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2002 Gibson Les Paul Studio flame top.


HNS

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Hello Folks

I just bought a 2002 Gibson Les Paul Studio. I was wondering if it would be worthwile to ditch the 490/498 for Seymour Duncans's JB/Jazz?

 

A full report on the guitar is here

 

http://www.mylespaul...ay-i-chose.html

 

Cheers

 

I once bought a LP studio in 2008 and it lacked punch/crunch/growl...so I sold it. Bought a LP Traditional with 57 Classics (which many love)...but it too lacked crunch/growl, etc....so I replaced pups with SD JB. Did the trick. My son's LP studio also has JB's...and they rock. My SG Std has stock 490/498 and it rocks (a bit warm sounding though). My son's ES-137 also has 490/498 and they sound great there also.

 

Must be more about the guitar, wood quality, fretboard material, etc...and less about the pups. I don't know.

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I once bought a LP studio in 2008 and it lacked punch/crunch/growl...so I sold it. Bought a LP Traditional with 57 Classics (which many love)...but it too lacked crunch/growl, etc....so I replaced pups with SD JB. Did the trick. My son's LP studio also has JB's...and they rock. My SG Std has stock 490/498 and it rocks (a bit warm sounding though). My son's ES-137 also has 490/498 and they sound great there also.

 

Must be more about the guitar, wood quality, fretboard material, etc...and less about the pups. I don't know.

 

Thanks for your response... I agree, every guitar is unique. I might have to fiddle around with the pup height as well ... and I may be able to find a sweet spot.

Cheers

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Gibson 490r neck is an alnico II, modern paf styled pickup / so is the Duncan Jazz.

 

Gibson 498T is a high powerful bridge pickup (mine is 13.7k Ohms) / so is the Duncan Jeff Beck (JB)

 

I don't see where making that change is much of a change at all.

 

I have had several Duncan pickups over the years and loved them all except for the Duncan Distortion (way too bright), but Gibson's humbuckers are of similar quality, so...

 

I now have a Les Paul Studio '50s Tribute Humbucker with the 490R and 498T set and after height adjustments, just love them in this guitar.

 

I used to own (a now much-missed) LP Studio with a Duncan Jazz neck pu and a Duncan Custom bridge pu. That thing had serious mojo. I bought it used and it had EMGs in it, they were not for me, so I bought the Duncans and swapped. Darn those occasional money problems, prompting guitar sales!

 

Anyhoo, what you describe here seems to be a pickup change to a set of very similar pickups to what you already have.

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Gibson 490r neck is an alnico II, modern paf styled pickup / so is the Duncan Jazz.

 

Gibson 498T is a high powerful bridge pickup (mine is 13.7k Ohms) / so is the Duncan Jeff Beck (JB)

 

I don't see where making that change is much of a change at all.

 

I have had several Duncan pickups over the years and loved them all except for the Duncan Distortion (way too bright), but Gibson's humbuckers are of similar quality, so...

 

I now have a Les Paul Studio '50s Tribute Humbucker with the 490R and 498T set and after height adjustments, just love them in this guitar.

 

I used to own (a now much-missed) LP Studio with a Duncan Jazz neck pu and a Duncan Custom bridge pu. That thing had serious mojo. I bought it used and it had EMGs in it, they were not for me, so I bought the Duncans and swapped. Darn those occasional money problems, prompting guitar sales!

 

Anyhoo, what you describe here seems to be a pickup change to a set of very similar pickups to what you already have.

 

 

Thanks mastersja

I have the JB/Jazz in my Schecter and they sound way cleaner and clearer than the 490/498 on the Gibson. Unless the stock pots on the studio can siphon the extra high end, they seem different, at least to my ears (in different guitars though). But then again, I have very limited experience with LP's and humbuckers. There might be a better combo out there, any recommendations? How was the Jazz in your studio?

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...Unless the stock pots on the studio can siphon the extra high end, they seem different, at least to my ears (in different guitars though)...

Actually different pots and different caps can make as much - and sometimes more - difference than swapping p'ups; especially if, as mastersja says, you will be swapping like-for-like.

