Gibson 498T/490R - My review

[Rex_Rocker]

I know it's not a new set. It's probably one of the sets that people most commonly swap out. I had experienced it before, but I have been wanting to revisit it for a while, and with my new guitar, I just did.

To be short, I think they've got an underserved bad rep. I think they're pretty killer pickups if you know how to use their strenghts to your advantage.

I see the negatives people often hear in them. The 498T can be kinda raspy and kinda stuffy at the same time. The high-end has a sort of unrefined and raw nature. The 490R, by contrast, is kinda smooth and pretty whimpy on the output. The thing is the character of the highs is very different between both. While the 498T is very rude, the 490R is very polite, almost to a fault. Almost.

I personally love the nature of the high-end on the 498T. It has tons of character and is very unique to many Gibson pickups, as I hear a very similar high-end on the 500T. But it's not a thin-sounding pickup because the mids are very full. It sort of reminds me a little of a JB's mids but with a touch of the 500T's aggressive highs. It's lower output than either, though, but it's not as tame as a Burstbucker or a '59B.

The 490R is a good pickup for people like me who like their bridge pickups to be very "bridge-y" and their neck pickups to be very "neck-y". It's round (but not dark) and very polite, but it's also not very bassy and/or chirpy like the Duncan '59 can be. The EQ is very middle-of-the-road for a neck pickup and can be shaped to fit many sounds and balance with many bridge pickups from vintage to medium output.

I guess their downside is people often see them as jack-of-all-trades kinda pickups. The 498T is far from a blistering high-output pickup, but it's certainly not EQ'd like a PAF-type. The 490R has a very even EQ which can come off as bland and is slightly underpowered, maybe. But the thing is, personally, I find both are great pickups that love to have distortion thrown on top and have a very distinct voice once you flip the switch. I play Metal, and the 498T in particular is voiced pretty great if you've got a tighter-sounding amp that has a healthy amount of gain on tap. It's nice and aggressive without being tinny, and the mids are nice and full.

I personally wouldn't buy an aftermarket 490R to stick in a guitar, but I don't feel like I need to swap mine out at all as long as I'm not attempting to pair it with a blistering hot high-output firebreather. The 498T, however, I feel is a great option for people who want to Gibson-ize the sound of an Epiphone, an LTD, a Schecter, or other LP-types. It is, after all, the pickup that's been on most LP Customs and Studios for like 30-40 years. Personally, I think it's like the Gibson pickup for 90's Rock, and one of the top-runners for Metal too.

So... those are my thoughts. Do y'all agree? Do you disagree?

 

[Masta' C]

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Great review!

 

[hamerfan]

Great Review, thanks. I swapped the A2 in the 490R to an A5. Much better, more like a T-Top now.
P.S: Maybe Gibsons new T-Top is the good old 490R with a short A5. Just a thought!
​​​​​

 

[MikeS]

I found the 490R in my LP Studio to be too dark and muddy. 498T was good, not great. Of all the pickups I've had in my LP Studio, the 490R was my least favorite neck pickup. The 498T was somewhere in the middle. My LP Studio is pushing 26 years old and came stock with 300K pots. If I knew then what I know now, I would have replaced the pots with 500K before swapping pickups. Not sure if Gibson is still using 300K pots in any of their guitars, but the 490R and 498T benefited greatly from higher pot values.

To that point, that 490R/498T set eventually found a home in a maple neck-through Mockingbird. That Mockingbird was a much brighter guitar than my Studio, and I think the 490/498 set really benefited from being in a brighter guitar with higher pot values.​

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Great Review, thanks. I swapped the A2 in the 490R to an A5. Much better, more like a T-Top now.
P.S: Maybe Gibsons new T-Top is the good old 490R with a short A5. Just a thought!
​​​​​

I always wondered how the 490R differed from an Alnico 2 Pro. I've always imagined the Alnico 2 Pro sorta like how I describe the 490R, but I've never directly compared them. So yeah, I figured that if my theory is right, an A5 would transform it into sort of Jazz territory. But that's just me assuming. I don't really know, and I'm sure A2P lovers and 490R haters will disagree, LOL.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I found the 490R in my LP Studio to be too dark and muddy. 498T was good, not great. Of all the pickups I've had in my LP Studio, the 490R was my least favorite neck pickup. The 498T was somewhere in the middle. My LP Studio is pushing 26 years old and came stock with 300K pots. If I knew then what I know now, I would have replaced the pots with 500K before swapping pickups. Not sure if Gibson is still using 300K pots in any of their guitars, but the 490R and 498T benefited greatly from higher pot values.

