i love the 496R for almost all of what i do in blues rock (now, when i say blues rock... imagine more blues... rock/metal) the 496R with the tone rolled back on a clean setting is great for my clean sounds, and the 500T again, with the tone rolled back A LITTLE! is good for my fast pace lead settings. Yes the 500T sometimes seems too loud i mostly stick with the rhyme position when playing. even during solos I've found myself sticking with the 496R more so then the 500T. I must confess however, that part of why i have done so, is because of how they sit in my flying V. they are tilted back towards the bridge. I've got a cover for the neck which seems to fix the problem, and even the ill fitting bridge cover, when just sat in the pickup as a mock-up seems to correct the problem. I cannot however, seem to find a cover with the correct spacing for my 500T (if it is in fact a 500T. almost 100% sure though. but it was previously owned before it came to my hands. so who knows what it is...)
Assuming it is in fact a 496R and a 500T in my '06 V i Love em. ****/5
why 4/5? because Gibson does not sell the 500T with a cover factory installed! GET ON THIS GIBSON! PLEASE!? thank you \m/