Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

[eclecticsynergy]

Found an article about removing one of the bar mags from a P90, giving it a weaker and much narrower magnetic field.
It's said to reduce output significantly and increase clarity, resulting in a tone more like the classic Gretsch pickups.

https://www.award-session.com/pdfs/P90 Hidden Talents.pdf

I've got a Sentell bridge P90 in my drawer that I'd love to try in neck position on my LP Special. Still has plenty of lead but it's a strong wind, 9.9KΩ. Too hefty in terms of both output and tone to do well at the neck, I think. (Some noiseless P90 types read 10K but they have two coils - mine is a conventional single coil P90. Pretty hot and pretty midrangey.)

So that mod seems ideal for this situation.

Am wondering though, if it's useful and simple, why hadn't I ever heard of it? Especially now that low-output P90s are all the rage, you'd think it would be a popular mod. That article was the only reference I could find to this and I'm not fully confident it works as claimed. Maybe it's a closely guarded secret?

Just wondering if anyone here has tried this. And if so, what the results were.

I'd welcome comments & advice even from those who haven't.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Well, it depends what you mean by 'low output'. If you mean something like a vintage p90.......well there are plenty of these about anyhow, so no need to try and re-invent the wheel.
I too have never heard of anyone looking at their guitar they'd bought specifically for p90's, and saying 'well, I want to mod my vintage constructed pickup to get away from that iconic tone and something that it is not'

 

[zizyphus]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Actually yes, I did try this

I had a hum sized p90 in the middle position of a triple humbucker Les Paul, and I wanted something different than a third, rather redundant humbucker

The p90 I put in ended up sounding too muddy most of the time, which led me down a rabbit hole of magnet swaps and mods like this one.

It changed the tone a bit, but I wouldn't say it was huge. Less thick, less bottom heavy, less wooly, but still fundamentally similar

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

I have wanted to try that, but never have. A good P90 doesn't need to be screwed with...but I have this awful, muddy stock one in the neck of my Japanese Tele. I've considered pulling a magnet on that one, or swaps, rewinds, etc.

 

[freefrog]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Haven't we already discussed about it?

I vaguely recall a thread here, where we evoked this question...

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Well, it depends what you mean by 'low output'. If you mean something like a vintage p90.......well there are plenty of these about anyhow, so no need to try and re-invent the wheel.
I too have never heard of anyone looking at their guitar they'd bought specifically for p90's, and saying 'well, I want to mod my vintage constructed pickup to get away from that iconic tone and something that it is not'

All I meant is that for years there was a trend toward more robust winds, especially at the bridge. While today there seems to be a wider appreciation that the lighter classic P90 winds sound - and feel - great. Much the same way many rock players who formerly used overwound humbuckers now prefer a PAF type. Not saying vintage winds are a new thing. Just that they're seeing a wider popularity in the last decade or so.

My situation is that I have a spare P90 that's fairly strong, and I'd like to adapt it as best I can for use in neck position. My first thought was A3 mags, but then I happened across that article. So I thought it might be worth asking whether anyone here had tried it.

Not everybody who buys a guitar to have P90s - particularly if it's an inexpensive import - can count on having pickups on a par with the vintage classics. Many have replaced them. Some might want to mod them instead, especially those on a tight budget.

I do agree, though, that the cheapest P90s come much closer to iconic tone than the cheapest humbuckers do. Something about the design refuses to be diluted - it seems to impart a bit of that P90 attitude and personality into even the lowest-budget versions.

Myself, I have five guitars with P90s in neck position. I wouldn't mind something a bit different for this one, especially since a previous owner installed a minihum at the bridge years ago. It's not as if it's a purebred. But I'd like to use the pickup I already have.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Haven't we already discussed about it?

I vaguely recall a thread here, where we evoked this question...

I thought there was a thread about this too. But it didn't turn up in a couple of casual searches.

I did find a recent a thread about it on another forum; two players over there have tried it and their answers were similar:
Lighter in the bass, slightly lower output, more open/less compressed feel, but not a big difference in overall tone character.

 

[freefrog]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

I thought there was a thread about this too. But it didn't turn up in a couple of casual searches.

Here it is, FWIW.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?309735-P90-single-mag-narrowfield-mod

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Here it is, FWIW.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?309735-P90-single-mag-narrowfield-mod

Ah, thanks.I knew I'd asked about it before but that was more than four years ago and I'd forgotten that I called it a narrowfield mod.
I still think I'll try it with the 9.9K Sentell. The only decision is whether to swap the remaining magnet.
The pickup is powerful; I'm still thinking maybe A3.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Removing a magnet won’t increase clarity. It might soften the top end.

The vintage P-90s, like the ones I had in my mid 60s ES-330TD weren’t wound as hot as the 70s P-90s like in the SGs. They were around 8k.

The extra wire is why you lack clarity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

Removing a magnet won’t increase clarity. It might soften the top end.

The vintage P-90s, like the ones I had in my mid 60s ES-330TD weren’t wound as hot as the 70s P-90s like in the SGs. They were around 8k.

The extra wire is why you lack clarity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Would it be very hard to take some wire off?
How many turns off to bring a 9.9K P90 down to about 8K?