Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

[paspallum]

I recieved my set of Antiquity P-90's on Friday. Signed by Seymour himself.

I liked my stock Tokai 'P-90's' so much but I found they got a bit muddy when the drive was turned up... I was how-ever 'in Love' with the clean sound they had..... so I was a bit tentative about getting the Antiquitys.

But with all the praise people on this site had for Antiquities... and from the feedback I recieved from my posts...I thought that my guitar could only sound better with the AT's... it could only sound the 'same' as the stock korean made 'pop-out' pick-ups... the same... but more 'heavenly'...right?

Well the aged pole-pieces look amazing compared to the cheap looking chrome screws that were on the stock pick-ups... but soundwise....
sweeter? No.... harsher maybe...

I'm not saying they are total rubbish... the Antiquitys will get some sounds that the stock PUps would not... and I gotta admit the stock bridge unit did sound a bit thin and 'brittle' on it's own.... but I think my stock PUps overall have a 'sweet' tone that the Antiquitys don't match.

The Antiquitys are very bright... I wanted 'twangy' and bright but expected a certain smoothness, everyone said they sound so 'sweet' I suppose that 'sweetness' was what I was after.

The neck pickup on it's own does not sound anywhere near as good as the stock Korean one that came with the guitar... not for rythm or lead!

I know this is all relative to what one expects or what tone one desires... but I spent a lot of money to get my guitar sounding 30% worse in some ways... and at the best (on some differing amp settings) about 7% improvement.

I'd love to do a 'blind' test with two indentical guitars... one with the stock Toaki 'p-90s' and one with the DS Antiquitys... I reckon a lot of people would think the Tokais were the more expensive pickup.

The worse thing is that the Antiquitys 'squeal' in a high pitch manner when ever some drive is added to the amp... a totay un-musical squeal...

You can not get any harmonic feedback out of the guitar... it goes into this schreecing ear peircing sound before it will ever feedback in a nice way.

My old pickups you could put over the amp and 'ride' the harmonic feedback... I could even 'play' the feedback using my Bigsby to alter the pitch of the harmonics... not now...

I am considering putting the stockies back in.
But I might leave them in for a few months.. record a bunch of music and see if I don't get to like them?

So I'm not really all that impressed with the Antiquitys !
I can't say that I'm 'blown away'!

Paspallum

 

[JeffB]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

I find..regardless of manufacturer...I have to address the inherent tone of a particular guitar itself. What works for X guitar may sound horrid in guitar Y, no matter how much it costs or whose name is on it.

If they don't work for ya, pull 'em out. Duncan has an exchange policy. Personally I've been realm impressed with the Gibson P90s, but I'm not sure how they compare to the Duncans..I just know I've liked them in every guitar I've played that has 'em.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

A couple of notes: Are you sure those Tokai were really P-90's? Could be stacked uckers (Like Gibson P-100's). Also - you get used to things after a while. Give them some time...But stay within Semours exchange period! And as for Gibson P-90's, I have some P-100's. They work, but I wouldn't say they are all that. Sorry the SD's didn't work out - but it happens....

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

I went to all Duncan Custom P-90s on all my my P-90 guitars. The P-100 is a lame excuse of a pickup. I haven't tried the Antiquities- but I like the kick I get out of the Customs.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

Also, one thing that you didn't mention so I will.

Don't leave your amp settings or guitar settings the same. You changed out an integral part in your guitars tone. You need to put all your amp's EQ knobs to 12 o'clock and re-EQ your amp. After you get that done you should play with the pups height, and the polepieces height. It's a balancing it sound fuller with the pup's height closer to the string, it sound brighter or more harsh if the polepieces are just raised up and the pup isn't raised.

As I said you changed an intergral part of your tone and you can't expect all your old settings to sound fantastic with thes new pups. For example when I went from an A5 bridge mag to an A2 bridge mage I had to increase the treble and bass as well as roll off some mids.

Hope that helps!

Luke

 

[paspallum]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

Thanks guys...
Yeah I have already found that raising/lowering the height of the pickups and pole pieces changes the sound.... I might actually really get used to them.

