Gibson 500T?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rex Rocker
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It's the only Gibson bridge pickup i like. It came in my 79 LP Custom and i was extremely surprised how much i liked it. I had every intention of ripping it out after i got the guitar because i had one in my flying V and i hated it. It was thin and lacking. BUT in the 79 that guitar was an absolute beast. I keep thinking of trying different pickups in the 79 but i don't wanna mess with it.
 
Billelzebub said:
It's the only Gibson bridge pickup i like. It came in my 79 LP Custom and i was extremely surprised how much i liked it. I had every intention of ripping it out after i got the guitar because i had one in my flying V and i hated it. It was thin and lacking. BUT in the 79 that guitar was an absolute beast. I keep thinking of trying different pickups in the 79 but i don't wanna mess with it.
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What is it like compared to other pickups?
 
Rex Rocker said:
I'm actually not a PAF-type kinda guy. I have a set of Burstbucker 3/2 that I ripped off another guitar, and I'm not feeling those pickups, personally.
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FWIW, the BB3 sounded thin and trebly in the SG. That particular LP was thick and heavy. The BB3 ripped in in.
I believe you have to find the right pickup for each guitar.
I'm surprised at the 500t love.
 
I like the Duncan '59 in the bridge and the DiMarzio PAF 36th Anni out of the PAF's that I've tried. I'm more of an Alnico 5 than 2 guy.. but that's not really what I'm going for right now, TBH.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I like the Duncan '59 in the bridge and the DiMarzio PAF 36th Anni out of the PAF's that I've tried. I'm more of an Alnico 5 than 2 guy.. but that's not really what I'm going for right now, TBH.
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Ceramic or A8 then. What guitar are you wanting to put this in?
 
I had one in a Peavey Wolfgang a LONG time ago and it was a killer pickup in a basswood guitar.
 
jabps said:
Ceramic or A8 then. What guitar are you wanting to put this in?
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My new Gibson LP Tribute. The 490T is just way too weak. I put an X2N in there for the time being, but it's too dark.
 
Rex Rocker said:
My new Gibson LP Tribute. The 490T is just way too weak. I put an X2N in there for the time being, but it's too dark.
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Not a fan of the 490T. it's just a bland pup...imo. Then again I don't care for Burstbuckers either or really many traditional style PAF type pups. Best PAF knockoff I ever had/heard was a an overwound Van Zandt that I loaned to a supposed friend and never saw that pup again. I prefer hotter pickups.

Neither the Gibson 500T or 498T are going to be dark. I think the 500 is great in my Pauls, but that's my opinion. It's certainly going to bring the chunk and it ain't dark. Maybe give the Duncan Distortion a try, a little smoother than the 500 but I also don't think it's as refined sounding as the 500. But it's industry standard ceramic pup. Duncan Custom, some say it's a more controlled than the 500T, lots of guys dig those but I have never tried one. But Duncans return policy can always come in handy. Maybe go old school with the Dimarzio Super Distortion. Or check @scottosan with his pickups. Let him know what you're looking for and he'll give you a good recommendation.
 
Oh, I've tried the Distortion and the Custom.

The Distortion I like and love, but I'm always looking to try new pickups out.

The Custom is alright. Not my favorite, but not bad.
 
A5 magnet swap a 496R pickup and use it in the bridge. A hotter Duncan custom with great mids. It’s what I just finished building to match with a 498T. I wanted a neck pickup with more output than a 490 or custom but without going ceramic magnet.
 
So I ordered one, LOL. I'll let you guys know how it is when it's here.
 
Rex Rocker said:
To any pickups, especially well-known ones.
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Hmm....i can't think of any other pickups it sounds or feels like. It's very chunky and has a good high end cut without being annoyingly trebley. Lots of sustain and crunch but not overly saturated. It's a very big sounding pickup, which could be attributed to it being in a 79 custom with some weight to it. As I mentioned in my original post, I had one in my fying V and it was nowhere as good in that guitar. I feel in a Les Paul with no weight relief it's a very effective aggressive pickup that isn't overly compressed and overly midrangey like alot of high output pickups can be. If that's what you're going for and it's gonna go in a Les Paul with no weight relief or 9-hole think you'll be happy. I've found alot of super high output pickups don't really work too well in Les Pauls as they intend to have a bit of a mid bump. They're a guitar that really doesn't need a bump in the mids. I used to have a guitar with an SD distortion in it but for the life of me I can't really remember what it was like. I do remember it didn't have as much high end cut but it was covered,, and covers will take away some high end. I'm sure I would like better uncovered. The other two that i use and like in Les Pauls are the Bare Knuckle War Pig and the JWP Iron Man. The Iron Man might be more in the neighborhood of the 500T but with a bit more clarity and a bit of a dip in the highs if that makes sense. Hope my tired brain ramblings helped.
 
Just got one in my Les Paul. Absolutely loving it! VERY grindy and dirty-sounding. It replaced a Black Winter, and gotta say, it's even more pissed-off-sounding in an old-school kinda way.
 
Billelzebub said:
It's the only Gibson bridge pickup i like. It came in my 79 LP Custom and i was extremely surprised how much i liked it. I had every intention of ripping it out after i got the guitar because i had one in my flying V and i hated it. It was thin and lacking. BUT in the 79 that guitar was an absolute beast. I keep thinking of trying different pickups in the 79 but i don't wanna mess with it.
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Do you know what value pots are in the '79 LPC?

My '80 LPC had stock pots, 300k vols and 100k tones! Not sure wtf Gibson was thinking there. Also, my '08 Explorer came with a 500T and 300k vols and 300k tones. Once I swapped to 500k pots it sounded better to me and really good. And I liked the rolled back volume tone too. But it's just a bit too hot for me. I like my guitars to be more compatible/interchangeable wrt to output, but still within a range.
 
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