P90 users- questions

[morty]

Hey p90 users!

 

I have seen a few people saying these pickups are really kick as5, they have a great tone etc, many people say they are great for blues, some say for rock. I would be using these pickups for rock such as aerosmith, guns n roses, zz top mostly rock- But when i have said that i will be using them for rock, someone always says hbs are more for the rock music tone, and there is also people what say they are great for rock- i mean joe perry uses p90s on his SG!

 

1-What music do you play with your P90s?

2- Are these pickups great for rock music like aerosmith?

[Riffster]

There are P90s and then there are P90s.

 

Some have less gain some more.

 

In my experience P90s sound like a single coil with a fatter tone, they are noisy since they are not humbuckers, when you play with gain for heavier rock you will get more noise, feedback, even squeal,etc.

 

P90s are very well complemented by Gibson's 24.75" scale length in that they get that distinctive growl.

 

P90s are some sort of underdog that everybody roots for, but whne you see pics of guitar collections P90 are not as common or popular as people make them out to be.

 

Humbuckers are a safer bet for hard rock, P90s are usually thrown in the mix for some tone variety. IMO.

[silverburst83]

I had a 2000/2001 SG with P90s in it and I didn't like the tone I was getting at all. I traded it for another SG but with open humbuckers and hated the tone still, and sold the guitar. My BFG Les Paul has a P90 in the neck and I love it, it sounds great clean, and has lots of punch with distortion on it. So basically I found out I hate the tone from SG guitars (thus no SG silverburst in the collection... yet).

 

The only thing you can do is to play different guitars with p90s in them on an amp as close to yours as possible, and then decide for yourself what sounds good.

[abbeyrod]

P90 on a les paul sound great.

But it's not for heavy metal for sure.

they can go from pop to blues or even 70's hard rock, but not further.

I had a Les paul Gem with P90 and it sounded great. they have more response in high frequancies than HB.

but believe me, a LP with P90 won't sound like a fender, it is really different. Just try if you have the opportunity

[Rame]

Generally speaking I think what "they" say is right. Humbuckers are better for rock and hard rock. But Leslie West of Mountain used a Gibson Les Paul Jr. with a P-90 and got a pretty thick tone.

 

1 - Typically I play blues/blues rock with my P-90 equipped guitar. But I may bust out some Black Sabbath or Zepplin on it too, just for fun.

 

2- I think you could get a good Aerosmith tone with P-90's. But I think Slash's tone would be harder to get through P-90's. I'm sure in Slash's collection he's got a guitar with P-90's but I can't say I have ever seen him playing a guitar with P-90's

 

I think Stiffhand hit the nail on the head with "Tonal variety". I don't think I would be happy if I played mostly rock and hard rock and only had a guitar with P-90's. I would want a guitar with humbuckers if that is the style of music I played mostly.

 

Amps and pedals make a difference too. A P-90 equipped guitar played straight through a Fender Blues Jr. is not gonna get you a hard rock sound I don't think. Even cranked up. But through a Mesa Boogie or Marshall? Yeah, that would be pretty rockin.

 

The only thing you can do is to play different guitars with p90s in them on an amp as close to yours as possible' date=' and then decide for yourself what sounds good.[/quote']

 

This is good advice.

[pohatu771]

P90s are some sort of underdog that everybody roots for' date=' but whne you see pics of guitar collections P90 are not as common or popular as people make them out to be.[/quote']

That has something to do with the way Gibson produces guitars, too.

 

The P-90 replaced the Charlie Christian pickup. The Alnico soapbar (seen on the original Les Paul Customs) was supposed to be a noise-cancelling P-90, but was quickly replaced when the humbucker was invented. After they started using humbuckers, the P-90 was reserved for the lower-end guitars, like the Les Paul Junior or Special. That held through to the SG line.

 

From a quick view of the Gibson electrics at Musician's Friend, only about 10% have P-90s - that should mean that only about 10% of guitars in collections have P-90s.

[morty]

How much is there a difference is sound really? i have never had a gibson before i have always liked les paul in gold top then this limited run guitar came along its a beauty- and the price is just right! and i have been guaranteed buy the shop i will get mine

but i like aerosmith music and that's what i will be playing on it. Even though joe perry uses p90s in his live shows some people are saying they wont be the ideal pickups?

 

so really is the tone difference between a humbuker and a p90 huge or just a slight difference in sound

[Riffster]

From a quick view of the Gibson electrics at Musician's Friend' date=' only about 10% have P-90s - that should mean that only about 10% of guitars in collections have P-90s.[/quote']

 

True, that further proves my point, there is no real demand for P90s, if there was there would be more guitars equipped with them. Demand and supply.

