2011 Studio

[pauly]

A 2011 Studio with a gloss fireburst finish and goldtone hardware...how can I find out ( hate to send e mail to Nashville but might have to ) what pups are in this one without pulling them to look? I've searched around the net and havent found anything definite.

[deeman]

Most Studios came with the 490r 498t. There were some exceptions however, so I don't think we can have a definitive answer.

[pauly]

Most Studios came with the 490r 498t. There were some exceptions however, so I don't think we can have a definitive answer.

I'm thinking likely on the 490/498 myself.

[Zentar]

Check DCR

 

Gibson 490R (Alnico2) 7.2 - 7.83 KO

 

Gibson 498T (Alnico5) 12.32-14.6 KO

 

A better way to tell is listen to them. If they are muddy then yea they are 490/498

[capmaster]

PAF style pickups have circa 49.6 mm pole piece spacing between the centres of E1st and E6th pole screws regardless of position (R aka Rhythm spacing). The T aka Treble spacing of bridge pickups like 490T. 498T, 500T, Dirty Fingers is circa 52.4 mm, again between the centres of E1st and E6th pole screws.

 

A T spaced bridge pickup measuring around 8...9 kOhms DCR would likely be a 490T, but for reasons unknown to me they are uncommon on Les Paul guitars. They are widely used stock for SGs though.

 

Check DCR

 

Gibson 490R (Alnico2) 7.2 - 7.83 KO

 

Gibson 498T (Alnico5) 12.32-14.6 KO

 

A better way to tell is listen to them. If they are muddy then yea they are 490/498

AlNiCo bar magnets make any pickup sound "muddier" due to eddy currents. Those within AlNiCo rod magnets mounted electrically isolated from each other are negligible.

 

Ceramic magnets are electrically non-conductive and thus don't produce eddy currents.

[Jon S.]

A 2011 Studio with a gloss fireburst finish and goldtone hardware...how can I find out ( hate to send e mail to Nashville but might have to ) what pups are in this one without pulling them to look? I've searched around the net and havent found anything definite.

 

 

Likely the 490R/498T combo. Email us at service@gibson.com with the serial number, and we'll be happy to check.

[btoth76]

Hello!

 

Burstbucker PROs in that year, on models with baked maple fretboard.

 

Bence.

[pauly]

Check DCR

 

Gibson 490R (Alnico2) 7.2 - 7.83 KO

 

Gibson 498T (Alnico5) 12.32-14.6 KO

 

A better way to tell is listen to them. If they are muddy then yea they are 490/498

I dont have a meter handy at this time to do DCR, my ears arent what they should be and cant tell if they are in fact muddy. Sound pretty darn good to me..but I'm no pro at all.

[pauly]

PAF style pickups have circa 49.6 mm pole piece spacing between the centres of E1st and E6th pole screws regardless of position (R aka Rhythm spacing). The T aka Treble spacing of bridge pickups like 490T. 498T, 500T, Dirty Fingers is circa 52.4 mm, again between the centres of E1st and E6th pole screws.

 

A T spaced bridge pickup measuring around 8...9 kOhms DCR would likely be a 490T, but for reasons unknown to me they are uncommon on Les Paul guitars. They are widely used stock for SGs though.

 

 

AlNiCo bar magnets make any pickup sound "muddier" due to eddy currents. Those within AlNiCo rod magnets mounted electrically isolated from each other are negligible.

 

Ceramic magnets are electrically non-conductive and thus don't produce eddy currents.

Good info cap. I measured the pole pieces center to center from pole 1 to 6 on each pup...though in sae not metric. The T pup measures 2" and the R measured 1 7/8.

 

I e mailed Gibson and will post the findings.

[pauly]

Likely the 490R/498T combo. Email us at service@gibson.com with the serial number, and we'll be happy to check.

Thank you. I did just now e mail. I appreciate Gibson's input. Gibson customer service is great.

[pauly]

Hello!

 

Burstbucker PROs in that year, on models with baked maple fretboard.

 

Bence.

Bence, it does appear to be baked maple due to color.

[deeman]

Hmm, the ~3mm difference in pole spacing would lead one to believe that you do have the 490r/498t set.

 

Zentar is a troll, don't listen to his advice about listening for 'muddiness.' Some people like the 490/498 and some don't. I don't like them, I LOVE them.

[rct]

Check DCR

 

Gibson 490R (Alnico2) 7.2 - 7.83 KO

 

Gibson 498T (Alnico5) 12.32-14.6 KO

 

A better way to tell is listen to them. If they are muddy then yea they are 490/498

 

hmmm...the brush is broad with this one...

 

rct

[capmaster]

Good info cap. I measured the pole pieces center to center from pole 1 to 6 on each pup...though in sae not metric. The T pup measures 2" and the R measured 1 7/8.

 

I e mailed Gibson and will post the findings.

So the bridge pickup is definitely a T model. This excludes any PAF style pickup like Burstbuckers that all would read 1 7/8" spacing.

[pauly]

Hmm, the ~3mm difference in pole spacing would lead one to believe that you do have the 490r/498t set.

 

Zentar is a troll, don't listen to his advice about listening for 'muddiness.' Some people like the 490/498 and some don't. I don't like them, I LOVE them.

I like the sound of them myself...although I did lower both slightly ( heavy 64th ) below specs so I dont have to roll off the volume quite as much to get them to clean up a tad better when needed. Nice growl with some edge to it when cranked on a UK made Laney VG30 though..love it.

