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=========================================================================== Gibson =========================================================================== =========================================================================== Misc Info =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From dw@dmu.ac.uk Mon Sep 6 11:26:32 1993 From: dw@dmu.ac.uk (David Wakely) Subject: Re: Gibson P-90 vs P-100 pickups Organization: De Montfort University, Leicester, UK --------------------------------------------------------------------------- chris chovit (chrisc@gomez.jpl.nasa.gov) wrote: : I have an old 1980 Washburn Falcon (solid mahogony body, arch top) that I : was going to put some reissue Gibson pickups in. Can someone tell me the : difference between the P-90's and the P-100's (in terms of sound)? I know : that P-100's are humbuckers and that P-90's are single coil, but do the : P-100's sound like P-90's when you switch to single coil? Thanks, in : advance. I have an old ES125 with P90s and a recent ES135 with P100s. I can't be totally objective, as the ES135 has - a la 335/345/355 - a solid block up the centre of the guitar, but ... the P100s give a lot lower output, and seem a lot less full-sounding. The P90s are really fat sounding, and can really roar: the P100s are a wee bit demure and 'nice'. That said, the P100s record beautifully, and don't have the mid-range overload the P90s have which give my four-track such a headache! And my guitar doesn't have a coil-tap, so I can't answer the other part of the question. But bear in mind Seymour Duncan sell three different P90 replacement models. If anyone has tried *those*, I'd be interested in their comments - the 135 might get an upgrade! David --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar From: collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins) Subject: Re: P-90 pickups Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc. Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 00:54:49 GMT X-Disclaimer: This article is not the opinion of Tandem Computers, Inc. In article <2qbh85$ad4@netnews.upenn.edu>, seiden@mail.sas.upenn.edu (Gary Seiden) wrote: > > Can anyone tell me something about p-90 pickups. From what I understand > they are single coil pickups, but do they sound at all like Fender single > coils? Do they still hum like Fender single coils? What would you > compare their tone to? P-90 pickups are indeed single coils, and they are noisy, like all single coils. I've got P-90s in a Les Paul. The tone is beautiful, but I would say they are a bit noisier than the single coils in any of my Strats. They are pretty big single coils, so the size may have something to do with the increased noise. By the way, single coil noise is something that never really bothered me. It was rather late in life before I got my first humbucker guitar. It is too easy to say that the P-90s sound nothing like Fender single coils. I'm sure I would be correct in saying that, but I've never heard nor seen a P-90 on a Stratocaster, nor have I seen or heard a Fender single coil on a Les Paul. There would be some significant modifications required to either type of guitar to accommodate this. Acoustically speaking, the standard Strat is a brighter guitar than a Les Paul, so it's hard to make generalizations. A P-90 is a fat single coil sound, but, to my ears, unmistakably single coil nonetheless. One of the best recorded examples I can think of for a P-90 would be early Freddy King recordings, before he switched to an ES-335 or ES-345 (can't remember which one it was). Such Freddy King classics as Hideaway, San-ho-zay and Have You Ever Loved a Woman were recorded with a Les Paul equipped with P-90 pickups. Freddy didn't really go for a clean, pretty sound, but rather a more piercing, trebly sound. The guitar is right up front, and the character of the pickups can easily be heard. He used a thumbpick and a metal fingerpick, and the hard edge to his tone is due in no small part to that metal fingerpick. If I'm not mistaken, early Santana recordings feature Carlos playing a Gibson SG equipped with P-90s. Early Chuck Berry recordings also feature P-90s, but on a Gibson ES-335 type of guitar. Listen to any of these recordings, and you'll get a feel for the character of P-90s pickups. None of these guitars will sound like a Strat or Tele, but they also sound brighter and punchier than their counterparts equipped with humbuckers. Jimmy --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From mccrae@cellnet.com Fri May 13 13:27:50 1994 Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar From: mccrae@cellnet.com (Jim McCrae) Subject: Re: "SOAPBAR" PICKUPS??????? Organization: Domestic Automation Company Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 06:39:35 GMT In article <1994May8.165151.1@ccsvax.sfasu.edu> z_cornettjt@ccsvax.sfasu.edu writes: > >Speaking of pickups . . .does anyone have a guitar with those old (or copies >of) . .those old Gibson P-90 or P-100 "soapbar" pickups? Those are wonderful pickups. I haven't tried the reissues by Seymour-Duncan or Bartolini, but the original Gibson P-90s have a very distinctive, slighty nasal sound with a lot of punch. I think they're too midrange-intensive in the bridge position, but then again I seldom use any pickup in the bridge position. The sound at the neck is very good for blues and jazz, and you can here that same sound on a lot of old vinyl. Chuck Berry, Freddie King, BB King, Wes Montgomery all were playing P-90s on their early stuff. Check em out. Jim McCrae --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From mikem@panix.com Thu Sep 16 20:33:57 1993 From: mikem@panix.com (Michael Melkonian) Subject: Re: Gibson Pickups: P-90 vs. P-100? