Gibson 498T vs Lindy P90 - Les Paul pickup shootout

Here's a quick comparison of the stock 498T vs a brand new Lindy Fralin P90 in my '96 LP Studio
To my ears the Lindy is much more clear, articulate, and "pretty"
Please leave a comment and tell me what you hear!
0:00 -intro
1:04 -installation timelapse
1:33 -installation recap
2:58 -shootup lead in
3:13 -Gibson 498T chords
3:35 -Lindy P90 chords
3:59 -Gibson 498T lead
4:08 -Lindy P90 lead
4:17 -Gibson 498T fuzz tone
4:25 -Lindy P90 fuzz tone
4:46 -PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT
Some notes:
I ordered the Lindy pickup in "stock" winding
I also swapped volume pots and tone caps while I had her open, but for the sample recordings both volume and tone pots were dimed, so the differences in those components are minimized.
-to this point, it was probably unnecessary for me to include the tone cap info on the back-to-back samples

[@chipstips5823]

0:00 -intro 1:04 -installation timelapse 1:33 -installation recap 2:58 -shootup lead in 3:13 -Gibson 498T chords 3:35 -Lindy P90 chords 3:59 -Gibson 498T lead 4:08 -Lindy P90 lead 4:17 -Gibson 498T fuzz tone 4:25 -Lindy P90 fuzz tone 4:46 -PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT

[@0utlaw13]

I was definitely thinking of swapping my 498T to a P90 but not sure. Then I found your channel comparing the 2. I'm still not sure but I'm definitely leaning on the P90.

[@chipstips5823]

thanks for the comment Johnny, I was literally just sitting here playing the P90 and wondering how the 498T used to sound... I really like the Lindy Fralin, sticking with it.

[@fomtooley]

If using the same cap or both without they don't sound alike. This setup kinda makes them "equal" and/or producing very similiar tones. Though in my opinion in this instance the P90 wins. However this is not always true. Lindy's are top of the line. Go cheaper and the P90 loses.

[@chipstips5823]

so far I'm really happy with the Lindy P90, the tone is very clear and responsive, but most of all, the single-coil feel gives my Les Paul a new dimension, and, the thing that got me looking into swapping pickups in the first place, the middle position with the pickups out of phase sounds really good for blues.

[@lesterksi4521]

Definitely the 498 for me, but it could be a set up thing there. The Lindy sounds like you would put a pillow in front of the speakers

[@chipstips5823]

thanks for the comment lester! My tastes have been getting treblyer and treblier, maybe because I've lost all the high frequency hearing?

[@lesterksi4521]

@@chipstips5823I think it's more of a preference as your taste in music and style expanded over the years. It could be because of exposure to loud noise for a long time. But keep it up! Do protect your ears

[@mturrieta]

I think it’s the cap that makes the difference. Baseball caps in particular more so than golf caps which give it a more subtle whiskey-corny tone IMHO.

[@chipstips5823]

true, not very scientific to have cap and no cap. How much does the cap affect the tone?

[@fomtooley]

the cap is basically a filter that affects how the tone knob rolls off highs and lows. it matters a LOT. but not so much if you don't use your tone knob(s).

[@fomtooley]

Should also be noted that any test with tone caps needs to roll through the entire sweep of all tone pots, as cap effect can only truly be heard/evaluated this way. Otherwise you miss 99% of the character of the tone.

[@chipstips5823]

@Fom Tooley thanks for the comment! I was trying to make a comparison of the pickups only, but since I swapped out the tone cap as well, I included that info, but for the tests I had the tone rolled all the way up (effectively bypassing it). I believe @mturrieta was making a joke about me wearing a ball cap in half of the demos...