Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

[SlowGroove]

Guys, some of you might know my story . . .

. . . i bought my SG faded without pu's and then decided to give it some A2P's !

The stock pu's that came with the SG Faded, as we all know, is the Gibson 490R & 490T's.
Never heard them, but i bumped into an older (older than me) muso today, in my local mom & pop store and he found out that i have SD A2P's in my SG.
He started, out of the blue, telling me how stupid i was to do so. That the stock PU's of the faded's are some of the best pu's that Gibson ever made . . .

. . . he never knew that i bought the guitar withOUT any pu's !!!

So my question is :

"How does the Duncan A2P's differ, tone/character wise, from the stock Gibson 490T/R's ?"

"Is it really that good ?"
"I see it is also an Alnico II mag, so just how much would they differ ? "

Does anyone know ?



James

 

[blueman335]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

I swap magents in my 490's, putting A5's in the 490R (brought it to life and gives some needed sparkle), and A4's in the 490T (makes them beefier). Great tones for classic rock & Chicago blues, much improved. I'd try the same thing with your A2P's.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

I swap magents in my 490's, putting A5's in the 490R (brought it to life and gives some needed sparkle), and A4's in the 490T (makes them beefier). Great tones for classic rock & Chicago blues, much improved. I'd try the same thing with your A2P's.

Thanx for the heads up !!!

Do you have any idea how the 490's will sound if you A/B them to the A2P's though ???

Tone ?
Out put ?
Character ?



James

 

[uOpt]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

490R sounds just plain lame. Never had a 490T.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

490R sounds just plain lame. Never had a 490T.

Ermm, "lame" ?

Lame = dull ???



James

 

[uOpt]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

Dull.

I know the SG makes good for it, somewhat, but naming it the best Gibson pickup is a stretch.

 

[The Usual]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

Well, I'd have to say that the AP2 neck in a LP is weaker, smoother, rounder and softer than the stock 490R in a LP. I personally think the AP2 set is the best set SD makes for a LP.

In an SG I can't say, because I've not played the AP2 in the neck of my SG. Based on experience, I am willing to bet that it will be overall better in the SG neck than the 490R, but you may want to swap some mags in the neck position, even with the AP2. You could make it an AP5 or AP3. I think the 490's problem is that it is too hot for a neck pup. They run about 8.5 which is what a good low output bridge runs. I will say that the 490R with an A4 mag in the bridge is great. But you already know that.

In my experience, SD pups overall are smoother and rounder than Gibsons. Gibsons are more open and have that bit of hair on them that define the Gibson sound. The Gibsons always seem to have more bite, but are more prone to being clangy. SDs are smooth and prone to being compressed.

Oh yeah, and anyone who tells you that you are stupid for doing something to a guitar that he's never heard, is an idiot.

If I were you, I'd try an A4 mag in the bridge of your AP2 and maybe an A3 or A5 in your neck. But, if you like the way it sounds, then don't do anything to it.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

You could make it an AP5 or AP3. I think the 490's problem is that it is too hot for a neck pup. They run about 8.5 which is what a good low output bridge runs. I will say that the 490R with an A4 mag in the bridge is great. But you already know that.

Since 490R's are on the hot side for the neck position, an A2 is not a good choice for a stock magnet. They take on a new personality with an A5.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

?

To me the 490R is foremost bassier than the APH1n and has very soft highs. The APH has much more character.

I don't think I measured D/C resistance of the one I had.

 

[ksms]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

The 490r that was in my LP before I put in an A2P was less clear, muddier, thuddier - yes thuddier...

Then I tried a '59 and liked it even more than the A2P, though I still have the A2P in one axe.

I can't speak for how they sound in an SG, so I can't say that the guy didn't know what he was talking about, but if I were going to place bets, I'd still put my money on the Duncans over the Gibsons.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

Dull.

I know the SG makes good for it, somewhat, but naming it the best Gibson pickup is a stretch.

That is what i thought, but then again, i never heard them before !



James

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

Well, I'd have to say that the AP2 neck in a LP is weaker, smoother, rounder and softer than the stock 490R in a LP. I personally think the AP2 set is the best set SD makes for a LP.

In an SG I can't say, because I've not played the AP2 in the neck of my SG. Based on experience, I am willing to bet that it will be overall better in the SG neck than the 490R, but you may want to swap some mags in the neck position, even with the AP2. You could make it an AP5 or AP3. I think the 490's problem is that it is too hot for a neck pup. They run about 8.5 which is what a good low output bridge runs. I will say that the 490R with an A4 mag in the bridge is great. But you already know that.

