MikeS
Bengalsologist
…and put the 490R and 498T from the LP Studio in. I typically don’t like to post pickup reviews so soon after a change, but my first impression is that I might like this combo better than the CCb/SD combo I had before.
The 498T still has a pronounced mid section, although it doesn’t spike as high as the CC. The trade off is that the 498T is a touch brighter, but the bottom end doesn’t seem to be as flabby as I thought the CC was. It seems to be a little more balanced in tone. Output wise, they are fairly even. I measured the 498T at 13.89 and the CC at 14.48. While both have a vintage-esque voicing, my second reaction is that the CC might be a little more “vintage” than the 498T, and even maybe a little more vocal.
The 490R, as much as I hate to say it, is a far better neck pickup in this guitar than the Screamin Demon. I gambled when I bought the demon to install in the neck position, and over time my opinion of it has changed. The 490R, which to my ears has always been a bit muddy and too thick on the bottom end (at least for a Les Paul) completely changed when I dropped it in the naturally bright Mockingbird. It’s wound at 7.79K and it really shows in the tone. It’s vocal qualities far exceed the ones the demon possesses at the neck, which helps give it a more rounded, open tone (not be mention, is also not as edgy as the demon was in the neck). None of this is in any way meant to be a slam on the Demon or the CC, it’s just in this case they may not be the best pickups for this particular guitar.
It’ll be interesting to see if my opinion of these pickups stays this way or if I end up ripping them out in the future. This weekend I think I’m going to experiment with the CC and Screamin Demon in the bridge of the Les Paul.
The 498T still has a pronounced mid section, although it doesn’t spike as high as the CC. The trade off is that the 498T is a touch brighter, but the bottom end doesn’t seem to be as flabby as I thought the CC was. It seems to be a little more balanced in tone. Output wise, they are fairly even. I measured the 498T at 13.89 and the CC at 14.48. While both have a vintage-esque voicing, my second reaction is that the CC might be a little more “vintage” than the 498T, and even maybe a little more vocal.
The 490R, as much as I hate to say it, is a far better neck pickup in this guitar than the Screamin Demon. I gambled when I bought the demon to install in the neck position, and over time my opinion of it has changed. The 490R, which to my ears has always been a bit muddy and too thick on the bottom end (at least for a Les Paul) completely changed when I dropped it in the naturally bright Mockingbird. It’s wound at 7.79K and it really shows in the tone. It’s vocal qualities far exceed the ones the demon possesses at the neck, which helps give it a more rounded, open tone (not be mention, is also not as edgy as the demon was in the neck). None of this is in any way meant to be a slam on the Demon or the CC, it’s just in this case they may not be the best pickups for this particular guitar.
It’ll be interesting to see if my opinion of these pickups stays this way or if I end up ripping them out in the future. This weekend I think I’m going to experiment with the CC and Screamin Demon in the bridge of the Les Paul.