[pauly]

So the bridge pickup is definitely a T model. This excludes any PAF style pickup like Burstbuckers that all would read 1 7/8" spacing.

Great. Have some BB's ( which I like ) on another lester and was hoping I didnt screw up get the same pups on this guitar.

[Zentar]

I like the sound of them myself...although I did lower both slightly ( heavy 64th ) below specs so I dont have to roll off the volume quite as much to get them to clean up a tad better when needed. Nice growl with some edge to it when cranked on a UK made Laney VG30 though..love it.

 

They are called "the dreaded pair". I wish Gibson would not install them in Studios because many acoustic players new to electric guitars will try a Studio first and have trouble liking them. They may not know to buy another pickup pair in order to be able to appreciate their purchase. They will assume they just don't really fit electrics and stop playing. That is what happened to me. The 490/498 set me back a year until a friend told me to try a new pickup set. My Studio sat unplayed in its case unplayed a year. Why does Gibson put this awful pair in beginner class guitar? A beginner will not know pickups make or break a guitar.

 

Gibson needs to stop making the 490/498 and stop putting them in Studios. All Studios should come equipped with BBs or 57s so that new players to electrics will get a proper PAF sound in order to experience what a Les Paul can do.

[rct]

They are called "the dreaded pair". I wish Gibson would not install them in Studios because many acoustic players new to electric guitars will try a Studio first and have trouble liking them. They may not know to buy another pickup pair in order to be able to appreciate their purchase. They will assume they just don't really fit electrics and stop playing. That is what happened to me. The 490/498 set me back a year until a friend told me to try a new pickup set. My Studio sat unplayed in its case unplayed a year. Why does Gibson put this awful pair in beginner class guitar? A beginner will not know pickups make or break a guitar.

 

Gibson needs to stop making the 490/498 and stop putting them in Studios. All Studios should come equipped with BBs or 57s.

 

Maybe the countless recordings and tours done by working pros using those pickups has more to do with it than what beginners can't figure out.

 

rct

[capmaster]

They are called "the dreaded pair". ...

Honestly, this is the first time I'm encountering that description. Not every pickup is for everybody. It has lots to do with personal taste I think.

 

 

Maybe the countless recordings and tours done by working pros using those pickups has more to do with it than what beginners can't figure out.

 

rct

This is my guess, too. Pickups coming stock with Les Paul Custom guitars can't be that bad at all on a Les Paul Studio.

[Zentar]

Maybe the countless recordings and tours done by working pros using those pickups has more to do with it than what beginners can't figure out.

 

rct

 

A pro can play a mop and get a good sound. A beginner will only be disappointed and not know why. Why risk losing a new player? That's a dozen guitars that wont be bought because the beginner quit. Stick a set of 57s in the Studio and let beginners hear what a real guitar sounds like.

[capmaster]

A pro can play a mop and get a good sound. A beginner will only be disappointed and not know why. Why risk losing a new player? That's a dozen guitars that wont be bought because the beginner quit. Stick a set of 57s in the Studio and let beginners hear what a real guitar sounds like.

An acoustic guitar player already is very close to what a real guitar sounds like. Magnetic pickups transduce a particular cutout of the original string tone only, determined by pickup design and position. Playing electric means getting the most out of it.

[rct]

A pro can play a mop and get a good sound. A beginner will only be disappointed and not know why. Why risk losing a new player? That's a dozen guitars that wont be bought because the beginner quit. Stick a set of 57s in the Studio and let beginners hear what a real guitar sounds like.

 

I don't agree at all. I'm not even a giant fan of 490s and they aren't that bad, one of my Gibsons has them stock and in ten years I haven't changed them out. Beginners have no business dabbling in the overwhelming hooey passed off as pickup science, they should be puttin their fingers in the right places at the right times. I've had an awful lot of students in my life using all kinds of guitars, none of the quitters was ever because the pickups just didn't sound right.

 

rct

[Zentar]

I don't agree at all. I'm not even a giant fan of 490s and they aren't that bad, one of my Gibsons has them stock and in ten years I haven't changed them out. Beginners have no business dabbling in the overwhelming hooey passed off as pickup science, they should be puttin their fingers in the right places at the right times. I've had an awful lot of students in my life using all kinds of guitars, none of the quitters was ever because the pickups just didn't sound right.

 

rct

 

Beginners don't know that. They don't know anything except the guitar sounds lifeless. They are not at your level.

[Johnny 6 String]

Check DCR

 

Gibson 490R (Alnico2) 7.2 - 7.83 KO

 

Gibson 498T (Alnico5) 12.32-14.6 KO

 

A better way to tell is listen to them. If they are muddy then yea they are 490/498

 

 

Wow....mud is in the ear of the beholder I guess. I've been using them in my Custom for 28 years and never had an issue. Can go from cream to crunch with a flick of the switch and a spin of a knob. But then guitar is like most things and you only get out what you're willing to put in.

 

Johnny

[Zentar]

I had a guy in here tell me he had gigged 10 years with the 490/498 before he switched. He said he deeply regretted the 10 years he wasted playing the dreaded pair. I was stunned by his statement but I knew exactly what he was talking about. There are a lot of guitar players out there who use 490/498 who would sound better if they'd swap pickups.