seeker Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 Am looking for some pickups to go in my P90 Special ; stock aren't doing it.Want something that is full spectrum, strong, yet clear. Seems to me that most lower ohm windings are too bright and ice-pickey, whereas higher ohm windings seem to distort far too easily. Don't want the pickup to do the distortion, but drive the input to the amp. Kind of like the Wolfetone Marshallheads, but in a P90 formant.Ideas?
velorush Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 Am looking for some pickups to go in my P90 Special ; stock aren't doing it.Want something that is full spectrum, strong, yet clear. Seems to me that most lower ohm windings are too bright and ice-pickey, whereas higher ohm windings seem to distort far too easily. Don't want the pickup to do the distortion, but drive the input to the amp. Kind of like the Wolfetone Marshallheads, but in a P90 formant.Ideas?Disclaimer: Not an expert! But... ever try a magnet swap? Pretty cheap to experiment and definitely changes the sound. I've never had a P-90 apart, but if I understand correctly from hanging out on the Seymour Duncan forum, they will have two magnets per pickup. The most touted (by them) results seem to come from mixed combinations: one A5 and one A3, for example.
tomteriffic Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 Schlabotniks. I use the Sutter Engine 42's myself. Fat, clear, and I've had my ear practically inside 'em and never heard any distortion coming out of there.
atquinn Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 ...Kind of like the Wolfetone Marshallheads, but in a P90 formant.Ideas?Well, Wolfetone makes P90's so...(I had a mean/meaner set and thought they were pretty good)-Austin
Gabe Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 Schlabotniks. I use the Sutter Engine 42's myself. Fat, clear, and I've had my ear practically inside 'em and never heard any distortion coming out of there. I like the Schlabotniks, too. Only problem is the price as I had to go and buy them in the Joe's shop in Sin Fruitisco as Joe still does not have a website. Gabe
veatch Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 I agree with bobbymack...I posted this a few months back:Linky --> P90 Cork SniffingThese were recorded on a Korina Artist, so your results will vary......and no laughing at the hack skills.At the end of the day, i'll likely end up with two P90 guitars. One with Rios and one with Lollars.Good luck!
The Shark Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 Rio Grande makes a good one, if you are looking for full and a bit darker than the average P-90.
seeker Posted July 17, 2009 Author Posted July 17, 2009 I agree with bobbymack...I posted this a few months back:Linky --> P90 Cork SniffingThese were recorded on a Korina Artist, so your results will vary......and no laughing at the hack skills.At the end of the day, i'll likely end up with two P90 guitars. One with Rios and one with Lollars.Good luck!Thanks for all the effort you put into those clips!Still have some listening to do, but am leaning towards a Lollar in the bridge, with Fralin in the neck, LOL.Oh, btw, do you remember the specs on the Fralins and Lollars? Wound, overwound, and underwound?
bobbymack Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 I had a stock pair of Lollars in a R6 Goldtop and I could not have asked anything more tonally...just great sounding pickups. Rude when opend up, very sweet when rolled back. Of all the Lollar pickups I've played (Imperials, various strat models, etc) his P90s just rule imho
DavidE Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 I just picked up a set of Fralin Noiseless P90s I need to try. Love P90's, but hate the hum.
veatch Posted July 17, 2009 Posted July 17, 2009 Still have some listening to do, but am leaning towards a Lollar in the bridge, with Fralin in the neck, LOL.Yeah. You may get a better balance especially in the middle position if you stick with one or the other... Just my opinion.Oh, btw, do you remember the specs on the Fralins and Lollars? Wound, overwound, and underwound?The Lollars were the standard P90 soapbar in the bridge and an underwound P90 soapbar for the neck.The Fralins were stock P90 bridge and -15% neck.Hope that helps.And i luvs me the P90s...
jads57 Posted July 18, 2009 Posted July 18, 2009 Sheptone makes wonderful p/ups! You might also try Vintage Vibe Pickups (Pete Biltoft) he can make you any kind of p/up you want at a very reasonable $ Best of luck!
Bloozguy Posted July 19, 2009 Posted July 19, 2009 I've got underwound Fralins in my Archtop GT and they're a big improvement over the stock Duncans. Real close to the old school P90 sound. Also got a Rio Grande Bluesbar/Jazzbar set but haven't decided what to put them in yet
JES1680 Posted July 19, 2009 Posted July 19, 2009 IMOGibson style guitars = LollarsFender style = Fralins.
