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P-90s


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Hey guys,

 

I was trying to read about the differences in types of pick-ups. On wikipedia they go over single and humbuckers. What exactly is a p-90 (my guitar has them...dunno what they are though). And are there any other types that are different than single pickups and humbuckers?

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A P-90 is a Gibson single coil pickup made popular on many models prior to Seth Lover, a Gibson employee, inventing the humbucking pickup. The sound being quite different than humbuckers, they continued to be used on many models and gained a huge following again in the 1970's and again in the last decade or so.

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Think of it as Gibson's version of a single coil pickup. Fender single coils are like you find commonly on Strats, the P-90 is a little larger and has a different sound from a humbucker (though at first glance you may think it looks like one). P-90s have the same problems as Fender's single coil PUP, notably that they can pick up a fair amount of 60 cycle hum. Humbuckers are usually wound in a way that cancels the hum.

 

Dimarzio and others make "noiseless" single coils and P-90s which have reverse-windings to cancel hum but not lose that classic tone without having a thick humbucker sound. How well they succeed pretty much depends on who you ask.

 

Personally, I love the sound of P-90s in an SG. There are certain Les Paul models that also come with P-90s instead of 'buckers.

 

John

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Active and passive, piezo, different magnets - huge diversity. The P90s are highly desirable, with a darker, fuller tone than other singles.
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Mmmmm, P-90s...

 

http://www.juhnke.com/mike/LP-Special3.jpg

 

I think Tele pickups are a different size than Strat pickups, so you can't swap them. The bridge pickup on a Tele has a lot more treble bite (helped by the mounting plate and brass saddles...) than a Strat bridge pickup.

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I took the (albeit bright) PAFs out of my Aria TA-40 (ES-335 type of guitar) and put in some humbucker-shaped P90s.

 

They just have a lot more *bite*, particularly on the bass strings.

 

If you cut the bass, & boost the mids & highs, you can approach (but only approach) a Strat kind of sound but on normal settings, you get a lot more bass than a Fender single supplies.

 

G.

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Cool! I usually hang out on 17 meters, sometimes 20. When the cycle improves, I love 10 meters. I have an HT, but I don't use the repeater much. I'd rather hang out on HF. I have a homebrew G5RV up about 35 feet. 73 de AC5XL
Turn me over, I'm done on this side...
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Yeah, it's amateur radio talk. We got off topic for a little bit...

 

To get back to topic, has anyone ever tried the P-90's made by Jason Lollar? I've heard they are pretty good. I love the P-90 sound, but the ones in my Epiphone LP are noisy, noisier than the p/u's on my Strat ('62 reissue, stock p/u's for that model). I can take care of the noise by rolling the volume knobs back to about 8, or by using a noise suppressor, but I wonder if replacing the p/u's might be a better solution. I wonder how much it might change the tone of the guitar (I really like the tone, and I can live with the noise, but I'm just curious).

Turn me over, I'm done on this side...
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