P90 pickup help

[blackba]

I have long wanted to try a P90 guitar, so I figured why not just convert one of my les Paul's to take P90's.

What P90's do you guys recommend and what do I need to do to my LP studio to get them installed? I did see that SD had some that fit in humbucker slots, but alas I am a P90 rookie

 

[Anonymous]

My buddy slapped some P94's in his LP Studio. I really don't think that it sounds much like my Fender but totally different animal. I personally love P90's. Way different vibe. I especially like them in the neck position.

If you want a true P90 you'll need to get your guitar rerouted. I must warn you that the P90 is a very noisy pickup in my experience. Especially with high gain tones. That being said I highly recommend it if you are looking for a change.

 

[blackba]

I am not sure I want to reroute my guitar for P90's, though I am not entirely sure what is involved with that process.

Are the humbucker sized P-90's like the Gibson P-94's bad?

I am not too worried about the noise. Started on a strat so I am used to SC noise. Is it best to go with a full set or just one in the bridge or neck?

 

[Anonymous]

Total matter of preference IMO. I really don't feel that a P94 is an accurate representation of a P90. P94 is higher output and less noise. You can try a SD SPH90-1n Phat Cat. Closer but still not the real deal. Rerouting can be expensive and if you're not sure totally not recommended. I've only listed 2 bucker sized models but there are more out there. I'm afraid I really can't recommend any as I have no experience other than second hand with the 94 and was unimpressed. Perhaps someone else can chime in here and provide more insight.

 

[Copperhead]

Kinda in the same boat. I am building a Strat with P-90's .....I ordered a BKP-91 this morning.
Bare Knuckle also makes a P-90 on a humbucker frame, the Mississippi Queen.

 

[Giga]

I've had a P94 too and didn't like it one bit. Now I have a Haussel P90 in hb format in the neck position of my Heritage LP and that's a PU I really like. Not too high output, no overbearing highs, a very ballsy tone when full up and with a few resistors/caps here and there, there is a very very satisfying glassy tone to be had at lower pot-settings

Giga.

 

[Scott Ians Beard]

Duncan P-Rails? I hear good things about them.

 

[Jordon]

For the cost of the pickups and a good routing job, you might wanna just check out the PRS SE One. We did about 60% of our album with an '76 LP Jr. and an Ernie Ball Music Man Albert Lee sig with Soapbars. We play fairly heavy music, and they were the perfect fit in terms of clarity and punch. When we get back home, we plan on picking up a couple of the SE One's. They're fairly inexpensive and sound pretty damn good for the price.

 

[blackba]

Thanks for the responses guys. Part of the reason I am looking to add P-90's to my LP studio is since I can't figure out which guitar to sell and I want a P-90 guitar. I don't want to add a guitar to the stable, so I figured I would mod one. If going with a humbucker sized P-90 is not the way to go I may rethink this idea. I don't think I want to get into rerouting one for a P-90.

The Bare Knuckle Miss. Queens look pretty cool. So is it recommended to have P-90's in both the neck and bridge or just on position?

 

[Giga]

If going with a humbucker sized P-90 is not the way to go I may rethink this idea.

What gave you that impression ?

Giga.

 

[Szar]

Go for a BKP P-90 Its AMAZING.

 

[SFW]

The Duncan Phat Cats are actually very nice pickups. They have a more creamy type of P90 tone, but can get rude if you push them. I currently have a Duncan P-Rail in the bridge of my Les Paul, and the P90 tones that it delivers are quite nice as well. What I love about the P-Rail is that not only can I get some good P90 tones, the series humbucker is just outstanding!

 

[Meathead]

All I can say is that since I bought my EBMM Axis Super Sport with P90's I can't play any other guitar much...it sounds the best to me out of all 12 of my guitars, and any I've that owned in the past.

Go play a bunch of guitars with P90's at music stores to make sure you dig them and really know how they sound...then buy a P90 guitar or get the router out.

 

[MikeT]

When I bought my 89 Standard used, it had a set of SD phatcats in it. They sounded good. Being a highgain humbucker guy and wanting something different, I replaced the bridge with a SD Cusom Custom I had laying around, but left the single coil Phat Cat in the neck.

They neck and bridge could be better balanced together - I just mainly use the neck phatcat for a LP type single coil neck solo tone and I always hit a clean boost with it. Also sounds great with my Dimebag wah with boost-on and left in toe-down position. Yngwie on a LP I have no plans or desire to change the pickps in this guitar.

Mike

 

[blackba]

If going with a humbucker sized P-90 is not the way to go I may rethink this idea.

What gave you that impression ?

Giga.

Enough people have mentioned rerouting the guitar, so I figured there must be an issue with humbucker sized P-90's. Also, in my experience with strat single coil sized humbuckers, they never 100% sound like their full size counter parts.

So I am still confused if I should try a P90 in the neck or bridge 1st?

 

[King Guitar]

Thank me later

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/mercha ... 90-pickups

 

[chunktone]

All I can say is that since I bought my EBMM Axis Super Sport with P90's I can't play any other guitar much...it sounds the best to me out of all 12 of my guitars, and any I've that owned in the past.

Go play a bunch of guitars with P90's at music stores to make sure you dig them and really know how they sound...then buy a P90 guitar or get the router out.

You are not going to have much luck trying to reroute for a standard P90. Routing for a full sized humbucker is wider than a P90 route. Bottom line is it would look pretty bad. I would just go with a PRails, or some other humbucker sized "P90".

 

[rsm]

I've got the stock set of Gibson USA made, P-90 dog ears in my Epiphone Casino. Haven't even considered replacing these, as I like the sound the way it is. I'm also not doing modern high gain either. Likely not as hot as other brand replacements.

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson Gear/Pickups/P-90 Single Coils/

...and in my guitar:

 

[Giga]

If going with a humbucker sized P-90 is not the way to go I may rethink this idea.

What gave you that impression ?

Giga.

Enough people have mentioned rerouting the guitar, so I figured there must be an issue with humbucker sized P-90's. Also, in my experience with strat single coil sized humbuckers, they never 100% sound like their full size counter parts.

So I am still confused if I should try a P90 in the neck or bridge 1st?

You're comparing apples to oranges here; a SC-sized HB will never sound the way a proper HB does simply due to the fact it still picks up the strings energy at a SC sized width.

P90 vs HB is a different story alltogether and the actual size of the "casing" is of no influence (as long as it is bigger than a stock P90 casing off course).

Giga.

 

[grooveHT]

You are not going to have much luck trying to reroute for a standard P90. Routing for a full sized humbucker is wider than a P90 route. Bottom line is it would look pretty bad. I would just go with a PRails, or some other humbucker sized "P90".

I'd second the P-rails...lets you get a taste of P-90s, and gives you great series and parallel modes as well, awesome versatile pickup! I'm not a P-90 connoisseur, but I hear the P-90 coil of the P-rails is pretty authentic sounding, and I CAN vouch that it kicks some ass, sooo...