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In article <chrisc-160993131635@chovitmac.jpl.nasa.gov> chrisc@gomez.jpl.nasa.gov (chris chovit) writes: Howdy all! I posted this question on alt.guitar but did not get much of a response (thanks, by the way for the one response I did get). What are the sonic differences between the old (or reissue) P-90 single coil pickups and the P-100 humbuckers? Can you get a P-90 sound using only one of the coils from the P-100's? I appreciate any replies. Thanks, in advance. Chris. I have a Valley Arts Standard with P-90 pickups (I think they are Duncans), as well as a Les Paul with stock Gibson Humbuckers (I assume these are P-100s). The P-90s definately sound fatter than most other single coil pickups, but not as fat as the humbuckers, and, of course, the P-90s do hum. I like the sound of the P-90s. Since the guitars are different it is hard to tell which part of the sound comes from the pickups, and which comes the guitar. I do not have a coil tap on my Paul, but I have heard that having a coil tap on a humbucker does not sound exactly like a single coil (although I am not sure). Mike. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From collins_jim@tandem.com Fri Sep 17 10:42:40 1993 From: collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins) Subject: Re: Gibson Pickups: P-90 vs. P-100? Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- P-90 pickups are, indeed, single coil pickups -- the famous soap bar pickups. P-100 pickups are stacked humbuckers -- not standard humbuckers -- made to look like P-90 pickups when encased in the cream colored cover. P-100s fit in the same cavity that P-90s fit in. P-100s are not tapped, and it wouldn't do much good to make them tapped, since the coils are stacked. The P-100s sound similar to P-90s, but the P-100s are a bit louder and certainly quieter. The P-100s have a somewhat fuller sound than the P-90s. I have a 1955 reissue goldtop Les Paul with P-100 soapbars, and it's a beauty. The tone is great, and quite different from standard humbuckers. If you like a P-90 type sound, and need the higher output and the quiet of a humbucker, the P-100 is a good choice. However, if you desire that sound, but have a standard humbucker cavity to fill, you still have two choices. DiMarzio makes a humbucker called the Humbucker from Hell that thinks it is a single coil. I've used these on a Les Paul, and they act like louder P-100s. These are really cool. The other choice is the Paul Reed Smith humbucker called the Deep Dish II pickup. I haven't used these, but I've read that they really go after the P-90 sound. Jimmy From collins_jim@tandem.com Tue Nov 29 21:55:40 1994 Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar From: collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins) Subject: Re: PAF replacemen Followup-To: rec.music.makers.guitar Nntp-Posting-Host: 130.252.1.130 Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc. Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 22:08:54 GMT X-Disclaimer: This article is not the opinion of Tandem Computers, Inc. In article <CzzA8J.IC1@news.cern.ch>, vacs@hpna49-2.cern.ch (Georgios Vasileiadis) wrote: > > Hi, > Does anybody knows if physically the size of a PAF or similar type > pickup is the same as a P90 one. That means if I put a P90 in a LP > who has originally PAF-type pickups, will it be that there will be > some empty space in the hole of the pickup. > I know looks strange this question but so is me... > Thank you > -- They are not even close in size, and they don't mount the same way, either. A P-90 is narrower, and actually a bit longer, too. A P-90 mounts in a rectangular hole routed to the same size as the pickup (the corners are rounded). There are two machine screws that run through the body of the pickup (in the same line as the six adjustable pole pieces), and into machine screw inserts that are mounted in the body of the guitar, in the pickup cavity. There is a spring on each of the two screws, located underneath the pickup body. This allows for height adjustment. Humbuckers are attached to a retaining ring -- that rectangular piece of plastic that surrounds a humbucker. A humbucker has two "feet" that extend out on each end. A screw goes through the retaining ring, through a spring, and into the foot. This allows height adjustment, relative to the height of the retaining ring. The retaining ring is attached to the body of the guitar by a wood screw in each of the corners. The pickup cavity for a humbucker is not a rectangle. It is actually a shorter, fatter rectangle, with extensions on the side that will accommodate the "feet" of the pickup. Furthermore, a Les Paul originally equipped with humbuckers will not have the machine screw inserts mounted in the body necessary to hold the P-90 in place. If you tried to fit P-90s into a