 

Like 90% of players will say they love P90s but they are not actually buying guitars equipped with them.

 

I love P90's but if I was to have only 1 Gibson it would be for sure a humbucker guitar.

[morty]

How much is there a difference is sound really? i have never had a gibson before i have always liked les paul in gold top then this limited run guitar came along its a beauty- and the price is just right! and i have been guaranteed buy the shop i will get mine

but i like aerosmith music and that's what i will be playing on it. Even though joe perry uses p90s in his live shows some people are saying they wont be the ideal pickups?

 

so really is the tone difference between a humbuker and a p90 huge or just a slight difference in sound

[tbonesullivan]

It depends entirely on what kind of sound you want. Pete Townshend played on a Gibson SG with P90s for a lot of his early Who work. I think that Santana was also playing on a similar SG at woodstock. And of course, the aforementioned leslie west of mountain. If you want that buzz saw Mississippi Queen tone, you need the p-90. Nothing else sounds like one.

 

I really wish that Gibson would put them on more of their guitars as an option.

[rcscruff]

so really is the tone difference between a humbuker and a p90 huge or just a slight difference in sound.

 

To keep the answer simple...

Huge difference.

I have two gibsons, one has two humbuckers and one has two p-90s. I love the sound on both, they can both rock pretty hard. But I am thinking you are really looking for a guitar with humbuckers, based on your desire to get a Joe Perry sound. And yes he does play guitars with P-90s but he also has a reported 600+ guitars in his collection. Just giving my opinion to help point you in the right direction.

[Riffster]

Agree, big difference specially at higher volume.

 

You can dig an obscure pic of a famous rocker using a P90 guitar but that does not mean you can get their main sound with that one guitar.

 

There is a Black Sabbath song in their first album where Tony Iommi was still playing a Stratocaster, that does not mean that you can get all his tones with a Strat. that was just one song.

[morty]

so where p90s specifically designed for one music genre

[Riverside]

Great question, given your sig.

[morty]

so where p90s specifically designed for one music genre

[pohatu771]

P-90s were designed by Gibson to replace the "Charlie Christian" bar pickup they had used on their first electric guitars. The P-90 was higher-output, but had a smaller footprint, making it easier to install.

 

When the P-90 was invented, rock and roll was still a few years from being born. Electric guitars were being used for jazz, almost exclusively. The P-90 wasn't invented for any genre - neither was the humbucker. They were just the next evolution of the Gibson pickup. It wasn't until they started experimenting with different magnets and winds that different pickups became designed for a specific genre. In 1957, there were three kinds of pickups in Kalamazoo- P-90s, Humbuckers, and the short-lived Alnico Staple pickup.

[morty]

So from gibsons customer service, p90s are alright for aerosmith? its the mixed answers which confuse me

[morty]

So from gibsons customer service' date=' p90s are alright for aerosmith? its the mixed answers which confuse me [/quote']

also how are mini humbuckers compared to humbuckers are they the same sound?

[mrktwn]

Hey p90 users!

 

I have seen a few people saying these pickups are really kick as5' date=' they have a great tone etc, many people say they are great for blues, some say for rock. I would be using these pickups for rock such as aerosmith, guns n roses, zz top mostly rock- But when i have said that i will be using them for rock, someone always says hbs are more for the rock music tone, and there is also people what say they are great for rock- i mean joe perry uses p90s on his SG!

 

1-What music do you play with your P90s?

2- Are these pickups great for rock music like aerosmith?[/quote']My little Les Paul Gem is one of the most versatile Gibson guitars I've ever owned. I play a variety of styles and it fits every style. I really dont delve into metal territory very much though, it might be different story for really high gain kinds of sounds.

About the heaviest I can get is proto-metaloid, hard rock styles. But I do play some old school honky-tonk, and western swing kinds of stuff, and the guitar can really span the sounds between blistering rock tones and woody, twangy '50s country music tones. I think a cool feature about p-90s is that it has never been a flagship pickup for Gibson so they tend not to f**k with it too much. Consequently after damn near 70 years after it inception, they still make (in my opinion) the best sounding p-90.

[turtle]

Sorry but the ONLY real way to know is to play one for yourself. i know you want a simple answer but all guitars sound differerent even with different players on the same guitar. good luck. i personally love a p90 for certain things, you on the other hand might completely hate it and put humbuckers in it. hope i didnt offend you.

