Educate Me On P90’s (Are they obsolete?)

[braintheory]

They are a waste of time if you are chugging, imo. They are for cleaner tones.

The Bareknuckle Pig90 is my favourite pickup for metal actually:
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/p ... kup=pig_90

Isn't that just a p90 version of the Warpig? I wasn't a fan of the Warpig humbucker

 

[braintheory]

-Google-leslie west-(mountain)-Mississippi Queen-

-if that tone don't give you a shiver, then no amount of talking will matter-

P.S.-wish I was smart enough to just post the clip(s) like the cool kids do!!

That's definitely a very cool sound, but if I hadn't already known he was using p90's, I would've just guessed he was playing paf style humbuckers of some sort. Like I said, p90's seem to sound like thinner, noisier, and less focused/defined pafs to me. Maybe some guys want that. I also don't think p90's are the main ingredient to that sound but I don't really know and that's not a sound I would typically go for, even though it's great, so maybe I'm wrong

 

[godgrinder]

Isn't that just a p90 version of the Warpig? I wasn't a fan of the Warpig humbucker

It's a true P90, not a humbucker in P90 housing.

I had both ceramic and alnico Warpigs, the Pig90 was meaner than both.

 

[braintheory]

Variety is the spice of life. A great P90 is somewhere in between a single coil and a bucker. I used to play a 74 LP loaded with P90's and while they were somewhat noisey, the tone was on point for classic rock. As was mentioned above, if your doing heavier music, it wouldnt be my choice for sure.

Agree 100%. I think of them as a Fender single coil with more "girth" & body.

To me a Fender single coil with more grit and body would be a bareknuckle sinner, trilogy, or high output humbucker like my Wolfetone Blisterbucker in coil split mode. None of the p90's I've tried reminded me of any Strat or Teles, but maybe I just need to try more p90's?

 

[gtrwun]

-Google-leslie west-(mountain)-Mississippi Queen-

-if that tone don't give you a shiver, then no amount of talking will matter-

P.S.-wish I was smart enough to just post the clip(s) like the cool kids do!!

That's definitely a very cool sound, but if I hadn't already known he was using p90's, I would've just guessed he was playing paf style humbuckers of some sort. Like I said, p90's seem to sound like thinner, noisier, and less focused/defined pafs to me. Maybe some guys want that. I also don't think p90's are the main ingredient to that sound but I don't really know and that's not a sound I would typically go for, even though it's great, so maybe I'm wrong

You seem to have your mind made up regardless of what others have said. Brad was on point and i stand by my posts. If its not for you and you dont get it, move on.

 

[braintheory]

Isn't that just a p90 version of the Warpig? I wasn't a fan of the Warpig humbucker

It's a true P90, not a humbucker in P90 housing.

I had both ceramic and alnico Warpigs, the Pig90 was meaner than both.

Interesting. Yeah I know it's a true p90. I like that you say it's meaner, but I'd just be skeptical because the Warpig was too dark and boomy for me, not tight enough in the bass, and I'm not generally a fan of Bareknuckles. They generally sound too polished for me. I much prefer Motor City and Wolfetone pickups (best humbuckers I've tried yet!)

 

[godgrinder]

Interesting. Yeah I know it's a true p90. I like that you say it's meaner, but I'd just be skeptical because the Warpig was too dark and boomy for me, not tight enough in the bass, and I'm not generally a fan of Bareknuckles. They generally sound too polished for me. I much prefer Motor City and Wolfetone pickups (best humbuckers I've tried yet!)

Their high output single coils are generally rawer/meaner than their HB's due to the inherent nature of SC's (extended highs).

 

[braintheory]

-Google-leslie west-(mountain)-Mississippi Queen-

-if that tone don't give you a shiver, then no amount of talking will matter-

P.S.-wish I was smart enough to just post the clip(s) like the cool kids do!!

That's definitely a very cool sound, but if I hadn't already known he was using p90's, I would've just guessed he was playing paf style humbuckers of some sort. Like I said, p90's seem to sound like thinner, noisier, and less focused/defined pafs to me. Maybe some guys want that. I also don't think p90's are the main ingredient to that sound but I don't really know and that's not a sound I would typically go for, even though it's great, so maybe I'm wrong

You seem to have your mind made up regardless of what others have said. Brad was on point and i stand by my posts. If its not for you and you dont get it, move on.

I definitely wanna try more p90's in the future when I get a chance and Brad's feedback was definitely helpful. Just sharing my thoughts so far, and for now I don't see it, but maybe in the future I'll change my mind

 

[braintheory]

Interesting. Yeah I know it's a true p90. I like that you say it's meaner, but I'd just be skeptical because the Warpig was too dark and boomy for me, not tight enough in the bass, and I'm not generally a fan of Bareknuckles. They generally sound too polished for me. I much prefer Motor City and Wolfetone pickups (best humbuckers I've tried yet!)

Their high output single coils are generally rawer/meaner than their HB's due to the inherent nature of SC's (extended highs).

Yeah my sinner strat pickup definitely sounded rawer/meaner than any of their HB's, but it sounded too humbucker like (not very stratty) and ultimately still preferred my Motor CIty Detroiter HB to it

 

[skoora]

Man, I love P90's....but guess what.... you don't

 

[thefyn]

The best tones I ever got was out of a vintage one:

You do need an NS10 for heavy stuff

That sounds pretty good, but exactly how I was describing my experience with them, meaning they can sound good, but still don't see a reason to use them over the other styles of pickups. I don't read too much into the sounds from clips though anyway

You don't trust the actual sounds they make recorded? Information is important.

 

[thefyn]

Interesting. Yeah I know it's a true p90. I like that you say it's meaner, but I'd just be skeptical because the Warpig was too dark and boomy for me, not tight enough in the bass, and I'm not generally a fan of Bareknuckles. They generally sound too polished for me. I much prefer Motor City and Wolfetone pickups (best humbuckers I've tried yet!)

Their high output single coils are generally rawer/meaner than their HB's due to the inherent nature of SC's (extended highs).

Thats what I like. That way you can incorporate more of the room, use ribbon mics and smoother speakers. More clarity/chime/articulation = more applications. But they are still aggressive. The tone/vol controls are more useful/interesting.

 

[braintheory]

The best tones I ever got was out of a vintage one:

You do need an NS10 for heavy stuff

That sounds pretty good, but exactly how I was describing my experience with them, meaning they can sound good, but still don't see a reason to use them over the other styles of pickups. I don't read too much into the sounds from clips though anyway

You don't trust the actual sounds they make recorded? Information is important.

I just meant that clips can be useful but I never form final opinions until actually trying things in person which I have with p90's but maybe not as much as I need to