Opinions on Gibson 500T in Les Paul Standard

[Dannyz]

I'm looking to try out a Gibson 500T after sticking to my Gibson Super 57 in my 13' Trad Pro Les Paul for the past few years.

There's nothing wrong with the Super57 in the bridge but i always liked Tremonti's tone with its 500T loaded LP Classic.

I know that LP Classics (had two in the past) have that pencil thin like neck so maybe they loaded those LPs with thick sounding pickups like the 500t to compensate?. My Trad Pro has the round/thick 59 neck.

Can a 500T sound good in a round neck/thick LP guitar or is it exclusively suited for mahogany slab guitars like Explorer/Flying Vs?

I tune my LP in Eb and drop the low E to C#. For strings i use a .010/.052 set. Amps are a 50w Plexi, Prs Archon 25w, Jcm 800 all of em boosted with a Ts, noise gate and short delay. Cabs are 2x12 with GBs/V30s.

 

[jabps]

I love it. Perfect pickup for me in a Les Paul. It's grinding, nice edge, good sustain for leads, good chunk for rhythms. Of my 4 LP's, two Standards and two Customs it's in three of them. I have a ToneNerd PSykes in one of my Customs which is another fine pickup for LP's.

Now I've tried them in PRS's Tremonti's and they get messy, even though it's the same wood combo of a LP. I've heard them in Explorers and it's kinda dark so not a fan in an all slab mahogany.

However for whatever reason, "for me" the maple top/mahogany body of a Les Paul brings the best out of them, love 'em in Pauls.

 

[Findthetone1]

They were stock in the 90s LP Classics so they have proven to be a good for the mahogany/maple combo. They are certainly a little more limited being a hot ceramic pickup, but they are great for hard rock.

 

[WizardAmpIphoneClip]

I was pleasantly surprised by the 500T in the Gibson V I have.

 

[skoora]

With a 500T you’ll be able to play metal without a boost into that 50 watt plexi. You may find it a little much into amps designed with high gain but if the amp doesn’t thin out too much with the gain lower it will probably be ok….or use some supplemental EQ to help.
It will definitely give you an aggressive driving tone with good cut without a shrill top end. I had one in a 2008 V and messed it up attempting a mag swap experiment so never put it back in but I wouldn’t say no to another.

 

[jabps]

With a 500T you’ll be able to play metal without a boost into that 50 watt plexi. You may find it a little much into amps designed with high gain but if the amp doesn’t thin out too much with the gain lower it will probably be ok….or use some supplemental EQ to help.
It will definitely give you an aggressive driving tone with good cut without a shrill top end. I had one in a 2008 V and messed it up attempting a mag swap experiment so never put it back in but I wouldn’t say no to another.

I've run em' through Marshall JVM's for many years now, again "for me" only they sound great. My last LP that I bought, a Silverburst Custom had 498T in the bridge, couldn't get that thing out of there fast enough and I actually like the 498 in some guitars.

That's just me though...

 

[napalmdeath]

I was pleasantly surprised by the 500T in the Gibson V I have.

I wish they'd go back to their roots and bring back the Classic with the 496R/500T, as well as the Explorer and V. All 3 had that set up. Although the last V I had, (bought new 2010 for $1199), I put Duncan Distortions in it. That guitar was a beast. I actually hung on to that one for about 5 or 6 years. I still regret selling it - Classic White with real ebony board.

 

[Dannyz]

I've run em' through Marshall JVM's for many years now, again "for me" only they sound great. My last LP that I bought, a Silverburst Custom had 498T in the bridge, couldn't get that thing out of there fast enough and I actually like the 498 in some guitars.

That's just me though...

What you didnt liked about the 498t?

 

[jabps]

What you didnt liked about the 498t?

It didn't have the punch/chunk etc... of the 500T. To polite. Then again I dislike JB's in Les Pauls and the JB is one of my favorite all time pickups. Still have one in one of my Chubtone guitars and was my go to pup back in the shred guitar days.

It's weird, I was never a ceramic pup fan until the 500T in Les Pauls and the stock Tremonti pup in my Tremonti guitars.

 

[Texsunburst59]

I bought a 2000 Gibson Classic Premium Plus that came with the stock pickups.

I love the neck and the 500T bridge pickup.

It’s a great pickup for Marshalls and the like, but not so much for clean types ala Fender.

Here’s my beauty with it’s cousin

 

[LP Freak]

Agreed, the 500T sounds great in an LP