To that point, that 490R/498T set eventually found a home in a maple neck-through Mockingbird. That Mockingbird was a much brighter guitar than my Studio, and I think the 490/498 set really benefited from being in a brighter guitar with higher pot values.​

I don't find it muddy, personally, but I'm actually gonna try disconnecting the tone pot altogether for that pickup. I do that with most of my pickups anyway. But my guitar comes with 500K pots. I don't think they've used 300K pots on anything since the 90's or maybe early 2000's.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Great review!

Thank you! Another thing I thought I'd mention is I had a 498T from the late 90's that a friend gifted to me that I used to drop in whatever guitar I had that was either pickup-less or came with crummy stock pickups like PRS SE's like 10 or 15 years ago. If I decided to sell the guitar, I'd just yank the pickup out and keep it for the next. I distinctly remember that pickup had a roughcast A5. I can see a polished A5 magnet in the one that came with my guitar now. So much like Duncans and JB's, I suppose they've slightly and slowly "evolved" during the years.

 

[skelt101]

Rex_Rocker
Have you ever tried swapping magnets between the 490 and 498? I hear that is a popular modification…

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Have you ever tried swapping magnets between the 490 and 498? I hear that is a popular modification…

I have not, but I have never been crazy about A2 bridge pickups. I like the 498's aggressive edge, and I feel like I'd loose that with A2.

 

[ToneFiddler]

i never liked the 498T. One big nasty mid honk.
EMG81 for example is also just mids, but at least this one is tight, so it's worth modifing the amp EQ for it. I don't won't to waste anymore time with the 498T.

I agree, this pairing of Bridge and Neck PU is bad. The 490R is kind of boring, but yeah, it reminds me somehow of the A2P but never did a direct comparison. But small differences can make or brake a sound for me.
490R sounds good with a Short A5, but then there are a lot of great pickups out there. I and i guess most people on this board have more PUs than guitars, so there is no space for mediocre pickups left.

I am pretty sure, you of all people will swamp them out

 

[Rex_Rocker]

i never liked the 498T. One big nasty mid honk.
EMG81 for example is also just mids, but at least this one is tight, so it's worth modifing the amp EQ for it. I don't won't to waste anymore time with the 498T.

I agree, this pairing of Bridge and Neck PU is bad. The 490R is kind of boring, but yeah, it reminds me somehow of the A2P but never did a direct comparison. But small differences can make or brake a sound for me.
490R sounds good with a Short A5, but then there are a lot of great pickups out there. I and i guess most people on this board have more PUs than guitars, so there is no space for mediocre pickups left.

I am pretty sure, you of all people will swamp them out

I don't think the 498 is honkier than a JB. I realize many people don't gel with JB-types, but they're kinda my bread and butter, LOL. Plus what I appreciate about the JB and the 498 is, while they're very mid-forward, the mids aren't vocal/nasal like some DiMarzios can be. They both can be kinda stuffy in the lower mids, though.

I also realize it's not like the tightest pickup around, probably because of the stuffy lower mids, but that goes well with some amps. I'm using a model of the EVH 5150III on my HX Stomp right now, and I've had the actual 5150III before, and I actually find that amp likes a little looser pickups or else it's too tight and djenty, LOL. EVH-branded pickups are, after all, A2 even.

But yes, LOL. Even if I love them, I'll probably swam them out. I'm honestly considering at least the 498T because I'm kind of all about the Aldrich right now, LOL.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

CLIP(Dropbox Link)

Quick and dirty comparison between my Modern Lite with the 498T and my Tribute with the Aldrich. Please excuse the sloppy playing, this one isn't my best, I just wanted to have something to show. Honestly, they came out much much much closer than I expected. The 498 has a dirty edge to the high end and the Aldrich has the characteristic growl, but not that different, honestly. I always knew my 498T was my kinda pickup, and this confirms it.

 

[ToneFiddler]

Sorry, my wording was off.
Yeah the mids of the 498T are not the honky kind, what most people associated with that word.
I just hit an A5 powercord, and all i can say is, that i don't like it already.
Stuffy, packed and overly middy might be it. Kind of annoying and too dense for my ears.

