mojjett Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi all, New member here. I've looked through some of the posts regarding the 490/498 PUs, but I haven't found anything regarding my problem. I have an '04 Fireburst Studio, all stock. I'm getting good (acceptable) tone on all strings w/the 498t, but w/the 490, the lower strings, esp. the A & E, are particularly muddy. I've used the Gibbson Vintage RI strings exclusively up to now. The 10s & 11s. The thicker the sting, the muddier it sounds. I've adjusted the PU height several times. ATM they're close to the recommended height, which seems to work best. I need some recommendations. Could it be the nickel strings? height of the pole pieces?, or is it characteristic of PU?, flawed PU?, What? Thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi and welcome to the forums Many people are surprised/disappointed at how muddy H/B's can sound, particularly in comparison to S/C Strats etc Amp EQ is an important consideration as is general volume level and use of FX pedals I frequently run H/B guitars 'wide open' at 10 vol and tone What amp are you using here?..... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angellus Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi all, New member here. I've looked through some of the posts regarding the 490/498 PUs, but I haven't found anything regarding my problem. I have an '04 Fireburst Studio, all stock. I'm getting good (acceptable) tone on all strings w/the 498t, but w/the 490, the lower strings esp. the A & E are particularly muddy. I've used the Gibbson Vintage RI strings exclusively up to now. The 10s & 11s. The thicker the sting, the muddier it sounds. I've adjusted the PU height several times. ATM they're close to the recommended height, which seems to work best. I need some recommendations. Could it be the nickel strings? height of the pole pieces?, or is it characteristic of PU?, flawed PU?, What? Thanx I'm personally not a huge fan of the 490/498's for a very similiar reason and changed them to Gibson 57's on my Sg Standard. I heard a clear difference but with pickups its all down to preference. the Gibson Vintage strings are definately not the best strings on the market to buy, infact most of the local repair techs including me make a point in not using them for intonation set ups due to the reduced quality of the strings. If your not happy with the pickups definately change them, also have a think about changing some of the electrics at the same time if your going to be opening her up. as stock Electronics Potentiometers 2 Volume Controls, 2 Tone Controls Type 300k Linear Volume, 500k Non-linear Tone my personal choice in upgrades Electronics Potentiometers (good quality such as CTS) 2 Volume Controls, 2 Tone Controls Type 500k Audio Taper Volume, 500k Non-linear Tone this will brighten up the pickups and if you swap out the stock Capacitors to Sprague orange drops or Luxe Bumblebee's you'll notice your tone pots become actually useful. Play with the wiring and do a vintage 50's style and all 3 electronic upgrades will make a warm singing tone upgrade reducing any muddy tones. I use this both on my LP Traditional and my SG thats my oppinion and preference many people may change specs slightly or recommend alternatives but thats the beauty of finding your tone on your guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojjett Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi and welcome to the forums Many people are surprised/disappointed at how muddy H/B's can sound, paricularly in comparison to S/C Strats etc Amp EQ is an important consideration as is general volume level and use of FX pedals I frequently run H/B guitars 'wide open' at 10 vol and tone What amp are you using here?..... V Hi Versatile, thanx for the welcome & reply. I can agree w/everything you are saying. I have a Strat also, no tone problems there. The problem gets alleviated somewhat @ higher volumes, & exacerbated W/dsp stuff. My amps aren't special, Cube 30, & Marshall MG15 :). I also use a Boss GT10, but again, no problem w/my Strat. All that being said, I'm still somewhat disappointed after tweaking & adjusting every which way, & I've pretty much narrowed it down to the neck pickup @ the lower strings. Higher strings sound fine, great actually. I think I'll try brighter strings next before I consider any pickup upgrades, but that'll possibly be my next consideration. Obviously, a good tube amp would be nice also, but that has to wait. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojjett Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 I'm personally not a huge fan of the 490/498's for a very similiar reason and changed them to Gibson 57's on my Sg Standard. I heard a clear difference but with pickups its all down to preference. the Gibson Vintage strings are definately not the best strings on the market to buy, infact most of the local repair techs including me make a point in not using them for intonation set ups due to the reduced quality of the strings. If your not happy with the pickups definately change them, also have a think about changing some of the electrics at the same time if your going to be opening her up. as stock Electronics Potentiometers 2 Volume Controls, 2 Tone Controls Type 300k Linear Volume, 500k Non-linear Tone my personal choice in upgrades Electronics Potentiometers (good quality such as CTS) 2 Volume Controls, 2 Tone Controls Type 500k Audio Taper Volume, 500k Non-linear Tone this will brighten up the pickups and if you swap out the stock Capacitors to Sprague orange drops or Luxe Bumblebee's you'll notice your tone pots become actually useful. Play with the wiring and do a vintage 50's style and all 3 electronic upgrades will make a warm singing tone upgrade reducing any muddy tones. I use this both on my LP Traditional and my SG thats my oppinion and preference many people may change specs slightly or recommend alternatives but thats the beauty of finding your tone on your guitar. Hi Angellus, Thanx for the reply, First thing I'll do is try different strings. If & when I consider a PU upgrade, I'm afraid I'll have to settle for just a different neck PU for now. I'll probably have to install it myself, & I don't trust myself to do a complete electronics upgrade. Financial constraints. A lot of people in the posts here have good things to say about the 57 PU. It'll definitely be considered among others. