Gibson 498t pickup

I have a mid 90s LP studio with 490 and 498T. I've never loved the pups...Always found the bridge muddy and brittle and the 490 neck just way too fat and boomy. Good for big clean tones but terrible with gain.

I recently rewired it with 500K CTS pots, orange drop .022uF caps and a Motor City pup in the bridge (and cream plastics and gold knobs:) I love the Motor City soooo much more than the 498 but I'm thinking a big part of that is the clarity and balance that the 500K pots are providing. I kept the 490 in the neck position and like it much more now. It isn't as boomy or congested. That guitar came to life with the new changes.
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Just wish I would've tried the 498 with the new pots to really hear what it sounded like after the blanket was taken off.

Went through a few cosmetic changes. It was the standard black plastic and nickel hardware. Went through a chrome phase but it just looked cheesy and cheap.

New look: (still need two more gold speed knobs...anyone have a couple? ;) )

 
I think it really depends on the guitar. I had one in a LP Custon and it was fat and chunky for rythyms and had lots of string to string note clarity. I loved it in that guitar. I've always heard that they were a muddy pickup but I found it everything but. I did have the 500K pots though.

I had a V with the 300K pot in it and every pickup I tried in it sounded muddy. So I would make sure you have the 500K in there before you pass judgement on it. It's actually my favorite Gibson pickup that I've tried.
 
Schaf":xr9vhnsf said:
I think it really depends on the guitar. I had one in a LP Custon and it was fat and chunky for rythyms and had lots of string to string note clarity. I loved it in that guitar. I've always heard that they were a muddy pickup but I found it everything but. I did have the 500K pots though.

I had a V with the 300K pot in it and every pickup I tried in it sounded muddy. So I would make sure you have the 500K in there before you pass judgement on it. It's actually my favorite Gibson pickup that I've tried.
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That's what I'm saying. Those 300k pots really seem to kill any notion of what the pickups really sound like. At some point I may wire the 498 back in and hear it for the first time, lol. Hard to believe that a potentiometer can make that drastic of a difference in tone, but it did.
 
I just purchased a 2013 gibson Les Paul studio in gloss wine red,I need to check the volume pot to see what they are before I take out the 498t I hope they are 500k.
 
In my old mid 90's Lp studio, the 498T started squealing on me. So I ended up trying a bunch of pickups in the bridge. I eventually repotted the 498T and put that back in before I sold it. It sounded great, better than most of the other pickups I had tried. It may be the "sounds great before you sell it" thing, but I would be willing to give one another try. the 490R in that guitar always sounded great, very warm and buttery, only the '57 classics have been able to match that, of the pickups I have tried.
 
I like the 498T. Came with an Axcess I have. I liked it so much I put one in my other Les Paul Standard :)

Mark
 
I hate the 498t in my sg standard. Gonna go with a set of black Iommis soon.

sgwithiommi_zps20162996.jpg
 
I played a Gibson goth LP as my main axe for like 10 years with that pickup
One day it went so it gave me an excuse to get some BKs
But I always enjoyed them
 
I'm shocked. Usually this pickup get blasted on forums. :LOL: :LOL: Glad to know my old ass ears arent too bad.
 
How would the 498t compare to the Dimarzio Super Distortion.Would the dimarzio be brighter/edge.
 
djpatb":232vsvwa said:
Actually I think the 498T sounds pretty decent in an SG with upgraded 500k pots.
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:thumbsup:

I kept the one in my SG for a long time. I've got Seth Lovers in there right now, and am gonna try the 498t in a Kramer.
 
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