pickup question for a hollow body

[zoomjay]

I just picked up a Jay Turser 139 (think a Gibson 350 replica) hollow body... it is a beautiful guitar although the P90's in it leave me a bit flat. I would like to upgrade the pickups (probably to something in the humbucking variety). I was pondering a SH-4/SH-2n set or a Vintage 59 humbucking set (all in the Seymour Duncan world, of course).

My goal is to have this guitar sound nice and mellow. I also have a strat that I play with a nice set of single coils... and an Ace Frehley Epiphone LP that I play that sounds real nice... and pretty mellow. I was hoping to take this guitar a little further down "mellow lane"... to make it sound really different than the other two (right now with the P90's it is not as mellow as the Ace Frehley and not as sharp as the strat.... although weaker and thinner than both - not real good in my book)..

So, will either of these sets of pickups work well in this hollow body and accomplish my goals... or is there another direction I should be heading???

Thank you in advance.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

Unless you're willing to do some woodwork, you may be limited to just other P90's. I assume the existing P90's are dogears?

 

[zoomjay]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

yes they are... although isn't that why God gave us Luthiers????

And not to be too glib... although, at this point I am in the "idea stage" and have not hit the "implementation" stage yet.... which might kill the whole thing... although, if it will sound much better... might be worth the time and effort...

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

you may like plain ol' gibson dog ear p-90s, with 300k pots. if it's not mellow enough for you, you could swap the magnets out from a5/a5 for each to a5/a2 to mellow them out.

 

[blueman335]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

you may like plain ol' gibson dog ear p-90s, with 300k pots. if it's not mellow enough for you, you could swap the magnets out from a5/a5 for each to a5/a2 to mellow them out.

You're giving up too soon. P90's can give very good tones and high output, even if they're the stock Asian ones. With HB's, the windings are a huge part of the tone, but P-90's have 4 times the magnet/coil ratio, so the key is the magnets, and the windings are secondary. That puts the control in your hands. You can create a new PU in minutes.

If a P-90 is too bright and thin (probably has A5's), swap out one for a warmer magnet, like an A2. If it's too warm (has A2's?), try an A5 or A3. Output too low, get an A5 or A8 in there. For mellow, maybe an A5/A4 on the neck, and A4/A2 on the bridge. I use 500K's on the neck, and 250K's on the bridge. You can work wonders with magnets & P-90's. Routing for HB's is a bad idea. There are far too few P-90 guitars available today. If you want HB's, sell that guitar & get another one. PM me and let's talk price.

 

[ES350]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

If it's a full depth archtop, try a wood bridge saddle, just for kicks. That'll mellow it out...those guitars were designed for wood bridges and big strings (like .013 to .052).

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

With HB's, the windings are a huge part of the tone, but P-90's have 4 times the magnet/coil ratio, so the key is the magnets, and the windings are secondary. That puts the control in your hands. You can create a new PU in minutes.

I agree that mag-swapping with P90's allows for more variety vs. mag-swapping a humbucker, but trust me, the wind is definitely not secondary.

 

[tone4days]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

assuming it sounded good acoustically, and had playability that was happenin', i'd put a set of high quality duncan P90s in it, install high quality caps and pots, and really learn to use the volume and tone knobs for the degree of mellowness ...

 

[zoomjay]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

I don't see a set of Duncan dog-eared P90's... am I missing them... and yes, that is the guitar (mine is actually blond).... and, if possible, I would avoid routing... so, yes, maybe a good set of Duncan do-eared..

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

I'm with Blueman though. There are some very fine dogear P90's to be had out there, and most humbuckers won't make your guitar more mellow.

 

[Aceman]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

and an Ace Frehley Epiphone LP that I play that sounds real nice... and pretty mellow.

right now with the P90's it is not as mellow as the Ace Frehley and not as sharp as the strat.... although weaker and thinner than both - not real good in my book)..

There is so much wrong with this I do not know where to start!

The Ace Frehley is "mellow" WTF?!?!? It's a mahog/maple guitar with a Superdistortion!!! Can I get an ear-check on isle two? The only thing mellow about that guitar is the rosewood board! That guitar should be big bottom, big mids, and more highs than you would think from a DiMarzio pup. It is not mellow!

Next - P-90's weaker and thinner than a strat?!?!?!?WTF. The highs should be fatter and stronger!!!! And it SHOULD have more cut than the LP!!!!!

something is way not right here....Are these guitars even remotely set up like normal??? Before we get all pup/magnet swappy on them....

 

[LtKojak]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

You want THESE p'ups:

http://www.acys-lounge.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=115

The site is german-only, but they do answer e-mails in perfect english. These p'ups are top-notch boutique quality built with the best components money can buy anywhere.

 

[zoomjay]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

ltkojak, thank you.. will look into these...

Aceman... you are right... the Frehley has pretty much more of everything... more bottom, top and mid.. and (depending on how one plays) can also be more mellow... anyway... we could discuss the meaning of mellow for some time... although, you are right... the Frehley LP is a great sounding guitar...

Any my strat has a set of Samarium Cobalt pickups in it... so, yes, they are definitely sharper and have much more to them than the P90's do...

Anyway... thank everybody for the information...

 

[eggman]

Re: pickup question for a hollow body

Howdy,

Consider SD's Vintage P-90s. They sound fanatastic in my Gibson LP Sp! From mellow to raucus, these P/Us are pure vintage. There will be 60 cycle hum, though. That's a price I'm willing to pay for my favorite electrified tone. Good luck!

Eggman