new les paul studio (thin bridge pup halp.)

[brian_ward]

i got a new les paul studio and find the bridge a little thin to be paired with the 490r neck. dial your amp in for a sweet neck tone, flip it to the bridge pup and its too thin. dial it in for a thick bridge tone, flip it to the neck and its too thick. what do you guys like to replace the 498t with to add some low end/general thickness? i dont want to get much hotter, if at all, than stock as i really like the neck pickup. on the whole i like how the bridge sounds, its just too thin. what do you suggest?

 

no ceramics.

[Meowy]

Did you try adjusting the pickup height (of each) to better balance the two?

I put a pair of Pearly Gates (not the PG+) in my LP Studio. Great set! You can get them used on forum classifieds / eBay for about $50 a pop

[brian_ward]

Did you try adjusting the pickup height (of each) to better balance the two? I put a pair of Pearly Gates (not the PG+) in my LP Studio. Great set! You can get them used on forum classifieds / eBay for about $50 a pop

 

 

yea i tried messing with the heights its just a matter of the neck being thick and the bridge being too thin. its not a volume discrepancy, its a tonal thing.

[flummox]

I love the 498 so I'm a little biased, but I found that just setting the bridge tone on 9 balanced them out nicely. You may also try swapping out the neck pickup with something bright like a #1 Burstbucker, then running your amp a bit darker. OR replace the 500k bridge volume pot with a 300-350k pot, as Gibson often does.

[Weiner_Bomb]

Did you try scratching both pole-piece coils to see if they're both functioning? just a thought.

[cratz2]

An Air Norton would be roughly the same output as a 498... maybe a little hotter. Definitely a lot thicker sounding, but I've only heard it in thin mahogany bodies, not a full Les Paul. The AT-1 should be similar with slightly more bottom end, but I've ever heard one in person... just going by the Dimarzio site.

I think I'd be pretty tempted to just leave the 498 and try tweaking the volume and tone knob on the guitar to thicken it up. I've had one guitar with 490s and one guitar with the 490/498 combo and I wouldn't call either of them 'thin' as they had some chunk to them, but they are both a bit brighter than the typically muddy HB.

A 57 Classic or 57 Classic Plus would be the best bet for staying with Gibson pickups, but I consider them relatively bright as well, but not quite as bright as the 498. The Plus version would probably be the best match for output, but it's not going to be a radical change in tonality... just a tweaking of the same basic sound.