[mrktwn]

How much is there a difference is sound really? i have never had a gibson before i have always liked les paul in gold top then this limited run guitar came along its a beauty- and the price is just right! and i have been guaranteed buy the shop i will get mine

but i like aerosmith music and that's what i will be playing on it. Even though joe perry uses p90s in his live shows some people are saying they wont be the ideal pickups?

 

so really is the tone difference between a humbuker and a p90 huge or just a slight difference in sound

I think wether its a huge or slight difference depends on the guitar. I for sure get plenty of sense that I'm playing a Les Paul with all the

attendant sustain and woody-ness. You may not get that with an SG with p-90s. Dude, get that guitar if you can! Seriously I dont think you will be dissappointed. If you are into Joe Perry and looking for a good hard rock screaming guitar tone, that will also cut through the drums better than humbuckers(in my opinion) get the guitar. Also again in my opinion AND experience, the hum you get from single coils and 240-220 volts is not half as annoying as 110. At least I didnt think so anyway...

[VBB]

Yeah, if you found a great deal on a good guitar you like, you should buy it. Assuming you played it and the sound touches you, then it'll inspire you. In my opinion, you can get almost any sound that made radio air time up until the early 1990's. I have a tube amp and switch from 6v6 to EL34, and 6L6 tubes and the P-90's sound just about as pissed off as my LP with humbuckers. In some ways, it sounds more gritty. Now, if you play REALLY loud, like a cranked up amp, you will notice some extra noise, but it seems more alive.

 

I would bet you can totally get aerosmith sounds with a P-90, but you may need a certain amp or some pedals. Remember, it's not just the pickup, it's the guitar, the string gage, the amp, the speaker, the effects, and the fingers that pull it all together. Also, the recordings were done in a studio. Even Aerosmith doesn't sound exactly like the recordings when played live.

 

just my 5 cents (I went on too long) :)

[charlie brown]

Two words...Great Amp! ;>)

 

I have all different kinds of pickup equipped guitars, P-90's included. They can All sound 'thick, and saturated,"

given a great, versatile amplifier. True, they all sound a bit different, but my Telecaster can sound

just a "heavy" as I want, with a good tube amp, and even just 1 or two pedals. I even got a very nice

heavy saturated tone, running it through my little single 12 Fender Sidekick 35R (solid state) practice amp,

a Boss EQ pedal, into a Boss Blues Driver. Later substituted, the Blues Driver, for a Marshall Govn'r Plus,

and it was even "heavier." Not a quite 4X12 cabinet bass response, but damned good, for what I was using!

Point is...P-90, Humbucker, single coil (Fender type)...aren't nearly as important...IMHO, as a great amp!

The rest is your technique, and/or style.

 

P-90's are best "Clean," or with mild tube overdrive. Heavier distortion increases noise levels, too much...for me,

anyway. With a lot of the distortion, that is used today...why would you care about which pickups, will give you the best "tone?" And, unless you are that particular player/"artist," you're not going to sound like them, anyway. ;>)

 

Cheers...

CB

[morty]

hey, thanks for replies- the amp i own is a vox vt30. I am not trying to get the exact same tone as slash more of the tone of joe perry- but when you say the noise level increases, is the song you are playing unrecognizable? please explain what you mean when you say more distortion more noise? like a humming nose say?

[Rame]

I agree that it can be confusing and that's because, as others have mentioned, it's more than just the pickup that goes into the tone. Type of guitar, amp, speaker, strings, pedals etc. are just a few of the variables that contribute to the overall tone.

 

I think you will be happy with this guitar and be able to get a Joe Perry/Aerosmith tone with it. But that's just my opinion and not a fact. I don't have any experience with the Vox amp your using but it appears it has modeling features which will help you to attain different tones. Throw in a Boss Blues Driver as someone else mentioned and I think you'll have all the gain you need to obtain that tone. Agan, just my opinion.

 

Regarding noise level, with the added gain from a pedal or amp distortion, the P-90's are going to have hum. You wont be able to notice it when your strumming or playing notes but rather when you stop. For example, say your playing the beginning of War Pigs by Sabbath. Not the very beginning but the part right before Ozzy starts the verse. Those stacatto bar chords with silence between them. (actually I guess that is the verse? ...anyway) With P-90's and high gain/distortion you are going to hear a substantial hum during the parts you don't play those bar chords. Make sense? It won't make your playing unrecognizable it will just have hum during the parts you are not playing ( if that makes sense).

 

But again, I think you will love this guitar and it will do what you are wanting it to do. With that amp it appears you will be able to get many different tones. Let us know when you get it and what you think about it!