Need P90 neck pickup recommendation please

[Lend27]

I have a Guild T-50 Slim, which is similar to a Gibson ES-125T.
It only has one Dogear P90 pickup in the neck position. It is normally a Jazz guitar, hence the pickup is a little dark. Sounds muddy to me.
I am looking to liven it up with a new pickup and have always been happy with Antiquities.
The current pickup is a Franz P90 with Alnico 5 magnet wound to 6.90k resistance.
Do you guys think an Antiquity neck dogear P90 would give me the sound I am looking for?
I also have an Epiphone Casino and love the sound of that neck pickup. Both are hollow body guitars.
I am looking for a brighter sound with a bit more bite and finger dynamics.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!
Len

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Need P90 neck pickup recommendation please

The SD Antiquity dogear P90 is a nice pickup but the Alnico 2 magnets might leave it sounding just as "dark/muddy" as your stock pickup.

Since I have no compunction about suggesting magnet swapping for the Duncan pickup, it is only reasonable to suggest it for the stock pickup. blueman335 will be along soon enough with a raft of magnet combination suggestions.

On my own guitars, in the neck/Rhythm position, I am mostly using Gibson P90s. One guitar has a Lindy Fralin +10% overwound model.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Need P90 neck pickup recommendation please

Did I hear someone mention my name? I started my P-90 mag swapping experiments when I was disappointed in how both the bridge and neck of Phat Cats sounded. For me, A2's are the worst choice for magnets in a P-90. I've tried a number of combinations. There's no reason on earth for them to be the same kind of magnet. P-90's each have 2 magnets in them laying side-by-side, repelling. In standard P-90's, the coil is attached to the baseplate by 2 screws. Loosen those and gently push/slide out one mag halfway; hold the new magnet against it so the ends repel and sides attract; that's the orientation. Slide the old mag out all the way and push the new one in; tighten the screws. Just be careful not to push or cut any of the wires. The whole process only takes a few minutes, including the time spent loosening and tightening strings. A child can change out a magnet.

While A5's have a sharp high end, they have a lot of bass, and that could be where the muddiness (or boominess) comes in. I have A5/A4 magnet pairs in most of my neck P-90's as that thickens up the midrange and moderates the low end. Another solution is using an A3 for the highs, which is relatively bright, but with a softer high end. That could be paired with an A5, A4, UOA5, or another A3. By mixing different magnets, you can fine tune the tones and EQ's you want, much more precisely than with an HB, which only has one magnet.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Need P90 neck pickup recommendation please

Did I hear someone mention my name?

Well, credit where it is due. More importantly, I'm too lazy to type all of those words that you just did.

 

[Lend27]

Re: Need P90 neck pickup recommendation please

Did I hear someone mention my name? I started my P-90 mag swapping experiments when I was disappointed in how both the bridge and neck of Phat Cats sounded. For me, A2's are the worst choice for magnets in a P-90. I've tried a number of combinations. There's no reason on earth for them to be the same kind of magnet. P-90's each have 2 magnets in them laying side-by-side, repelling. In standard P-90's, the coil is attached to the baseplate by 2 screws. Loosen those and gently push/slide out one mag halfway; hold the new magnet against it so the ends repel and sides attract; that's the orientation. Slide the old mag out all the way and push the new one in; tighten the screws. Just be careful not to push or cut any of the wires. The whole process only takes a few minutes, including the time spent loosening and tightening strings. A child can change out a magnet.

While A5's have a sharp high end, they have a lot of bass, and that could be where the muddiness (or boominess) comes in. I have A5/A4 magnet pairs in most of my neck P-90's as that thickens up the midrange and moderates the low end. Another solution is using an A3 for the highs, which is relatively bright, but with a softer high end. That could be paired with an A5, A4, UOA5, or another A3. By mixing different magnets, you can fine tune the tones and EQ's you want, much more precisely than with an HB, which only has one magnet.

Thanks for the magnet education! Much appreciated.
I think I have enough info to make an educated decision!
Thanks again!
Len