It comes a point in every guitar player’s career when they feel like it’s time to switch to a new, more expensive guitar. However, as we get accustomed to our guitar’s weight, shape and fretboard, it can get increasingly harder to part ways with it.
Top 3 - P90 Pickups
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Upgrading your pickups is a simple, cost-efficient way to improve your sound quality without actually buying a new instrument.
If you own a guitar with a P90 pickup, you know that its specific sound is very hard to achieve with any other pickup. It gives you the attack and the twang of a single coil, combined with the beefy mid-low range response, similar to that of a humbucker.
And, with many different manufacturers offering a variety of P90s, it can be hard to make a decision as to which P90 pickup gives the most bang for your buck. To help you make that decision, I handpicked six P90 pickups that will give your guitar that distinctly warm sound.
My Ultimate List of the Best P90 Pickups
Let’s get into the P90 pickups that are worth taking a look at.
Table of Contents
In the past 40 years of rock 'n' roll, we’ve come to learn that Seymour Duncan pretty much can do no wrong when making a pickup. You can find their pickups on Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, and many other top-tier guitars.
In fact, David Gilmour’s 1952 Fender Esquire with Seymour Duncan pickups can be seen at the “Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains” exhibition in the V&A Museum in London.
This pickup adds a modern twist on the vintage Gibson P90. Fitted with Alnico V magnets (the same as the original Gibson P90), this pickup provides a muddier tone, while keeping the tonal character of a P90.
It has the traditional soap bar design, which means it can easily fit into the place of any classic P90 pickups. Additionally, it has a higher output than many single coils and the signature midrange grittiness that makes the P90s so easily distinguishable.
Another favorite thing of mine about the Seymour Duncan P90 is that it also comes in matte black, which looks way sleeker than Gibson’s retro cream.
Seymour Duncan deserves another spot on this list with their Phat Cat pickups.
The Phat Cat seems to honor the rich Seymour Duncan tradition. It uses Alnico II magnets, which give you improved sustain and a softer attack. They have a great tonal clarity, which doesn’t go away even when you push the overdrive.
The tough metal cover provides more shielding and noise reduction, which contributes to an even cleaner, tame sound.
This pickup is known for its fat mid-range. Unlike some other P90 pickups, Lindy Fralin is truly noiseless due to its reverse wound bridge which helps with hum canceling when both pickups are on. The sustain is solid, single notes thick, and the chords ring out with some compression, which makes for a clear sound.
The Lindy Fralin P90 is made to the historic vintage Gibson specifications, and utilizes Butyrate P90 Bobbins, USA-Made Alnico IV Bar Magnets, and 42-Gauge Plain Enamel Wire, for that authentic vintage tone.
Possibly the best thing about this pickup is that it’s available with Alnico IV magnets and steel poles. Alnico IV gives you a cleaner, sustained sound, while steel poles sound closer to the original P90 from the 50’s.
The Kent Armstrong P90 is different from all the other entries on this list in one major way – it features a double coil setup, rather than a single coil. This results in better hum canceling, while it has its downsides when it comes to the sound.
It has a lower output than many P90s, which results in a less bright sound and a darkened high end. However, its crunchy, hard sound makes it a great option if you play more aggressive styles like hard rock or metal. Like the DiMarzio P90, it’s not considered a top-tier product, which makes it quite affordable.
It’s almost impossible to talk about these without mentioning the original Fender Pure Vintage Jazzmaster pickups. These iconic pickups feature the classic combination of clear sound and high output, which has been a favorite of many musicians through the years.
It’s wax-potted to avoid microphonic feedback, and uses the Alnico V magnet which gives it a fattier tone compared to Alnico II. However, this doesn’t mean it’s too fat to sound like a true P90.
This Fender Jazzmaster set achieves the warm vintage Jazzmaster sound effortlessly, thanks also to the Enamel coated magnet wire. The flush-mount polepieces result in an even string response.
Unlike the Lindy Fralin, which is a top-tier product, the DiMarzio Bluesbucker is a more affordable pickup. However, don’t be mistaken – this pickup doesn’t sacrifice quality, and packs quite a few interesting features that enable you to get the most out of your sound.
It’s designed like a humbucker in terms of size and shape, but operates with single coils like a P90.
The unique design features two single coils, one of which is a “hot” coil, while the other one has a role mainly in noise cancellation. This means that changing the order gives you two different sounds – placing the “hot” coil closer to the neck results in a warm sound, while putting it closer to the bridge produces a brighter sound.
Different Types of P90 Pickups
All P90 pickups feature similar tone but they come in a variety of shapes. This is important, as not all guitars can be fitted with all of these pickups. If you have your eyes set on a particular P90, you have to make sure your guitar is ready for it.
There are three types of P90 pickups:
- Soap bar – the original Gibson P90 with a rectangular shape. Mounting screws are in the middle of the pickup, so they don’t fix into your pickguard.
- Dog ear – similar to the soap bar design, the dog ear P90s also sport a rectangular shape. However, the mounting screws are not placed in the center of the pickup but on a triangular extension on each end of the pickup. This requires some modifications on many guitars, as these P90s will affix into your pickguard.
- Humbucker casing – similar to a standard humbucker design, these P90s are a bit thinner and longer than a traditional humbucker. These pickups require no modifications on your guitar.
What Are the Traditional Features of a P90?
A classic P90 pickup has a distinct sound that is almost impossible to confuse with any other pickups, even for an untrained ear (tele, or noiseless strat pickups, for example). Its attack is clearer and its tone brighter than a classic humbucker, while it has a muddier midrange response than a single coil.
