I have the Mule IV set and i really love them alot, they sound very different then the stock 490/498 at least, much smoother an WAY more like a true PAF basically.
I see you have put alnico IV bars on the 490/498, im very interested to know how you think they sound, especially how they 'feel' on the high end. Any basic thought on an eq shift due ot the magnet change? Do you have any clean tracks to share?
No, I wanted to do some recording but I ended up A/Bing the Epi and the Gibby to assess the "new pups".
The neck: First I changed the A2 for an A5. I think it made a fair pup out of the 490R. Bye bye muddiness. It got quite aggressive if not a bit shrill. I think it is a good combo but it wasn't really what I wanted.
Then I swap for an A4. This became a very good pick up. In comparison with the '59n with A4 I have in the Epi, it had higher output, bassier sound but not boomy at all. And when I rolled back the tone a few notches I managed to get a sweet mellow sound that the '59 could just not produce. Clarity wise it wasn't too far off from the '59.
Overall I still prefer the '59 but the 490R with A4 is definitely the way to get nice sound out of the stock pup.
On the other hand, the 498T with A4 was just a turd. Pardon my French. Not defined at all, it was getting muddy with my FOD overdrive at the same kind of output level as the '59 bridge in the Epi. When you know that the 498T got way more output than the '59 you realise what a waste this is as you just can't use this extra power. Just undifined mush.
The original A5 was slightly better, but not by much. The ceramic mag taken from the stock pup of the Epi was giving the 498T a bit more focus. playable but it wouldn't break 3 legs to a duck.
Finaly, I opted for an A2 just before getting the pup out of the guitar and for the short span of time I tried, it seemed to be the solution to get a usable and nearly enjoyable sound: Rawer but in a good way. Still not really defined but somehow it does suit the pup.
Anyway, now I will be talking about sound.
