First impression on a pups swap (to be continued though...)

[Jkater]

For a while, I found myself playing much more often my Yamaha SA2200 over my 57 classics equipped Gibson LP. Just love the Yammie much more for its playability and feel. Also, soundwise, the Gibson had the edge when PLUGGED IN but not acoustically. I thought the Yamaha pups were not bad but probably not the best there are and given that the SA2200 has earned the spot for good as #1, I decided to make a long contemplated move : I changed the pick-ups for Gibson pups. I had made a long trip to the tech who was supposed to have in stock the pups I wanted (57 classics) but turned out he had the 490/498 combo instead. The guy told me the 490 is almost identical sonically as the 57's. Although I was pissed off a bit, I (regrettedly) decided on the spot to have it done anyway, hoping that if they put them in LP customs they can't be that bad. The result gives me mixed feelings : the neck pup sound is much brighter (treble) than my LP and the Alnico V 498 sounds the same as my stock Yamaha bridge pup. Not the end of the world but It feels like I could have made a better decision. Mind you it doesn't sound bad but I expected something warmer. Nevertheless, the SA2200 is an awesome instrument and this won't stop me from loving it until my kid inherites it.

 

I post this now but I think I'll settle to its sound and see how it grows on me. I think I was too specific in what I expected and when it turned out different, I was a little disappointed.