In my experience, SD pups overall are smoother and rounder than Gibsons. Gibsons are more open and have that bit of hair on them that define the Gibson sound. The Gibsons always seem to have more bite, but are more prone to being clangy. SDs are smooth and prone to being compressed.

Oh yeah, and anyone who tells you that you are stupid for doing something to a guitar that he's never heard, is an idiot.
If I were you, I'd try an A4 mag in the bridge of your AP2 and maybe an A3 or A5 in your neck. But, if you like the way it sounds, then don't do anything to it.

That is what i thought too

Thanks for your insight, and yes, i like the over all tone that i get with the stock A2P's.



James

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

. . . keep 'em comming guys !



James

 

[blueman335]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

The 490r that was in my LP before I put in an A2P was less clear, muddier, thuddier - yes thuddier.

With the stock A2, yes, not one of the world's great PU's. But with a brighter magnet...

 

[Zombiwoof]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

A lot of people dismiss the 490's in Gibsons without trying them with the proper pots. If you have the typical 300k linear volume pots that for some reason Gibson puts in their production guitars and the pickups sound dark, first try changing them out to 500k audio, and they'll sound a lot different.

Al

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

A lot of people dismiss the 490's in Gibsons without trying them with the proper pots. If you have the typical 300k linear volume pots that for some reason Gibson puts in their production guitars and the pickups sound dark, first try changing them out to 500k audio, and they'll sound a lot different.

Al

Thank you for the info !


Btw, I like DARK tone !!!

But never got the chance to try them, as my guitar came without any PU's when i bought it. That is why i got the A2P's. On the Duncan shart, it showed it had the most amount of Bass from all their low out-put Vintage voiced units.
It was either the A2P's or the '59s.
I took the more expemsive ones, thinking it would be darker in tone than the '59s.



James

 

[DesertRat]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

Thank you for the info !


Btw, I like DARK tone !!!

But never got the chance to try them, as my guitar came without any PU's when i bought it. That is why i got the A2P's. On the Duncan shart, it showed it had the most amount of Bass from all their low out-put Vintage voiced units.
It was either the A2P's or the '59s.
I took the more expemsive ones, thinking it would be darker in tone than the '59s.



James

The bass is mushier on the A2P than the 59. Plus there's a bunch more low mids available on the A2P than the 59 making the A2P sound darker in general, however there is also a nice open brightness to the high end of the A2p compared to the more spiky brightness of the 59.

Back to the 490r: The one I had in my Les Paul did lack clarity compared to both the A2p and the 59. It's in the general output range of the A2p in my experience. It 's not very good for articulate clean rhythms but does do slightly overdriven, single note riffs well.

IMO The A2P is one of the best neck humbuckers that Duncan makes (along with the Pearly Gates). It covers alot of ground stylistically and has that "singing" A2 quality.

 

[DonP]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

Have you ever heard Black Sabbath's Sweet Leaf? That's the 490R tone to me.

I personally like the 490R/498T in my SG Standard, but I play Metal and I'm not looking for cleans. I wouldn't use this for AC/DC, I'd go with the A2P's or something milder. The 490T might do for AC/DC, but it's been 10 years since I've heard one.

 

[SwedishHumbucker]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

It seems to me that Gibson puts in a little more higher output pickups in the SG then the les Paul, so the SG seems to be constructed for pickups that has more output than a traditional PAF pickup for example, not saying that a PAF wouldn´t make an excellent choice in a SG.
Anyway i use my Les Paul with Burstbucker pro´s in a high gain setting love them..
So PAF/PAF-like pickups on high gain is wondefull if that´s what you´re going for..
Very clean tones, warm smooth, it´s wonderfull stuff

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Duncan A2P's vs. Gibbo 490T/490R's ???

The bass is mushier on the A2P than the 59. Plus there's a bunch more low mids available on the A2P than the 59 making the A2P sound darker in general, however there is also a nice open brightness to the high end of the A2p compared to the more spiky brightness of the 59.

Back to the 490r: The one I had in my Les Paul did lack clarity compared to both the A2p and the 59. It's in the general output range of the A2p in my experience. It 's not very good for articulate clean rhythms but does do slightly overdriven, single note riffs well.

IMO The A2P is one of the best neck humbuckers that Duncan makes (along with the Pearly Gates). It covers alot of ground stylistically and has that "singing" A2 quality.

Thank you for your review !



James