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Hello, 498t microphonic and squealing?

B

boola1

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Jan 10, 2017
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Hello, '90 Studio, microphonic 498t and squealing?

Hi, first post. I recently bought a 1990 Studio. It's a fantastic sounding guitar but I found the bridge pickup (498t) waaaaay too hot and this is in comparison to my beloved Flying V!

With high gain amps, I was getting some squealing. I have moved the pickups down so that they are almost flush with the pickup surround which has helped but the pickups are still noticeably microphonic and always close to feedback if I'm too close to the amp.

This is my first experience with these pickups or any humbuckers other than the 490/500T in my V, which have no issues.

Is this just how these pickups are? Do I just have to be careful with the gain and getting too close to the amp?

I measured a resistance of 13.3k so I'm pretty certain it is the stock 498t.

Thanks!

Finally, the obligatory pics!

IMG_1312.JPG


IMG_1319.JPG
 
Last edited:
Yelly

Yelly

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498s are a lot hotter than a PAF style pickup/ Classic 57/ Burstbucker/ 490 so you will need a fair bit less gain. They are usually already potted but you can get microphone if the whole pickup is free to vibrate on its mounting screws. Try some phone rubber under the pup itself, that can work wonders and is totally reversible. Best way is to take off pup still mounted in its ring. It may take e few tries to get the optimum amount of foam. Too little and it won't work. Too much and you can't get the ring back down.
 
sonar

sonar

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Welcome.

One solution is a wax bath for the offending pickup.

Have you tried removing the cover?
 
Yelly

Yelly

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13.3K is about right for a 498. It is the 490 thats around 8K. BTW you can usually tell if Gibson have already potted (wax bath) the pup by tapping it and seeing if you get a dull thud (potted) or a ping.
 
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boola1

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Thanks for the suggestions, I got a chance to mess around today. As suggested, I tried pressing down on the cover which stopped the squealing.

I will try to work out if it's caused by vibrations on the mounting or the potting of the cover having failed, in which case it'll be wax bath time.

Thanks again for the help!

Here's a quick vid I made today of it in action. Some shoddy playing + crap camera but hopefully you can hear the qualities of this lovely guitar!

Cheers

 
Z

Zentar

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A Studio with SD Hot Rodded humbuckers is a radically better guitar than a Studio with 490/498
 
Yelly

Yelly

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If touching the pup with your finger stops the squealing, then foam under it will work.
 
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boola1

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Yelly said:
If touching the pup with your finger stops the squealing, then foam under it will work.
Click to expand...

It didn't unfortunately. I needed to press down reasonably hard on the pickup to stop it so it looks like a wax bath is in order!
 
Z

Zentar

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Check youtubes for wax potting microphonic pups
 
Last edited:
Monroe

Monroe

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Yelly said:
If touching the pup with your finger stops the squealing, then foam under it will work.
Click to expand...

boola1 said:
It didn't unfortunately. I needed to press down reasonably hard on the pickup to stop it so it looks like a wax bath is in order!
Click to expand...

Sometimes, potting the windings is not necessary to stop squeal. Many times it's the cover causing the squeal.
When a pickup gets wax-potted, the wax not only envelops the windings, but also fills any gap between the bobbins and cover.
If touching it stops the squeal, try pulling the cover. If that fixes it, leave it off or put it back on correctly.
Do a google search for humbucking cover installation.
Some like to use double-sided tape between the bobbins and the cover, some use a small bead of RTV (silicone),
or a combination of tape and silicone, etc.
 
addisj

addisj

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Yelly said:
498s are a lot hotter than a PAF style pickup/ Classic 57/ Burstbucker/ 490 so you will need a fair bit less gain. They are usually already potted but you can get microphone if the whole pickup is free to vibrate on its mounting screws. Try some phone rubber under the pup itself, that can work wonders and is totally reversible. Best way is to take off pup still mounted in its ring. It may take e few tries to get the optimum amount of foam. Too little and it won't work. Too much and you can't get the ring back down.
Click to expand...

Your suggestion really helped me out so thanks for that (found it googling microphonic's)
 
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