Who makes the best P-90 pickups ?

MikeyT · July 03, 2011, 10:44:53 AM

Which P-90's have the best tone, in your opinion ?

It's not like I'll be buying millions of them, so price is not the top priority (when I figure out which ones I want, I'll try to get 'em as cheap as I can, of course).

I've always assumed Gibson would be the way to go, but I remember a thread on SR.com where you guys strongly disagreed.

Also, if there's a brand/model that sounds really good, but which would fit in a humbucker space, that would be helpful, too (for a future project). I don't want any stacked humbuckers, though. Has to be a 'real' P-90.

Thanks in advance.

giantchris · July 03, 2011, 10:57:47 AM

I know GFS makes real p90s as humbuckers and I don't have personally experience with their p90s but people seem to like them.

black_out · July 03, 2011, 11:38:44 AM

Jason Lollar

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=p90-pickups

MikeyT · July 03, 2011, 02:00:17 PM

Thanks.

"Best tone" is somewhat subjective, of course.

Here's an added, more defined question, though:

Which P90 still being manufactured would be closest in sound to what Leslie West had in his LP Jr. in the classic Mountain days ?

Would it be the Seymour Duncan SP-90, or perhaps something else ?

EddieMullet · July 03, 2011, 02:47:29 PM

Try the PRS "Soapbar" pickup. I don't know if you can buy them separately but they used them in the SE-One (which was PRS's LP Jr. copy) and those come pretty close to the classic Leslie West sound.

clockwork green · July 03, 2011, 03:05:15 PM

I have a Lollar in my Les Paul jr and love it. I've tried a bunch of P90's and liked most of them but I don't see changing the Lollar. It's been in there for three or so years and it just sounds like how a good P90 should. For humbucker sized P90's I've only tried two and really liked them...the Rio Grande and the Bare Knuckle Mississippi Queen. The Bare Knuckle is more classic sounding whereas the Rio Grande is a nice transition from a humbucker because it's got more bass but misses a bit on that midrange grind that P90's are known for.

RacerX · July 03, 2011, 03:47:29 PM

fwiw, I have a guitar with the Seymour Duncan P90s, and they're a bit more refined sounding than the Gibbys in my SG Classic. I love both sounds, but for the tone rolled off barking power chords, the Gibsons get it better.

For aftermarket, the Lollars are the ones to beat.

zachoff · July 03, 2011, 07:32:42 PM

I have a set of Kent Armstrong humbucker-fit P90s in my '72 Tele and they f'ing scream. Highly recommended.

Baltar · July 03, 2011, 07:54:07 PM

I have Duncans in my Tele Custom. I have the Dream 180 in my Corona and it's a P90/Filtertron hybrid. I would go with GFS any day of the week.

MikeyT · July 04, 2011, 01:44:43 AM

I knew you guys wouldn't disappoint me.

Just saw this on EvilBay. The hype sounds good, but has anybody heard them?
V

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dirty-Dog-Pups-pickup-P-90-Soapbar-Gibson-50s-Tone-/390187692817?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5ad8ffb311

The Riffer · July 04, 2011, 07:59:32 AM

I replaced my Gibsons with Vintage Vibe p90's. Great improvement across the board, plus you get to chose the magnet type, plus an extra set of magnets at no charge.

Jake · July 04, 2011, 11:35:43 AM

I'm not really qualified to answer which are the best P90s, but I can tell you that the $33 GFS P90s are surprisingly great sounding pickups. I expected somewhat middle-of-the-road pickups and got a very rich, aggressive and dynamic sounding pickup instead.Highly recommended for the player on a budget.

Mike_Sims · July 05, 2011, 01:58:18 AM

Whichever P90's agile put in my AL-3000 I dig. Even more than my Gibson P90's in my SG. Just my taste though. I usually roll the tone knob down a bit to get a "big" sound with my setup.

