would disagree I know, but that's what my ears are telling me) go for a alnico 2 pro. Well if you wanna get a soft, sweet, clear, tone that blooms (with pick attack) instead of being full of uppermids (during the pick attack), get my favorite the antiquity neck HB. You won't regret it. + getting into magnet swapping turns this HB into one that stands tall against any of the very pricey, high quality boutique PAF repros.
If you wanna get less spongy bass, more defined tone in the neck with more uppermids and less lowermids (the bass as I said will be more in your face, i.e. less spongy) go for an a5 PAF clone in the neck. Competitors are 59n, and Jazz-n. The result would be a more strat-neck sounding HB. 59n always delivers, but I have to admit that it is not very high on my personal list. All my 59n's have alnico 3 magnets, instead of alnico 5's.
For the bridge again it is upto your tastes. In the bridge if you wanna have a LedZep kinda biting tone, go for a 8.00-8.70K a5 PAF clone. Pagey's set features a 59 kinda bridge pickup at 8.70K. Getting an antiquity and modding it with an a5 magnet gives excellent results. 59b is great too. If you wanna have less thumb, but still maintain the bite, get a PGb, a great pickup. For softer ones Seths and Antiquities (sorry I did not try the a2p in the bridge) are the ones to consider. I think for softer tones antiquities cannot be beaten, they have the mojo.
Hope that helps.
B