Maybe though my old production pickups were 'voiced' for the particular model... see its an 'exact' copy of a '56 les Paul (to look at) EXCEPT it has an Alder Body (maple cap) and a maple neck (rosewood board)

And regarding what were my old p-90s' might actually be?? I had thought myself that they may have been a kind of P-100 copy? Hard to know.... as they are just Korean 'put-togethers'

Also regarding the 'exchange policy' I live in New Zealand... I bought the pickups through Elderly Instruments online from the U.S.... I don't think I'll be eligable for any exchange... I 've heard that even if you buy Seymour Duncans from a retail store here in N.Z. the exchange policy is not honoured... why? I don't know?


Paspallum

 

[twoheadedboy]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

Just a question. How many different sets of P-90s have you tried, and in which guitars? I'm not saying that you have bad ears, but you just might have gotten used to the sound of the cheap stock pickups without knowing what real P-90s sound like. Hey, look at it this way: If the stock pickups work for you, you can sell the antiquities and keep your money!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

I wonder if the pickups you replaced were hotter than vintage and maybe you just like hotter than vintage pickups? Nothing wrong with that if you do...I like at least my bridge P90 to be a little hotter than vintage. In any case, the Antiquitys are made to sound like 50 year old pickups...maybe that's not what you want.

 

[gripweed]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

I wonder if the pickups you replaced were hotter than vintage and maybe you just like hotter than vintage pickups? Nothing wrong with that if you do...I like at least my bridge P90 to be a little hotter than vintage. In any case, the Antiquitys are made to sound like 50 year old pickups...maybe that's not what you want.

True.

Give them a chance. If you don't like them after a short time, call Elderlys. I have done business with them a lot and they're very helpful.

 

[paspallum]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

Hey guys
Thanks for all the advice and opinions. All of it is valid and intersting.
Actually I spent a good part of this week playing the guitar and fine tuning the pickups heights and then playing along to drums in my recording studio.... guess what? I'm starting to like them...

See I play electric guitar a lot at home...alone... through my amp.
So in my frenzied and sometimes clouded mind I'm always trying to make a guitar sound similatneously like The KINKS, Pete Townsend, ACDC, Neil Young, Roger McGuinn, Brian Setzer, Johhny Ramone... etc ...etc AND I want it to sound like a drum kit and a bass...

Well not REALLY but what I'm saying is that I play a bit of guitar on it's own and wonder why it doesn't sound as good as a CD track?

The thing is.... guitar on a CD sounds so good because it is heard in context with a drummer and a singer and a bassplayer...

SO... this week when I played the guitar to drums... well the Antiquities sounded damm fine!

I will persevere!
Paspallum

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

SO... this week when I played the guitar to drums... well the Antiquities sounded damm fine!

Awesome

 

[flank]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

you will hear things differently from week to week.....when i first started changing out pickups, i was always disappointed cause i didnt get the immediate "holy crap" reaction....but now that my ears can hear better, i do appreciate the quality sound that Seymour Duncan pickups offer

 

[Weldon51]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

From one New Zealander to another, I feel for you. It can be very expensive paying for the intems and shipping in kiwi dollars.

I seriously considered getting Antiquities - they might be better sometimes, they might be worse.

Bear in mind that the wihntage tone, the authentic one, can often be thin, reedy and noisy. Listen to guitars on 50's and 60's recordings - not very sweet and creamy, eh?

FOr what it's worth I like the P-90s in my Godin - they sound sweeter and less raucous than the average p-90, but have plenty of output, and a bit of "bite - especially in the bridge.

I'm not sure if they are the p-90 Customs that Seymour Duncan sells or not.
Godin says they are "Custom p-90s" on their site, but when I emailed Godin, a guy wrote back and said they were "Custom wound for Godin, similar to Duncan Vintage P-90s, rather than custom"

Frankly, it's a hell of a thing - I would return them and try the SD custom and Vintage, in bridge and neck respectively, and see if that gets you closer to what you like.