I am not the biggest fan of the JB either, but it's a classic and it can sound really good depending on the guitar.
I would say the mid spike of the JB sits very effective (for the human ear) and brings great cut and a good attack, but the mids are not as brought as the 498T.
Lot's of great records are made with it, so i will give that PU a 2nd chance someday (actually it was good in this cold and hollow LP copy).
With your typical Gibson (which vary a lot) i don't think a mid forward PU is the best combination in most cases.
I had 3 Gibsons LPs coming with it, i will not give it a 4th chance!

I kind of like the smooth and tight gain structure which mid heavy Pickup can bring (if they are not too fat), but only for high gain and i need to EQ the prominent mids out afterwards.
(I don't get that positive effect with the 498T by the way).
For a crunch sound, i hate those kind of PUs, although i have enough guitars for each purpose.
So in a way, they only sound good if you mask them with enough gain.
But with the right amp, i can get a good high gain sound out of a low output one also, with a not too overbearing chirp (as you like to call it).
Quite some compression from the amp needed, but for example the trademark Diezel VH4 3rd channel can do it.

no headphones on hand right now, later maybe...​

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Sorry, my wording was off.
Yeah the mids of the 498T are not the honky kind, what most people associated with that word.
I just hit an A5 powercord, and all i can say is, that i don't like it already.
Stuffy, packed and overly middy might be it. Kind of annoying and too dense for my ears.

I am not the biggest fan of the JB either, but it's a classic and it can sound really good depending on the guitar.
I would say the mid spike of the JB sits very effective (for the human ear) and brings great cut and a good attack, but the mids are not as brought as the 498T.
Lot's of great records are made with it, so i will give that PU a 2nd chance someday (actually it was good in this cold and hollow LP copy).
With your typical Gibson (which vary a lot) i don't think a mid forward PU is the best combination in most cases.
I had 3 Gibsons LPs coming with it, i will not give it a 4th chance!

I kind of like the smooth and tight gain structure which mid heavy Pickup can bring (if they are not too fat), but only for high gain and i need to EQ the prominent mids out afterwards.
(I don't get that positive effect with the 498T by the way).
For a crunch sound, i hate those kind of PUs, although i have enough guitars for each purpose.
So in a way, they only sound good if you mask them with enough gain.
But with the right amp, i can get a good high gain sound out of a low output one also, with a not too overbearing chirp (as you like to call it).
Quite some compression from the amp needed, but for example the trademark Diezel VH4 3rd channel can do it.

no headphones on hand right now, later maybe...​

I guess it depends on what you like, what you're used to, and what works in relation to the rest of the gear you're using. We all like different stuff. I, myself, could not get the Custom to work, for example, because I found it too bassy and not mid-forward enough. But I am used to mid-heavy pickups, and I've just kinda learned how to adapt my playing and my dialing of tones to them without really thinking about it to the point where something more scoopy or even neutral in the mids just feels so alien to me.

The 498T is by no means a clone of the JB, but I hear a some similarities, and a JB is just like "home" to me when it comes to passives. And I'm personally not finding it particularly loose. But that may have to do with the rest of the chain I'm using.

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

Good review.

I think (in general) the context of what you need in a pickup and what style of music you play is very necessary for pickup selections.

I have never like the aforementioned pickups at all. For my styles of music, and for low tuned and high gain stuff I have always found the Gibson pickups to be very bland, plain vanilla, and lacking.

If I were playing AC-DC all day, then ya, they'd be just fine. . . As would most pickups.

I need/want pickups that have lots of subtleties in harmonics, overtones, tightness, and grit.

I want grit, and output snarl and enough brightness to cut thru the low tunings. I've given the 490, 498 even 500 very earnest tries at being the right pickups for me. And they just aren't. When I swap them out for a good ol sh6, or a black winter, my guitars and tone just open up and start to scream.

I do like the 500t as it is pretty close to the Distortion in my findings. (For standard or drop D tunings at least )

I probably still have some Gibson pickups on the shelf, I use them as trading fodder.

YMMV, and thanks for your reviews, all knowledge and insight is helpful.

 

[Mincer]

Reviews like this are certainly helpful to many people out there considering them, or researching a guitar that comes with them.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Good review.

I think (in general) the context of what you need in a pickup and what style of music you play is very necessary for pickup selections.

I have never like the aforementioned pickups at all. For my styles of music, and for low tuned and high gain stuff I have always found the Gibson pickups to be very bland, plain vanilla, and lacking.

If I were playing AC-DC all day, then ya, they'd be just fine. . . As would most pickups.

