P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

TwilightOdyssey

TwilightOdyssey

Darkness on the edge of Tone
My friend, Phil, who has many, many vintage guitars, has been trying to get me to play Les Pauls and other stuff I normally would never play, for a while now.

The R30 DVD had me intrigued over the MASSIVE sound that Alex Lifeson got out of his P-90 loaded SG ... and so Phil told me 'you have to try a P-90 loaded guitar. It's great for heavy stuff.'

He brought 2 guitars to my office this week: Both are 1960 Les Paul Jr's. One guitar has a Bare Knuckle Pig 90 and the other has an original 1960 P-90 in it.

THESE GUITARS SOUNDED AMAZING. The snarl you get from them is STAGGERING!!! There is a nasty, grindy thing going on that just screams attitude. Instantly, I was reminded of classic Sabbath, vintage Priest, old Foreigner, and other heavy bands from the early to mid 70s.

So, now I'm looking into P-90 equipped guitars, particularily the Godin LG-P90, which comes loaded with two SD P-90s. Besides the SG Classic, Les Paul Jr, and the Godin, are there any other guitars you'd recommend in the $500-700 range?

LPJr1.jpg


LPJr2.jpg




OBSERVATION QUIZ: How many guitar/metal objects can you see on the walls behind me?
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

R those refins???

L.P. jr's are hella expensive now. Just a few years ago they weren't half what thy're goin' for now. Pisses me off for not pickin' one up then. I've always wanted one.
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

Schecter has the C-1 model loaded with P90's and a one piece bridge now ;).
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
Schecter has the C-1 model loaded with P90's and a one piece bridge now ;).
Click to expand...
Didn't see it on their website. Specific model number??
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

The PRS SE series is built VERY well for the money...they have a solid mahogany body or one with a maple top (both of which are less than $600). They have the same (wide fat) neck that a "real" PRS has (that might or might not be a good thing for you) they do have decent hardware and even the PRS P-90's aren't bad...to be honest most of the ones I have played didn't even need any fret work...killer value guitars.
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

I'll take P90's over ho-hum no-hum anyday...there is nothing quite like a late 50's/early 60's P90 for pure snarl one minute and then beautiful, fat clean tones the next. Among twelve (at last count) other P90 guitars, I have one of the PRS Soapbar II models I bought for the road and its OK for the dough, but the pu's seem a little too bright for my tastes...changing the magnets out to shorter A5's helped a lot.
 
Last edited:
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

I must applaude you for the R30 reference. Great DVD. Lifeson is a great guitarist, and The Seeker was definitly a good song.

As to P90 guitars, my friend has a Les Paul Jr., and I love the feel of it. Not as chunky of a neck, and it makes a great sound for any occasion. I'm seriously considering the SG Classic, except for it being so neck heavy.
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

usa hamer special !! great guitars and you can get them in that price range.
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

TwilightOdyssey said:
OBSERVATION QUIZ: How many guitar/metal objects can you see on the walls behind me?
Click to expand...


Well, it looks like you picked the wrong week to quit sniffing white-out.
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

P-100s are stacked humbucking P-90s.

If you're looking for a humbucker in a P-90 sized hole, they're fine. But the big tradeoff is in the dynamics of the pickup. The 'hot' Duncan Customs I have are more responsive than a stock P-100. See my sig.
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

weezer used ric ocasic's 1960 les paul jr with p-90's to record the blue album, stilll in my top 3 favorite guitar tones of all time...
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

I want a PRS McCarty Custom P-90 in black......not a priority, but I still want one. For awhile, I had a mid 90's Gem Series Les Paul Studio, and it sounded monsterous through a good amp. It really woke me up about P-90's.

Listen to sample #4 on this Komet amp page. It's a rendition of Mountain's Mississippi Queen, which is a defining band for the P-90 sound. The lead AND rhythm tone sound great!
http://www.kometamps.com/sounds.html
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

definitely get a used USA Hamer special...early-mid 90's...you can usually pick one of those up for around $500 bucks. they are on my wish list and always will be until i get one!

92_Hamer_Special.jpg
 
Re: P-90s ... whoa! (Les Paul Content)

My god, has hell freezen over?! ;)

I NEVER thought I'd see a pic of you playing any sort of Les Paul style guitar mate!

The only P90 guitar that I've got much experience with is a mid 90s Gibson LP Jr Special (I think that's the model). From what I remember it was a nice guitar :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Aceman
My Les Paul Style Pickup roster
2
Replies
28
Views
1K
jeremy
jeremy
B
P-Rails and Tonewoods
Replies
12
Views
921
Mincer
Mincer
C
P-90 Pickups Classic/Hard Rock Gibson LP Special P-100
2
Replies
20
Views
804
jeremy
jeremy
Rex_Rocker
Tone Zone in a Les Paul?
Replies
13
Views
657
Rex_Rocker
Rex_Rocker
weepingminotaur
JB in my Les Paul is the bomb
Replies
16
Views
972
Rex_Rocker
Rex_Rocker
Back
Top