How come P90 pickups aren’t as popular as Fender style single coils and humbuckers?
- Thread starter Wayne27
- Start date
hamerfan
Well-known member
Don‘t understand me wrong, they are not meat nor fish for most peaple. I love p90s and have vintage pair (53 and 65), but they don‘t growl like humbuckers and they don‘t cut like singles. Its a pity to see (on the Les Paul forums) people boasting that they converted a reasonable 54 to 59 specs. I never played a better guitar than a 55 V-necked Les Paul with original P90s.
Blille
New member
How come P90 pickups aren’t as popular as Fender style single coils and humbuckers?
I think it’s because a lot more music has been written with the others so folks have those tones as reference. I’m a Grant Green fan so I got an ES330 (with P90s) for his earlier tone.
Back in the day, the humbucker was seen as an advancement over the P90 and pro musicians were thrilled to have less hum in their signal. A good example of this is Herb Ellis. Not sure why the strat/tele singles stayed popular maybe folks saw the tone as distinct enough from HB and worth the noise pain.
I think it’s because a lot more music has been written with the others so folks have those tones as reference. I’m a Grant Green fan so I got an ES330 (with P90s) for his earlier tone.
Back in the day, the humbucker was seen as an advancement over the P90 and pro musicians were thrilled to have less hum in their signal. A good example of this is Herb Ellis. Not sure why the strat/tele singles stayed popular maybe folks saw the tone as distinct enough from HB and worth the noise pain.
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Teleplayer
Active member
Humbuckers are more versatile and are better suited high levels of gain. P90s sound best with relatively clean amp settings IMO. The overdrive tone is often described as creamy sounding. It is distinctive, but can be a bit restrictive as well. Then there is the hum and noise pickup with P90s. So they do some things that are unique, but also have some limitations.
i think its mostly cause there are more guitars sold with buckers and strat style singles and that is due to the "classic" nature of those guitars. gibson went to the humbucker and ran with it starting in '57. sure they sell some p90 guitars but waaay more bucker loaded ones
The P-90 is as unique and different from a humbucker as a Strat or Tele type single coil. They all have different properties. Some players like the single coil sound and some like the humbucker sound. Discriminating players like the P-90 sound, but these days there are few really discriminating players. Most players use guitars with humbuckers because those are the most available and beginners don't know any better so they play what's available. I'm not saying that very good players don't select humbuckers, some do. There are a lot of very good humbucker pickups available. It all comes down to choice and personal preference.
I don't think that the hum issue is involved at all in the choice of pups. It's a matter of the sound that you're looking for. Plus, all of the P-90s that I have (a couple dozen by at least 6 different brands) don't hum any more than a humbucker. I USUALLY prefer P-90s in my guitars because of the tone (kinda like a mini-hum but with more growl). But a lot of my guitars have humbucker pups too
I don't think that the hum issue is involved at all in the choice of pups. It's a matter of the sound that you're looking for. Plus, all of the P-90s that I have (a couple dozen by at least 6 different brands) don't hum any more than a humbucker. I USUALLY prefer P-90s in my guitars because of the tone (kinda like a mini-hum but with more growl). But a lot of my guitars have humbucker pups too
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Because EVH put a PAF in the bridge, not a P90.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
I notice a pretty fair amount of P90 players out there on a regular basis. I think you notice what you have more often. If you drive a Prius, all you see are Priuses on the road.
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
Simplest explanation would be routing. The majority of guitars (95%+ probably) made are routed for a humbucker or a single coil. Very few people want to re-route a guitar they already have . . . so that limits the upgrade market for P90s. The fewer people that use them, the less demand for new guitars with them. It's a vicious cycle.
FWIW, I'm a fan of P90 routes . . . because then you can swap a firebird pickup in there with a mounting ring!
FWIW, I'm a fan of P90 routes . . . because then you can swap a firebird pickup in there with a mounting ring!
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
I find that you can get REALLY close to the minihumbucker sound by rolling back the tone on a firebird pickup, but you can't get a firebird sound out of a minhum . . . so tend to prefer the firebird ones.
uOpt
Something Cool
But there is the annoyance of soapbar versus dog-ear, and different sizes soapbars...
With humbuckers you deal with leg length but not much more.
eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
It's primarily the hum, I think. They're heavier winds than most Fender singles so the noise is significant.
And they don't have the sparkle of a narrower single (or as mentioned above, the bite of a Firebird rail pickup).
For decades, P90s were considered sort of obsolete and inferior to humbuckers.
As rigs evolved and gain levels increased exponentially, noise became an even more critical issue.
With more flavors of humbucker available, even longtime P90 fans like Leslie West switched away from them.
At the same time, they began to see renewed interest precisely because they have a different sound of their own.
Some love having fast singlecoil attack in something fatter and a tad smoother than traditional Strat or Tele singlecoils.
Other pickup types in that middle ground have seen a big resurgence in the 21st century too.
Overwound Strat pickups have become hugely popular, especially for bridge position. (Understandably, IMO.)
Minihums are making a comeback among rockers, and Jazzmasters are becoming more popular too.
Today, more players relish a sound that isn't quite so mainstream as a straight humbucker or a Strat pickup.
I love P90 tone myself, despite the noise issue. Particularly in neck position, paired with a humbucker or Tele bridge pickup.
Still, there's nothing quite like the bark & growl of a good P90 in bridge position. Wonderful and vintagey.
It also seems as if these days more and more people are hip to the fact that hotter isn't always better.
Especially relevant to P90s because of the noise factor.
Noiseless versions are continuing to evolve, too: I have a pretty good set of noiseless P90s that Kent Armstrong made.
They're 90% there - recognizably P90 tone, just a tad more polite than the real thing.
Recently learned that hum-sized P90s are better-shielded than traditional ones; for me that makes them well worth trying.
And they don't have the sparkle of a narrower single (or as mentioned above, the bite of a Firebird rail pickup).
For decades, P90s were considered sort of obsolete and inferior to humbuckers.
As rigs evolved and gain levels increased exponentially, noise became an even more critical issue.
With more flavors of humbucker available, even longtime P90 fans like Leslie West switched away from them.
At the same time, they began to see renewed interest precisely because they have a different sound of their own.
Some love having fast singlecoil attack in something fatter and a tad smoother than traditional Strat or Tele singlecoils.
Other pickup types in that middle ground have seen a big resurgence in the 21st century too.
Overwound Strat pickups have become hugely popular, especially for bridge position. (Understandably, IMO.)
Minihums are making a comeback among rockers, and Jazzmasters are becoming more popular too.
Today, more players relish a sound that isn't quite so mainstream as a straight humbucker or a Strat pickup.
I love P90 tone myself, despite the noise issue. Particularly in neck position, paired with a humbucker or Tele bridge pickup.
Still, there's nothing quite like the bark & growl of a good P90 in bridge position. Wonderful and vintagey.
It also seems as if these days more and more people are hip to the fact that hotter isn't always better.
Especially relevant to P90s because of the noise factor.
Noiseless versions are continuing to evolve, too: I have a pretty good set of noiseless P90s that Kent Armstrong made.
They're 90% there - recognizably P90 tone, just a tad more polite than the real thing.
Recently learned that hum-sized P90s are better-shielded than traditional ones; for me that makes them well worth trying.
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Also SGs.
