magnet swap in pickups.

What's Hot
poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
edited November 2017 in Guitar
Ok... so I have a 490r and 498t in my LP... on their own they are both great sounding but they really are a mismatched pair... eq so the neck sounds sweet and the bridge is harsh and shrill... eq for the bridge and the neck is like a muddy swamp... so replace the pickups it is.... or is it?... a couple of quid later and I have two a4 bars to swap into the pickups... out with the a2 in the neck and a5 in the bridge...

Both pickups sound sweet now, more importantly they work better as a pair... i think so anyway... tbh, could all be in my head...

little vid showing the differences.

6 little sound bites.

original pups 1st... neck, both, then bridge

new a4 mags... neck, both, then bridge.

amp settings was the same for all clips - bright channel vol 2 tone on 10...

chain was LP - 5e3 - sm57 - logic....  No post, its as it was recorded.

Is there a difference or is it just in my noggin?







1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom

Comments

  • DougDoug Frets: 172
    edited November 2017
    poopot said:
    Ok... so I have a 490r and 498t in my LP... on their own they are both great sounding but they really are a mismatched pair... eq so the neck sounds sweet and the bridge is harsh and shrill... eq for the bridge and the neck is like a muddy swamp... so replace the pickups it is.... or is it?... a couple of quid later and I have two a4 bars to swop into the pickups... out with the a2 in the neck and a5 in the bridge...

    Both pickups sound sweet now, more importantly they work better as a pair... i think so anyway... tbh, could all be in my head...



    If it sounds sweet to you then that's all that matters, - Result! (nice to hear the differences/cheers for that!)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31371
    I put an A3 in a 498t and it turned it into a much more dynamic pickup, still pokey but less of a sledgehammer. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
    Doug said:

    If it sounds sweet to you then that's all that matters, - Result! (nice to hear the differences/cheers for that!)
    There is deffo a difference... seems to be more usable a combo now!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Alnico v ceramic changes yes I can tell, but the different alnico numbers, no I've never been able to hear anything significant between them.  Changing strings is way more significant IMO. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    A lot of people seem to swap the 498t/490r pickup magnets and seem to rate doing so. Personally I like them the way they are in an SG - thinking about putting mine back in actually. The neck one sounds really nice for cleans and the bridge is perfect for hard rock rhythm stuff.

    I've had good experience swapping magnets in the SD Custom Custom - put an A5 in mine which made it a Custom 5 and sounds way less mushy and flabby. Might try a ceramic some time to turn it into a Custom. The difference is noticeable imo.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
    clarkefan said:
    Alnico v ceramic changes yes I can tell, but the different alnico numbers, no I've never been able to hear anything significant between them.  Changing strings is way more significant IMO. 
    You can hear it (albeit subtle) in the vid in the top post... it was embedded in the post, just a link now... 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • siraxemansiraxeman Frets: 1935
    edited November 2017
    I keep thinking perhaps I should do this with the Custom 5 in my EVH Frankenstein partscaster - get an A2 in there instead of the stockie A5.....might make it more smooth n creamy and less toppy n thin(ish).
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    siraxeman said:
    I keep thinking perhaps I should do this with the Custom 5 in my EVH Frankenstein partscaster - get an A2 in there instead of the stockie A5.....might make it more smooth n creamy and less toppy n thin(ish).
    The A2 magnet will definitely do that, thickens up a strat quite nicely. I found it a bit muddy though, the A5 sounds better to me and still plenty thick.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ChalkyChalky Frets: 6807
    It seems to take out some of the highs - is that what you feel makes them seem more balanced? I'm a fan of 490/498s so to me the A4 part sounded like you'd knocked back the vol and tone knobs a little.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    Sounds like a bit of an ultra-guitar nerd thing to do to me. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
    Chalky said:
    It seems to take out some of the highs - is that what you feel makes them seem more balanced? I'm a fan of 490/498s so to me the A4 part sounded like you'd knocked back the vol and tone knobs a little.
    I hear it a little different to that... to me it made the neck a little less muddy, agree it knocks a bit of volume off tho’

    axisus said:
    Sounds like a bit of an ultra-guitar nerd thing to do to me. 
    Prolly yep! :) no gigs this week which is always a bad thing, gives me time to nerd out!... was done primarily to see if it actually made cock all difference... was surprised to see it does... 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31371
    axisus said:
    Sounds like a bit of an ultra-guitar nerd thing to do to me. 
    It is, but it made the difference to me between having a guitar which sounds fantastic on either pickup on the same amp setting, and one which doesn't. 

    It's more about fine-tuning the balance rather than chasing radically different tones. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • AlegreeAlegree Frets: 665
    tFB Trader
    p90fool said:
    axisus said:
    Sounds like a bit of an ultra-guitar nerd thing to do to me. 
    It is, but it made the difference to me between having a guitar which sounds fantastic on either pickup on the same amp setting, and one which doesn't. 

    It's more about fine-tuning the balance rather than chasing radically different tones. 
    That depends on where you start from though. 
    I, for instance, hate JBs but like distortions. They're the same pickup with alnico 5/large ceramic magnet respectively. It's certainly not just a subtle change between those magnets.
    Alegree pickups & guitar supplies - www.alegree.co.uk
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • MartinBMartinB Frets: 178
    I've certainly noticed a large difference swapping between alnico and ceramic in the same pickup.  Swapping between different alnico grades seems more subtle, but still useful for finer tweaks or for balancing between neck and bridge tones. 
    I did wonder, with the 490R/498T pair where most people find the neck muddy and the bridge shrill, does anyone just swap the two magnets so the A2 is in the bridge and the A5 is in the neck?  I quite liked the combination of A2 bridge/A5 neck in my cheapie Vanson humbuckers, so it seems like it might work to de-mud the neck and mellow the bridge a little. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.