Sionkg Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Hi there. I have an Epiphone Lp custom and I'm thinking of replacing the bridge Epi pup with a Gibson one. (now, that's original!~) I watched video comparisons and found the 498T's tone the most pleasing. According to Gibson's site: "The 498T features shielded, four-conductor wiring for series, parallel or split coil operation, and is fully wax potted to eliminate any chance of microphonic feedback." I play drone/noise metal. In this genre feedback and pinched harmonics are very important to be present in the sound. Is microphonic feedback something other than the feedback we all know? Example of "the feedback we all know": YouTube - Guitar feedback : Gibson ES 137 Soldano Hot Rod 50 Avenger I don't want to lose "that" feedback.. Can Anyone -with 498T on his LP- share his knowledge/experience regarding the feedback on this particular pup? Any other knowledge/comment/advice/help regarding this pup and its feedback is well-accepted. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Drone Noise Metal ?............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionkg Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 Drone Noise Metal ?............ Basically it's drone doom/noise.. But then I'd have to explain what doom does stand for.. Edit: Here ya go-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_metal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 I have a 498T in my Custom. When I first got the guitar and was playing in metal bands, microphonic feedback was a problem; I removed the covers from the pups and it's been fine since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionkg Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 I have a 498T in my Custom. When I first got the guitar and was playing in metal bands' date=' microphonic feedback was a problem; I removed the covers from the pups and it's been fine since.[/quote'] hm.. thats nice to know. So 498T has much feedback by nature. Also I'd like to know about the process of unpotting a pickup.. Has anyone done this? Does wax really mess with the magnetic fields or its just a myth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 I wouldn't say that the 498T is naturally prone to feedback, more that covered pickups are - at least in my limited experience. Unpotted pickups will be more prone to feedback (one of the reasons why many pickups are potted in the first place. I doubt there is an easy way to unpot pickups without the risk of messing them up. Some builders/companies do make unpotted or more lightly potted pickups but, if you're having feedback issues with potted pickups, I don't think unpotted ones are going to work very well for you. Potting does change the sound of the pickup a bit (less bright sounding) but I would think that more savvy builders allow for potting when they design pickups they intend to pot and do some reciprocation (number of winds? magnet type?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionkg Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 I wouldn't say that the 498T is naturally prone to feedback' date=' more that covered pickups are - at least in my limited experience. Unpotted pickups will be more prone to feedback (one of the reasons why many pickups are potted in the first place. I doubt there is an easy way to unpot pickups without the risk of messing them up. Some builders/companies do make unpotted or more lightly potted pickups but, if you're having feedback issues with potted pickups, I don't think unpotted ones are going to work very well for you. Potting does change the sound of the pickup a bit (less bright sounding) but I would think that more savvy builders allow for potting when they design pickups they intend to pot and do some reciprocation (number of winds? magnet type?).[/quote'] Got it. I guess the covered pups will feedback for me - But I'll try to unpot them in case they dont ->not that I like the bright sounding tones..- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I've got a LP Studio with a 498T and my buddy has an R7 with un-potted BB1 and 2. Although his BB sound sweet, they do get feedback much more than my 498T when playing with moderate to heavy gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKB Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 The feedback in the YouTube video listed is standard "musical" feedback, where the amp excites the guitar body and strings, and it is somewhat controllable. This is the good stuff. The microphonic feedback referenced in the Gibson info is often referred to as squeal; this is where the amp excites the pickup windings and sometimes the cover. This is the bad unmusical stuff, and potting (when done correctly) will get rid of that. Squeal is also uncontrollable in most cases. Covers do not necessarily make a pickup more prone to feedback, but the pickup must be potted with the cover on it. The cover can vibrate and cause squeal. A properly potted covered pickup should be as free from squealing as one without a cover. My SG with a 498T is not prone to squealing at all. My ES-333 with homemade unpotted pickups squeals quite a lot at the same gain settings as the SG. However the unpotted humbuckers sound better overall; potting a humbucker can take some of the chime out of the high end tone. IMO it is impossible to completely unpot a pickup without totally unwinding the coil. You just can't heat it up thoroughly enough to get all the wax out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJustice Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Does wax really mess with the magnetic fields or its just a myth? Myth. Not that I've ever heard that particular claim before. Wax is not ferromagnetic and has no effect on the magnetic fields of a pickup. The only thing it does is to provide mechanical stability for the coil windings and the pickup cover, which may lead to less microphonics. DJ -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiz Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 My SG Standard has a 498T, and I can get some pretty killer feedback/harmonics with my amp. I think you'll still be able to make the sound you want with that pickup. Also, that was a good guitar tone you had in your video. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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