However, there are some differences between models – some of them have better noise canceling, while others sacrifice this for a stronger punch and clearer individual notes.
Most of these differences come from different magnet materials. The most popular magnet types are Alnico (usually Alnico II and Alnico V) and ceramic. Alnico is usually used in high-end pickups, but since ceramic magnet pickups are cheaper, you can buy a pickup with a higher grade ceramic magnet for the same price. This results in ceramic magnet pickups often having a brighter, clearer tone.
Final Word
All of these six pickups have their own advantages and flaws, and each of them is the best possible choice for a certain guitar player. The most important thing when buying a P90 pickup is choosing the one that fits your guitar and playing style perfectly.
Remember, trying them all out is the best way to see their differences. There is no shame in walking into a guitar shop, trying a guitar with a certain pickup, and walking out without buying anything. In fact, this will help you make an informed decision further down the road.
G’day Gavin, thank you for going to the trouble in helping lost souls like me. I am in the process of building a replica Melody Maker and am researching P90 pickups. I intend to sell these guitars ( I do a Les Paul jr. as well) and it is a bit of a guessing game as to which brand of pups to use. The guitar has to attract attention and the sound it delivers is the most important thing. At this stage they will be single pickup and my problem is obviously…… How do you appeal to all prospective customers with just one pickup?
I am thinking I should lean towards a blues tone more than any other so which of the above would you say best suits my situation?
One more question, what do you think of Bare Knuckle pickups?
Thank you for your time,
Ian Macgregor.
Hi Ian,
I’d recommend going with the Seymour Duncan Phat Cat. It’s extremely versatile and I believe would fit your needs well. Regarding Bare Knuckle pickups, I don’t have first hand experience with those, so it’s better that I don’t comment on them.
Thanks for your appreciation!
Gavin
I have nothing to add…just saying good job, and thanks for sharing your wisdom and opinions. I usually find myself with some sort of P90 under the strings of whatever I have in my hands.
Actually, I’m really diggin these “RailHammer” (I think?, or “HumCutter”?) Pickups I discovered in a guitar I bought a few years back. They’re a Billy Corgan signature pup that uses big fat poles under the first 3 strings, and a rail for the bottom 3, in a split design…they’re traditional HB sized and noiseless. They are as close to perfect as I’ve ever heard, with all the amazing P90 characteristics I love, while fixing some of the attributes that I usually have to compromise on to have that P90 magic tone. I’ve tried a lot of different P90 incarnations from most major brands you’d know, and some you might not. I know what sounds I’m chasing in my head. These Billy Corgan RailHammer? Pups are the sound I was always reaching for. Now, of course I need to reach higher, and try to find something that improves upon this particular pup…and as far as noise free P90 designs, this is the new standard for me. I’ve had Fralins and others before, and they were good, but they were always lacking a lil sumpin’. These BC signatures seem to have that missing mojo…maybe they have a soul?
And I’m not saying these are the be all, end all of pickup designs, or everyone can stop making new ones and go home cause pickups have been solved. I’m just saying these have impressed, surprised and gave me a beautiful benchmark to use when I listen to other pups going forward. Eventually I’ll find something I like more. We all evolve that way. One of my favorite neck HB sound’s is actually a SD BRIDGE Pearly Gates wired into a tripleshot mounting ring…give it a try!
I guess I did have something to add, didn’t I?..
Thanks
Lee
I’ve tried a lot of them but the Klein 1957 Epic Series P-90 pickup seemed to be the best match for my Les Paul JR. It has a really aggressive mid range with a lot of bit. It also has a sweet high end and overall good vintage type depth.
hi.
thank you for your informative article. Perhaps you could recommend one of the P90‘s; I am mostly a jazz player I have a 65 rs 330 that sounds gorgeous. Definite problems with hum and noise in certain venues. What pick up word best maintain the original sound and still have some degree of noise cancellation? Thank you! – Peter
Hi Peter, you can’t go wrong with the Fender Pure Vintage Jazzmaster P90 pickups.
There is no such thing as Fender Pure Vintage Jazzmaster P90 pickup –
Jazzmaster pickups are COMPLETELY different from P90 pickups –
You’re absolutely right, Joe. That was an error. We’ve in fact very recently published a separate buying guide on Jazzmaster pickups: https://musicoomph.com/best-jazzmaster-pickups/
Hi gavin..i plan to made project guitar which is have p90 pickup on neck and humbucker pickup on bridge..which is p90 pickup pair well with humbucker pickup?thanks gavin
Hi there . . . just trying to help out.
Many folk make this mistake.
They think, because it ‘looks’ the same, that a Jazzmaster has P90s.
They are not P90s.
The construction is very different from a regular P90, as well as their tonal character.
Hope the link below will help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj6LJvjp1Ro
Hi Gavin, I have a Dean Palomino with three black P90’s. The guitar has a Strat 5 way switch configuration. I find the current pickups are a bit muddy. Any suggestions on a replacement set that would brighten the tone and make it more focused?
Thanks
Hi,
I couldn’t find a 3-pickup set of P90’s on any of the major e-retailers. Perhaps you could just upgrade the bridge and neck, or get a slightly different one for the middle position?
Personally I’m a big fan of this set from Mojo Tone.
I’m aware they’re not in the exact same category of mass produced pickups, but Bare Knuckle Pickups has an amazing range of P90s, both in the original and in him bucket sized form… the Mississippi Queen HSP90 is a real classic!
I agree, Marco!