HamerHokie Posted July 19, 2009 Posted July 19, 2009 It seems to me there is very little between 7-ish ohms and 14-ish ohms out there. Plus, the SDs you don't like have ceramic mags. IMHO you can't get a P-90 without a peak somewhere. The peak seems to be more pronounced with the higher impedance models. Unfortunately only SD and DiMarzio have tone charts for their pickups.I can't give you any solid advice other than to echo what you've already said - the lower impedance models are trebly, the higher models compress. You might want to explain what you want to one of the guys who'll wind to custom specs.
BCR Greg Posted July 19, 2009 Posted July 19, 2009 I designed the Rios. They would do quite well for your application.I am starting to do business with Wolfe, so we will have a P-90 collaboration out soon enough.
kanegon Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 I agree with bobbymack...I posted this a few months back:Linky --> P90 Cork SniffingThese were recorded on a Korina Artist, so your results will vary......and no laughing at the hack skills.At the end of the day, i'll likely end up with two P90 guitars. One with Rios and one with Lollars.Good luck!Confirms my worse fear about the SDs - dull. I like the attack and mid-trebs of the Gibby on my SG-Jr. (sounds exactly like the clip) but could never get my p90 special to sound anywhere near as crisp. The Lollars seem most faithful, but with a hair more gain perhaps. I'm sold! Anyone have Lollar P90s they want to sell?
HamerHokie Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 I agree with bobbymack...I posted this a few months back:Linky --> P90 Cork SniffingThese were recorded on a Korina Artist, so your results will vary......and no laughing at the hack skills.At the end of the day, i'll likely end up with two P90 guitars. One with Rios and one with Lollars.Good luck!Confirms my worse fear about the SDs - dull. I like the attack and mid-trebs of the Gibby on my SG-Jr. (sounds exactly like the clip) but could never get my p90 special to sound anywhere near as crisp. The Lollars seem most faithful, but with a hair more gain perhaps. I'm sold! Anyone have Lollar P90s they want to sell?The SDs in my Artist Korina aren't dull at all. But they do have a pronounced midrange peak, which I like.I think this is another 'everyone expects different things out of their P-90s' thread. I would never look for 'crisp.' Since I want fat and rude, the mid hump of the SDs works great. Others want more of a quack.
HoboMan Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 I have a set of nice Vintage Vibes P-90s for sale.See here: Vintage Vibes P-90s
seeker Posted July 20, 2009 Author Posted July 20, 2009 Thanks for the advice! Wiill look into all sagely advice (and associated clips). Wolfe is definitely one of the genuine good guys. I've been dealing with him for over four years now, and am on a first name basis even if we haven't talked for months. After trying many large and small-shop HB winders, I always come back to Wolfe. Bottom line, for HBs and Strat-like SCs, say it and he can make it.Just make sure to be patient when ordering late Nov thru early Jan. He supplies a lot of small Luthiers (Boutique) and they never seem to remember to order pickups until they're about done with their NAMM-bound guitars.
kanegon Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 I have a set of nice Vintage Vibes P-90s for sale.See here: Vintage Vibes P-90s(as in the VV thread)So how would you describe the sound? Is it in fact vintage or is it kind'a modern? I would describe the Duncan 90s on my Special as modern - open and full, but a little indistinct towards bass. The vintage (67 dog ear) on my SG Jr is lower gain, not as open, but has super tasty definition and natural compression. Perfect for Ziggy/Ronson material and punk rythmn work. Just sounds more musical.
HoboMan Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 I have a set of nice Vintage Vibes P-90s for sale.See here: Vintage Vibes P-90s(as in the VV thread)So how would you describe the sound? Is it in fact vintage or is it kind'a modern? I would describe the Duncan 90s on my Special as modern - open and full, but a little indistinct towards bass. The vintage (67 dog ear) on my SG Jr is lower gain, not as open, but has super tasty definition and natural compression. Perfect for Ziggy/Ronson material and punk rythmn work. Just sounds more musical.I bought a used Hamer special and these were in the guitar. I put the original SDs back in.The Vintage Vibes are definitely more vintage sounding. Not as hot as the SDs. Warmer/Sweeter. Not as aggressive as the original SDs.
gorch Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 Check out the P90 from http://www.leosounds.com. They are handwound, lowerwound by default, but come in strong without too much distortion. The pups could be made to your specks if you want that option. Michael Pantleon was very helpful when I ordered mine.The pubs come in a bit strat like as compared to Phat Cats going more tele. Check out the sound demos available. I am a happy user of both. Got the Phat Cats in my Newport and the P90s, built in humbucker format, in my alder bodied Standard. In the Standard I run a self-designed 5-way rotary switch that offers two in-series wirings in addition to the commonly used single and parallel wirings. Wired in parallel, they've got a pretty nice twang whereas make a beautiful warm humbucker wired in series.I'd say they meet your requirements -full spectrum, strong, yet clear-.
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