Other options are to look at the am, preamp and pedal (s) yoou're using. You may find that getting an ada speaker simiulator, or a BBE , or a little EQ pedal, or a compresser set ever so slightly on, or replacing a 12AX7 tube with a 12 AT7 or 12AU7, may give you that sweetness you're looking for.

EMG and Dimarzio make some P-90 sized pickups that are actually humbuckers. the EMG 60 in the P-90 size will have a very flat, smooth frequency response, that might well be worth a shot in the dark.

Good Luck.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

FOr what it's worth I like the P-90s in my Godin - they sound sweeter and less raucous than the average p-90, but have plenty of output, and a bit of "bite - especially in the bridge.

I'm not sure if they are the p-90 Customs that Seymour Duncan sells or not.
Godin says they are "Custom p-90s" on their site, but when I emailed Godin, a guy wrote back and said they were "Custom wound for Godin, similar to Duncan Vintage P-90s, rather than custom"

Do you have an LG-P90? That's what I have and I asked Evan (VP who is an admin. here) what they are and he said they were SD customs. They do sound tasty don't they?

Luke

 

[twoheadedboy]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

It seems to me that the Vintage Soapbar Bridge pickup tends to be avoided. Nobody ever talks about using it, and I'm not sure why. People seem to either go with the hotter models or the Antiquities, when the Vintage Soapbar is probably the closest thing to being a traditional P-90. In any case, it's my favorite pickup.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

I'm pretty sure the Godin P90's are Hot Neck and Custom Bridge.

On the subject of pickups, tone is subjective.

 

[paspallum]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

Weldon51
Thanks for your post.
Sounds like your p-90's work well for you. Godin make VERY nice guitars.

Hey one thing is though... my Antiquity P-90's cost me $315 for the set (including $US 25 postage)

They cost me around $NZ 280 for the set before postage. Over here in a shop they are $NZ 270 each!!

So it is WAY cheaper buying from the States online.
Our dollar is awesomely good against the US dollar right now.

The main deciding factor on me going for the more expensive Antiquitys over a standard seymour Duncan.. was... thzat it only cost me $NZ 40 more to get a set of Antiquitys.... since you are payning for shipping anyway.

Remember over here you gotta pay an importer and a retailer.... you skip the importers mark-up when you buy direct online from the U.S.

The only bummer is that you can't do the 'duncan trade back' if you don't like you pickup choice... but the shops here don't honour that anyway!

Paspallum

 

[dgwallace]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

Hey guys
Thanks for all the advice and opinions. All of it is valid and intersting.
Actually I spent a good part of this week playing the guitar and fine tuning the pickups heights and then playing along to drums in my recording studio.... guess what? I'm starting to like them...

Paspallum

I've been playing P90 guitars for 30 years or more and have used lots of different brands/models in that time. As a rule P90s are quite sensitive to pickup height. For a Les Paul, start with 2.5mm on the bass, 2mm on the treble, bottom of string to top of pole with the strings fretted on the last fret and see how that goes; if they are too high you'll get harshness and loss of harmonics at higher volumes. Remember there's a big magnet in there! I normally have them down a tad lower than a similar output humbucker. They are pretty sensitive to mids on an amp as well, so try winding the mids back to 0 and gradually increasing them until you get sweetness without mush. I use a Vox which doesn't have a separate mid control - for a Gold Top or LP Junior I usually have the bass around 2 o'clock and the treble around 11. Don't use anything less than 10-46 strings either.

Regards, Dave.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

The P-100 is a lame excuse of a pickup.

It was so bad that they quit making them.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Antiquity P-90's NOT very Impressive!

I've been playing P90 guitars for 30 years or more and have used lots of different brands/models in that time. As a rule P90s are quite sensitive to pickup height. For a Les Paul, start with 2.5mm on the bass, 2mm on the treble, bottom of string to top of pole with the strings fretted on the last fret and see how that goes; if they are too high you'll get harshness and loss of harmonics at higher volumes. Remember there's a big magnet in there!

Make that TWO big magnets!