Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

[dreamwarrior]

I was a longtime user of EMG 81 pickups until I got a Les Paul studio last year and loved the 498t. I was feeling the 81 was sterile for a while but had no clue what pickup to try so I kept using them no matter what guitar I used (BC Rich mockingbird, Epi LP custom, Ibanez Xiphos). But now, after a year of using the 498t I realize it's got some qualities that are a little annoying. There has to be something like it but with more low growl and less hairy high end. I've tried a JB and it was close to what I'm wanting. Actually, I might not have given it enough of a chance. More recently, I've used a Duncan Distortion and it just doesn't have nearly the low growl and it's just too bright. But it has a soupy quality I kinda like. Not sure if anyone will understand what I mean, but it's tough to describe.

I've read some threads on here about the 498t and some have made me think about a Custom 5 and Alternative 8. My guitar is mahogany/maple top/mahogany neck/baked maple fretboard. I tune to C standard and use heavy gauge strings into an old Boss HM-2 (MIJ) and into a Peavey 6505+/Mesa Recto 4x12. I'm not at all interested in a Dimebucker or scooped metal tones. That stuff is not m cup of tea. I like thick, soupy and growly on the power chords.

Suggestions much appreciated! Also, this is my first post so hello tone freaks!

 

[dreamwarrior]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Also, doesn't have to be Seymour Duncan. I used a Super Distortion and PAF Pro years ago, but they weren't being used for this particular band. I'd like to try some Bare Knuckle pickups, but they seem to be hard to come by here in the US and a bit pricey.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you have already have the solution. Put an Alnico 8 magnet in your 498T; it adds midrange growl and takes off the excess treble. Gives you a powerful, warm PU with some punch. Get your mags at Addiction FX and there's video tutorials on how to do it (only takes a few minutes). Much better than buying PU after PU and hoping for the best.

 

[dreamwarrior]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Just read one of the magnet swapping threads and watched a video, so I think I'm definitely going to do that. Looks pretty easy, not to mention inexpensive!

Is the 498 considered a scooped mid pickup? I've read varying opinions on that pickup and A5 magnets. I'm sure it depends on the guitar it is in.

I'm still within the exchange period with the SH-6 I bought, so I could still swap it for something. Considering the Custom 5.

 

[dreamwarrior]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Thinking about getting an Alternative 8 anyway, so I can try it out but also so I can try putting an A5 in it. Might order a few magnets to try them out, since swapping seems pretty easy/harmless.

Can anybody verify the mid-content of a 498t? Scooped? Full? I can't really tell or compare it to anything but an SH-6 or EMG 81 and I'm gonna say no?

 

[blueman335]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Can anybody verify the mid-content of a 498t? Scooped? Full?

Scooped, due to the natue of the A5 magnet, which has a lot of treble and bass, and not much in the way of mids. Put an A8 in, which has more mids and less treble, and you get a more balanced EQ and a much fuller sound. I'd do that before buying another PU. I have A8's in a couple 498T's, and it's a big improvement.

Gibson couples the bright, thin 498T with the very different warm 490R, making it a challenge getting one amp EQ setting that works well for both PU's, since they're so radically different in tone. I solve that with an A8 in the bridge (for mids and warmth) and an A5 in the neck (which adds much-needed treble). That's how that PU set should sound.

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Consider swapping the Distortion for the PATB2, you might just love that pickup....

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

That's why I dislike A5's most of the time. They feel both thin and bottom heavy at the same time. I can't stand scooped mids. It feels gutless, cold, and unresponsive to me.

You might like the 498 with an A8, a UOA5, or even an A2.

 

[XPAULPITT]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

If you play in C you might wanna try LACE drop n gains.

 

[Bad.seed]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

I hate to be that guy but what amp are you using? I play in drop C on a 6505 and even with a Full Shred in the bridge of my thin Mahogany Bodied schecter I have bass thump for days.

