Gibson 490r magnet swap to T-Top type

Cdwillis

Cdwillis

New member
I've got a Les Paul on the way with the 490r and 490t pickups. I'm going to get to know it a bit before I start modding anything, but I know I'm a tinkerer and I already know I didn't like the 490r in my SG, or the other guitars I've tried it in, so I figured I'd order some magnets to swap just in case I don't care for it in the LP. I've read that the 490r pickups are basically T-Tops with alnico 2 magnets instead of short Alnico 5 magnets. Looking at AddictionFX's site they have a few options:


2.50 x .125 x .50 Rough

2.50 x .125 x .50 Smooth

2.36 x .125 x .50 Rough

2.44 x .125 x .492 polished

2.50 x .125 x .50 Alnico 5 unoriented

Is the 2.36 rough or the 2.44 polished closer to what Gibson was using on those T-Tops? My buddy has a Norlin era Les Paul Custom with the original T-Top in the neck and I'd like to get close to that tone. The 490r I had with the a2 magnet was just way too warm and lacked clarity.
 
I don't know that a 490 is the same wind as a T-Top, but putting an A5 in might get you into that ballpark. I can't find an exact measurement for the T-Top magnet, but all I know is it's a short bar. I believe the 2.36" rough is closer. Magnets are cheap and easy to swap. I'd just get both and try the shortest one first.

FWIW the best "poor man's" T-Top set I've found is using a Duncan 59N in the bridge and a JazzN in the neck.
 
The 490 R and T are essentially the same pickup - enough turns to get the R to about 8k, and the T a little higher K due to the wider T spaced bobbin making for more wire length for the same turn count. T-tops were about 7.5k
The 490's are also wax potted, unlike T-tops.

They are about as 'similar' as 2 different pickups of similar K readings......sort of like saying that a PG is a 59 model with an A2 magnet.
You can try a short A5, but don't expect to get the same sort of tone....other than the fact that the two will be vintage output and a little punchy.
 
You haven't said what you don't particularly like about your current 490r in the SG nor what you want to achieve with modding it.

Of course if you put that exact same pup into a Strat or a LP it's going to sound totally different. If there is something major in the tone of the 490r, a magnet change may not be the solution you're looking for.

But still, you can't expect any solutions from us if we don't know what the problem is.
 
The 490R is a good humbucker, no problem but the 490T is really not enough punchy, if you need an upgrade the 490T is suspect IMHO
.
490R / 498T is a great combo.
 
the short a5 is the closest and will probably sound really good in the 490. if it was me, id put the 2.36 in the neck and 2.5 uoa5 in the bridge
 
GuitarDoc said:
You haven't said what you don't particularly like about your current 490r in the SG nor what you want to achieve with modding it.

Of course if you put that exact same pup into a Strat or a LP it's going to sound totally different. If there is something major in the tone of the 490r, a magnet change may not be the solution you're looking for.

But still, you can't expect any solutions from us if we don't know what the problem is.
Click to expand...

As I said, the 490r was too warm and lacked clarity in my SG. I tried that same pickup in a Jaguar (maple neck, rosewood fretboard, alder body, stop tail piece, dual humbucker setup) and it sounds pretty much the same. Even with my amp set clean it's very warm and as soon as a hint of overdrive starts appearing the neck stars turning to mud. I mean it sounds cool playing single note lines, but that's a small percentage of my playing. That's been my experience with that pickup and my new guitar is coming with that pickup in the neck so I was preemptively looking for a solution in case it has the same issue.

GibSG said:
The 490R is a good humbucker, no problem but the 490T is really not enough punchy, if you need an upgrade the 490T is suspect IMHO
.
490R / 498T is a great combo.
Click to expand...

I had a 490r and a 490t in my Faded SG when I got it. The bridge sounded ok, but I wasn't thrilled with the muddy neck sound. I end up swapping a set of Pearly Gates in it. The neck is a little clearer I think, but I think I really just want an Alnico 5 magnet based pickup in the neck. The PG bridge popped a lot more harmonics and generally sounded better than the 490r, but after messing with pickups more I ended up with a Custom in the bridge with an unoriented alnico 5 magnet swapped in. Gave it a little more oomph.
 
Not sure why we want to get into T-Top territory, but that might be just me (and millions of other T-Top swapping guitarists).

But, this 490 is basically a T-Top wind w/ an A2 is intriguing. Have a reference for that??? Would also explain my lack of 490 love.

What sound are you going for? I say just lose the 490 and get a Jazz or a Jazz set and rock on.
 
