What is special about P90 pickups?

P90 pickups are good for a range of different styles of music, because they have a versatile tone. They’re well suited to blues, country and rock. The only style that they aren’t usually as well suited to, is metal. This is because you can get some humming when you crank up the gain, as they only have one coil.

Can I replace P90 with a humbucker?

You normally replace Humbuckers with P90s, not the other way around, but in this case, the change has yielded remarkable sound improvements! As you can imagine, this is a very delicate job. One false move or a small mistake with the router could ruin your guitar forever.

Are P90s good for jazz?

When it comes to tone, P90s are best known for having a spanky and warm tone with a good mid-bass response, especially when the volume is rolled off at low levels. This type of sound is good for smooth jazz lead tones making them a popular choice when paired with a hollow or semi-hollow body guitar.

What is a Gibson P-90 pickup?

First introduced in the early 1950s, Gibson’s legendary P-90 single coil pickup produced a raw powerful tone that helped define the blues and rock and roll in their formative years. Today, the P-90’s traditional combination of high output and brilliant tone is still considered a favorite among many top musicians.

What is a P-90 Les Paul?

In the early 1970s, punk rock guitarists such as Johnny Thunders of The New York Dolls began using Les Paul Juniors and Les Paul Specials equipped with P-90s because of the cutting overdriven sound and the inexpensive nature of the guitars.

How does a P-90 compare to other single coil guitars?

Compared to other single coil designs, such as the ubiquitous Fender single coil, the bobbin for a P-90 is wider but shorter. The Fender style single coil is wound in a taller bobbin but the wires are closer to the individual poles. This makes the P-90 produce a different type of tone, somewhat warmer with less edge and brightness.

What is a P-90 magnet?

P-90s use bar magnets set under the polepieces, much like a humbucker, whereas Fender single-coils use rod magnets as the polepieces. Popular guitars that use or have the option of using P-90s are the Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul, Ernie Ball Axis series and the Epiphone Casino.