P-90's

[Steven Tari]

I'm going to put P=90's on the guitar I'm having built. I'm finding out now that the P=90s On my Zephyr are Zephyr P-90s. With all the different P-90s I don;t want to find out later that I made a mistake on the pups I pick out. Has anyone messed with the different styles and is there any difference in tone. Thanks :blink:

[Versatile]

Big subject...!!

 

Many quality options...Seymour Duncan, BareKnuckle, Gibson etc

 

Most have great websites with factual specs and recommendations

 

And the choice of wood is relevant too....

 

V

 

[Sinner 13]

Jason Lollar Make the best P-90's hands down, with Kent Armstrong a close second.

[Searcy]

Original P-90 pickups had two magnets, either Alnico 5 or Alnico 3 and a wide flat bobbin with 10,000 turns of 42ga wire on it. To my thinking there are only a few things you can change in a P-90 and still claim it's a P-90. The number of turns can be varied and the magnets types can be tweaked to adjust that characteristics and still retain that P-90 sound.

[stein]

I did a detailed comparism between the Gibson P-90 and the Lindy Fralin P-90. (I wrote a thread about it).

 

Some makers specialize in a certain type, and I expected the Fralin to be great because the P-90 is his thing, and he is known for them.

 

I was surprised how close they were to the Gibby. There WERE differences, but I would not put one above the other. The Gibson P-90 is actually a great pickup, and easily the equal of any other P-90 in quality and tone.

 

To some, I have heard that the Fralin can be too bright. It was ever so slightly brighter in the LP Special, and I preferred it, but liked the grind of the Gibby a little better. In a ES-135, they were on the bright side, and I bet I would prefer the Gibby in that to a larger degree than I preferred the Fralin in the Special.

 

I have heard GREAT things about lollar pups, and I have yet to try one. I am actually looking forward to hopefully trying a P-90. One thing that seems to set his designing apart is that he more often that other makers will change the recipe and specs away from the "proper vintage" spec (even in an effort to replicate the vintage sound).

 

One thing I CAN say about the Gibby P-90 is that I feel it is the most likely to sound great in the most guitars, and I know many that have upgraded to them and got great results. I would at least use them as a starting point if you are not sure what to use. As SEARCY says, there is only so much you can do to change the design, and what I think is the case of the P-90 may be that there are some that sound better in certain guitars, but may not be an across the board improvement in all guitars.

[damian]

I agree with Stein ( he IS always right ).........IMHO, the Gibby P-90 is like the Gibby '57 of HBs.....the best "overall" choice.....

[stein]

[quote][/quote]

 

Unable to link the thread, TONE REPORT: Gibson p-90 vs FRALIN P-90 (or something like that).

 

It is on like the second to the last page of my content.

 

It might be a good read because I went through efforts to compare the two in the same guitar and take notes.

[stein]

I agree with Stein ( he IS always right ).........IMHO, the Gibby P-90 is like the Gibby '57 of HBs.....the best "overall" choice.....

That's kind of you (although maybe a little TOO kind-I am wrong at least as much).

[SweetMarie]

Relax! The P90s in your Zephyr Blues Deluxe are the same as in any other Epiphone. The middle one is reversed to cancel the hum.

 

Just be aware that the body style will impact the sound of the pups--the Zephyr being a rather large jazzbox sounds different than say, a Les Paul with the same pups.