Gibson 496T

[Little Pigbacon]

So Gibson has used this as a “hot ceramic” bridge pickup on some models, pairing it up with a 496R in the neck, rather than the 500T “super ceramic”. I used to have a 500T in a 2005 Faded V, and it was hot — sometimes too hot. So how does the 496T compare? From Gibson’s specs, it should be backed off a bit, but what’s it like to play?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Gibson 496T

never heard of the 496t. the 496r was like 8.5k with a ceramic bar or so. whats the 496t? same but with wider spacing?

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Gibson 496T

Pickups Rhythm Lead
Style: 496R 496T
Winds/Coil: Screw side/Slug side: 5250/5250 5250/5400
Material of Wire (gauge): Copper (42) Copper (42)
Coil Dimensions (per coil): 2.61 x 0.68" 2.61" x 0.68"
Coil Material: ABS ABS
Coil Winding Process: Machine Wound Machine Wound
Pole Piece Material: Nickel plated steel Nickel plated steel
Pole Piece Position from Nut: 18.625" 23.437"
Slug Material: Nickel plated steel Nickel plated steel
Slug Dimensions (diameter x length): 0.187 x 0.489" 0.187 x 0.489"
Magnet Material: Ceramic Ceramic
Magnet Position from Nut: 19" 23.125"
Cover: None None
Qfactor: 2.95 3.54
ResistanceDC: 8420 Ohms 12637 Ohms
Resonant Frequency: 2581.14 Hz 2288.75 Hz


Pickups Lead
Style: 500T
Winds/Coil: Screw side/Slug side: 5250/7500
Material of Wire (gauge): Copper (42/43)
Coil Dimensions (per coil): 2.61" x 0.68"
Coil Material: ABS
Coil Winding Process: Machine Wound
Pole Piece Material: Nickel plated steel
Pole Piece Position from Nut: 23.437 inches
Slug Material: Nickel plated steel
Slug Dimensions (diameter x length): 0.187 x 0.489"
Magnet Material: Ceramic 8
Magnet Position from Nut: 23.125 "
Cover: None
Qfactor: 3.61
ResistanceDC: 15510 Ohms
Resonant Frequency: 2272.62 Hz

 

[Discharged]

Re: Gibson 496T

Those DC readings don't match the number of turns produced by that AWG wire, not even taking max-nom and min-nom specs.

Hence, never , ever trust anything put out by Gibson. Half of them are wrong and the other half are simply not true.

/Peter

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Gibson 496T

You don’t think 150 extra winds on the slug coil yields 4,217 ohms more?

 

[Discharged]

Re: Gibson 496T

You don’t think 150 extra winds on the slug coil yields 4,217 ohms more?

150 turns of AWG#42 in a 52mm polepiece spread bobbin produce around 112,5 ohms more.

It's not what I think, it's what I know.

The only way to come close to the numbers produced is by using AWG#44 wire, which averages 1.2 ohms per turn. However, putting less than 5,500 turns per bobbin, it's actually very little wire, resulting in a shrill tone, specially with ceramic mags and the bridge position.

Bottom line: just trust absolutely NOTHING put out by Gibson.

/Peter

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Gibson 496T

Didn't realize the 500T was an asymetrical wind.

 

[Discharged]

Re: Gibson 496T

Didn't realize the 500T was an asymetrical wind.

It is NOT.

/Peter

 

[dystrust]

Re: Gibson 496T

It is NOT.

/Peter

IME the 500T doesn't sound like an asymmetrical wind. It's been a while since I've had a chance to meter one; I think it was around 14K though it may have been 16. Unfortunately it was single conductor and I didn't want to take it apart, so I couldn't meter the individual coils.

Looking further at the spec up-thread, I'm pretty sure that DiMarzio had a patent covering humbucker coils wound with two different wire gauges at the time that the 500T was introduced. I'm also pretty sure it wouldn't be possible to wind a pickup with a 15.5K DCR using 42AWG for one coil and 43AWG for the other. My best guess is symmetric coils with 44AWG.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Gibson 496T

dimarzios patent covered pups with two wire sizes with the same # of turns i believe so you could have 5250 turns of #42 and 7500 turns of #44 but i dont think thats what is actually on the 500t

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Gibson 496T

I was impressed with the technical information on Gibson’s product pages. Was.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Gibson 496T

150 turns of AWG#42 in a 52mm polepiece spread bobbin produce around 112,5 ohms more.

It's not what I think, it's what I know.

I was being sarcastic. Goddammit, Gibson...

But in Gibson’s defense, I just played a 496R/496T combo in an Explorer, and I thought they were great pickups, well suited to the guitar.

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Gibson 496T

this is why I like this forum. because it's full of people with enormous knowledge. Anyway to come back to the subject of this thread, I have never heard about the 496T. I had the 496R and the 500T in a les paul classic (the 500T is really a great pickup and with 3 ceramic magnets not one as stated on gibson website). they measured respectively 8.6 and 15.5 (out of the guitar). And I was thinking they were the only ceramics in gibson lineup. Maybe the 496T is a brand new pickup for the 2018 releases. I wonder how it sounds with an unbalance of few turns between coils (like the BB pros) and a ceramic magnet.

 

[Discharged]

Re: Gibson 496T

you could have 5250 turns of #42 and 7500 turns of #44 but i dont think thats what is actually on the 500t

The resulting DC reading of that combo would be around 12,937.5 ohms, so, it doesn't matter how you put it, it simply never adds up.

/Peter

 

[Discharged]

Re: Gibson 496T

I was being sarcastic.

Sarcasm doesn't translate well in Forums...

 

[Discharged]

Re: Gibson 496T

an unbalance of few turns between coils (like the BB pros)

BBs are NOT unbalanced, not even the suggested few turns.

/Peter

 

[jeremy]

Re: Gibson 496T

The resulting DC reading of that combo would be around 12,937.5 ohms, so, it doesn't matter how you put it, it simply never adds up.

/Peter

my comment was related to the dimarzio patent rather than the bogus gibson info but you are correct

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Gibson 496T

BBs are NOT unbalanced, not even the suggested few turns.

/Peter

Not even the unpotted, AlNiCo 2, aftermarket Burstbucker 1/2/3?

 

[EmiAba]

Re: Gibson 496T

BBs are NOT unbalanced, not even the suggested few turns.

/Peter

Burstbucker pro (A5 with slug coil predominant), 59 tribute (A2 with slug coil predominant) and 61 zebra(A5 with screw coil predominant) are unbalanced. That is what I know. Maybe I am wrong. Please provide evidence

 

[Discharged]

Re: Gibson 496T

Burstbucker pro (A5 with slug coil predominant), 59 tribute (A2 with slug coil predominant) and 61 zebra(A5 with screw coil predominant) are unbalanced. That is what I know. Maybe I am wrong. Please provide evidence

Sorry to be dense, but unless you've personally took apart and count the turns of the wire, you can't say that's something you KNOW. That's something you read somewhere, most probably put out by Gibson, and as the specs Little Pigbacon copied from Gibson, you could see for yourself that they were so wrong that they made non sense at all.

I haven't dissected the newer p'ups like the 59 Tribute or the 61, however, I did have with several BBs and what I found was exactly what I said: both bobbins had the same amount of turns. That's the "collateral damage" that people that repair, mod and rewind p'ups "suffer". They take measures of everything they do, so, they learn things... and when they say something, it's because they DO KNOW.

/Peter