P90s - best in the neck, bridge, or both?

[alex1fly]

P90s have been on my mind lately after I put my trusty, beat-up Dimarzio Virtual P90 in the neck position of this Santana SE and instantly started channeling my inner blues/rock guitar god (ha!). And it's been discussed a bit lately, with a general consensus that P90s are indeed beasts in the neck position.

So are they equally beloved in the bridge position? Do two P90s make a solid musical set of pickups? Or is P90 neck/humbucker bridge combo a better way to go?

 

[beaubrummels]

Yes.
Yes.
Depends. IME really good P90s sound very similar to really good vintage PAFs. So if that is the goal, I would consider P90s almost interchangeable, though they are single coil so noise is a factor. This might be a strange comment, but Duncan Phat Cats are probably the best PAF sound I've ever gotten out of my Les Paul, but they were noisy in my rig and the output levels were too hot in the neck and not hot enough in the bridge.

 

[Clint 55]

P90s sound pretty bad ass in the bridge imo. I'd say it still comes down to ur preference or application tho. Either set up sounds great. More of a rootsy sound with all p90s and a single coil in the bridge sounds more spikey. Hum in the bridge is a lil more rock and you can hear the different sound with 2 coils.

 

[Aceman]

P-90 bridge is for RAWK

P-90 Neck in for Rock.

 

[Mincer]

If you like the P90 sound, they sound great anywhere. I know people that tried putting one in the neck or the bridge, and eventually end up with both.

 

[pskorz]

If I only had one guitar, I'd do hum bridge, p90 neck. I have only one guitar with dual p90's, and the bridge p90 is definitely a cool sound. Old Mountain, Johnny Thunders, Dave Colwell-era Bad Company. Killer sounds.
I'd be curious how the two blend together in the middle position.... I bet it's nice.

 

[AlexR]

Well, obviously the Virtual p90 is in essence a humbucker. So you really will need to buy a 'real p90' to see what the fuss is about.

 

[Bogner]

It really does come down to liking the sound and vibe of a P90. I have guitars with all P90's and enjoy them and I also have a Krautster that is a humbucker bridge and P90 neck and I really like that option as well. Everybody needs a P90 guitar of some sort IMO.

 

[ErikH]

I like P90’s in both positions. Used to have a SG Classic with them that was just amazing. Now I have a SG Jr I made with a dog ear and in the process of building a Les Paul Jr DC with a dog ear.

 

[alex1fly]

P-90 bridge is for RAWK

P-90 Neck in for Rock.

This is quite possibly signature-worthy.

Now to decide which bridge pup to match it with. My gut says another Virtual P90 to make it a set and see what that's like, but there's so many options out there. Even Dimarzio has added a couple of soapbars since I last delved into this world.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz II]

I might be the odd one here, but in the perfect world, i would go with :

P90 [bridge] / humbucker [neck] . . . just the opposite of the Gibson BGF LP lay out.

. . . or, P90 [bridge] / P90 [neck].