Gibson 490R

Stated elsewhere

In the neck position of a Les Paul Studio with the stock caps and pots, this pickup just kind of goes 'thud.' It's not terrible, I lived with it for years. But rather than mess with switching pots or caps, I just swapped it out for a Seymour Duncan '59. The '59 is way better for me. Everything is just a lot clearer with the Duncan, but still nice and strong sounding. I can't really imagine going back. I also tried a Duncan Alnico II, and it was better than the 490R, but not as good as the '59. The Duncan Alnico II kind of has a smear in the highs to my ear, maybe it's the softer magnet.

This pup came standard on my Gibson SG Special Faded in the neck position, along with a 490t in the bridge spot.

I've also reviewed the 490t (bridge) pup, so I'll keep this short (because I'm tired of typing).
It's a great pickup! Seriously good tone out of this thing. I've owned a Duncan Seth Lover, Dimarzio Virtual PAF, Dimarzio Air Classic, and Gibson Burstbucker Pro, and these 490s compare favorably. The key is to use your tone controls to roll off the treble a little bit because these pups have plenty of highs, but that is a good thing! The clean sounds are wonderful, with clarity and richness. The distorted sounds have bite without being thin. It's a definite keeper.

8.2K-ish

1st used as a bridge pickup in a Squire '51, now the bridge pickup in a heavily modified MIM Stratocaster, replacing a myriad of pickups this poor thing has housed. Most recently replaced an EMG 85 which I liked, but kind of got bored with in this guitar.

Nice balanced medium output. Lots of treble, but a nice warm treble, not shrill, good mids, good bass without being boomy. I can imagine it may be a little muddy in a dark-sounding guitar, but this Strat's always been a shrill pain in the butt, and this pickup tames that down very nicely. I'm using it in the bridge position with half of an RS wiring kit and an Orange Drop cap.

Not sure why the dislike of this pickup with a lot of people, my sister has an SG special with those pickups, the sound just fine in there. Granted, it's more modern sounding than a PAF or even a 57 Classic, but it's a pretty decent all-around pickup. It ain't no Fralin, but it's a whole lot better than an Epi!

Only thing it's not great for is chimey-glass like cleans, but it's not too bad. That's what single coils are for! It's not good for uber-distorted death metal either, but I hate that stuff anyways, so it's not an issue.

Would certainly replace if lost, nice pickup. Again, it's no boutique-quality pickup, but it sure as heck sounds pretty darn good in this old Strat.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Stock on swamp ash Les Paul Studio
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: 498T Bridge
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Guessing it to be in the low/medium range
Tone: In it's stock form I found it to be rather dark with not enough highs coming thru. To fix that all I did was to change the stock 300K volume pot to a 500K. This cleared the 490R up beautifuly. It still needs to be set somewhat low to the strings but now it's not boomy and it comes thru very clear. Matches well with the 498T in the bridge position.
Sonic evaluation: Playing my guitar thru a Peavey Classic 30. To me, this is how a neck humbucker should sound. Smooth, not to bassey with a nice clear top end. Has a nice "smokey" vibe to it when used for slower things. Combined with the 498T it works great for a rockabilly thing.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rock, blues and cleassic rock. Works great for all.

Comments: If it quit working I would definatley replace it. For those who find it to be muddy (as I did) I would highly recommend changing the stock 300K volume pot to a 500K. It really helped to open the sound up a lot. I thought I might have to change to tone pot as well but I really don't think it will be needed. Great pickup.

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul Custom and Gibson Les Paul Studio
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Epi- neck / Gibson 500T - bridge
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson - Seymour Duncan "Seth Lover"
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: Change in tone

Perceived output level: low to medium output
Tone: Very dark and muddy in the neck, but better and more balanced in the bridge.
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: This is a dual review for the 490R used in different positions in two different guitars, so is difficult to fit into the standard review and rating format above, but here are my impressions:
I first bought it as a upgrade for the stock neck pickup in a Epiphone Les Paul Custom. In some ways, it was actually a downgrade. When I first fired it up after the installation, I was shocked at how bad it sounded. It was incredibly dull and muddy, totally lacking in clarity and note articulation. It definitely did not sound better than the Epiphone pickup. It sounded like playing with a blanket over the amp speaker. I eventually decided to sell the guitar to buy a Gibson and pulled the pickup out and re-installed the stock one.
Part two: I purchased a '92 Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite (see my review on Harmony Central). Still wasn't crazy about the stock pickups, so I put a Seymour Duncan "Seth Lover" in the neck position. In deciding about the bridge pickup, I thought about it and decided to try an experiment of putting the 490R in the bridge to see if being in that position would give it enough high-end bite and clarity. Even though the 490R is traditionally a neck pickup, it actually works quite well in the bridge - especially paired with a lower output neck pickup like the Seth Lover (which is designed after the original 1955 PAF). The 490 read slightly higher on the meter than the Duncan, so is a more balanced match than the super high output 498T they are usually paired with - at least for the kind of music I play. I don't really care for the 498T or 500T as they are too high output for vintage tone.
I've been playing guitar for over 30 years (mostly Fender) and play a wide range of styles from classic rock (Hendrix, Santana, Clapton, etc) to more experimental Robert Fripp-type stuff and ambient electronic. I generally use the neck pickup more, but switch to the bridge for a more bite on rock leads. The 490R works well for that, and I'm satisfied with it - for now. However, there's a good chance I'll eventually replace it to find that ultimate tone.
As far as other gear, for recording I generally go directly into the board through a Mesa Boogie tube pre-amp. For live I mostly run a stereo rig with Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ and Fender Blues Jr. with lots of effects - V Wah, TC Electronics G Major, DigiTech RP10, Addrenlin II, Vortex & JamMan, Sonic Maximizer, etc.
As far as rating, I'd give it a 3 in the neck position and an 8 in the bridge.

