Should you Change Your SG Pickups? 490R 498T VS Classic 57's

pickup swap and comparison, 490R 498T VS Classic 57's

[matthiasscheffler]

Great that you're not just demoing the difference but also the process of swapping the pickups!!!

[methanedirigible]

The 490/498t pickups - legendary. Known the world over as the most swapped out pickup in history. Legend has it there is a pair of 490/98t’s in a drawer in every house on earth.

[peterhall]

I have 57s in my 2014 SG Standard. They are fantastic clean and have a nice breakup when the volume is up. Just keep the gain on the lower edge.

Ive found that Gibson britewires are the best strings for clean.

[Illsamustache]

I like the 498T. Great for hard rock, punk/hardcore, stoner rock, heavy blues, etc. I like them better than the ‘57 for my style.

[sonicmilk]

I had a similar journey with a 90's Les Paul Classic 60s. I ended up switching them out with antiquities and both myself and the guy that replaced them thought it was a major upgrade. The guitar became more dynamic. I know you stayed in one spot to demonstrate the differences and it was very informative but just letting your audience know my guitar became much more versatile with the new pickups. The tone and volume knobs became much more responsive and I could find some incredible classic tones and clean up the guitar better with the new pickups.

[stevek]

My 2019 sg 61 reissue standard came with Burstbucker 61's.
My "Limited-Edition Les Paul Studio Dark" came with 57 Classic in neck and Super 57 at bridge, with push/pull volume knobs for coil-tap phase switching.

My SG is my favorite guitar, EVER.

[JimPooter]

I have 490s in my Les Paul tribute and they sound very similar to my Telecaster. To me they almost sound like single coils. I find them to be the most versatile of the Gibson pickup line as they clean up nicely but can get as dirty as you like with the help of a tubescreamer. But for that all around Gibson sound I think it is tough to beat a burstbucker.

[southboundguitar]

The 57 Classic's do sound great in that SG. I have them in a LP and absolutely love them. I also have my black SG with the 490R/498T combo. I love them both, and just use them for different styles of music. I play more lead type stuff, though, with a pretty heavy/snappy attack. Thanks for the A/B comparison.

[dazetake]

Always nice to see another SG affectionado, you definitely made the right choice switching to 57s, I have noticed that 57s can be inconsistent, I have gotten a bad sounding set before, but they are my favorite too.

[fifoasis]

wow, great video man. I came here because I want to replace my sg standard 08 set. I agree with all the points for 490 and 498 set

[vfrbike]

I have 57s in my SG but nothing wrong with 490/498 i have tried on other gibson in the past...great pickups!

My fav Gibson pickups till now are the 59 tribute, those are truly amazing but rare to find

[AAAA-lthq]

I have a Hamer Scarab tune-o-matic I retrofitted with aspects of both: the Classic 57 Plus and the 498T.

I'm the usual Floyd Rose/EMG/Seymour Duncan/DiMarzio pointy black guitar guy and as an all-round pickup the 498T is one of the best pickups I have ever played for rock and metal.

It can do rhythms as well as solos. It is slightly mid scooped with a tight, chunky bottom and a top end that cuts through without sounding harsh. The 498T has more clarity and fullness than the 500T, which can be a little shrill and thin. The 498T's versatility is why I have it in a fixed bridge guitar that I can quickly retune for rhythm tracking.

Arriving at the Classic 57 Plus in the neck took some experimentation. The regular Classic 57 didn't have enough output to match with the 498T. They would sound fine for recording purposes but if you switched pickups mid-performance you would notice an output drop. Turning the Classic 57 Plus upside down so the pole screws faced the neck and placing it in the neck position resulted in a pickup that sounded very complementary to the 498T. The Plus is also tuned slightly so it cuts through more on the upper mids. This solves neck mud.

Both pickups were nickel covered. I used 500k pots instead of some of the 300k pots found on some Gibsons.

The 57 Classic Plus in the neck sounded very "Appetite for Destruction" era Guns 'n Roses and would be comparable to a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro bridge model or an EMG 60A in 24 volts. The 57 Classic Plus is an Alnico II pickup, whereas the EMG 60A is Alnico V, but they all sound very similar.

The thing is, the great tone wasn't about Gibson "tone wood."

The Scarab was a $200 2008 Chinese import budget model that was produced right before Fender bought Hamer and ceased production, not a "real" 80s Scarab.

I had to replace the factory plastic nut because going to 10 gauge strings even in standard tuning created buzzing on open strings. Once the nut issue was resolved, it was a fine guitar.