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I am absolutely amazed someone can hear the difference between a 57 classic and a 490r.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angellus Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I am absolutely amazed someone can hear the difference between a 57 classic and a 490r.... I am amazed that you cant. Is this not all down to preference? Personal choice? and what sounds right to your own ear? Shouldn't be so closed minded Cajun or if you do you should at least try to not make people feel intimidated because they dont see your point of view. The difference between 57's and 490r's is a subject that alot of people have and to be honest I think its a Marmite situation you either love them or you dont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I understand the issue, I think you'll be fine if you try different strings and accept that you'll need different amp settings to get the best out a Strat and Les Paul. String-wise, I put Ernie Ball 10-46 on everything, and they work for me. When gigging, I don't like to have to tweak my amp during a set. I always take 2 guitars and like to use both, while always having immediate back-up if a string breaks. I found I either have to take my Strat and Tele, or 2 humbucker guitars, but not to mix a Fender and a humbucker guitar if I want to use the same EQ all the time. With the humbuckers I generally run the tone on the guitar at 10 but add the low frequency on the amp. I've also found it's easier to get a reasonable Fender tone out of cheap solid state amps than it is to get that classic humbucker rock tone. Even cheap humbuckers sound good through a good tube amp, so I put amp upgrades before pup upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojjett Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 I understand the issue, I think you'll be fine if you try different strings and accept that you'll need different amp settings to get the best out a Strat and Les Paul. String-wise, I put Ernie Ball 10-46 on everything, and they work for me. When gigging, I don't like to have to tweak my amp during a set. I always take 2 guitars and like to use both, while always having immediate back-up if a string breaks. I found I either have to take my Strat and Tele, or 2 humbucker guitars, but not to mix a Fender and a humbucker guitar if I want to use the same EQ all the time. With the humbuckers I generally run the tone on the guitar at 10 but add the low frequency on the amp. I've also found it's easier to get a reasonable Fender tone out of cheap solid state amps than it is to get that classic humbucker rock tone. Even cheap humbuckers sound good through a good tube amp, so I put amp upgrades before pup upgrades. Thanx antwhi2001, I hear you about the tone differences between the Stat & LP. When I use the GT10, I have a completely separate set of patches for each guitar, Most are almost identical FXs except for the different e.q, gain, & compression settings. I also find it way easier to get a good tone on my Strat, esp. when I start piling dsp on dsp. As far as strings, I use 10-46 on my LP, & 9-42 on my Strat. I plan on using the 10s on both in the future. Ernie Balls are long time well known strings. The ones you use, what materials are they made of? I've been using pure nickel on my LP. I'm thinking of going w/nickel wound. I have in my possession a set of Elixirs that I'm going to try next. They're nice strings, but after these, I want to try something else due to their high price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Angellus: Saying that there is no sonic difference between a 490r and a 57 classic is a very unpopular point of view... A lot of people think there is a significant difference... I don't buy it... I have done many many pickup swaps in my lifetime and the Gibson paf-like pickups all sound the same to me... BB's, T-tops, pafs, 57 classics, 490r's But I really think the 57 classic and 490r sound identical... I don't think I am intimidating... I just have a lot of opinions that are not popular... I am not afraid to be honest... If you go back through my posts you will see that I dont berate or attack... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Even cheap humbuckers sound good through a good tube amp, Absolutely true... I have 2 Fender Deluxe Reverd Reissues (one for home, one for gigging), those amps can make any guitar sound good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojjett Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Absolutely true... I have 2 Fender Deluxe Reverd Reissues (one for home, one for gigging), those amps can make any guitar sound good... If I had the $$ for DRRI, I would've opted for that first before considering any mods on my guitar. MAYBE I SHOULD BITE THE BULLET . I've now tried the new Elixirs. My initial impression is that there may be a small difference, but not significant enough to have resolved the issue. I think I may actually prefer the chime of the nickels on the higher strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kineman Karma Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 If I had the $$ for DRRI, I would've opted for that first before considering any mods on my guitar. MAYBE I SHOULD BITE THE BULLET . I've now tried the new Elixirs. My initial impression is that there may be a small difference, but not significant enough to have resolved the issue. I think I may actually prefer the chime of the nickels on the higher strings. Well my 73 lpc, 2010 SG 61RI & 2005 SG Ebony andard sound absolutely **** hot through my Pro Tube 2010 Fender Twin Amp, No not the twin reverb...the TWIN AMP... Absolute Humbucker honey maker Fender Amp/Gibson Guitar... I have tried my Marshall and other Fender Amps with my Gibbo's and Strat's... but the TWIN AMP just does it for everything... ROCK N ROLL!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojjett Posted April 24, 2011 Author Share Posted April 24, 2011 Well my 73 lpc, 2010 SG 61RI & 2005 SG Ebony andard sound absolutely **** hot through my Pro Tube 2010 Fender Twin Amp, No not the twin reverb...the TWIN AMP... Absolute Humbucker honey maker Fender Amp/Gibson Guitar... I have tried my Marshall and other Fender Amps with my Gibbo's and Strat's... but the TWIN AMP just does it for everything... ROCK N ROLL!!!! Shame on you! I'm terribly jealous now. Sounds great!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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