I changed the pickups in my Gibson Flying V from the stock 496r in the neck and 500t from the bridge to signature Zakk Wylde. Now I want to change them back but I got them mixed and I dont have any manual to relate to.
How can I distinguish the 496r from 500t?
Arguably simpler yet less reliable (since it is not always the case) is to look at screws vs slugs on the pickups themselves.
The bridge pickup will have screws towards the bridge, whereas the neck pickup will have slugs towards the bridge and screws towards the neck.
Again, this isn't always the case - but with the 500T/496R it almost certainly is as Gibson pairs those as a set. Look at the Gibson logo on the back of the pickup. If the screws are on the bottom when the logo is correctly oriented - that's the bridge. Above, the neck.
There are some pickups with double screws, hex screws, etc. - but for those particular pickups this method should serve you well and saves you from mucking about with the wrapping.
The simplest way is to count the magnets. The 500t has 3 ceramic magnets, the 496r has 2. Look inside the wrapping - there is a thick central magnet and one each side where you'd usually expect spacers.
Apparently (according to Seymour Duncan) you can also distinguish by resistance - should be around 15.5Kilohms for the 500t.
