learn me on p90's!

brit84

Active member
if i decide to get what im looking at, i may wanna get some p90 pus for it. What would you suggest for a neck/bridge set? Id like something hotter then normal than can handle a good hard rock tone at the least. the neck im fine with anything lower.

what models are hum cancelling?

thanks!
 
Re: learn me on p90's!

P-100's are hum canceling but they honestly suck if you ask me. If you want the P-90 tone then you live with the hum.

Since they are always such a good raw rock pickup, I always bring up the analogy of a Harley Davidson. If you want a Harley your going to have to deal with a big noisey V-Twin motor. If you want something quiet like a inline 4, then you get a Honda, which still is a nice bike but its not going to be the same as going down the road with a v-twin roaring in your ears. If that makes any sense. Hopefully at least to fellow motorcycle owners anyways LOL

As far as P-90's go, the plain ol stock ones are awesome for the neck. Amazing tone and it cleans up oh so well but still cuts in the mix. Love it.

For the bridge I like the hotter ones as well, the Sp-902 is great. I've got a custom shop version of one wound the same as Mike Ness from Social D's. He started using them after hearing Neil Young. Townsend used them too in his SG. Nuff said for me.

They just sound big and open but with this aggressive snarling rawness you don't get from a humbucker.

Not ideal for metal but for anything straight ahead rock you can't miss
 
Re: learn me on p90's!

what models are hum cancelling?

Since they are always such a good raw rock pickup, I always bring up the analogy of a Harley Davidson. If you want a Harley your going to have to deal with a big noisey V-Twin motor. If you want something quiet like a inline 4, then you get a Honda, which still is a nice bike but its not going to be the same as going down the road with a v-twin roaring in your ears. If that makes any sense.

+1 on the Harley analogy! I like it.

You could get the set with one of them Reverse Wound Reverse Polarity (RWRP) so that the middle toggle position would be hum canceling (the middle position is really nice for clean sounds where hum might matter more than balls to the walls overdrive). Many manufacturers offer RWRP sets for their P90s.

If you're starting from scratch, it is nice to get the bridge pickup a bit hotter so that it balances better with the neck pickup--in my limited experience I've found that P90's really accentuate the difference between bridge and neck, so two equal pickups will sound totally different in volume level, thus it's best to get the bridge wound a bit hotter.

I have some Gibson P90's that came with a Historic Reissue Les Paul Special Double Cutaway, and they sound awesome (I have no desire to change them--QC and construction on this guitar is pretty much perfect, btw, so no Gibson bashing here). The bridge pickup is a tad weak, but I'm used to it and like it.

I also have Fralin P90's in an Epi Casino. They are quieter and well balanced compared to the stock gibsons in the Les Paul (...they do have the metal covers, so that might make a difference). This is a monster with heavy overdrive! I instantly want to play Mississippi Queen, if you know what I mean...
 
Last edited:
Back
Top