Am I tone deaf for liking the Gibson 498T bridge pickup?

[SoCalSteve]

I was ready to hate the stock pups on my new Studio - and I did at first, except for the neck - man, they were very close to the strings. After lowering the pups a significant amount (down nearly level with the pickup rings) I can honestly say that I have no intention of swapping them out.

Lower 'em, haters!

Or maybe everything sounds better through a Budda! :RoCkIn

 

[fugazi]

I have that bridge pickup on two of my guitars (SG Standard, LP Studio) and I love it. Nice, clear rock tone.

 

[twoheadedboy]

Pickups are all just wire and magnets, man! Any configuration is likely to be the perfect one for a certain player and rig. If it's working for you, stick with it! I personally have gotten some wonderful sounds out of that pickup in a Gibson SG Standard.

 

[TattooedCarrot]

I think the 498T sounds pretty cool, and really opens up when you dump the crappy Gibson pots/caps for some decent 500k CTS and better caps.

 

[kselbee]

I love 'em in my Studio too!! I've actually considered putting them in my PRS SCT... has anyone ever put them in anything else?

 

[SW33THAND5]

they are great if you like a HOT pickup.

 

[HEAVENandHELL]

I don't have a problem with the tone of the stock Les Paul Studio pickups; they are hotter than the pickups on any of my other guitars. I have a problem with them feeding back at lower volume/gain levels than my other guitars. How can setting them up fix this problem?

 

[pacomc79]

my problem with it in my studio is that the guitar sounds a little dark as the strings age and it is a little muddy. I'd like to have a little more clarity. Sounds awesome with brand new strings though.

 

[John Phillips]

Am I tone deaf for liking the Gibson 498T bridge pickup?

No.

Personally I hate it, but so what? If you think it sounds good to you, then it does.

I like the Seymour Duncan Invader...

(And dislike some of the most highly-regarded pickups around here.)

And presumably there are some people that like the Duncan Little '59 .


Tone deaf is not hearing the difference between tones, or thinking it doesn't matter, or using something that just doesn't fit with the music you're trying to make (even if you're trying to be left-field).

Using a piece of gear that others don't like and getting good tones that work for you is just being creative .

 

[atimoc]

It's quite alright, I like even the 500T myself although most people say it's only good for metal (and even metalheads tend to replace it with a Duncan or DiMarzio).

 

[Voxy Foxy]

i love it. great midrange response.

 

[pluto]

Sounds pretty good to me for aggressive hard rock. I agree that clarity is its weakest point, but adjusting the height from its stock position helps a lot in that regard. I've also been meaning to remove the cover too to see if that helps too, but haven't gotten around to doing that yet.

 

[justonwo]

They are good for modern, high-gain stuff. No, you are not tone deaf for liking them. Just because everyone is PAF-crazy doesn't mean you can't like a modern pickup.

The right tool for the job blah, blah, blah.

 

[LPSlinger]

Nope! Different strokes for different folks!

 

[KazJY]

Amazing.

I think I have a few of these in my parts drawer. I might have to sell em if there are fans out there.

 

[telecopter]

My SG Standard is my favorite guitar, and it has that p/u in the bridge. Works for me!

 

[DrGonzo]

After you read this board and most other guitar boards for awhile you begin to think that everything has to be hand-wired this and boutique that....then you actually pull yourself away from the incandescent glow of your monitor long enough to go see some real, live, local music and you are blown away by the tone from a guitar player using equipment that would never pass the corksniffer tests around here. You begin to realize that there are lots of cars that can get you where you want to go, the point is to enjoy the ride!

Don't get me wrong, I shamefully admit that I drink from the same boutique kool-aid from time to time!

 

[Miles]

No, there are only subtle differences in other hot pickups and I really like 498T. I think they sound perfect in SGs. If you go to a Seth Lover or Pearly Gates or even Antiquity, there are only subtle differences.

I have used and recorded/gigged with 2 guitars that had 498Ts and I would not have changed them. They sound really good and it's not worth the $200 or so to change them out for VERY subtle differences and even those differences, in my opinion, are only differences not necessarily improvements or 'upgrades'.

 

[Raymund]

I am a classic rock and blues player and ain´t that fond of modern sounding PU´s. Nevertheless in my Les Paul Standard Premium Plus I swapped out the PU´s with Classic 57´s, Burstbuckers, Seth Lovers and few more ... and guess what was the best sounding one: the 498 T which came back in again.

 

[pokey]

I liked the 498T in the LP Std. I used to have. It's the 490R they paired it with that I thought sounded like crap.