Aceman, just google 490r T-top mod and you'll get a bunch of results from mylespaul forum, SoloDallas, etc. I figured it would be something that's common knowledge here, but I don't see a whole lot of love for the Gibson pickups here either. A $5 magnet swap experiment seems like a decent option before I pay several times more than that for a replacement pickup.

https://www.mylespaul.com/threads/gibson-t-top-replica-with-a-490r-or-490t.65801/

This is the perfect combination of a hunch and speculation so I could be totally wrong, but they introduced those 490s and I would make an educated guess that they were wound on those same automatic winding machines the T-Tops were. The T-Tops were set up with identical coils, or as close as they could get with the automatic winding machines, wound with poly wire in that 7.5k-ish range. The 490s are the same, but they got the four conductor wiring, A2 magnets, and Gibson potted them.
 
To follow up with this, I swapped the alnico 2 out of the 490r and put the short rough cast alnico 5 in it's place. Since I was playing around with this stuff, I swapped the Alnico 2 out of the 490t and replaced it with an rough cast unoriented Alnico 5 magnet. I didn't get a chance to hang out with my friend to compare it to his LPC with the T-top, but the magnet swap cleared up the neck pickup a lot. It was still warm, but it took some of the mud out. Plus I think it helped balance the pickup volumes better. The UOA5 in the 490t definitely made it a little tighter and more aggressive, but it was still full sounding, not scooped. I found myself still wanting a higher output humbucker for the bridge. It's just what I'm used to.

But after about a week of playing with the mag swapped set, I found a deal on a JB and Jazz. I pulled the pcb, switch, jack, and pickups so I could completely revert to stock if I wanted, or sell the set. I wired in a new Switchcraft switch, Truetone jack, Mojotone vintage taper pots, 0.01uf tone cap for the neck and 0.022uf tone cap for the bridge, then vintage braided wire for everything aside from the JB/Jazz leads. Now the guitar sounds like a total champ. The neck has a lot more clarity without being overly bright, the middle position is really nice especially for clean stuff, and the bridge sounds massive when overdriven. Pinch harmonics just leap off the fretboard if I want. It's not as tight as the 490t was, but I like the overall sound much better. The biggest surprise to me was that the JB sounded good clean too. With the 50s wiring it keeps the high end as I turn the volume down so there's a lot more nuance to the output. Some people don't like how the tone pots interact with the volumes with 50s wiring. I don't have a problem with it. I fiddle with the volume more than the tone. If I touch the tone it's just to back it off a hair, so this works well for me.
 
Did I not say just get a Jazz???? It's the T-Top you really want.:14:

Full Disclosure: I kept the T-Top in the neck of my 1979 #1 Les Paul Standard....
 
I know, I know lol :D

I started out planning to buy some more magnets for swapping anyway, then the t-top/490r experiment popped into my mind. I could have left the 490r alone after the mag swap, but I couldn't pass up the Jazz for $50. I did buy a cover though, but still cheaper altogether than a new uncovered Jazz. Scored the JB with the cover already on for $60, which I had already planned on either a Custom, JB, or Distortion going into the bridge when I bought the Les Paul. I really want to try one of the Motor City Pickups Awfayu humbuckers. My SG needs a bridge pickup, so maybe in there.
 
I'd pick a Jazz over a 490R - or a T-top - any day.
Although I do sometimes like T-tops in neck position.

It used to be fairly common for players to swap magnets between the 490R and the 490T.
A5 gave the neck better definition, and A2 softened the character of the bridge.
Not a fan of the set at all, myself.
Still, I can see how that swap could be an improvement over the original arrangement.
 
I've heard of swapping mags between the 498T and 490R, the 498 being way more winds than the neck 490; but the 490T and 490R aren't they the same coils/same DCR? If the mags are different you could just swap the pickups, no?
 
beaubrummels said:
I've heard of swapping mags between the 498T and 490R, the 498 being way more winds than the neck 490; but the 490T and 490R aren't they the same coils/same DCR? If the mags are different you could just swap the pickups, no?
Click to expand...

The 490T is supposed to have slightly higher output, and is also trem-spaced.
 
skelt101 said:
Did you mean the 498T? That has an A5 magnet.
Click to expand...

My understanding was that the 490T was A5 while the 490R was A2.
Charts now say both are A2 but I'm not certain that's always been the case.
I'm pretty sure people often used to swap mags between bridge & neck in that set back in the day.

498T is of course an entirely different animal, much hotter wind.
I hear a certain grainy character to the 498's sound, but many - especially among rockers - really like it.
If I had to choose one or the other I'd absolutely pick the 498T over the 490T.
 
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