Zentar Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Can the 490/498 humbucker set be salvaged? Mine sit unused. If you have a Gibson 490R and 498T pair of humbuckers and you have to sell one and buy one which one would you sell? What would you buy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I couldn't be happier with the SD Whole Lotta Humbuckers I dropped into my '14 Studio I bought a 490/498 set second hand to try in a VM Studio I used to have. They weren't to my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 This very set of 490/498 has already been replaced by SDs. This 490/498 set sits in a box up in a closet. My question is a academic or theoretical question. Can the 498/490 be saved by using one of them and throwing the other one in the trash or should both be thrown in the trash? If you kept one which would you keep? What PU would you match the remaining "keeper" with? OR....... Should I send them off to be rewound to 59, BB or Classic specs at $60 a pop? Or is the 490/498 pair sonically worthless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Hello! I am not good at it to give a proper advice. Donny (a respected former Forum member) did swap magnets in Gibson pickups to change it from one model to another. Like, He put AlNiCo IIs into 498 to make it a hot-wound 57 Classic. You can find him on this Facebook site for advice: https://www.facebook.com/lespaulclassictraditional Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 just beaten to it I was going to suggest change the magnets http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Electronics/Pickup_Kits_and_Parts/Humbucker/Alnico_Bar_Magnet.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 This very set of 490/498 has already been replaced by SDs. This 490/498 set sits in a box up in a closet. My question is a academic or theoretical question. Can the 498/490 be saved by using one of them and throwing the other one in the trash or should both be thrown in the trash? If you kept one which would you keep? What PU would you match the remaining "keeper" with? OR....... Should I send them off to be rewound to 59, BB or Classic specs at $60 a pop? Do you like the 490R? Maybe a 490T would be a better match for it than the 498. The thing I don't like about 490/498 together is that *to me* they don't sound like they belong in the same guitar together. I'm apparently different though - My '14 Studio Pro came with a 57 neck and BB Pro bridge. Yuuuuch!! A lot of folks really like that combo though. Now I'm finally getting to the point. Without knowing what you like/dislike about the 490/498 as a set, it's hard to make suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I disliked them most of my life, then came my 06 Explorer, they are fabulous in that guitar. Normally I'd ditch them for 57Classics but I am still using the 490s. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I have a pair that I'm not using right now, I keep them in case I find a SG / V or Explorer-body without pickups. Sadly we don't have no Stratosphere here in Europe. This one literally screams for them: http://www.stratosphereparts.com/gibson-usa-sg-future-tribute-special-body-neck-guitar-parts-heritage-cherry-1/ I think it depends in what guitar you put them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Hello Marcos! They sound great in my all-maple L6S. Especially when tapped and both on. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 If I had them rewound to 59 specs would I end up with great PUs? Of course I could just order a new set of 59 SDs for the about the same price so why rewind? I know for sure how an SD set would sound. Other than swap magnets I'm thinking these 490/498 PUs are a wash. Swapping magnets may only partially solve the issue of too muddy or too high output. If you are not a metal guy these PUs have no sonic worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 If I had them rewound to 59 specs would I end up with great PUs? Of course I could just order a new set of 59 SDs for the about the same price so why rewind? I know for sure how an SD set would sound. Yes, there are lots of great PAFalikes, including Seymours. Nothing is a PAF but a PAF, but there are lots that do it just as well I think, based on the three or four pairs of PAFs I ever got to use. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Sutherland Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Can the 490/498 humbucker set be salvaged? Mine sit unused. If you have a Gibson 490R and 498T pair of humbuckers and you have to sell one and buy one which one would you sell? What would you buy? I had a 498T in the bridge and a 57 classic in the neck of one of my LP's for a while... I liked that combination. I never could get on with the 57 classic in the bridge, the 498T gave me a little bit of extra 'grit' and sounded better to me. I ultimately swapped them for a set of SD Alnico 2's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Sutherland Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 This very set of 490/498 has already been replaced by SDs. This 490/498 set sits in a box up in a closet. My question is a academic or theoretical question. Can the 498/490 be saved by using one of them and throwing the other one in the trash or should both be thrown in the trash? If you kept one which would you keep? What PU would you match the remaining "keeper" with? OR....... Should I send them off to be rewound to 59, BB or Classic specs at $60 a pop? Or is the 490/498 pair sonically worthless? If you are going to throw either of them into the trash, I will gladly take them off your hands... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 My 496R & 500T are pretty much the same pickups with ceramic magnets & are almost like DiMarzio Super Distortions in how they act & sound.. HOT! Alnico 2 4 or 5 might give you something you can use in the guitar your wanting to put them in.. Never throw them out.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvercrow Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Well heck, I'm sure not gonna be any help here! But that never stopped me before... I was playing my LP Studio, a 2000, that has 490 neck and 498 in the bridge, through my Fender Custom Deluxe Reverb (think DRRI) with my Archer pedal, last night. I am EXTREMELY pleased with the tones I'm getting, FOR THE MUSIC / STYLE I play. I think (hope) we all know that this is SO subjective, many variables including but not limited to; playing style, amp, effects, on and on. Ice cream comes in different flavors as do guitar pickups. If you think / feel they are good, then they are! If not, manufacturers from Fralin to Fender are standing by to sell you something you like. Don't get me wrong- I love the "pursuit" of "tone" as much as the next guy (more or less). But NO ONE can definitavely say what is best unless talking their particular situation / taste, etc. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 The only icecream flavor that matters is chocolate ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I am happy with my 490r/498t. I will also take your set off your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I think it really matters what amp & effects chain the pickups are going thru & the exact tone "wished" for plus the guitar itself & the players style.. I Will Take Any/All Pickups Being Tossed Out/Kicked To the Curb I can always make a pickup winder & buy some magnets.. Hmmm?? NOTE: I am "Very Happy" with the tones I get from the Ceramic Magnet 496R & 500T "Just Sayin" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvercrow Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 The only icecream flavor that matters is chocolate ... Mint chocolate-chip has better T O N E! I read it on the Gear Page... Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Mint chocolate-chip has better T O N E! I read it on the Gear Page... Brian True, but only if the chocolate has a minimum of 80% cacao. With less, or G forbid milk in it you only get mud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvercrow Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 True, but only if the chocolate has a minimum of 80% cacao. With less, or G forbid milk in it you only get mud! True Dat! Ain't any tone pot made to clean that mud up! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I'd rather have Vanilla or Strawberry.. I guess my taste is ruined.. Had Diabetes for 38 years!! Get some magnets & play around with those pickups OR Sell em CHEEP!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Yep...change magnets! I have 490R and 498T on one of my LPs. If I EQ the amp to the 490R neck pickup to make it brighter, it made the 498T very brittle and tinny. Should I EQ to the bridge pickup 498T, it then makes the neck pickup very dark and muffled...too much difference between the two. I swap'd the pickup magnets between the two as a cheap fix. It's a little more compatible now. When EQ'd to the neck pickup, bringing down the bridge tone a little. Not ideal, but manageable for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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