(11-12-2024, 01:35 PM)james Wrote: hi guys I'm new to this forum . I already have a Eastman ar372 that I love but I changed the pickups to some hand wound pickups that I always put in my guitars .
I'm interested in buying a used t59 or t486 . is there much difference between the to other then the pickups and lacquer. is there any diffrence in the neck profiles. theres quite a price difference between the 2, so I'm tempted in getting the 486 and just changing the pickups to some alnico 2 hand wound pups in it
At this moment I have a 2021 T486 sunburst and just purchased a late 2019 T59v. Although the specs are very similar other than what you mentioned, they definitely are different guitars with, in my opinion, different intensions. The first point I want to get across is that the T486 is definitely a pro level instrument. It's very responsive, holds tune well, and is versatile. The T59 is definitely a "better" instrument tho.
Neck profile: keep in mind they all slightly differ but of the few T486s and few T59s I've played (never been able to directly A/B them until now) I can generally say the T59 is slightly more of a full C shape with slightly more substantial shoulders whereas the T486 has slightly skinner shoulders, giving it almost a slight V shape. Think vintage inspired Gibson C shape (59ish) vs a more modern inspired Gibson C shape. The overall depth of my T486 and T59 are actually the exact same, but the shoulders make the T59 definitely feel more full. The fretboard edges of the T59 are also slightly more rolled. I would also add the string spacing of my T59 is about 1mm less between strings even with an identical nut width of 1.72". To me these slight changes really change the feel of the neck. The T59 feels more vintage inspired and is my preference. Using your thumb to fret bass notes is noticeably more comfortable on the T59.
The T59 is lighter and more resonant and the dynamic range of the pickups is noticeably wider. This is not a criticism of the 59 and Jazz pickups in the T486 but per the Seymour Duncan website they are PAF inspired pickups with slightly more output, brightness, and more compression. This comes across when A/B-ing them. The dynamics, responsiveness, and depth of the T59 is much better than the T486. I do 100% think the french polish finish of the T59 contributes to the dynamic range and responsiveness of the unpotted Antiquity pickups. Unpotted pickups will pick up the extra frequencies created by the extra wood vibration of the T59s finish wheres the T486 is less resonant (still very resonant but not as good as the T59). To summarize the sound it's just like the neck profiles. The T59 is a true vintage inspired instrument and sounds like it. The T486 has vintage inspirations but is slightly hotter and more compressed and has a little more attack to the notes.
When my T59 was on the way to me I had the thought that there's no way the T59 can be THAT much better of an instrument than the T486 and therefore would maybe keep the T486 and sell the T59. I was wrong. It's clearly better now that I can directly compare them, but again, the T486 is absolutely a pro level instrument. It really comes down to whether or not you want a true vintage inspired instrument or a modern-leaning vintage inspired instrument.
Regarding price the difference in the used market is often about $400. Saving up some more money and going with the T59, if you want the vintage vibe in terms of neck/finish/tone, is the way I would go. Buying handwound vintage inspired PAFs will set you back like $300 minimum. Doing that swap yourself is an absolute pain, although Eastman has a little pass thru window in the center block so you dont have to do everything through the F holes. Paying someone to do it will likely cost you several hundred dollars as well.
-Matt