I had a Les Paul Studio with a 498t in the bridge and currently have an AL3200 (LP copy, Maple/Walnut Neck thru) with a 500t in the bridge and neither of those guitars is lacking in the low end Dept and is nice and bright without being harsh on the top.

You may just need to EQ your amp the the pickup/guitar a little better (no offense, I could be wrong!). Also, you could take the money you're spending on a new pickup and put it towards an EQ. I bought an EQ and it solved a lot of discrepencies I was having with some pickups I was unhappy with. Turned out to be a big money saver!

Also, The JB does sound like what you're looking for, I think you should give it a second go if you are unhappy with the 498t and throw an EQ in the loop or in front of your amp and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

 

[Frogman]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Mahogany + Full Shred + Diezel Einstein + Drop C = Mike Rigg's tone on Hellbilly Deluxe (Rob Zombie, 1998)

 

[dreamwarrior]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

My amp is a 6505+ but I use a Boss HM-2 on the clean channel for distortion.

I'm really curious about the A8 so I'm definitely going to at least do a mag swap in the 498t.

I watched/listened to some videos of the Lace pickups because some folks I know are starting to use them. Sounded sterile to me and too much like an EMG 81, though I know a youtube video isn't necessarily the best to discern the sounds.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

First thought reading your post (not the responses) is to mag-swap your 498T. Look up AddictionFX online. Pick up 2 mags...an A8 (Alnico 8) and a UOC8 (Un-Oriented Ceramic 8). It's cheap, easy to do and I'd be surprised if you didn't find a combo you like. The 498T is very responsive to mag swaps.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

That's why I dislike A5's most of the time. They feel both thin and bottom heavy at the same time. I can't stand scooped mids. It feels gutless, cold, and unresponsive to me.

They can be like that in some PU's, but then some winders can make them very warm and full, like Rio Grade and Jason Lollar.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Try an A8 in it, if that doesn't turn your crank I think the 500T is what you're looking for.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

They can be like that in some PU's, but then some winders can make them very warm and full, like Rio Grade and Jason Lollar.

I almost posted something similar in the post you replied to. A5 pickups seem more sensitive to the wind than most. I don't like them in lightly wound pickups or in heavily wound pickups, but they can be real nice in moderately heavily wound pickups.

 

[KRKBAB]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you have already have the solution. Put an Alnico 8 magnet in your 498T; it adds midrange growl and takes off the excess treble. Gives you a powerful, warm PU with some punch. Get your mags at Addiction FX and there's video tutorials on how to do it (only takes a few minutes). Much better than buying PU after PU and hoping for the best.

OR- try a ceramic in that 498T. 500T!

 

[Bad.seed]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

OR- try a ceramic in that 498T. 500T!

Well, almost. The 500t has a large middle ceramic magnet as well as two smaller ceramic magnets on the sides (much like an invader if im not mistaken).
so just putting a Ceramic mag in the 498t won't yield quite the same results.

I concur with the 500t though. To me, its a darker, hotter, grittier 498t. Not thin at all, at least in my experience and an all around good pickup for high gain applications.

I'm not a fan of A8 magnets, as everything I've ever heard them in had this, almost metallic tin sound to them while palm muting and I just couldn't get into it.

 

[scarr]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

Thinking about getting an Alternative 8 anyway, so I can try it out but also so I can try putting an A5 in it. Might order a few magnets to try them out, since swapping seems pretty easy/harmless.

Can anybody verify the mid-content of a 498t? Scooped? Full? I can't really tell or compare it to anything but an SH-6 or EMG 81 and I'm gonna say no?

If you mean Alt 8 w/an A5, that isn't the same as a C5. The Alt 8 is definitely a thick pickup. With low-tuning, it can potentially be a bit too thick. I have one in the bridge of a drop-C SG, and I wouldn't want it any chunkier.

 

[dreamwarrior]

Re: Upgrading from 498t, need suggestions

I don't do drop tunings. I'm at C standard and might venture to B standard at some point in the future.

Thanks for all the info and replies, folks! Gonna order some magnets today and try some experimenting. If I can, I'll post up some results and clips.