Seymour Duncan P-90s.. a Q for someone from SD maybe..

[lp_gem]

Hi..

can someone explain the tonal differences between the SP90-1 bridge and neck models?

i recently purchased a SP90-3 bridge and SP90-1 neck for my 96' les paul studio

the SP90-1 neck didnt fit the neck position so it got installed in the bridge..
when i got my guitar back i was happy with this but was rudely shocked with the SP90-3b in the neck (as would be expected)

anyway now ive got the SP90-3b in the bridge and my original gibson back in the neck

the SP90-3 is killer...but i just cant dig the compressed feel of its clean tones

im thinking of putting the SP90-1n back in the bridge position.. i actually really liked how this sounded.. it had a really open chimey feel to it.. distorted it had a nice growl but it lacked abit of focus and presence

NOW... im either thinking of just putting it in there or ebaying both off and going for a SP90-1bridge model... but i dont know whether it will make a world of difference to warrant the extra hassle

So amidst all that raving, how would a SP90-1bridge compare with the SP90-1neck installed in the bridge?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Seymour Duncan P-90s.. a Q for someone from SD maybe..

The SP90 neck is wound to 8.22K and the SP90 bridge is the same coil, wire and magnet but wound with a few hundred more turns of wire so the DC Reistance is 9.35K. The 8.22K neck pickup would have less output and a brighter and clearer tone if used as a bridge pickup.

Generally, the bridge pickup in a "vintage" set of pickups is wound to vintage specs and the neck model is underwound slightly so it has a clearer and brighter tone. That may be the case with the SP90's.

For example, 8.1K to 8.2K is standard DC Resistance for vintage 50's and 60's Gibson paf humbuckers. In the 50's and 60's pickups were not calibrated so the same pickup would be used for the neck and bridge position.

The Duncan 59 is a replica of the 59 and early 60's Gibson humbucker.

So the bridge model is wound to vintage specs: 8.13K. The neck model is underwound slightly (7.43K) for a clearer tone and so the relative volumes of the two pickups will be about the same.

A guitar string moves alot more over the neck pickup than it does over the bridge pickup. So if both pickups are wound for the same output the neck pickup sounds to loud unless it's underwound a little relative to the bridge pickup.

Lew

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Seymour Duncan P-90s.. a Q for someone from SD maybe..

If you live in the US and it hasn't been 21 days, you can exchange the Duncan pup. If your vendor won't help you, call teh SD Tech Support line.

Why won't it fit into the neck? I had that problem one time and I took a large metal file to it and knocked off the corners of the base plate. Took about 5 minutes and I was done.

If it's the cover giving you problems, just slide on the old Gibson cover and use that one instead.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Seymour Duncan P-90s.. a Q for someone from SD maybe..

Sounds like a tapped SP90-3b is in order.

 

[Curly]

Re: Seymour Duncan P-90s.. a Q for someone from SD maybe..

it sounds to me like you would probably like a set of the Vintage - the SP90-1 bridge is hot enough to balance well with an SP90-1 neck, but it's not nearly as hot as a Custom, so it will be cleaner

actually, I have a set of the vintage SP90 I bought for a custom project, but I haven't used them yet, so I'm going partly on the specs:
http://seymourduncan.com/images/tonechart.pdf

 

[ES350]

Re: Seymour Duncan P-90s.. a Q for someone from SD maybe..

I've had a lot of problems with fitting older Gibson P90's (LP Special/SG Special pulls, etc) to the newer Historics...the corners need to get knocked down a bit and the covers modified for the front and back flange of the baseplate. Those nickel silver baseplates and the old M55's really make it though...

 

[lp_gem]

Re: Seymour Duncan P-90s.. a Q for someone from SD maybe..

Thanks lewguitar for that explanation...

im pretty damn sure even the neck model SP90-1 has hotter output than my original gibsons... which sounded great in the neck but was too weak in the bridge.. so i think ill just put the SP-901n in the bridge as it will balance out anyway

Scott: the reason it doesnt fit is because of the metal baseplate.. it makes it too tall and the pole pieces will hit the strings in the neck position

i think this is because of the design of the pickup cavity of the les paul studio gems..
i cant really explain it but basically theres more wood in there getting in the way!

Even in the bridge the SP90-1n has to be pretty much put as low as possible and its already at the correct height.. but the actual cavity is deeper so it will still fit

in a way its been a blessing in disguise because i realise now that all i needed was the SP90-1 to get the desired output i wanted... i went overkill by getting the SP90-3 because of all the years ive felt deficient in bridge pickup power.. i guess i over compensated a little bit!
its the first ceramic ive played and ive decided ceramics arent for me..