I need/want pickups that have lots of subtleties in harmonics, overtones, tightness, and grit.

I want grit, and output snarl and enough brightness to cut thru the low tunings. I've given the 490, 498 even 500 very earnest tries at being the right pickups for me. And they just aren't. When I swap them out for a good ol sh6, or a black winter, my guitars and tone just open up and start to scream.

I do like the 500t as it is pretty close to the Distortion in my findings. (For standard or drop D tunings at least )

I probably still have some Gibson pickups on the shelf, I use them as trading fodder.

YMMV, and thanks for your reviews, all knowledge and insight is helpful.

I also play downtuned high gain stuff... and not much else, really. That's why when anyone starts going on about pickups cleaning up well with rolling the volume or being touch sensitive I immedieately go like WUT, LOL. I think you and me go for similar tones even, we just have different ways of getting there, I suppose.

I guess I also like pickups with a bit more squishiness and smoothness. I love the Black Winter, Distortion, and 500T too, FWIW. But I've always kinda been a sucker for the JB as well. The JB was like the first passive that I really fell in love with, and I consciously or subconsciously tend to judge passives by comparing them to the JB because it's so easy to dial in with the amps that I like for the tones that I like. So I tend to gravitate towards pickups that remind me of it in some way or another. Which BTW, the DD, BW, and 500T are kinda like that to me too as well as the 498T. I suppose the sound of Arch Enemy records is so imprinted on my mind that it has an influence.

 

[ToneFiddler]

I guess it depends on what you like, what you're used to, and what works in relation to the rest of the gear you're using. We all like different stuff. I, myself, could not get the Custom to work, for example, because I found it too bassy and not mid-forward enough. But I am used to mid-heavy pickups, and I've just kinda learned how to adapt my playing and my dialing of tones to them without really thinking about it to the point where something more scoopy or even neutral in the mids just feels so alien to me.

The 498T is by no means a clone of the JB, but I hear a some similarities, and a JB is just like "home" to me when it comes to passives. And I'm personally not finding it particularly loose. But that may have to do with the rest of the chain I'm using.

Agreed.
i have the custom on the shelf and want to try it. I fear it has too much bass for me also.


Talking about touch sensitivity. I love the way low output pickups clean up if you pick soft. bright, clear and cutting attack. the high output ones are still kind of fat and middy. The lower the gain, the more highs (and scoop) you need in my opinion.

 

[ToneFiddler]

Good review.

I think (in general) the context of what you need in a pickup and what style of music you play is very necessary for pickup selections.

I have never like the aforementioned pickups at all. For my styles of music, and for low tuned and high gain stuff I have always found the Gibson pickups to be very bland, plain vanilla, and lacking.

If I were playing AC-DC all day, then ya, they'd be just fine. . . As would most pickups.

I need/want pickups that have lots of subtleties in harmonics, overtones, tightness, and grit.

I want grit, and output snarl and enough brightness to cut thru the low tunings. I've given the 490, 498 even 500 very earnest tries at being the right pickups for me. And they just aren't. When I swap them out for a good ol sh6, or a black winter, my guitars and tone just open up and start to scream.

I do like the 500t as it is pretty close to the Distortion in my findings. (For standard or drop D tunings at least )

I probably still have some Gibson pickups on the shelf, I use them as trading fodder.

YMMV, and thanks for your reviews, all knowledge and insight is helpful.

Yes lot's of better alternatives to the gibsons stuff for that sound.
I disagree with your AC/DC comment though: maybe the 490T is fine, but the rest sucks for AC/DC. It's really about bright low output Pickups, if you take it seriously...
So more like the High Voltage (well duh!), Pearly Gates and Jazz from the duncan range...

 

[ToneFiddler]

CLIP(Dropbox Link)

Quick and dirty comparison between my Modern Lite with the 498T and my Tribute with the Aldrich. Please excuse the sloppy playing, this one isn't my best, I just wanted to have something to show. Honestly, they came out much much much closer than I expected. The 498 has a dirty edge to the high end and the Aldrich has the characteristic growl, but not that different, honestly. I always knew my 498T was my kinda pickup, and this confirms it.

boy, that's agressive. with those levels of gain it's very hard. At one volume setting even with my cheap headphones, i can actually hear differences:
Aldrich has a bigger, deeper but also tighter bass and is tighter overall. Mids are a tad less prominent and throatier with the Aldrich and less nasty than the 498T. The 498T tends to smears things together more