compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

[whitherance]

Hi,everyone that uses sh-14 custom 5 instead of 498T for the bridge in les paul studio?what do you think this change?
im looking for a wide clean tone with neck pickup combined.
the stock pickups are ok,but i want the bridge can also have a heavy rock or even a metal sound,but not the kind very high gain,just middle gain can be dynamic and full!
i used to try my friend's guitar that uses 59 neck,Full Shred bridge.the distortion is heavy,but it's too high gain for me and the clean tone is not very clean,it's abit dirty and not wide than the stock pickups in my paul.
so want to ask you guys what about 59/Custom 5 ?
is the custom 5 as hot as 498T and cleaner?

 

[cvansickle]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

I use a 59 neck and Custom 5 bridge in my 1979 Les Paul Custom. The Custom 5 has fairly high gain but not overkill. The high end is bright but not piercing, and the bass is good and tight, never mushy. Combining the two pickups, the sound is smooth, mellow, not as focused.

 

[Dirtyking]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

i want the bridge can also have a heavy rock or even a metal sound,but not the kind very high gain,just middle gain can be dynamic and full!

That right there says Demon to me. Its like the Full Shred with lower output. Compared to the 498t the demon is more balanced and cleaner.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

It's a good move. The C-5/59 is essentially a hot vintage tone, so they do cleans much better than the 498T. The C-5 is also great for highgain, and loves EL-34 amps. I found out something surprising though. The C-5/59 sounds better in a LP, but in my G&L Legacy Deluxe, basically a HSS superstrat made out of basswood/maple veneer, the 498T sounded better than any Duncan I put in there.
Basswood is a pretty smooth and sterile sounding wood, so the 498T gave it the right amount of mids and rudeness. 498T's seem to work great for Alder, Ash, or Basswood, so save that pickup for a guitar like that.

 

[whitherance]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

thanks you guys!
i heard the audio clips to compare the clean tone in bridge.
Duncan custom,Custom custom and Full shred are all too muddy for me.
JB and Demon is cleaner and JB has more dynamic,but i prefer Demon dirty.
which kind of tone is custom 5 like?
I think i'll try C5/59

 

[gsammo79]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

i had a Les Paul Class with the 498T and i was blown away by the difference a SD pickup made when i replaced it. The stock pickups in that Les Paul were terrible, especially considering the price of the guitar. I'm glad Gibson is picking up the pace a little bit over the last couple of years with upgrades on their equipment

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

A few guys will also tell you that they don't like the way a demon sounds in a LP. It's all personal preference. I've tried the JB, and C5 in two LP's and hated both, but I love the tones that other guys here on the forum get.

Luke

 

[MikeS]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

Output wise, the 498T (Alnico 5) isn't too far off from any of the Customs. I found the 498T has a pronounced mid section (not as pronounced as the CC, though). I find the voicing in the 498T to be a little modern sounding without the “hi-fi” quality that some people claim to hear in the Demon. Sometimes I think I prefer the 498 to the JB in my LP. One thing is for sure, the Jazz is much more favorable to my ears than the 490R (Alnico 2) was in the neck.

I wrote down the output reading on the 498T and 490R from my multi-meter, and all I can remember was that it was comparable with the Customs. I can post exactly what it read tomorrow.

 

[Aceman]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

Thanks for answering the actual question Mike! I feel Gibson pups are way over trashed here. As I have said before: every classic rock paul you have heard before say 75 probably had stock pups (and a lot after that!). And there is always something that's better for some little slice of the musical style pie. But overall, they probably work a lot better than you probably play! My 490 neck pup can nail Slash (SCO'M) as good as any AP2 out there!

I'd love to see guitar player magazine do a "shootout" on pups that covered the specs the tones etc...

And I voted for the Demon too...

 

[papersoul]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

Nothing wrong with stock Gibsons pickups. I have a 94 LP with the 498/490 set and they sound as good as anything I have tried - the same goes for the Burstbucker pros. I still love Rios and some Duncans though.

Heck, I think I like my 498T more than my Wolfetone Timbrewolf.

