The Steel Guitar Forum

Can somebody explain what exactly a P-90 pickup is, how it differs from SC's and humbuckers? Also, what's good and bad about P-90's? Thanks

A P-90 is a single coil, it differs from a Strat or Tele style single by having a 'fatter' coil and using two magnets set under the long sides of the coil instead of magnetic pole pieces.

Here's a rebuild of a Gibson-made mandolin P-90. It's construction is identical to a guitars, just a little shorter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iedQSE8p ... annel_page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-90

Moved to Electronics from Steel Without Pedals in an attempt to get more people to respond (and to place this in the proper section).

P-90s are my absolute favorite pickups. They have that sparkle-y top end bite of a single-coil pickup, but also a midrange growl to them when you push them. They don't get muddy like humbuckers however, so you retain some nice definition. They are generally "hotter' than standard Fender-type single coils, with a really juicy tone.

That's the good stuff. The bad stuff is that they're big single-coils and they can pick up lots of noise, especially in bars with lights, PCs, dimmers, etc. But they still sound great, you just need to use a noise gate or turn the guitar's volume down when you stop playing.

One of my guitars has Seymour Duncan Vintage and Custom P-90s. My Tele has a GFS Dream-90, which is a humbucker-sized P-90, and it sounds great too.