Les Paul with p90...opinions needed

[guipaes]

Hi,

I have an Gibson Les Paul GEM, 96. I've always thought that gibson was the "tone" for p90.

I'm happy with the tone, but, in a certain way, I think it could be better...

I've traded pots and capacitors, using paper in oil with .22 in both positions...

BUT...I think, even the tone being good, i could have a better tone from such a good guitar, with so much wood and top notch construction...

I'm considering changing the pickups, at first I would go straight into LOLLARS direction...but, I've been reading various opinions of people saying that, despite being great, the lollars p90 are more of a modern sounding...so...that's not what i'm after...I want a raw, crude, vintage, fat sounding p90...

The Gibson, despite being really agressive and raw, sound a bit thin in the bridge, and really mushed in the neck...they don't have that "quack" that good pickups have...

I'm considering Fralins, cause they get so many good reviews, but I'm thinking in Seymour Duncan Antiquity too, the SD's are the only ones with ALNICO II, that the original p90's used...they tend to be more warm...

Anyone have an opinion to share ?

The tone I'm after is something like that...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko8fvcZDoNs

Of course, the amp, the player, and the mojo of this guitar are in another level...but can i get close with some new pickups ?

The main characteristics i'm missing in my pickups are the "quacking" of the pick in the string, and some definition with the overdrive...specially in the neck...

Thanks guys...

 

[blueman335]

Re: Les Paul with p90...opinions needed

Experienced guys, forgive me, but I need to cover this stuff with a newbie:
My motto is "work with what you have" as buying new PU's is expensive, and often a crap shoot. Many guys end up several hundred dollars poorer and still don't have the sound they want. The biggest 'challenge' with PU's is their interaction with the wood. No two pieces of wood are identical (grain, denisty, mineral content, water content, etc), so the same PU usually sounds different one guitar to the next. While you can quantify a PU's characteristics, you can't do that with wood, only to say that mahogany is usually warm, maple is usually bright, but there's many variations within those.

I've taken a new interest in P-90's and HB-sized P-90's in the past year, after I discovered how much magnets can change their sound. In a HB, you have one magnet & two coils, a ratio of a 1/2 magnet per coil. In a P-90 you have 2 magnets per coil, so they have a much bigger impact on the tone, and far more than pots & caps.

Being a single coil, P-90's have a broad EQ spectrum and don't have the strong midrange focus of a HB. That means a bridge P-90 will often be bright and sometimes thin-sounding. I like to use a pair of warm magnets, an A8/A4 in the bridge, which gives high output, full mids, a firm low-end, and leaves enough treble to cut thru. I get a raw, full, powerful sound this way, and it's not drowned out by the neck. There are other magnet combinations you can use too. I use 250K pots on the bridge, especially with P-90's.

Gibson uses A5's in their HB's, which are high output and have a scooped EQ, with strong treble & bass. All this bass may be too much for your particular wood; it may not be the PU's fault at all. You may want to tone down the bass a little with an A3 and/or A4. A3's are a low output magnet and are fairly bright, this gives you brightness without the heavy of low end. A4's have a balanced EQ, so bass isn't so prominent, and either are the highs. By combining different magnets, you can get many different EQ blends, to fit your wood. Does you LP have 300K or 500K pots? It should have 500K's on the neck, to give better definition and avoid muddiness.

P-90's use the same magnets as HB's, and you can get them at Wymore Guitars.com; most are $5 each. We're here to help.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Les Paul with p90...opinions needed

Welcom to the forum . . .


. . . and listen to this guy - Blueman335, KNOWS what he is talking about !


Cheers
James

 

[uOpt]

Re: Les Paul with p90...opinions needed

The Gibson soapbars as put into R4/R6s are just very warm and round.

The regular Seymour Duncan P90s (not even the Ants) are much more rude and unruly. I liked the Gibsons better but it sounds it like be the other way round for you.

Another property of the Gibsons that I like and you probably don't like is that they don't have neck and bridge versions, they have about the same D/C resistance. Obviously you need a little more kick in the bridge.

I didn't own Antiquity Soapbars yet but I imagine they are your best bet, but make sure the bridge one is fat enough.

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Les Paul with p90...opinions needed

:scratchch

i didn't know they made soapbar-routed gems? cool guitar