p90 School Me

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:29 pm

Looking for some input on p90's and what brands you like,,,I just installed my first set of Wilkinson p90's in my guitar (Alder body maple neck 24" short scale) and they sound really good but the sound is not what I was expecting..i was under the impression p90s were bright like a tele but these seem warm /fat.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:36 pm

SOrry old stick - they are pretty warm and fat, although they've got the bite of a single coil too.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:07 pm

certainly you listened to some demo's first, eh?

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:15 pm

Yes I listened to some,, Dont get me wrong they sound great,,just not as bright as I thought they were going to be. They sound great clean and really good with hi-gain also. What brands you guy's use. whats your guitar wood.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:20 pm

i have a GFS dream90 in the neck of my dot, and it's quite warm.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:28 pm

Adjusting the polepieces makes more difference with a P90 than any pickup I've used before - I used Dan Erlewine's setup guide for polepiece distances (can't remember them offhand, and the book is upstairs somewhere...) on my Mean 90s, made a huge difference; they needed to be much closer than I expected.

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:32 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:i have a GFS dream90 in the neck of my dot, and it's quite warm.

I have had good luck with GFS pickups also,,,I'll mess with the height and pole tonight

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:47 pm

Should be in the Effects, Amps & Gear section.

Definitely tweak the pickup height to find a setting your comfortable with. It may take a lil while to dial it in, but it's loads better than dismissing a pickup or replacing it. Patience is key.

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:05 am

tomin8r wrote:Should be in the Effects, Amps & Gear section.

Definitely tweak the pickup height to find a setting your comfortable with. It may take a lil while to dial it in, but it's loads better than dismissing a pickup or replacing it. Patience is key.

ooops,,Yes it should be in Effects, Amps & Gear section...Not dismissing the pickup..just a little supprised..I like the sound.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:30 am

tomin8r wrote:Definitely tweak the pickup height.

It's important to point out - you'll want to balance pickup height and polepiece height. Two different things with two different sonic differences.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:08 am

My Aerodyne Tele has a p90-like "vintage soapbar" in the neck, which is quite warm; not bright at all. Pretty much any P90 I've heard has likewise not been a bright pickup, but a wonderful middle between a traditional single coil's bite and the roundness of a humbucker. Great pickups for rock n roll drive.

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:25 am

Ankhanu wrote:My Aerodyne Tele has a p90-like "vintage soapbar" in the neck, which is quite warm; not bright at all. Pretty much any P90 I've heard has likewise not been a bright pickup, but a wonderful middle between a traditional single coil's bite and the roundness of a humbucker. Great pickups for rock n roll drive.

Thanks Ankhanu,, These Wilkinsons seem to be on par with everyones comments so far.. These are my first..I had to bastardize a guitar to make them fit..But they shure do have thier own sound and I like it..I'm jamin with a buddie tonight mabey Ill get a video of them.

tomin8r · Post by **tomin8r** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:04 am

benecol wrote:
tomin8r wrote:Definitely tweak the pickup height.
It's important to point out - you'll want to balance pickup height and polepiece height. Two different things with two different sonic differences.

Cheers benecol, I forgot to mention the polepiece height as well.

Post by **Doog** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:16 pm

There's always the option to replace your volume pots for a higher rated impedance, that'll give you more top end too.

Check out what you've got currently, I'd definitely try a 500k in place of a 250k.

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:26 pm

Doog wrote:There's always the option to replace your volume pots for a higher rated impedance, that'll give you more top end too.

Check out what you've got currently, I'd definitely try a 500k in place of a 250k.

I have 500k,So 250 will give a little more top end with p90s

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:01 pm

No, higher impedance will give more top end. For example the Jaguar/Jazzmaster rhythm circuit is a dark tone, and uses 50k pots, whereas the bright jangly lead circuit uses 1meg pots. Stratocasters use 250k pots. Tele Deluxes used 1m pots, but the reissues use 250k and are too dark; upping to 500k helps this a lot.

In your case, you could increase to a 1meg pot to get better highs, but you do run the risk of getting too shrill. 500k pots with P90s should be giving you plenty.

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:14 pm

Ankhanu wrote:No, higher impedance will give more top end. For example the Jaguar/Jazzmaster rhythm circuit is a dark tone, and uses 50k pots, whereas the bright jangly lead circuit uses 1meg pots. Stratocasters use 250k pots. Tele Deluxes used 1m pots, but the reissues use 250k and are too dark; upping to 500k helps this a lot.

In your case, you could increase to a 1meg pot to get better highs, but you do run the risk of getting too shrill. 500k pots with P90s should be giving you plenty.

Thanks...Im fine with 500k...These pickups have a percussiveness to them. I cant believe how good they sound. I'm sold on p90's

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:38 am

Old news from our sloppy stock of videos from a few years back, but the tones are there.

Kent Armstrong (Made in Korea) P90s + 500k pots. Overall, sounds like a fat Strat, methinks.

Plywood ahoy!

[youtube][/youtube]

DGW · Post by **DGW** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:07 am

I am getting some great sounds out of these...Still messing with the pole's
[youtube][/youtube]