P90s that chord like a humbucker

WoodyTone

WoodyTone

New member
I love the tones I get from the P90s I have -- believe it or not, stock Epis. May be more accurate to say I love P90s in general -- fat, snarly, clear (you know) -- except for one thing: When I hit big chords, the notes don't "blend" (a little) and sustain like with a humbucker. Is there a pickup, or mag combination, that can give the best of both worlds? I'm looking for a P90-sized pickup, not the Seymour pickup that switches from hum to P90 and back.
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

What kind of mags do the stock epis have?

Wait for Blueman, he knows his p90s and can give some advice.
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

I think that A2 magnets, if you don't have them already, will help here.

Also try rolling down the tone pot a little.
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

if you want more of that "blend", switching one of the two a5 magnets in one of the pickups for an a2 or a3 will get you some of that fatness. i don't have experience with those p-90s, but my favorite setup for phat cats was a5/a4 in the neck and a2/a8 in the bridge in my SG, it's big and clear in the neck with lots of thickness in all the right frequencies and fat 'n' punchy in the bridge, with a good amount of bite to it.
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

Got_tone? said:
What kind of mags do the stock epis have?
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I checked a couple Epi catalogs & they didn't list magnet types (of course). I'm thinking A5, either because I saw it somewhere, or because Epi seems to use A5's and ceramics in everything. They like those high output mags.

Whatever you want tonewise from a P-90, mag swaps are the first thing to try. You know that they have two magnets, right. If it has A5's, I'd try putting an A4 or A2 in one side to fatten them up a bit for chords.

I swapped out the stock PU's for a pair of Duncans in my Casino, and they were a big improvement in clarity. One of the Duncans has ceramic magnets, which I thought was a crazy idea, but it really sounds good; I was initially convinced that I needed to put in alnicos, but I don't need to. The Epi dog ear covers don't fit Duncans right, which caused problems; if I did it again, I'd buy a new set of chrome or nickel covers.
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

WoodyTone said:
I love the tones I get from the P90s I have -- believe it or not, stock Epis. May be more accurate to say I love P90s in general -- fat, snarly, clear (you know) -- except for one thing: When I hit big chords, the notes don't "blend" (a little) and sustain like with a humbucker. Is there a pickup, or mag combination, that can give the best of both worlds? I'm looking for a P90-sized pickup, not the Seymour pickup that switches from hum to P90 and back.
Click to expand...

I been thinking about a p90 my self you have the goldtop? we need pics! lol If I get one, maybe the gibson pups or seymours.
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

I would bet A5s as well, though I have not checked. So a different mag will make that much of a difference here? I thought it was an output or winding issue specific to a P90. And did I read somewhere that P90 mags are a different size than hbucker mags?
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

WoodyTone said:
I would bet A5s as well, though I have not checked. So a different mag will make that much of a difference here? I thought it was an output or winding issue specific to a P90. And did I read somewhere that P90 mags are a different size than hbucker mags?
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HB's & P-90's use the same mags, which only makes sense; not point in them not being compatible & running up manufacturing costs. With a HB, you have a ratio of a half magnet per coil. With a P-90, you have 2 magnets per coil. The windings are still important on a P-90, but it has 4 times as much magnet influence. That means mag swapping, while until recently was rarely done in P-90's, is becoming popular. You can do so much more with it. You can pair two different magnets & blend EQ's and output (things a HB can only dream of). On the bridge slot, which magnet is closest to the bridge will impact the tone. Lots of ways to tweak these.

Also, while upgrading to American-made PU's will improve the tone, with P-90's you can do more with magnets to change the sound of stock Asian PU's. With a (cheap) stock Asian HB, the best thing you can do is scrape off most of the wax they're buried in, and a mag swap won't do much for them. In other words, with a cheap HB, there's more ways for the manufacturer to screw them up, because they're much more dependent on coils & windings. So you just may have decent stock Epi P-90's, and trying a replacement mag or two may get you what you want (whereas that's very unlikely with an Asian HB). Like uOPt said, an A2 in there may fatten them up & give more body and string definition. I like an A5/A2 pair in a neck P-90 myself. Try it.
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

The other guitarist in my band has a Wildkat Epi. The guitar's not bad at all, but with those metal-covered dogear P-90s sounds like ass. Muddy and lifeless in the neck and like a coughing old man in the bridge.

I was thinking about changing the covers with plastic ones... would they make a difference or am I just fooling myself?
 
Re: P90s that chord like a humbucker

LtKojak said:
The other guitarist in my band has a Wildkat Epi. The guitar's not bad at all, but with those metal-covered dogear P-90s sounds like ass. Muddy and lifeless in the neck and like a coughing old man in the bridge.

I was thinking about changing the covers with plastic ones... would they make a difference or am I just fooling myself?
Click to expand...

It'd give more treble, which it sounds like it needs. Epi dog ear covers are pretty thick.
 
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