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Gibson 500t the good, bad, and dirty.


outforblood

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Well, I have dropped a Gibson 500t pup in the bridge(clocked in at 15.33k) into a Epi vintage G-400 and the results were pretty good...nothing to cry home about....sounded more middy and flatter compared to the stock pup.(don't know if that's good or bad yet)Is the 500t supposed to sound this way? I know ceramics have a bit more brighter sound than alnico but the upper mids on the 500t are way pronounced. Sounds good clean surprisingly. People with 500t's chime in and let me know what kind of a tone your getting from this monster.

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I find it has pretty extreme highs and lows- its bassy and chimey (on the verge of piercing) at the same time. Its my favourite pup for distortion by far but i struggle to get cleans out of it, and when i do, theyre not that great IMO.

 

I put 11s on one of my explorers and downtuned to C standard and the result was mud city- although the strings need changing, but still i didnt expect it to be as bad as it was.

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I've got to roll back the treble on my LP when I'm using mine clean as it is a bit sharp. But I do like the clean sound when dialed in right...I know this is an over used metaphor but to me it really does sound like a tele on steriods. Dirty they are just {censored}ing awesome....a little on the "80's" side but that can be balanced out too.

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Put it my old Epi LP Custom and I have one stock in my Gibby Flying V. Amazing pup and I play downtuned stoner doom. Recorded great as well, super heavy and fuzzy without being muddy. I do prefer the 496R matching neck pup, a very under rated and over looked pickup, which I have in both guitars. Excellent for dark cleans and heavy ass blues.

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My LP came with one... hated it. I tried adjusting the pickup height, volume/ tone, re-EQing the amp. No matter what, it always sounded piercing to me in that guitar.

 

HOWEVER, I tried it in my Alder-bodied Pacifica and it was AWESOME :love: That is, until it went microphonic on me :mad:

 

Your mileage may vary :idk:

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Good pickup.

 

They strike me as a rather flat EQ pickup that's a bit compressed on both end, but yet they have a lot of vibe to them and in the right guitar they can even have a lot of sweet chimey character to them.

 

I've played them in a '76 Explorer, Mahogany Pro Explorer, Faded V, Silverburst V and installed in my Yamaha SBG700. They seem to sound the best in my MP Explorer, damn near sound like alnico IIs in that guitar.

 

I put them in the Yamaha because a) the stock p'up sounded too sterile and lifeless, b) those were replaced with a '59 and a PG which sounded too muddy and way to piercingly bright respectively - so the 496/500 gave me better definition in the neck and the 500 gave me all the crunch, power and definition I needed from the bridge but yet compressed enough that it still sounds fairly smooth. I didn't particularly care for them in the V just because for my more classic/clean tastes I'd prefer more wood under that pickup for added depth.

 

my 2 cents.

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I've tried and tried, but I can never get a long well with the 500T. I have two of them laying around. Every so often I'll put one in my V, but ultimately take it out after a week or two. There's a fizziness (maybe sizzle is a better word) to it that just bugs me to no end.

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my classic is still stock. don't like the clean. i find it harsh but i'm hesitant to replace them because the distorted sound is great, lotsa harmonics. makes the guitar a one trick pony tho.

 

 

The feedback and harmonics this beast puts out are great...I guess I'm still trying to get used to the tone and output. I had a 81/85 set on a Viper 400 that I got sick of after a few years. The 500t seems to have more balls than the 81. That could be good or bad I guess.

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I put a 500T in the bridge of a Les Paul copy (Duncan Jazz/neck) and I'm very happy with it. I only use the bridge pickup for high gain leads and it's great for that - very warm and creamy tone with lots of sustain. I like it way better than the 498T which I found much brighter.

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I will say (as already has been stated) that the amp really plays a huge part with those pups for sure. It is more modern sounding through my Marshall, but more vintagey and full through my Orange. Through my Sunn, everything just beats you over the head with fuzzed out goodness!

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I've tried and tried, but I can never get a long well with the 500T. I have two of them laying around. Every so often I'll put one in my V, but ultimately take it out after a week or two. There's a fizziness (maybe sizzle is a better word) to it that just bugs me to no end.

 

 

Could be your amp

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