 

If it was me first thing I'd do would be to put in a pair of genuine PIO caps. It's a quick and easy mod which might work wonders.

I was disappointed by the sound of a pair of SD Antiquities which were already in a LP when I bought it s/h.

After I put in a pair of PIO reproduction 'Grey Tigers' (essentially BumbleBees but a different colour) I was astonished by how good the guit sounded.

 

It's well worth a shot.

 

Good luck with whatever you do and keep us posted.

 

P.

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Thanks Pippy

I see the merit of what you and mastersja are saying, do you mean those PIO's? how many would I need ?

I also intend on changing the volume pots ro audio taper 500k with 10% tolerance, as suggested by someone on another post.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-56-Luxe-GREY-TIGER-Repro-Capacitor-02-mfd-400v-Blue-NOS-Paper-In-Oil-Caps-/271108633920?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3f1f557540

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Luxe-Repro-1952-56-02uf-400v-Grey-Tiger-Tone-Capacitor-/121059579640?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1c2fb696f8

 

Cheers

H

 

 

Actually different pots and different caps can make as much - and sometimes more - difference than swapping p'ups; especially if, as mastersja says, you will be swapping like-for-like.

 

If it was me first thing I'd do would be to put in a pair of genuine PIO caps. It's a quick and easy mod which might work wonders.

I was disappointed by the sound of a pair of SD Antiquities which were already in a LP when I bought it s/h.

After I put in a pair of PIO reproduction 'Grey Tigers' (essentially BumbleBees but a different colour) I was astonished by how good the guit sounded.

 

It's well worth a shot.

 

Good luck with whatever you do and keep us posted.

 

P.

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...I see the merit of what you and mastersja are saying, do you mean those PIO's? how many would I need ?

I also intend on changing the volume pots ro audio taper 500k with 10% tolerance, as suggested by someone on another post...

Hi, sorry for the delay in replying, HNSFury.

 

You would only need two caps; one for each p'up / pair of pots.

Search on ebay for genuine PIO ones. There used to be an ebay store selling 'Luxe' branded caps.

 

And the 500k audio taper pots are standard fitment in the re-issues so that pretty much says it all.

 

One other thing you might want to think about is how you should wire everything up.

There are different wiring paths which can be used. The 'Original '50s' wiring is what I like but not everyone finds this to be to their liking.

 

There's a lot of info re; wiring out there. Good Luck!

 

P.

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Hi, sorry for the delay in replying, HNSFury.

 

You would only need two caps; one for each p'up / pair of pots.

Search on ebay for genuine PIO ones. There used to be an ebay store selling 'Luxe' branded caps.

 

And the 500k audio taper pots are standard fitment in the re-issues so that pretty much says it all.

 

One other thing you might want to think about is how you should wire everything up.

There are different wiring paths which can be used. The 'Original '50s' wiring is what I like but not everyone finds this to be to their liking.

 

There's a lot of info re; wiring out there. Good Luck!

 

P.

 

 

Thanks a million Pippy

I intend to rewire it to 50's wiring soon, I'm also thinking of the Orange drops .022 caps.

Will check the net... and thanks for your help

Cheers

Hisham

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I had a 2000 Special SL with those pups.... I now have SD JB and Jazz and they blow the original pickups away!!! That muddy neck tone was the first to go!!! You will LOVE the SD combo if/when you test the other methods mentioned.

 

 

Thanks ..somebody on a different board told me that they sound similar)jb/jazz and 490/498), was that your experience ?

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Thanks ..somebody on a different board told me that they sound similar)jb/jazz and 490/498), was that your experience ?

The bridge pickup is not way different. (The JB is more in yo face)...HOWEVER the Jazz neck pup is a WAY different pickup. MUCH less bass and mud and lot more clarity in the highs. It also splits very well(Same with the JB)

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The bridge pickup is not way different. (The JB is more in yo face)...HOWEVER the Jazz neck pup is a WAY different pickup. MUCH less bass and mud and lot more clarity in the highs. It also splits very well(Same with the JB)

Thanks .. that sounds logical ... cheers

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