 

[racleborg]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

A couple of years ago I did a head to head between my Lp standard with 498t and a freind with an Epiphone lp and sd 59 and custom5 and the Epi sounded a load better!!
In fact I was really disapointed with my £1400 Gibson. I ripped out the stock pups and stayed with SDs ever since.

 

[papersoul]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

A couple of years ago I did a head to head between my Lp standard with 498t and a freind with an Epiphone lp and sd 59 and custom5 and the Epi sounded a load better!!
In fact I was really disapointed with my £1400 Gibson. I ripped out the stock pups and stayed with SDs ever since.

I might go with some Rios or Wolfetones.

 

[papersoul]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

Problem I had with the C-5 is the big old scoop in the mids! If you want to stand out in the mix, the C-5 is not the one. Something like a JB or Rio BBQ will slice and dice the mix better and sound thick for rhythm. I thikn the stock 498T cuts much better, sounds thicker, and cleans sound good to my ears. One of our songs requires a really pretty clean sectin with some heavy chorus, and the 498T sounds fantastic for this.

 

[Quicksilver689]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

...im looking for a wide clean tone with neck pickup combined. the stock pickups are ok,but i want the bridge can also have a heavy rock or even a metal sound,but not the kind very high gain,just middle gain can be dynamic and full! i used to try my friend's guitar that uses 59 neck,Full Shred bridge.the distortion is heavy,but it's too high gain for me and the clean tone is not very clean,it's abit dirty and not wide than the stock pickups in my paul. so want to ask you guys what about 59/Custom 5 ?...

A lot of people in these forums have talked about a 59B/Custom hybrid bridge pickup (keeping an A5 magnet in it) as being along the lines of the sound that you describe that you're looking for. If I wasn't already happy with my tone and had the funds to try it I probably would - it sounds really neat. Ask around and do a search on it and you may be surprised at what you find.....if you're really that unhappy with your tone (which happens to a lot of us, including me).

 

[Rorschach]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

im looking for a wide clean tone with neck pickup combined.

You could install a series/parallel DPDT switch. Humbuckers can have brilliant cleans in parallel mode.

 

[uOpt]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

Problem I had with the C-5 is the big old scoop in the mids! If you want to stand out in the mix, the C-5 is not the one. Something like a JB or Rio BBQ will slice and dice the mix better and sound thick for rhythm. I thikn the stock 498T cuts much better, sounds thicker, and cleans sound good to my ears. One of our songs requires a really pretty clean sectin with some heavy chorus, and the 498T sounds fantastic for this.

I cannot confirm that the C5 is scooped, mine isn't really.

However, I use a magnet from an ancient JB in there, that might even out the EQ for me.

 

[thucydides]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

I use a 59 neck and Custom 5 bridge in my 1979 Les Paul Custom. The Custom 5 has fairly high gain but not overkill. The high end is bright but not piercing, and the bass is good and tight, never mushy. Combining the two pickups, the sound is smooth, mellow, not as focused.

I use the same set up in the Hamer in my avatar, and I agree w/this quote.

 

[anewdefguitarist]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

i also dont hear the C5 as scooped, in mines in a f*cking acryllic!! that pickup actually saved that guitar for me...just bump the mids on your amp a little, and maybe roll your tone back a notch or two at most. i think its a good pickup and i actually prefer playing that guitar as opposed to my Distortion - which i will ALWAYS have at least one in my arsonal.

 

[blueman335]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

I think the C5 & 498T are similar, but the 498 seems a little brighter, at least the ones I have. I use 250K pots on both, and with the C5, that's enough for a warm, raw tone. For the 498, I also usually need an A4 magnet to smooth out the upper end. Both are good PU's.

The biggest problem with the 498T is that it's paired with a dark 490R, and the two are like night and day EQ-wise. Put an A5 in the 490, and you're similar to a '59N. I think the 490R/498T combo is very good with the right pots and magnets. For some players, they're fine the way they come from the factory. Too many guys immediately dump the stock Gibson PU's, and blow a couple hundred dolalrs on replacements, when $10 of parts might get the tone they're after.

 

[uOpt]

Re: compared 498T to SH-14 Custom 5

BTW, is the 498T the same as a 500T just A5 instead of ceramic?

I come to 14.5 Kohm on my 500T which sounds in the ballpark discussed here (Custom coils).