Re: Godin LG P-90 Upgrade
Initially it can seem a little overwhelming, but nothing we do takes a brain surgeon. It's all low tech, with no previous experience required.
The windings on a PU have a huge impact on tone and output. Different gauges are used, and they're wound on coils in various degrees of uniformity or scatter wound. When you add a magnet, any metal object moving in the magnetic field generates a slight current in the coil of wire. That's your tone. Change the windings, wire, or magnet, and the tone changes.
HB's have 2 coils and 1 magnet; P-90's have 1 coil and 2 magnets, so the influence of magnets is greater in a P-90 (although windings are still important). These are the common magnets used in electric guitars:
A2 - warm, lots of mids, rounded high end, lots of dynamics, low end can be loose, low output
A3 - like an A2 but with more treble and less midrange
A4 - has a balanced EQ, medium output
A5 - ample treble and low end, scooped mids; tight low end, high output
A8 - warm and powerful, with ample mids and moderate treble, high output
Ceramic - very high output, some feel they're stiff and sterile sounding, but are good with high gain.
Most magnets are polished and shiny, which gives them a slightly sharper high-end sound. Roughcast (sand cast) magnets have a smoother high-end.
Duncan has HB's that are the same PU with just the magnet changed: Custom Custom (A2), Custom 5 (A5), and Custom (ceramic). On the forum, we take it a step further and have created two more PU's in the Custom family, the C8 and C4. The C8 is becoming the most popular of the Custom family on this forum, and it's not even a production model.
Likewise the JB is Duncan's best-known PU, which is also made with a ceramic (Duncan Distortion). And again, some of us modify those with an A2 (JB2) and A8 (JB8). You create a 'new' PU by simply changing the magnet. We do it all the time.
It really gets interesting with P-90's, as they have twin magnets, and they don't have to be two of the same kind. In the past couple years, some of us have done a lot of experimenting with this. You can dial in your tones more precisely with two magnets; it's like blending colors of paint, so you go beyond the primary colors and make new hues.
Here's what I've done with P-90 magnets:
Bridge - warmth and fullness are the priorities
A8/A8 - high output, warm and full, still enough treble to cut thru
A8/A4 - warm and full, with a bit less treble
A8/A5 - slightly more treble than the above pairs
A4/A4 - like an A8 pair, but with less output and a bit less mids; Fralin uses A4's in his P-90's
Neck - treble and definition are the priorities
A5/A5 - the classic Gibson P-90 pairing, bright and clear, good for dark woods
A5/A4 - a little less treble, and more mids
A5/A3 - bright with less output than twin A5's; can even be 'chimey' in some guitars, good for whan you want to back off the output a little
A5/A2 - warm and full, good for bright woods
In my HB's and P-90's, I use polished (smooth) magents in neck PU's for the sharper tone and better definition, and roughcast in the bridge to take off any harshness. Of course, this is a matter of taste. There's many options in the various models of P-90's, and many more in their magnets. I get great tones from mine, as do many others here. You can too.
Let me know how I can help.
