NGD - 2024 Les Paul Studio - Hate the Burstbucker Pro!

  • Thread starter Thread starter napalmdeath
  • Start date Start date
Bought a 2016 LP with probuckers in it. Sounded harsh coupled with the quick connect/pcb combo. Tore that shit out inside a month and put in a Toneman '50's wiring harness with Dimarzio anniversary 36's...problem solved. Probuckers sat in a drawer for 4 years. Have a 2011 SG that I have had no less than 5 sets of pups in. On a whim I tried the probuckers and they just work in this guitar also equipped with a '50's wiring harness. The imbalance of these pickups set at the right height coupled with the '50's wiring in the middle position just works. Glad I found a home for them.
 
napalmdeath said:
An EQ in the loop and lowing the pickup helped. I was able to tame the harshness and add a little beef. Sounds pretty good. That said, I got a 490T coming, I think it's a better pickup. Never felt the need to change that one in the SG's I've owned.

The neck BB sounds great. No need to change it, but it's not a BB Pro, either.
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The 490T doesn't get nearly enough love. Kickass Alnico 2 pickup. And that pickup loves magnet swaps, too.
 
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JohnnyGtar said:
The 490T doesn't get nearly enough love. Kickass Alnico 2 pickup. And it's also a great magnet swap platform.
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I like it too. It's pretty even across the board - great punch, great clarity, nice harmonics, and not overly bright.

The BB Pro is insanely bright and lacks punch. I can compensate with an EQ in the loop of the Friedman, but without the EQ it's take your head off bright, and not pleasing.
 
I wanted to like mine but they were just too brittle, and vintage sounding for my needs. I just can't get away from the tried and true...

PXL_20250921_225224176.jpg
 
I just don't understand why Gibson doesn't make all of their pickups have the quick connect option. It would be good to be able to get a 500 or 498, etc as a choice.
 
So the 490T came in the mail today, and in it went. BIG difference. More punch, less shrill and more balanced. Nice tight low end too. Works very well in the LP. I always dug it in the SG Standard, (and they are brighter guitars by nature), so I knew this would work out better.. And it did!
 
napalmdeath said:
Picked up a used LP Studio, and after a setup, it's super nice and plays beautifully. However, I'm not pleased with the Burstbucker Pro in the bridge. It's bright, no warmth, and thin. I'll experiment with the height a bit today, but as it stands, I hate it. Screams for leads, but lacks punch and warmth for rhythm work. Anybody else with similar thoughts on the BB Pro? Of course the damn thing has the PCB with Quick Connect system, so the easiest would be another Gibson pickup... The 490T in my last SG sounded way better than this.
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I have a 2014 SGJ that had the PCB. I took it out and replaced everything and put in Iommi sig humbuckers. Sounds epic now. You can pretty easily desolder the pots from the PCB if you want.
 
napalmdeath said:
So the 490T came in the mail today, and in it went. BIG difference. More punch, less shrill and more balanced. Nice tight low end too. Works very well in the LP. I always dug it in the SG Standard, (and they are brighter guitars by nature), so I knew this would work out better.. And it did!
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Hey how did you end up hooking that up? I'd like to change these pickups out too.
 
romanianreaper said:
Hey how did you end up hooking that up? I'd like to change these pickups out too.
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Easy. Take the control cover off, unplug the old one, remove it from the pickup ring and pull it out. Screw the new one to the pickup ring, run the wire through, plug it in, done. Screw the pickup ring back to the body, put the control cover back on. Took 30 minutes, tops.

 
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napalmdeath said:
Easy. Take the control cover off, unplug the old one, remove it from the pickup ring and pull it out. Screw the new one to the pickup ring, run the wire through, plug it in, done. Screw the pickup ring back to the body, put the control cover back on. Took 30 minutes, tops.

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I didn't think they made a 490T in a quick connect?
 
Used 490T's used to be very reasonably priced. There's 1 490R/490T used set on Reverb for$150, but all the other used ones are ridiculously priced. $134 on Reverb for a single used one, and that's the lowest priced used one on Reverb right now. Sheesh.
 
napalmdeath said:
So the 490T came in the mail today, and in it went. BIG difference. More punch, less shrill and more balanced. Nice tight low end too. Works very well in the LP. I always dug it in the SG Standard, (and they are brighter guitars by nature), so I knew this would work out better.. And it did!
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Glad you got it sorted. I really like the look since they added fingerboard binding.
 
I once snagged a vintage Dirty Fingers from Stratosphere for $100 when they were going for at least $200. OOPS on their part. Great for me! LOL
 
JohnnyGtar said:
I once snagged a vintage Dirty Fingers from Stratosphere for $100 when they were going for at least $200. OOPS on their part. Great for me! LOL
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The current Dirty Fingers are about $130 new. Gibson sells those right on their website with the quick connect. Hot pickup, at 15k.
 
napalmdeath said:
The current Dirty Fingers are about $130 new. Gibson sells those right on their website with the quick connect. Hot pickup, at 15k.
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Yeah, but every report I've heard about those reissues says they don't come close to the vintage DF's. I'd love to get a new one if they sounded like the old ones. I'm glad the 490T is working out for you!
 
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