Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

P90 users- questions


morty

Recommended Posts

hey' date=' 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?[/quote']Yes a humming noise. You are aware that P-90s are single coil pickups, right? Like Fender pickups you'll get a buzzing/humming from the pickups.

If the buzzing bothers you do what I do. Work the volume or tone knobs! They aren't just for decoration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hey thanks rame! i will have a look at some pedals and im sure i will like my new gibson, i mean it is GIBSON! haha

 

yes i am aware they are a single coil pickup although they are bigger than a fender single coil- there are also p90s by seymour duncan and they dont hum! but i would like to keep the guitar stock, but if the hum is annoying i might put some seyduns in it!

 

thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hey thanks rame! i will have a look at some pedals and im sure i will like my new gibson' date=' i mean it is GIBSON! haha

 

yes i am aware they are a single coil pickup although they are bigger than a fender single coil- there are also p90s by seymour duncan and they dont hum! but i would like to keep the guitar stock, but if the hum is annoying i might put some seyduns in it!

 

thanks![/quote'] Sure thing! Sorry, hope that didnt come across as condescending.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad we could help! I also wanted to respond to your question about the mini-humbuckers. I switched out the P-90's on my Les Paul to mini-humbuckers a few years back. I didn't dis-like them but just found I preferred the P-90's and ended up switching back. Completely my personal taste.

 

Compared to full size humbuckers I would say they are a little more bright (i.e. more high end). And this would be compared to Gibson full size humbuckers like the 57 Classics and not the ceramic magnet ones like the 500T/496R which can also be bright sounding.

 

If, when you get the guitar, you're not able to get the tone you want then it might be worth it to try some mini-humbuckers in it. Just to see. But I would really work with the amp and settings before you go modding the guitar. If you do though, try the Gibson mini-hums first before going to the "dark side" (seymour duncan) LOL!

 

Who knows, you might get the guitar, plug it in to the amp the first day, crank it up and just say "Yes! That is it!" [biggrin]

 

The reality is you'll probably have to tweak the amp a little. But that's easy enough to do though right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too, have guitars with Mini-humbuckers. LOVE 'em...IN those guitars..('76 LP Deluxe, AIUSA Sheraton, Riviera).

They are, to me, a nice combination of a Humbucker's creamy tone, and the P-90's punch! And, yes...they are

a bit "brighter." This is GOOD, in the neck position, espeically. The bridge can be nicely controlled by rolling back

the tone control, from 1/3 to 1/2, depending on your own preferences...and, possibly, the "pots" being used.

But, they are definitely worth investigating, should the P-90 prove too noisy. Another alternative, is the "stacked"

(humbucking) P-90's that Duncan makes, or Gibson's own P-100 (IF you can find them, that is), which are available

in both Soap-bar, or Dog-Eared versions. They are not quite P-90 in tone (doesn't have quite the same mid-range

"quack," that the P-90 does), but kind of a cross, between the mini-humbucker, and a P-90...and humbucker quiet,

too!

 

Cheers,

CB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

You can hear a hot P90 guitar by listening to Social Distortion. Go to their website "www.socialdistortion.com" and they have listings for videos. One of them is with Mike Ness playing with Bruce Springsteen and Mike is playing his Les Paul with P90s and Bruce is playing a Telecaster. You can hear how much more powerful Mike's Les Paul sounds with the P90s. But there's no justice for Mike. Gibson makes a Kiefer Sutherland an inspired guitar but Mike Ness, who's been playing his gold top Les Paul for ever, doesn't seem to get any love.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh and with P-90's if i dont want hum between chords then i just use my palm to mute the strings. it sounds like its a humbucker!!!!! just not as thick though. and everybody wants their own tone, so i would get multiple guitars, im only 13 and i have two(see signature), but ill eventually get an SG (angus love=) so yeah!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No offense, but p'ups are only one variable in a largish chain to reproduce a specific tone.

ex.the pick you use and your attack with it on the strings, string gauge and type, scale of guitar, woods of guitar including fretboard,use or none use of pedals, amp type (tube, solid state, fet, "modeling" and if tubes what tubes), how hard the amp is cranked up, speaker type, capacitance of signal cords and I'm sure I didn't manage to list everything.

 

If you are wishing to dupe anothers tone, you need to research which of all the above variables were utilized for each target performance, plus how the tone was captured in studio for the recording.

 

Even then, attack is critical and great luck accurately determining/reproducing that variable.

