Mike CT Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 (edited) My SG has 490R/T’s in it. I have poked around a bit before on SG sites, but what are the thoughts on the various pick ups if I play hard rock/classic metal like Maiden, Priest, Metallica , AC/DC and modern country like Jason Aldean and Eric Church through a Marshall DSL. I love the SG sound hitting that A chord on Highway to Hell, too! Don’t want to mess that up - haha! Thanks! Mike Edited September 25, 2019 by Mike CT 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 (edited) I would suggest not messing with you SG's pickups, but to go try some other SG variations, like at one of those brick and mortar places, to see if there is another sound that also appeals to you. Edited September 25, 2019 by mihcmac 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BENNY Z Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I had an 'SG' w/490's in it and sold it just to up-grade to an 'SG w/57 Classic's.and glad I did, The '57's have such a better TONE, no comparison really. The 490's are Gibson USA's cheapest priced Pickups and are just LOUD and HARSH, no personality you could say. The '57's are hands down much better pick-up's. I also played both Guitars thru a MARSHALL DSL40 in Classic 'Green' Channel w/OCD Pedal and they both sounded muscular but the '57's are everything the 490's wish they were. I realize thats vague but putting words to sounds isn't my strong suit but if you have any kind of ear for music you will hear the difference between the two pick-up's....for anything short of a Custom-Bucker I am going for the '57s every time. FWIW,I am almost sorry I sold the SG w/490's in it as it was a great Guitar to beat the $#!T out of and not care what happened to it if it got stolen at a gig etc etc. I paid $600 for it new @ GC in 2016 and it was a damn good guitar for that price. The SG Standard w/57's was new too when I got it but was more than double the price @ $1299 which is a bargain these days.....and it is a Bad-A$$ Axe for sure.....I've no regrets with it at all, in fact, I love that Guitar...and I play that Open 'A' on HWTH or Won't Get Fooled Again and to me it sounds better than the recordings thru a new Marshall Jubilee w/the 2X12 Cabinet.......MAN, I am so glad I got rid of that 'SG' Faded and the DSL and bought a REAL England, U.K. , Bletchley Factory MARSHALL...The difference between a Faded SG w/490 R & T and a Standard SG w/'57's thru a real U.K Marshall Jubilee are extremely, extremely noticeable. For the $2200 differences in costs it sure should be more than blatantly obvious too. ...and sometimes I really do get what I pay for. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveT2 Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 I have 490/498 on mine. They're a good raw rock sounding pickup but they are a bit limited. Sure, they clean up but there are better pickups for that. But for in your face type stuff they're great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerb Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Have you considered one with P90's? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike CT Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 On 10/5/2019 at 9:51 PM, SteveT2 said: I have 490/498 on mine. They're a good raw rock sounding pickup but they are a bit limited. Sure, they clean up but there are better pickups for that. But for in your face type stuff they're great I thought about it a lot and gave the 498T a shot and had one put in. I absolutely love it. It sounds so much tighter to me than my 490T did. Tried it out playing some Maiden, Priest, Jason Aldean, Eric Church and some other stuff, and it sounded great through the Marshall’s various channels. I’m still not super thrilled with the 490R neck pickup but I realized the other day that I’ve never like any neck pickups on any guitars that I’ve had and always stuck to the bridge. The guitar tech tweaked that pickup a bit when he swapped out the bridge one, so I think this week I’m going to spend a lot more time with that one to see if something clicks and I realize that I want to to play that instead of the bridge for something. Separately, this new SG is awesome - love it. I have a 2017 LP Standard that I thought was great but I just can’t get myself to pick that one up first... Mike 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticsg Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 41 minutes ago, Mike CT said: I thought about it a lot and gave the 498T a shot and had one put in. I absolutely love it. It sounds so much tighter to me than my 490T did. Tried it out playing some Maiden, Priest, Jason Aldean, Eric Church and some other stuff, and it sounded great through the Marshall’s various channels. I’m still not super thrilled with the 490R neck pickup but I realized the other day that I’ve never like any neck pickups on any guitars that I’ve had and always stuck to the bridge. The guitar tech tweaked that pickup a bit when he swapped out the bridge one, so I think this week I’m going to spend a lot more time with that one to see if something clicks and I realize that I want to to play that instead of the bridge for something. Separately, this new SG is awesome - love it. I have a 2017 LP Standard that I thought was great but I just can’t get myself to pick that one up first... Mike NICE!!... Good move. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 I really like the 490R & 498T Pickups. I have them on one of my Les Paul's & think they are probably the best sounding of Gibson's HB's of the past 20+ years.... Including the MHS's on my recent Les Paul & ES335...... But, your Ears are what matters.... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 (edited) On 10/6/2019 at 8:03 PM, Mike CT said: I’m still not super thrilled with the 490R neck pickup but I realized the other day that I’ve never like any neck pickups on any guitars that I’ve had and always stuck to the bridge. The guitar tech tweaked that pickup a bit when he swapped out the bridge one, so I think this week I’m going to spend a lot more time with that one to see if something clicks and I realize that I want to to play that instead of the bridge for something. Separately, this new SG is awesome - love it. I have a 2017 LP Standard that I thought was great but I just can’t get myself to pick that one up first... Mike You might like a Humbucker sized P90 in the neck position for cleaner tone, like a P94 or a P-Rails with hum cancelling, getting a cleaner bluesy driven sound.. Edited October 17, 2019 by mihcmac 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enjpa5001 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I have a Custom Shop SG Custom with the 490R/490T configuration and I quite like it, especially for recording. I find the 490s really allow the personality of different pedals and amps to come through very well. And as a result, I can get a lot of really great tones with the SG. I have a US LP Standard with BurstBucker Pros and a Custom Shop LP Standard with CustomBuckers, which are both great guitars, too. But both LPs generally sound like themselves more consistently regardless of the pedal(s) and/or amp I play them them through. The BurstBucker Pros are really hot and cutting; the CustomBuckers are more organic / airy / woody sounding. So, I can use the SG to get a wide range of tones - a wider range than the LP, at least to my ears. And I can use the SG to compliment the LPs nicely, if that’s what I ‘m looking for. So as with many questions around pickups, a lot of it depends on what you’re looking for. If you want a lot of flexibility, then the 490R/T configuration can really deliver. And I think you can probably get just about any sound out of them if you put in the effort to tweak your setup. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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