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Gibson 490R Humbucker Pickup

This modern Gibson classic features tonal characteristics similar to the '57 Classic, delivering a slight increase in the upper mids, for a more contemporary humbucking sound. The special Alnico II magnet gives this beauty a singing quality that delivers on demand. The 490R guitar pickup, with its neck-spaced pole pieces, is calibrated to perfectly match the bridge...

Price: $35 to $79

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Searched Gibson 490R Humbucker Pickup in Reviews

A classic pickup that suits many styles--extremely versatile.

Comments

Not surprisingly, I have a story about this pickup. A couple of years ago I was modding an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. I had put a nickel-covered Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge position and was looking for a good pickup for the neck position. Unfortunately, the San Marcos guitar center had very few suitable 4-conductor pickups in stock--I needed 4-conductor because I was wiring both pickups to a push/pull pot for coil-splitting. The guy behind the counter suggested the Gibson 490R--I immediately said, "That won't work, it's 2-conductor" but when he pulled it out of the box, lo and behold, it was 4-conductor. I bought the pickup and installed it. This pickup surprised me in a number of ways. First, it's got wonderful warm clean tone--anything and all things jazz are capable with this pickup. I was amazed how well distorted solos sounded on the pickup as well. Playing through everything from Marshall/Hughes & Kettner stacks to small combos, this pickup really shines and has good clarity from the clean through uber-distorted tones. Plus, when I coil-split the pickup, the single-coil operation opens up a whole new realm of possibilities and makes my Epi LP sound like a nice, warm Strat. I couldn't have predicted it, but this pickup turned out to be exactly what I was looking for and didn't even know it. I dare say this pickup sounds better in my Epi than in some Gibsons. YMMV...

Gibson_490R_Neck_Clean.mp3

Gibson_490R_Neck_Clean_Split_Coil.mp3

Gibson_490R_Neck_Dirty.mp3

Gibson_490R_Neck_Dirty_Split_Coil.mp3

Liked about it	Available in 4-conductor wiring for coil splitting. Nice, smooth cleans--not edgy or biting. Handles distortion fluidly and keeps note clarity even with high gain.
Didn't like	More expensive than other replacement pickups--probably paying for brand name.

Overall satisfaction:

4.0

By racerevlon
Dec 30, 2009

Last updated: March 19, 2010

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Price: $35 to $79

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My favorite Neck Pickup!

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My main rig is an Egnater Mod 50 head with either a Mesa or Marshall 4x12. I use this pickup in both my Gibson Les Paul and Flying V. I play metal and jazz mostly. After using this pickup for almost 14 years now, it is safe for me to say the I absolutely love it!. It has become the benchmark for neck pickup tone when I try out other pickups. What I really like about it is its fullness. With a clean amp, you can get this really big, warm tone that seems to fill the room. Your notes sound really full in pretty much any register on the guitar. The notes do get a little thinner the higher you go up the neck, but they end up also getting a lot sweeter as well. With distortion, lower notes can get a little muddy because of the warmth of the pickup, but that is just the trade off for a really warm pickup. The higher notes sound super smooth and just fat. It is really a great neck pickup. I honestly think this pickup is ideal for jazz or anything requiring a really nice full tone. Plus the nickel cover is quite classy!