P90's VS Humbuckers

SpeedDemon

New member
recently i have been in search of my "own" tone, i have never previously played P90's i play blues to metal(mostly metal-ish now) for mids lately i have been boosting them as opposed to scooping i have been boosting them to about 6(on a 1 to 10 knob) i will be buying a ProCo Rat and not sure of amp yet (please see the ProCo Rat, what amp thread) i am trying to decide between a Godin LG HMB or the LG P90 i am searching for a tone the is different then just the plain old high gain scooped mids, i still plan on using fairly high gain setting, the bands i like are iron maiden, iced earth, ozzy, black sabbath, etc and i again i do NOT want these artists tones, however i want to be able to play there songs, will P90's do it ? or should i stick with the traditional HMB? please help.. thanks
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

With the right P90's, you could probably do it, but humbuckers, with their higher output, will have an easier time of it.
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

by the way i will probably be swapping out the P90's with differnt ones if they are not quite hot enough although it does come with seymour duncans, i just heard a clip of a SG with P90's........sounded real good.


p.s if somebody could post clips of P90's it would really help, i will be going in this week to try the LG P90, after i play i will say what one i like better
 
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Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

P-90's generally have a pretty strong output and an SDP90-2 or 3 will easily have enough output to push any amp.

The only issue you run into with P-90's as with all single coils is noise. The higher the gain you run the more of an issue it is.
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

Wattage, thanks i never really thought about the noise issue, any thing i could do to lower the noise, noise gate or something?
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

P90s can do metal but it will be more of a black sabath flavour. They're perfect for blues, stoner rock, grunge, classic rock, old school metal, punk, country, they're very very versitile. They have scooped bass instead of scooped mids which gives them great crunch compared to other kinds of single coils. A really rude sound too. I love them.

That godin guitar however is a very bad example of a P90 guitar. The pickups on it are very scooped sounding and bright, they really aren't like traditional P90s. Sometimes I've played them through the right amp and gotten a decent sound out of them, but you'll have to really boost your mids.
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

really? theboatandcardream, i have good things about the godin P90, plus they are using real seymour duncan P90's arent they good pups?
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

Wattage said:
P-90's generally have a pretty strong output and an SDP90-2 or 3 will easily have enough output to push any amp.

The only issue you run into with P-90's as with all single coils is noise. The higher the gain you run the more of an issue it is.

Ha Ha!! Not my Axis! It's got a "silent circuit" that allows me to push some crazy gain with virtually no noise. A full cranked DS-1, no problem. I love my Axis!
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

Big_Black it must be nice to have the silent circuit its a musicman right? i am assuming from the name(axis) and the silent circuit, howmuch do they retail for?
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

The noise issue shouldn't be too much of a problem if you properly shield your guitar. Most guitars don't come properly shielded, and even though single coils and P90's are more susceptible to hum, it can be greatly reduced. http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/index.php That gives great info on shielding and the like.
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

You know I keepmeaning to try one of them out, actually I just want to steal the silent circuit to try in my LP Special. I use a Rocktron Hush when I take out the singles, saves everyones sanity.
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

thanks wattage, and Jag513 for both your'e suggestion but the pedal sounds better cause messing with wiring just scares me lol, does any one have P90 clips?
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

SpeedDemon said:
Big_Black it must be nice to have the silent circuit its a musicman right? i am assuming from the name(axis) and the silent circuit, howmuch do they retail for?

Yep, EB Musicman. They are pretty expensive new ($1200-$1600?), but yet extremely cheap (by comparison) used. You can usually pich up an Axis for $500-$700 on Ebay. I got mine for $500 w/hard case. The MM-90s (same as P-90s, just not Gibson) are great. The bridge gives an extemely good interpretaion of a humbucker. It doesn't fart out like Fender singles. The neck doesn't do gain quite as well, it is extremely dirty and grungey sounding. I like the sound, but it doesn't have a whole lot of versatility. The Neck is for cleans. Warm, warm, warm. When clean, the bridge has some good chime, but it's also thick. These aren't for everyone. I was looking for a Tele and this is what I took home. They are nothing but quality, material wise. You deffinately won't find a flame maple neck like mine on a Fender Tele, unless you want to fork over $2500 for a CS. A solid slab of ash on a Fender Tele will cost you at least $1200. It is everything that is great about a Tele without the discomfort (huge neck joint). It is a Tele refined.
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

ya i have heard plenty of good things about the MM axis(supersport is the P90's i think) but unfortunatly out of my price range and i dont plan on using evilbay lol
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

Oh, yeah and shielding you ask? The whole cavity is done up with shielding paint that was put on before the body was finished, it's all nice and neat and tight. Nothing but quality out of those guys.

Sorry for the gushing :7:
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

Get the LGHMB and later, if you feel the need to try P-90's, get a pair of Phat Cats.

This will give you a wider range of choices, as you'll be able to try the P-90 flavor (Phat Cats) and all the other 'bucker flavors ini the same guitar. :burnout:
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

SpeedDemon said:
really? theboatandcardream, i have good things about the godin P90, plus they are using real seymour duncan P90's arent they good pups?


They were specially wound for Godin.
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

Wattage said:
You know I keepmeaning to try one of them out, actually I just want to steal the silent circuit to try in my LP Special. I use a Rocktron Hush when I take out the singles, saves everyones sanity.

I't not accually an active circuit per se, there is a pot in the cavity that connects to a battery it allows you to adjust the sensitvity. You can take the battery out and still use the guitar. Someone mentioned what they thought it was in a post a week or so ago, a post about silencing high gain feedback in a Gretsch?
 
Re: P90's VS Humbuckers

big_black said:
Oh, yeah and shielding you ask? The whole cavity is done up with shielding paint that was put on before the body was finished, it's all nice and neat and tight. Nothing but quality out of those guys.

Sorry for the gushing :7:

Hey BB, I have a few EB/MMs myself, including two Axis SS(es?)...ones a hardtail with hums and a maple fretboard, the other a trem with rosewood and hums. Now all I need is one with MM-90s and a piezo and I'm about done! I gush about them all the time and piss people off ;) I feel your pain!
 
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