Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

charlemetallica

New member
Hello Guys,

I am thinking of making a gibson 498t/JB hybrid with Alnico8 , Have anyone made this hybrid before? The Gibson 498t is Tight , Big open sounding without being compressed but the highs are too much , the mids are very scooped , over all , it is a bright hot pickup, the JB on the other side , has the mids that I like , which make it the best 80's hair metal pup known(to me at least) so combining the 2 pickups will give me big tight open bright bottom end without being compressed , the JB part in the hybrid will add the mids that are lacking in the 498t and the highs will be tamed to a point that will be not ear peircing ( as the JB has lower highs than the 498T) and the A8 Magnet will add more Bottom , adjust the mids, and tame the highs.

I thought of making the hybrid with Duncan custom TB-5 , (but the 498T is much brighter and bigger in bottom end) , or the duncan distortionTB-6, but it is more compressed than JB , with more compressed mids and highs so it will add more highs with those of the 498t which will be tooo trebly)

Any recommendation guys? , That will be my first hybrid, as no pup completely satisfies me.

Looking for your recomendations.

Should I considre Alt8/JB Hybrid? Insread of the 498t/JB hybrid?

I did not like Alt8 overall tone , it was too flat sounding( not musial as the JB tone) but it was bigger fatter very open sounding and dark too.
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

By The way My Amp is ENGL Fireball ( Which is a brutal dark amp) with Line6 cab with V30's) and my guitar is a Samick Artist Series , Alder Body , Maple Neck And Ebony Fretboard.
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

Well, not so long ago I've actually made such an hybrid for one customer of mine, an unrepentent hardcore metal buff, (the really obnoxious kind) and he was really happy with the outcome.

He said: "This thing crushes dead goat skulls, it's brutal!". Whatever that meant to him.

I couldn't make heads or tails of his sound, but then again, I'm a jazz/fusion player at heart with a Classical guitar degree from the Conservatory of Music...

Sorry if this is an useless post for you. :dunno:
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

Well, not so long ago I've actually made such an hybrid for one customer of mine, an unrepentent hardcore metal buff, (the really obnoxious kind) and he was really happy with the outcome.

He said: "This thing crushes dead goat skulls, it's brutal!". Whatever that meant to him.

I couldn't make heads or tails of his sound, but then again, I'm a jazz/fusion player at heart with a Classical guitar degree from the Conservatory of Music...

Sorry if this is an useless post for you. :dunno:

Thanks LtKojak , For sure your post is usefull, as I got a good feedback on the hybrid i will be making, so was the hybrid you made was exactly 498T/JB With A8?
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

was the hybrid you made was exactly 498T/JB With A8?

Yes, it was. He originally just wanted an A8 magnet for his JB, but then somebody gave him a broken 498T and he decided to use the working coil with his JB just for kicks. The slug coil was the working coil, BTW.

HTH,
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

Yes, it was. He originally just wanted an A8 magnet for his JB, but then somebody gave him a broken 498T and he decided to use the working coil with his JB just for kicks. The slug coil was the working coil, BTW.

HTH,

Thanks Bro. does it matter if i put the slug or the screw part of the humbucker in the hybrid? do they sound the same as single coils? or they differ?
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

Thanks Bro. does it matter if i put the slug or the screw part of the humbucker in the hybrid? do they sound the same as single coils? or they differ?

Well, the two bobbins have a different sound, but HOW would it differ and if it matters, I wouldn't know.

If the 498T coil is the closest Gibson has to the Custom, I'd say it'll split wonderfully. But, it's only one way to know, really: try it, and then you tell ME! ;)

HTH,
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

That's it really. We can theorize to death what we expect out of a hybrid, and certainly that is useful and will get us in the ballpark, but we just have to try it and see what happens to really know what a hybrid will end up sounding like. Sometime we are very pleasantly surprised by the results.
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

That's it really. We can theorize to death what we expect out of a hybrid, and certainly that is useful and will get us in the ballpark, but we just have to try it and see what happens to really know what a hybrid will end up sounding like. Sometime we are very pleasantly surprised by the results.

Right Bro. I am just predicting the results , but the real test will prove that the prediction was right or not :)
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

Well, the two bobbins have a different sound, but HOW would it differ and if it matters, I wouldn't know.

If the 498T coil is the closest Gibson has to the Custom, I'd say it'll split wonderfully. But, it's only one way to know, really: try it, and then you tell ME! ;)

HTH,

I will update you with the out put when the surgury is completed.
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

So I'd just say...go for it, man. Let us know how it turns out. Should sound good.
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

That's it really. We can theorize to death what we expect out of a hybrid, and certainly that is useful and will get us in the ballpark, but we just have to try it and see what happens to really know what a hybrid will end up sounding like. Sometime we are very pleasantly surprised by the results.

Right on, Doc!

I couldn't've said it better myself, if I may say so.

Yours very truly,
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

So guys , My Impression on The first hybrid I have made,It is made of 498T and a duncan designed TB-6 replica,which has tons of mids, so I spent the morning making the 2 hybrids and here are the results,

The 498t/TB-6 Designed gave me 99% of what i was looking for, it has a big tight a very little compressed( which is acceptable) bottom end , it might be even bigger than custom 8 , the mids screams like that of the 80's Ratt/Dokken tone, the highs are so sweet as the A8 tame them to be singing and not piercing.

So my Next Hybrid will be with the TB-4 which i have to travel about 250KM to get it , but it worth getting it and making the new hybrid.

Cheers guys , I started with Mag swabbing which really improved my tone , but now after making the first hybrid , my tone is superior.

If any body like RATT LAY IT DOWN INTRO , MY CURRENT HYBRID DO IT hell yeah :) Tight Big Bottom , Great 80's Mids, Sweet Highs I'm Loving that :)
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

Welcome to the dark side. Mag swap starts the whole process. I did my 1st mag swap several months ago, and was going to do my 1st hybrid, but found out that Duncan was making the hybrid I wanted, so I saved myself the expense of buying 2 pups. I just swapped the mag of the hybrid i bought. I still want to make a hybrid, but love the pups I already have, and no more guitars to put anymore pups in. What's the old cliche "so many wonderful tones, so little time".
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

The concept of having "too many p'ups" is absolutely and completely wrong at its very base.

It's called "not having enough guitars". ;)

HTH,
 
Re: Gibson 498T/JB Hybrid With Alnico8

If you can count the number of guitars you have on your fingers and toes, you don't have enough (guitars that is).
 
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