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 7.5k ohms

Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul Custom
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: 498T
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock 'n Roll early '70's style
Reason for pickup change: Dull,mushy tone from neck pickup,bassy mid-range bark and not enough attack from bridge pickup.Lack of clarity from either pickup even at lower settings.

Perceived output level: This is a typical Gibson pickup set,490R and 498T....higher output than vintage,lower than absolutely possible.
Tone: Neck distorted too easily and lacked fundamental definition,bridge was boxy goosetone that wouldn't clean up at all.
Sonic evaluation: Even through old Fender amps this guitar didn't have the edge or versatility it should have had,so before changing the pickups I took the pretty gold covers off.This made a very noticable increase in treble,fundamental clarity,and overall tonal character.Sustain and harmonic feedback actually improved,and both pickups have a wider and more complex range of tone.I was surprised it made so much difference.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: '70's rock...those guys all had covers off and now I know why.

Comments: If you're resolved to changing your 490R/498T set,try this before switching them out.You ,too,may be pleasantly surprised.CAUTION:If you are inexperienced with soldering and handling delicate electronics,have this done by a pro.It should be inexpensive as it takes less than an hour.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Washburn BT6
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson 490T
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): blues/rock/noise
Reason for pickup change: Had these sittin' around & the BT6 needed some help in the pickup department so I figured "what the hell".

Perceived output level: Stronger output than the stockers.
Tone: Warm bottom, smooth mids, not too bright though.
Sonic evaluation: This baby goes straight into a Behringer GX210 which IMHO is a pretty decent amp for solid-state. I also put it through an all tube practice amp occasionally. No effects usually except for the onboard stuff on the 210.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Nice for alot of styles.

Comments: This was a stocker that came with my Gibson Les Paul. In the 'Paul it sounded lifeless & characterless (new word??). Not completely horrible, mind you but just um... not interesting. I put a set of Duncan 59's in the Gibson & the guitar came alive. But anyway, back to the 490. Instead of tossing it in the closet with the rest of the junk, I thought I'd try it in the Washburn just for kicks. I was absolutely stunned when i heard this pickup in this guitar. Completely different sounding than when in the Gibson. It gives out deep bottom-end and really smooth mids(neither of which came out of it when in the Les Paul). The highs are not very bright but I personally like that in a pickup. It's very warm sounding-almost as much as the Duncans. I really didn't care for this pickup when it was in the Les Paul & just thought it was kinda crappy but now that it's in the BT6 I like it alot. As for the rating I give it a 5 in the Gibson but a definite 9 in the Washburn(since NOTHING is a perfect 10 IMO).

Pickup features: humbucking passive pickup
Impedence or other specs: not sure

Model of guitar or bass: gibson faded sg
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: 490t bridge
Artists using this pickup: me
You musical style(s): hard rock, blues, metal
Reason for pickup change: came stock

Perceived output level: medium output
Tone: bassy not muddy and very balanced and large sounding
Sonic evaluation: gibson sg faded-dunlop crybaby-dod yjm308-marshall avt50 head, marshall 4x10 cabinet w/celestions. i like it loud and proud

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: hard rock, blues mainly

Comments: i like it. not to much more to say about it.

Pickup features: : humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 7.75K

Model of guitar or bass: faded SG
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: 490T
Artists using this pickup: n/a
You musical style(s): rock blues jazz progressive
Reason for pickup change: n/a

Perceived output level: Mild.
Tone: : Breathy highs, Honkin? mid range bite, but not dark, a fair amount of almost mudish? bottom
Sonic evaluation: It?s in a faded SG, For amps I run a Black Face Bassman and Super Reverb and a JCM 900 2100. Solid midrange tone, good clean dynamic range. Too noisy with any kind of gain (amp or stomp box).

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: best for (clean), blues rock, jazz

Comments: I see people call the tone dull and other stuff. I Know what they mean, I hear it too, I just like it the way I like flat wounds. It kinda thud?s on the highs and lows leaving the mid?s ringing out. Still got the stock strings on. I?m a Strat guy so it suits me. The hi-gain tone would be ok if not for all the added noise. I?m gonna try pick up covers and some troubleshooting before a pup change. Might even give Gibson a call. But clean it performs quietly. Nice sounding with the volume rolled down on the guitar.

Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 7.75K

Model of guitar or bass: SG faded
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: 490T
Other pickups on guitar: Torres 7.1K this pickup sound more like PAF than any others I heard.
Artists using this pickup: Dont know
You musical style(s): rock blues jazz
Reason for pickup change: The 490T sounded kinda funky. Real pronounced mids, not real
ambient and unbalanced sounding.

Perceived output level: pretty loud for a stock wound pickup.
Tone: Open, lots of top, chimy mid range bite, but not dark, a fair amount of bottom end too.
Sonic evaluation: I using a faded SG with th half moon inlays, just bought nd love it.
For amps I run a JTM45 combo, a mesa mk3 combo, and a fender princeton.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: blues, rock, jazz

Comments: I getting used to the sound of the 490R in the treble position.
I noticed right away the mid range pop, with no a trace of darkness.
It creates a real chimy sweet clean tone with lost of harmonic
over tones, kinda like a strat pickup. Must be the Alnico II magnets. Real big sounding. When I put a pair of 6l6EH sovteks in my marshall
JTM45 the combination was real nice. Lots of detail, open, with a
acoustics type natural hormonics. The mid range bite cuts through pretty good when using distortion. I highly suggest to anyone who is thinking of upgrading the 490 pickups to try the 490R in the treble position. It sounds very ambient compared to the 490T, ndnon of the midrage weirdness.