GFS Mean 90's in Epi Les Paul Classic

[w1av]

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Classic and put a set of GFS Mean 90 pickups in it, had the guitar set up completely, even adjusting individual pole screws for even string output.

The guitar had a set of GFS Vintage 59's which replaced the stock uncoverd pups. But I didnt like the overly bassy tone even with the 59's. I have a set of 59's in my semi hollow body and they are great sounding.

But the LP was too bassy. So here is my own evaluation of Mean 90's in an Epi Les Paul.....

First, the bassiness has been reduced on neck pickup and the middle position (both pups)....The tone on bridge is a little thin, but can be equalized on amp. Not bad for leads.....I am using a Fender hot rod deluxe with upgraded tubes and speaker. One thing I noticed right away is I dont have the SNARL was expecting. I tried playing with amp and using bridge pickup and can get a happy medium. I also noticed that I don't have to turn up gain on amp much past 2 in order to get a nice growl. If I turn ther amp up much past 2 it still sounds too 'fuzzy' for me....I am still new using a tube amp and I don't think I am setting something right. I have seen comments of people saying they had these pickups and there was a slight 'strat-like' tone.....I didnt notice that at all. I am still undecided if I REALLY like these pickups or not......on the plus side, they did cut down on the overly bassy tone......but negatively, I still can't get the warm tube slight overdrive tone that I can get with my Epiphone SG junior....the one with dog ear P90.......

Maybe I am being picky....? ? ? ? I played a Strat last night thru the Fender and could dial in some nice tones no problem....I am wondering if its the LP itself???? I have heard guys playing LP's with P90s like mine and they sounded OK.....any suggestions to set amp and volume controls on guitar for a better tone?

Don't get me wrong, the guitar does sound good......I have even heard people get that nice tone from humbuckers.....my main problem is too fuzzy sound/tone when I add a little gain....it almost sounds like driving a tiny speaker too hard. HELP!!!!

[Ron G]

Have you experimented with the heights of the pickups?

[Stevie Nazarenie]

i hate fizz and i hate fuzz. i am with a pod xt through a marshall mg10cd (clean) then into a 15"pa speaker. my mean 90's are in a poplar prs/ dc style guitar and i was not sold on the tone till today. i have the plexi model with gain at 2 o'clock (this is the best all round for tone!) and turned on the red comp. it's a perfect tone.

i think some say these are hotter than proper p90's? so turn the gain down. is it actually the amp you don't like? i always test my pickups through a plexi or ac30 model. they really bring out the pickups. some amps make the best pickups sound like crap. you really need to know you like the amp and then you know where you are. an overdrive through a tube amp will get a great tone. try a cheap overdrive pedal and see what you get!

[vomer]

I went from 59's to Mean 90's in my Sheraton. I was happy with both, but wanted the p90 sound. +1 to what Ron G said- try experimenting with pickup height. I know what you mean by snarl and my bridge pickup gets there. What amp are you using?

[twanger]

I have a Gibson LPDC with the P-90's. I followed the advice here on adjusting the pup height and this thing now snarls and growls like no tomorrow! I also discovered that by making one side of the pup lower than the other you can effectively adjust your bass/treble response. Then, for the final adjustment, adjust the screws up or down to achieve string balance. When done you will have a gen-u-wine rock monster in your hands!