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How to tell what pickups you have?


NoFrills

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Is there supposed to be any obvious labeling on the pickups to know what pickups you have?

 

Since being on this forum I have found each model of a specific guitar changes material and specs over the years to various degrees.

Now I am not sure what pickups I have in my Led Paul Studio Lite.

 

I know the bridge pickup has Gibson USA machine pressed into the back of the pickup but still unsure if it is actually a 500T or a 498T as it looks identical to a studio in everyway visually besides having balsa in the body.

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  • 1 month later...

This brings up an interesting question Vincent; Why doesn't Gibson label their pickups ???

 

 

Yeah! Why isn't Gibson stamping there pups with model #'s? There aint no way to tell a 490t/498t apart, let alone the other models.

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  • 2 years later...

Once again I am baffled by Gibson's lack of logic. You would think they would label their pickups. I have been confused many times by what pick ups are in a particular guitar. Especially considering the marketing for the many different pick ups they make these days, it is the 21 century after all.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Oh there is a HUGE difference between a 490/498T!

 

Think of the 490 series as the "P90's of the humbuckers". The best for clean sounds, and the worst for

heavy sounds.

 

The 498T has considerable more output, more crunch, more sustain and better harmonics, will be much heavier,

and is unmistakable, actually. Its that classic early KISS sound, for example.

 

For me, the only way to be sure is to play it.

A test instrument, as to see for its output also tells you much about the pickup.

 

There are some tables, I've seen before, but each pickup output varies a lot from its production year, how old it is, so I

prefer just to feel and hear it.

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Oh there is a HUGE difference between a 490/498T!

 

Think of the 490 series as the "P90's of the humbuckers". The best for clean sounds, and the worst for

heavy sounds.

 

The 498T has considerable more output, more crunch, more sustain and better harmonics, will be much heavier,

and is unmistakable, actually. Its that classic early KISS sound, for example.

 

For me, the only way to be sure is to play it.

A test instrument, as to see for its output also tells you much about the pickup.

 

There are some tables, I've seen before, but each pickup output varies a lot from its production year, how old it is, so I

prefer just to feel and hear it.

 

I would like to invite you to a tone test with my Gibson collection. I prefer to just read a label on each pick up.

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I suppose Gibson doesn't label them, because they don't feel like it? who knows why [cursing]

I took the trouble to ohm out all the pickups I have, and wrote that on the back of it with a sharpie. You can find dc resistance charts on the net-

Since I'm known to change mags, I note that on the back of the pup too.

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