humbucker equipped Les Paul, there would be no way you'd be satisfied with the results. The guitar would be butchered beyond repair. Now, if you really want the sound of P-90s in your Les Paul, you can still get pretty close with standard sized humbuckers. DiMarzio makes a pickup called the Humbucker from Hell, which, in spite of what the goofy name might imply, sounds much like a single coil. It is not as fat sounding as a standard humbucker, but nice, bright, clear, and with fairly high output. Another alternative, though probably harder to find, is a Paul Reed Smith Deep Dish II pickup (not to be confused with a Deep Dish). These are standard humbuckers that do a damn fine job of sounding like a P-90. I've tried both of these humbuckers in a Les Paul, and I also have a Les Paul equipped with P-90s, so I had something to compare it to. Both of these humbuckers are excellent sounding pickups that really do mimic fat, single coil pickups. I think the PRS pickups might be a little closer to the P-90s, but they are not as readily available as the DiMarzio Humbuckers >from Hell. Hope this helps. Jimmy From collins_jim@tandem.com Wed Jan 4 15:14:18 1995 Newsgroups: alt.guitar Path: zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!caen!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!uunet!tandem!NewsWatcher!user From: collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins) Subject: Re: Soapbar Sound in Humbucking Size ? Message-ID: <collins_jim-040195094605@130.252.1.130> Followup-To: alt.guitar Sender: news@tandem.com Nntp-Posting-Host: 130.252.1.130 Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc. References: <3ecqgi$8ib@vaneyck.ahip.getty.edu> Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 17:53:58 GMT Lines: 24 X-Disclaimer: This article is not the opinion of Tandem Computers, Inc. In article <3ecqgi$8ib@vaneyck.ahip.getty.edu>, nrozakis@getty.edu (Nick Rozakis) wrote: > > > Does anyone make a full size humbucker that sounds like those > cool Gibson P90 pickups ? > > Thanks > > Nick I know of two choices. First, there is DiMarzio's Humbucker from Hell. This is the goofiest name I've ever heard. The name makes you think of a full shred pickup, but the pickup is anything but. It is a full size humbucker that really sounds like a fat single coil, which is what a P-90 is. It is louder than a P-90. This is pickup has a very good, clean sound, that is close to a P-90, but not really right on. Another choice is the PRS Deep Dish II pickup -- not to be confused with the Deep Dish pickup. The Deep Dish II pickup is the closest I've heard to a P-90 yet. I have a Les Paul with P-90s in it right now, and I've used the both the DiMarzios and PRS pickups in other Les Pauls. I think the PRS pickups are closer to the P-90 sound than the DiMarzios, but the DiMarzios aren't bad. They are easier to find, as well. Jimmy From collins_jim@tandem.com Thu Jan 5 14:32:35 1995 Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar Path: zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!gatech!newsfeed.pitt.edu!uunet!tandem!NewsWatcher!user From: collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins) Subject: Re: SDuncan-VS-P90 Message-ID: <collins_jim-050195103534@130.252.1.131> Followup-To: rec.music.makers.guitar Sender: news@tandem.com Nntp-Posting-Host: 130.252.1.131 Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc. References: <D1xA7s.Jx3@news.cern.ch> <s0477311.588.2F0BEC4F@let.rug.nl> Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 18:40:31 GMT Lines: 36 X-Disclaimer: This article is not the opinion of Tandem Computers, Inc. In article <s0477311.588.2F0BEC4F@let.rug.nl>, s0477311@let.rug.nl (M. Verhoef) wrote: > > In article <D1xA7s.Jx3@news.cern.ch> vacs@hpna49-2.cern.ch (Georgios Vasileiadis) writes: > >From: vacs@hpna49-2.cern.ch (Georgios Vasileiadis) > >Subject: SDuncan-VS-P90 > >Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 07:59:52 GMT > > >Hi, > >Does anybody has any experience on either GIBSON P90 or > >Seymour Duncan Mini-Humbuckers pickups (the Firebird type). > >Iam thinking upgrading my Gibson Deluxe and wondering about. > >The kind of music I practice is more of the noisy-crunch N.Young > >style.. > >Thank you > > I've got some Gibson P 90's, one of which is installed in my homemade > Les Paul Special as a neck pu. It sounds good, though i favor the sound > of fender single coils at the moment (The bridge pu is a Guild humbucker > which sounds fantastic!). If you want humbuckers you could try the P 100, > it's a humbucking version of the P 90. Supposedly they sound the same with > less hum (never heard them though so i can't tell). SD also makes a P 90 > replacement (a lot cheaper than the original Gibson) called 'Soapbar'. > Btw, the fact that i like fender pu's at the moment is caused by a new > record of Derek & the Domino's I bought recently ;-) > > Mike > I had P-100s on a Les Paul, and replaced them with Gibson P-90s. The P-100s are very good pickups, but they don't sound quite the same as P-90s. They have similar tonal qualities, but the P-100s are smoother than the P-90s. The P-90s have more edge to them. They are not as loud as the P-100s, and are noisier than your average Fender single coil. If the noise of the P-90s is an issue, the P-100s may be close enough, and certainly quieter. Jimmy