Woody · July 05, 2011, 10:52:54 AM

Dean actually makes a Leslie West pickup but have no idea if it's any good or not.

http://www.deanguitars.com/dmt_mountain.php

A friend of mine is building a guitar for me and we've been talking about putting in a single P-90. Was leaning towards the Bare Knuckle Mississippi Queen but maybe that Lollar would be the way to go.

MikeyT · July 06, 2011, 05:35:04 PM

^ Sounds interesting.
'Bare Knuckle Mississippi Queen' has to be one of the greatest names ever bestowed on a pickup- even better than 'Bare Knuckle War Pigs'.

They've got a sound sample for that Leslie West pup. It doesn't sound bad, but it's probably closer to his new sound than his old sound. His new sound is pretty good, too, though.

Chovie D · July 06, 2011, 07:18:48 PM

bought n eastwood baritone with what i assuemd were chinese made p90's. I dindt hitnk they sounded bad at all, but I was bored and thought hey fancy pickups will make his thing even better...dropped some dough for the lollars and to be honest, cannot tell the diff btween them and teh chinese jammies.

Your mileage may vary. or maybe the chinese pups were awesome. just sahring my experience.

I also purchased a mini bucker and a firebird pickup from lollar, both of which are awesome and a huge improvement over the gibson mini buckers that were in my 72 sg.

giantchris · July 08, 2011, 01:48:56 AM

I just noticed Bare Knuckle makes a p90. And a p90 version of the warpig no less.

AND I JUST NOTICED SOMEONE ALREADY MENTIONED IT IN THIS THREAD 0_0

RageofKlugman · July 08, 2011, 05:26:44 AM

I'd definitely be curious if anyone's had direct experience of the BK Warpig P90. You'd think that a pick-up with a such a crazily high out put would lose its P90 character?

Baltar · July 08, 2011, 09:41:19 AM

Those Nuckles are very expensive. There's no way I'd drop that kinda cash on a pup.

Volume · July 11, 2011, 11:07:11 AM

I changed the Gibson P90 from my Melody Maker to a Bare Knuckle, the difference was hardly noticeable, The BK is slightly clearer and crispier. I think the model was BKP91 or something, the lowest output one they made at the time. They've changed the names and started making a couple more models now though. I also have a Mississippi Queen in the neck of my SG which sounds great.

MikeyT · July 11, 2011, 11:37:22 AM

So you think the Mississippi Queen pup sounds better than the Gibson pup, and/or maybe better than some other P-90's you've heard ?

Could you/would you describe how it sounds to you ?

Volume · July 11, 2011, 04:14:12 PM

Quote from: MikeyT on July 11, 2011, 11:37:22 AM

So you think the Mississippi Queen pup sounds better than the Gibson pup, and/or maybe better than some other P-90's you've heard ?

Could you/would you describe how it sounds to you ?

I suck at describing the tone, especially pickups. The Gibson pup was a humbucker so I can't say it sounds better, it's a different beast. I kinda regret it though, since I have a humbucker in the bridge (BKP Black Dog) I would have gotten more variation with a humbucker in the neck also or another Mississippi Queen in bridge. To me the Mississippi Queen is pretty trebly (not icepicky though) and it has that midrange growl that P90's have. Maybe a bit higher output than the Gibson P90 and the BKP P91, but still in "vintage output". All three definitely sound better than the P90's in my Reverend (not that they sound bad).

shibby · July 12, 2011, 05:08:05 AM

Quote from: Mike_Sims on July 05, 2011, 01:58:18 AM
Whichever P90's agile put in my AL-3000 I dig. Even more than my Gibson P90's in my SG. Just my taste though. I usually roll the tone knob down a bit to get a "big" sound with my setup.

yep. really like those stock p-90s in those Agiles.

MikeyT · July 20, 2011, 05:05:35 AM

Well, this is what I'm looking for.

Woody · July 20, 2011, 09:24:22 AM

Quote from: MikeyT on July 20, 2011, 05:05:35 AM

Well, this is what I'm looking for.

Aren't we all?