Gibson Saves Yamaha!

[GAS Man]

Just got my Yamaha SBG700S back from the guitar tech.

 

Had a Gibson 500T installed in the bridge. Dang mang, it sounds awesome now. Toe---tally! Now it Rocks!

 

My first pup mod was a '59-N and PG-B.

 

The '59 was/is muddy in the guitar and the PG was ice picky.

 

I was hesitant to replace both since I wasn't sure how much was electronics and how much was the guitar, so I decided to take a chance with ceramics in the bridge only and make it a crunch guitar, and - -

 

It really works well in this guitar. Now I wish I'd gone ahead and dropped something like a SD Jazz in the neck while I had it in the shop (which was a rip off).

 

But the 500T really warmed up the guitar. I mean, it will now be more of a Marshall's axe, not a jazz guitar fer sher, but it clangs that bell now. I was just beating the heck out of the opening riff to Stranglehold for demo purposes through some Vox Marshall models

 

Pic before mod:

I replaced it with a zebra 500T, but now the coils (creme and black) are reversed from that in this picture and it looks good that way versus the mirror image look below.

 

Anyway, I'm glad I saved the Yamaha.

 

[the Dust]

500T rules... very nice guitar dude...

[Frets99]

Pairing the right pickups with a guitar makes all the difference.

 

 

Great looking guitar too!

[tincob]

Awesome. Glad that you were able to find a combo that works for you.

 

And the green SBG's aren't common.

 

Yammy SG's rock!

 

[almightycrunch]

Local guitar monster(with the thickest tone I have ever heard in my life) who played Les Paul's through stereo full stacked Triaxis' and 2:90's, swore up and down that the secret to his tone was the 500T in the bridge of his paul.

[Burningleaves]

The 500T really shines in the right guitar. I like it with around a 500K volume pot. Sounds great in my Explorer. I wish the stock 500T's came with 4 conductors as I wouldn't mind coil tapping it.

 

 

From what I have read around the 500T seems to be a 498T model with 3 ceramic mags instead of the alnico-5 mag that the 498T uses.

 

 

The DiMarzio PAF-Pro is (imo) a nice match with the 500T. Very nice at smoothing out any low end "boom" a guitar might have. The output is beefy too. It's alnico 5 so it really sweetens up the middle position.

[Brian Krashpad]

Congrats! That's a sweet looking Yammy. I like the 500T in my LP Classic just fine.

[JoJo68]

I have one in my V and it slays !

[GAS Man]

The 500T really shines in the right guitar. I like it with around a 500K volume pot. Sounds great in my Explorer. I wish the stock 500T's came with 4 conductors as I wouldn't mind coil tapping it.

 

This Yammy is set up with separate push/pull pots for coil splitting, so I was experimenting around with that a bit last night. Ceramics are said to be pretty good split, however, I was hearing just a bit too much brightness last night once the 500T was split, but that was into a Vox ToneLab and then into a Roland JC120. I'll need to experiment around with it some more, like the 500T split into a Tube Screamer and then into a Fender DRRI and see how that sounds. With both the '59 & 500T split, it sounds pretty glassy.

 

But dang, just wish I'd gone ahead and done the neck pup while I was at it (i.e. replace the '59 with maybe a Jazz), but I wasn't sure if my upgrades were going to pay off this time.

 

I recently noticed in Guitar Player Magazine that the Duncan '59 is the readers' poll favorite aftermarket pup, but I haven't had good luck with it, at least in the neck position. But I'm thinking about trying one in the bridge though on my Jackson DK2S. I don't care for the CC I put in there since it lacks lows and highs that I crave, but a '59 bridge might be the ticket for it.

 

[cogdog]

Just got my Yamaha SBG700S back from the guitar tech. Had a Gibson 500T installed in the bridge. Dang mang, it sounds awesome now. Toe---tally! Now it Rocks! My first pup mod was a '59-N and PG-B. The '59 was/is muddy in the guitar and the PG was ice picky. I was hesitant to replace both since I wasn't sure how much was electronics and how much was the guitar, so I decided to take a chance with ceramics in the bridge only and make it a crunch guitar, and - - It really works well in this guitar. Now I wish I'd gone ahead and dropped something like a SD Jazz in the neck while I had it in the shop (which was a rip off). But the 500T really warmed up the guitar. I mean, it will now be more of a Marshall's axe, not a jazz guitar fer sher, but it clangs that bell now. I was just beating the heck out of the opening riff to Stranglehold for demo purposes through some Vox Marshall models Pic before mod: I replaced it with a zebra 500T, but now the coils (creme and black) are reversed from that in this picture and it looks good that way versus the mirror image look below. Anyway, I'm glad I saved the Yamaha.

sweet Yammie! Glad you found the right pup:)

[Burningleaves]

This Yammy is set up with separate push/pull pots for coil splitting, so I was experimenting around with that a bit last night. Ceramics are said to be pretty good split, however, I was hearing just a bit too much brightness last night once the 500T was split, but that was into a Vox ToneLab and then into a Roland JC120. I'll need to experiment around with it some more, like the 500T split into a Tube Screamer and then into a Fender DRRI and see how that sounds. With both the '59 & 500T split, it sounds pretty glassy. But dang, just wish I'd gone ahead and done the neck pup while I was at it (i.e. replace the '59 with maybe a Jazz), but I wasn't sure if my upgrades were going to pay off this time. I recently noticed in Guitar Player Magazine that the Duncan '59 is the readers' poll favorite aftermarket pup, but I haven't had good luck with it, at least in the neck position. But I'm thinking about trying one in the bridge though on my Jackson DK2S. I don't care for the CC I put in there since it lacks lows and highs that I crave, but a '59 bridge might be the ticket for it.

 

 

 

:cop:Good stuff.

 

 

 

I like having the "outside coil" working when tapping a bridge pup. Seems to cut down on the brightness and any shrill compared to having the "inside" or closest coil to the bridge activated when tapped.

 

 

I like Duncan pups well enough but find them always to be toward the bright side of the tone spectrum. Dimarzio just came out with a 36th Anniversary PAF type based on Larry D's pups in his 59 LP and their air buck technology. Might be interesting.

 

 

If it's too "glassy" in the mid position you might want to aim for a pup with a higher resistance rating for the neck. That will warm things up a bit. Of course the 496R is a nice match for the 500T. I did find it a little too "tight" though so went with the Paf-Pro. The Pro with the A5 mag gave the neck position a looser / smoother feel in comparison (on my Gibby Explorer).