As the musical landscape changed from the world-shaking rockabilly of
Scotty Moore in the 1950s to the bone-crunching rock of Jimmy Page in
the 1970s, so did the development of the humbucker™ pickup. Introduced
in the early 1970s, Gibson's 496R pickup filled the need for a more
powerful humbucker and helped energize the emergence of hard rock and
heavy metal. With its powerful ceramic magnet, the 496R delivers
incredible sustain and cutting power, adding more highs and increased
definition without producing any muddiness at all. Leads played on this
pickup will have a biting, bluesy edge with incredible sustain and a
notable increase in musical harmonics. When used in conjunction with a
ceramic bridge pickup such as the 500T, the 496R loses none of its
incredible definition. The 496R features neck–spaced pole pieces and
shielded four-conductor wiring for series, parallel, or split-coil
operation. It is also fully wax potted to eliminate any chance of
microphonic feedback.
- Position: Neck
- Magnet: Ceramic
- Wiring: 4-Conductor
- Color: Black
- Cover: None
- Double Black Bobbins
- Wax Potted
- Average DC Resistance: 8.4K
- Details: Aggressively hot neck position pick up. Perfect with a 500T in the bridge position.