How to Tell Difference Between P90 and P100 in J160

[Joe M]

I bought a J160 that was made in 1993 a while back and would like to know which pickup is in it. I know the original J160's had P90's and the newer versions were supposed to have P100's. I sent an email to Gibson asking which I had in my guitar, along with the year of manufacture and was told it was a P90, which is contrary to everything else I've read.

 

Is there any way to tell which pickup I have (without taking the pickup out, of course)? I know it's not a big deal, just curious....

 

 

Another question; my guitar has the jack in the end pin, I know I've seen 160's with the jack in the side of the guitar. Anyone know when this was changed?

 

Thanks for any help with either question....

[Rambler]

P-100 is a nosieless version of the P90.

[pohatu771]

Now, I've never played a J-160E before (in fact, my only experience is staring at Lennon's for twenty minutes) so I may be out of my league here, but assuming you can see the pickup from the soundhole and it's not a huge change from the standard P-90 configuration.

 

The P-90 is a very simple pickup - a bobbin with the winding, a magnet, and a baseplate. It should be relatively thin. The P-100 is a second winding stacked on top of the first, so it will be twice as thick.

 

It's not terribly easy to describe, but I think you should be able to figure it out.

[Joe M]

Thanks, pohatu....I did a visual check and I'm positive it's a P100. You can see the bobbin/magnet and then what looks like a metal plate and a second bobbin/magnet stacked under the first....

 

Now, anyone know about the date of the movement of the jack????