Gibson P90 mounting plate alternatives?

[RockinProf]

Hey kids,

I have a set of Mojotone noiseless P90’s. They’re pretty good,.. but definitely noisy. Well experience kicked in and I recall that with Noise cancelling tele pickups, magnetic bridge plates killed high frequencies and the noise cancelling properties. I tested and yes, the mounting plate Gibson uses is magnetic. Well, the original series Gibson SG special have a terrible pickup route leaving no wood under the P90 mounting screws- requiring a plate.

So I obviously need a new mounting plate, but, it’s something that will never be seen so I’m not going to invest a huge amount of time building a better mouse trap. Any thoughts on using pick guard stock? Would PVC hold threads against spring force? Would brass inserts on the PVC and CA locking the inserts be sufficient? Is PVC just a bad idea and maybe a copper plate? Any experience here? Thanks.

 

[freefrog]

Copper plates are a source of eddy currents and might alter the response of the sidewinder coils used in these Mojotone, AFAIK. I'd try some plastic bP first.

 

[RockinProf]

Copper plates are a source of eddy currents and might alter the response of the sidewinder coils used in these Mojotone, AFAIK. I'd try some plastic bP first.

Hey, good call. This morning I found a small sheet of 1/8” acrylic or polycarbonate I rough cut the portion of the mount I’d need, drilled and tapped the pickup screw holes. Apparently I’ve learned a few things…. The guitar now has all the high frequencies a P90 should have and it’s totally quiet. Mission accomplished. The plate seem strong enough to maintain the pressure on the screws.

 

[xxxplorer]

This has me wondering if the p-90 plates inhibit the sound of Gibson's regular P-90s?

 

[RockinProf]

This has me wondering if the p-90 plates inhibit the sound of Gibson's regular P-90s?

That wouldn’t shock me at all. At the same time, I have to wonder if in the case of true P90s, if the baseplate might “tune” P90s to what Gibson wants those pickups to sound. Ot maybe that some buyers find a P90 too harsh under gain… so there is high frequency attenuation. Or if we want to consider profit…. perhaps the custom shop models don’t have the plates for immediate audible difference at the store- the way Studio and Standard Les Pauls used to ship with 300K pots and Customs with 500K pots. Very good question though.

 

[freefrog]

This has me wondering if the p-90 plates inhibit the sound of Gibson's regular P-90s?

Eddy currents from the baseplate are usually subtle compared to those due to other components and aren't bad by themselves with regular coils*. Depending on the exact design of the pickup involved, they might affect differently coils perpendicular to the strings like in the Mojotone model aforementioned (or in the Fralin noiseless P90).

*A quote from Bill Lawrence about Foucault / eddy currents:
"I compare eddies with salt in a soup. One of the sweetest sounding Strats I ever played was a '65 Strat which had a .025" stamped sheet aluminum plate as shielding under the pickquard. No loss of highs at all, but the higher midrange was slightly reduced. I use eddy current interferences to fine-tune pickups, but interpreting the specs of a pickup is as complicated than reading an EKG!"
More here: https://www.wildepickups.com/pages/...2lVCP-kicCzZbx37QO8PW74VcFAk1KNNVYDe1rz8AEPkO

 

[xxxplorer]

Eddy currents from the baseplate are usually subtle compared to those due to other components and aren't bad by themselves with regular coils*. Depending on the exact design of the pickup involved, they might affect differently coils perpendicular to the strings like in the Mojotone model aforementioned (or in the Fralin noiseless P90).

*A quote from Bill Lawrence about Foucault / eddy currents:
"I compare eddies with salt in a soup. One of the sweetest sounding Strats I ever played was a '65 Strat which had a .025" stamped sheet aluminum plate as shielding under the pickquard. No loss of highs at all, but the higher midrange was slightly reduced. I use eddy current interferences to fine-tune pickups, but interpreting the specs of a pickup is as complicated than reading an EKG!"
More here: https://www.wildepickups.com/pages/...2lVCP-kicCzZbx37QO8PW74VcFAk1KNNVYDe1rz8AEPkO

Your insight is one of the reasons I come back here. Good way of putting it.

 

[jeremy]

great link, thanks!

 

[GilmourD]

Hey kids,

I have a set of Mojotone noiseless P90’s. They’re pretty good,.. but definitely noisy. Well experience kicked in and I recall that with Noise cancelling tele pickups, magnetic bridge plates killed high frequencies and the noise cancelling properties. I tested and yes, the mounting plate Gibson uses is magnetic. Well, the original series Gibson SG special have a terrible pickup route leaving no wood under the P90 mounting screws- requiring a plate.

So I obviously need a new mounting plate, but, it’s something that will never be seen so I’m not going to invest a huge amount of time building a better mouse trap. Any thoughts on using pick guard stock? Would PVC hold threads against spring force? Would brass inserts on the PVC and CA locking the inserts be sufficient? Is PVC just a bad idea and maybe a copper plate? Any experience here? Thanks.

Got a 3D printer?