The guitar is nothing special beyond the shape being hard to find these days. Gloss black, poplar/basswood/alder that takes solid colors well like most production guitars, and a rosewood fretboard. The tune-o-matic bridge and the set neck construction (as well as the 24.75" scale length and 22 frets) make it sound more Gibson-esque than a typical shred stick. I think the largest contributors to the tone are the bridge and set neck construction.

That said,

*Here are the disadvantages with Gibson pickups.*

1) Cost. Gibson will typically charge you more than EMG/Seymour Duncan/DiMarzio for their pickups. *If you want 4 conductor wiring, you have to buy Gibson aftermarket pickups.* Pickups taken from production guitars to my knowledge are only two conductor. These two conductor models are the ones you will most often find on the used market.

2) Lack of tonal versatility. I have connected a variety of my Gibson pickups to the Seymour Duncan Triple Shot, which permits series/split/parallel operation. *Gibson pickups do not change their sound very much when the coils are split or used in parallel. So the extra 4 conductor wiring you are paying for is somewhat wasted.* If you compare these to similar competitors like the Seymour Duncan Custom/Custom 5/Custom Custom (Alnico 2) line, those pickups create a variety of sounds when in series/split/parallel.

Additionally, the 57 Classic/57 Classic Plus are vintage style pickups and use single conductor/shielded braid wiring. I wish my 57 Classic Plus had four conductors. However, it is my understanding that the 490r/490t and 57 Classic/57 Classic Plus are largely the same pickup except the latter have 4 conductor wiring and are less patterned after vintage PAFs.

*Here are the advantages of Gibson pickups.*

1) Series tone. *You will probably either love or hate Gibson pickups immediately.* For me, the 498T was so good that its lack of versatility when split did not matter. It makes one sound really well. Competitors like the Seymour Duncan Custom 5 have a huge midrange hole, while the Custom can sound thin like the 500T. The EMG 85 (in 24 volts) can sound mushy in the bottom and squashed on the highs, much like a Seymour Duncan JB.

2) Branding. If you go to sell a Gibson guitar with Gibson factory pickups in it, it will probably bring more than a guitar that has been modified, even if the new pickups sound better.

*Edit: avoiding buying something marketed simply as a "vintage PAF" because a PAF can have many sounds.* There were a variety of PAF sounds from the 1950s-70s due to inconsistencies in manufacturing, winding, and materials. Some are underwound, hollow, and bright--better suited to jazz. Others are much darker with a richer tone. Yet others like the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates have a sharp attack and break up more easily.

To me, "Sweet Child o' Mine" is the definitive Les Paul neck PAF sound, and this was done with a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro. The Gibson 57 Classic Plus has a similar sound.

Other "PAFs" like the Seymour Duncan 59 can sound really bland and boring or hollow with a mid spike. I like these better for jazz. They are uncovered which may make a difference.

The main thing is try a pickup before you buy it if you can. Don't just go by the PAF label.

Hope this helps.

[snakeplissken]

I like the RT set. My favorites though are actually in my 2014 sgj. Zebra 61s.

[dano]

498t are awesome pickups, but so is the rest of the lineup of the Gibson pickups in my opinion. A pick up for every mood.

[rocklives]

I bought an S2 standard 22. All mahogany body. Came with the 498t in the bridge. With high gain it sounds great

[RV-eqgj]

I have a 2013 SG 'Original' and the 1st owner swapped out the 57 classics to 36DiMarzio Ann- I never liked the Dimarzio ( They had a very nice sound but not that gibson sound/ or the sound i was after) after research and talking to my guitar tech I went with 490R and 490T and this setup was perfect for the sound i wanted - this guitar sounds very good through either my Fender HotRod Deville 4x10 or Marshall DSL40CR --- I do have a 61 Reissue 2012 with 57 Classics and it sounds great but different- everything personal preferences but for me the 490 T/R did the trick --

[sting]

beautiful shake job motion photography

[angusorvid]

Never hesitant to change pickups if they ain't hacking it. Otherwise, I say leave them and see if the amp isn't the issue. It's easier to use lower output pups and a hotter amp than hotter pickups and a cleaner amp because high output pups never chill out. They are always pushing a lot.

[georgeperillo]

To my ears the he 57's have a more articulate sound. But also like the 490T`498R. I'am torn between the two.

[NicholasANappiNick]

I had them in 3 Gibsons. Had 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