Dogear P90s - tips

alex1fly

alex1fly

Well-known member
Got an Epi Casino with dogear P90s. Love the guitar acoustically (full hollowbody) but amplified it is pretty odd. Tons of attack, notes decay REALLY fast and sustain only lasts about 4 seconds on any given note or chord, and output-wise the pickups seem louder than my hottest guitars (PRS SE Custom, LP Studio). I don't really know what to do with it. Shim the pickups to get them closer? Replace them? It's just weird how the guitar rings out acoustically so well but then amplified its all attack and then the notes just die. If I replace them would I have to go with other dogears?
 
My Casino came with shims under the pickups. I had to put a nylon saddle bridge in to make it sound 'vintage', otherwise it rang like my Les Paul.

Which version of the Casino do you have? (There are a few differences; the tops are different for one)
 
I haven’t tried that particular version (looks great btw) but Casinos have been fairly overwound in recent years. A shim may only exacerbate the issue accentuating mids and increasing volume. It may be a matter of taste, of course.

Casinos are hard to replace pickups for since they are not even normal dogears.

Read this https://www.lollarguitars.com/dogear-and-casino-model-page

I bought the shims set from lollar to balance the pickups in a ES-330 Peerless copy I used to have. I bought some used underwound Gibson pickups coming from a 330 then used shims to balance them.

These are the shims. https://www.lollarguitars.com/accessories/shim-pack-for-dogear

I still have some of the thinner ones left that I’d be happy to send you if you are in the US. If you still want shims, that is.
 
I call this the ‚banjo sound‘. I think you need a steeper angle over the bridge. You can force it a bit and increase the break angle of the strings over the bridge with the neck straight as possible, a higher bridge setting and shimming the P 90s.
 
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Well I shimmed with some cable ties. And rolled through more amps and cabs on my Helix. I just, I dunno. The shims made it louder but the guitar is still just mostly attack and sounds like an acoustic. A Mark IV model on the Helix brought it closer to fat sweet territory on the neck but the bridge is still real plinky. Eh. I can still return it but am on the fence because unplugged it's great and that's mostly what I envisioned using it for.
 
Hmm, after that, if it were me, I'd start looking at things like heavier tuners, different bridge, maybe different nut, even changing the tailpiece to something heavier, or just putting a Vibramate plate where the tail connects to the body just to give it a more heavy anchor into the body? It's fully hollow, so it's always going to sound different than a solid body, but mine does sustain long, so I know it's possible.
 
beaubrummels said:
Hmm, after that, if it were me, I'd start looking at things like heavier tuners, different bridge, maybe different nut, even changing the tailpiece to something heavier, or just putting a Vibramate plate where the tail connects to the body just to give it a more heavy anchor into the body? It's fully hollow, so it's always going to sound different than a solid body, but mine does sustain long, so I know it's possible.
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I never had sustain issues with my hollows either but it’s not like a LP.

Do you think something like this would work? https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FatFingerG--fender-fatfinger-sustain-enhancer-for-guitar
 
Light trapeze tailpieces don't help sustain. And Casinos always feel a little plinky to me. Still, most of them sustain decently.
It may be that there's a dead piece of wood somewhere, possibly the neck. If so, there's no fix for bad wood.
 
Hmm I don't know. Can't fit a humbucker or soapbar in there either. I'm thinking this guitar is either an acoustic for the family room, destined for Nashville tuning, or going back to GC. Or maybe I'll spring for some upgraded pickups... it does sound really good unamplified, rings out great.

Are there any dogears that can give this guitar's bridge position a thicker, less plinky tone? Maybe voiced more like a humbucker?
 
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Blille said:
I never had sustain issues with my hollows either but it’s not like a LP.

Do you think something like this would work? https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FatFingerG--fender-fatfinger-sustain-enhancer-for-guitar
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Don't know. Casino is set neck fully hollow. Fenders are bolt-on solid. There was an old version of that in the 70s, I think made by the "Bad Ass" company. I only heard it once on a Tele and it made minimal change to my ear at the time. There was a more effective version that was a metal plate in the shape of the entire headstock and went on the back under the tuners. Those made more of a difference.
 
alex1fly said:
Hmm I don't know. Can't fit a humbucker or soapbar in there either. I'm thinking this guitar is either an acoustic for the family room, destined for Nashville tuning, or going back to GC. Or maybe I'll spring for some upgraded pickups... it does sound really good unamplified, rings out great.

Are there any dogears that can give this guitar's bridge position a thicker, less plinky tone? Maybe voiced more like a humbucker?
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The Custom Shop has a humbucker under a dog ear. https://customshop.seymourduncan.com/humbucker-under-p90-dog-ear/

Otherwise, I'd ask if they can fit a Custom P-90 or Hot P-90 (both ceramic 14-15k) under your original Casino cover. You'd have to send your pickup in for them to fit it.
 
My ES-330 is my favorite guitar and I really like its hollowbody and P90 sound. But it is not for everyone.

I would consider returning it and going for a semi with humbuckers if that’s the kind of tone you’re after.

If you had bought it used I would try harder to make it work. I think the pickups come with Alnico V magnets. If you want more mids you can try a 2 or 6 (or 8!).

Maybe also thicker strings?
 
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Yeah I'm probably also just not used to P90s. I had some in a PRS SE a while back and they were way different... sweet when needed, rocked when needed. These seem to have an identity crisis - woofy low end in the neck and huge volume in both like humbuckers but without the sustain, clinky like single coils but without the high end sparkle or picking hand sensitivity. In fact picking hand subtlety is non-existent - the front of note attack is huge regardless of what I do. Maybe I need to un-shim and LOWER the polepieces??
 
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Before you do anything else to it as far as changing things, give it a good setup. New strings, action, intonation, neck relief, nut slots, then pickup height. Check to make sure the string break off the bridge to the tailpiece is a good clean break and that the string is not touching the back of the bridge. Remove any shims you have (the zip ties) and leave it as-is while doing this. Get that all dialed in and see how it is plugged in then.
 
beaubrummels said:
The Custom Shop has a humbucker under a dog ear. https://customshop.seymourduncan.com/humbucker-under-p90-dog-ear/

Otherwise, I'd ask if they can fit a Custom P-90 or Hot P-90 (both ceramic 14-15k) under your original Casino cover. You'd have to send your pickup in for them to fit it.
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I'm looking to change the pickups in my recent (2022 model) Casino (https://www.epiphone.com/en-US/Electric-Guitar/EPI9WQ252/Worn-Blue-Denim), and found this thread.

My main complaint is I get a lot of hum in my playing space, no matter the amp, but I also just like the sound of humbuckers better than the P-90s that came in this. Otherwise it's absolutely my favorite guitar.

I'm thinking of either trying the new P-90 Silencers, or this custom humbucker setup that beaubrummels mentions here.

I'm not finding any independent reviews of the new Silencers.... they seem attractive since they'd be more "stock" and hopefully eliminate the buzz. I don't like the black or cream covers; the cream looks a little too dark for my eyes on this guitar. I guess I'd go black.

As to the humbucker option... I'm just overwhelmed by choice. Looks like you can choose whatever humbucker model you want built. it's also more expensive. Honestly not sure where to even start. How do I decide?
 
if it were me, id go silencers, but i like the sound of p90s. i assume the epiphone pups are the same size as gibson, but id double check just in case
 
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