 

All that said, I'm fond of a JB 'bucker in the bridge (switchable between series/paralell) and a p90 or even a 90 voiced but sized for a "bucker" cavity nearest neck (Gibby p94?). works well for me to cover many different textures and tones, and I use that combo in 24.75 and 25.5 scale guitars.

 

Of course I also loaded a mid 70's Sears Maya Goldtop LP clone with not one but 3 p90's, and I use that for everything, but the bridge p'up is a Duncan 90 clone stacked for hum rejection, and switched into paralell it works well for twang( way twang bridge plus middle p'up)or oddly enough way distortion (not as muddy in parelell), while I like it in series with neck 90 for clean but bridge alone for mild crunch, but hey, congratulations to you for beginning your quest for tone, just consider while heroe's tones can be a great track to run on you will have to create your own at some point. Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pete Townshend - P90's in an SG for Live at Leeds and Woodstock

Dan Auerback - P90's all over the place (massive fuzz tones from him)

John Lennon - Casino, everything from Revolution to I've Got A Feeling

Jeff Lynne - LP Goldtop w/P90s ELO had everything from crystal clear tones to distorted tones in "Do Ya"

Neil Young - Blackie (LP with P90 in neck, minibucker in bridge)

The Replacements - A band full of P90's

 

You can get almost everything you want from a P90 except for metal, IMO (Metallica, Anthrax, etc)

 

I love P90's. So diverse, so simple, they sound a little different in each guitar, the hollowbody of the Casino, the thin slab of mahogany of the SG, the heft of a LP, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah the quest for tone...I seem to have fallen in love with P90's recently for some reason...looking at pictures of BB King, Chuck Berry, Grant Green, Herb Ellis, Beatles etc. For me the thing about P90's is their 'crude' sound, they punch out well and can sound really aggressive but also subtle in the right hands. Solid or Semi is another key factor...the solids sound great for ska/reggae chord stabs, crossing over to semis for rockabilly, country, rock'n roll etc. It's interesting to hear the Fender Jazzmaster compared to the Strat...each superb in different ways. I have a Les Paul Junior with single bridge P90 which is surprisingly compressed when overdriven and belies it's 'simple' format...sounding great for sustained lead lines. It's all about personal preference...ideally we would have several guitars for variety and inspiration...sometimes I have Strat days and sometimes HB days and very occasionally accoustic days!! Vive la Difference !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pete Townshend - P90's in an SG for Live at Leeds and Woodstock

Dan Auerback - P90's all over the place (massive fuzz tones from him)

John Lennon - Casino, everything from Revolution to I've Got A Feeling

Jeff Lynne - LP Goldtop w/P90s ELO had everything from crystal clear tones to distorted tones in "Do Ya"

Neil Young - Blackie (LP with P90 in neck, minibucker in bridge)

The Replacements - A band full of P90's

 

You can get almost everything you want from a P90 except for metal, IMO (Metallica, Anthrax, etc)

 

I love P90's. So diverse, so simple, they sound a little different in each guitar, the hollowbody of the Casino, the thin slab of mahogany of the SG, the heft of a LP, etc.

 

 

Don't forget about George Thorogood.... without P90's in his Gibson Semi-Hollows would his sound be the same?

And Leslie West of Mountain. '50's Les Paul Jr.s, now that was some classic P90 tone!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pretty much play P90s only with only a few exceptions, the trick is rolling off the highs on your pot and you can get a variety of sounds from them.

 

As for trying to figure how to sound like somebody else, try just sounding like yourself and doing things your way until your happy.

 

P90s can be very finicky and alot of people lose patience with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey there,

I have been playing on these P90s for over 25 years now....and loving 'em. I also have a lot of other LP's to play with 57's, PAF's and BB1&2's and 3&4's.....but I have to admit, my favorites are the P90's for most "classic rock" which requires a clean, lightly overdriven Marshall tone.

Good luck and happy exploring!http://i56.tinypic.com/2nva1e0.jpg[/img}

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey there,

I have been playing on these P90s for over 25 years now....and loving 'em. I also have a lot of other LP's to play with 57's, PAF's and BB1&2's and 3&4's.....but I have to admit, my favorites are the P90's for most "classic rock" which requires a clean, lightly overdriven Marshall tone.

Good luck and happy exploring!2nva1e0.jpg

 

[drool]

Man, that image was too sweet to let go unseen! You need to edit your tags, the ending tag ends with this (}) instead of this (]).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...