What Are P90 Pickups? | Too Afraid To Ask
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2024
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What exactly are P90s? How do they differ from humbuckers? Are Soapbars and Dogears the same thing? We discover the answer in this Too Afraid To Ask episode.
P90 kits were supplied by Alegree -
www.alegree.co.uk/
Time Codes:
Introduction - 00:00
History - 00:39
Construction - 02:07
Sponsor Ad - 04:41
What I've Wound - 06:30
Sound Samples - 08:09
Tone Discussion - 09:57
Conclusion - 11:02
This video contains paid product promotion from Surfshark VPN.
#P90 #Soapbar #sponsor
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Gain access to exclusive content at: / csguitars
Join CSGuitars Discord - / discord
Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store
Website - www.csguitars.co.uk
Contact - colin@csguitars.co.uk
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Get Surfshark VPN at Surfshark.deals/CSGUITARS and enter promo code CSGUITARS for 83% off and 3 extra months for FREE!
What exactly are P90s? How do they differ from humbuckers? Are Soapbars and Dogears the same thing? We discover the answer in this Too Afraid To Ask episode.
P90 kits were supplied by Alegree -
www.alegree.co.uk/
Time Codes:
Introduction - 00:00
History - 00:39
Construction - 02:07
Sponsor Ad - 04:41
What I've Wound - 06:30
Sound Samples - 08:09
Tone Discussion - 09:57
Conclusion - 11:02
This video contains paid product promotion from Surfshark VPN.
#P90 #Soapbar #sponsor
More from CSGuitars:
Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars
Join CSGuitars Discord - discord.gg/d7b6MY8
Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store
Website - www.csguitars.co.uk
Contact - colin@csguitars.co.uk
@CSGuitars, dude, those pickups sounded AMAZING. I wish you would sell me a pair of those P90’s.
P-90 pickups have a tendency to be VERY NOISY. I recently changed the P90s on my 2015 LP Less Plus (original Gibson Lead P90 860-13006-L for the Bridge, and Gibson P90 SR 860-13005-L for the Neck). I installed a pair of Lindy Fralin Hum-Cancelling P-90 Soapbar, and they're simply amazing: same P90 sensitivity response, real nice and solid P90 tone, and of course NO HUM.
The 2015 LP Les Plus uses Gibson Quick Connect Plugs for to install the pickups, which in fact are "Molex PicoBlade" plugs (so you don't have to pay ridiculous prices for cheap micro plugs).
I really loved this ad LMAO!
You don't know how educational this is, especially for a person who's living in a Third World country like me. New day, new knowledge. Thank you, as always!
congrats 69 likes
Third World is an illusion, and you are better off in a lot of ways.
You could just say P90s are spicy single coils and boneless humbuckers
... that do not buck the hum...
@@schmoemi3386 Humbringers
@@aaronwebb1548 Humbringers OF DOOM!
To me those trendy super expensive active pickups that djenters swear by are just p90s
@@letroon4164 Pretty sure those active pickups are low-impedance pickups. I could be wrong though.
In the late 60s Gibson released the Les Paul Professional and the LP Personal, both with low-impedance pickups for less frequency loss over long cable lengths.
The p-90 is high-impedance, a big loud pickup but you still lose a lot of frequencies throughout signal transfer.
A topic for another TATA: treble bleeds, how do they work and what they do exactly. Are they some sort of high pass filter?
Yeah. It's basically a high pass filter towards the amp. As you lower the overall volume by directing more of the pickup output to ground on the volume control, the treble frequencies above the treble bleed cutoff point remain unaffected and stay at the same volume. The treble bleed provides a bypass for the signal to go to the amp without going through the volume pot. This makes them relatively louder compared to the rest of the signal passing through the volume pot.
This counteracts how increasing the resistance on the volume pot acts as a low-pass filter.
@Nicko Lps yeah, that's bullshit.
Treble bleed caps help maintain the treble when the volume is turned down instead of losing the treble without the bleeds.
Excellent video. Building a P90 from the baseplate up definitely helps demystify these things.
A good follow-up would be Gibson mini humbuckers since Gibson developed theirs specifically to be able to put humbuckers into bodies that had already been routed for P90's. The mini humbucker was the result of that. They fit perfectly in a P90 routing b/c that's what they were made to fit. That year, that was Gibsons solution to be able to offer hb's on a guitar model that otherwise would've been available only with P90's.
But only with that plastic ring. The mini humbucker itself has no way the outline of a (soapbar) P-90... 🤔
I believe mini humbuckers were originally an Epiphone design for jazz guitars. If I recall, the mounting ring that houses the mini in a LP Deluxe is just a soapbar p90 cover with a hole cut in it.
9:26 that tone is delicious
I like the cream covers
Never I thought I would willingly watch an add. well done, sir
The old UK black/white rotating thing to highlight the incoming ad was a nice touch ;)
Three or four years ago you made a 7 minute video for the shred guitar build on pickup winding which got me interested in the subject. After trying my hand at it I found It is kind of tricky to make a GOOD pickup winder from scratch and requires a little bit of engineering prowess and creative thinking.
After attempting to use an electric drill, hand cranked drill, and an electric motor with a superglued plate on the driveshaft, I finally settled on an old Industrial transformer winder from the 50's. After printing a 3d printed a plate for the bobbin at my school, and just kind of jumped into it. I was able to wind a few single coil pickups, but the motor inside produces enough torque to snap 42 AWG if you are not careful. It took me 7 tries to produce 3 pickups, and my final pickups ended up having a slightly looser coil than usual. I couldn't do more than 7800 turns (I know that's more than most single coils) which from my calculations at the time should have been around 7 k-ohms but only produced a 6.2 k-ohm coil. The pickups don't have that signature Stratocaster sound with my setup but at least they don't buzz!
I ended up consulting two electrical engineers and learned that transformer winders are geared for winding thicker wire, usually 38 AWG or thicker, and due to the wider and more uniform coil experiences a lower shear force on the wire due to the more consistent winding pattern which spreads the tension on the wire reducing the chance that the wire will shear. But one of the engineers proposed an interesting idea to me. Why not use a lower gauge of wire, like 38-41 AWG?
Sure, you may not be able put as many winds on the coil, and the coil density would be a little lower, which would reduce the area for skin effect in the wire, but the increased thickness of the wire would make for a more reliable wind, and would be a bit cheaper in an industrial setting. Maybe that could be an interesting experiment, testing lower wire gauges to see if their is a noticeable difference?
Hey Colin. Can you do a TATA on covered vs uncovered humbuckers and show their Sonic differences on your oscilloscope? Would that be possible? It'd be pretty sweet if ya could! 🙏🤞👍
Edit: frequency analyzer, not o-scope, as pointed out below 👍
That’s beyond the capabilities of an oscope. What you want to use is a frequency analyzer in your DAW 👍🏻
@@arsenicjones9125 that's what I meant! I just couldn't think of the name. 👍 Thank you!
@@arsenicjones9125 modern digital scopes can do FFT too
@@skarfie123 that’s neat, still the wrong tool.
Ok so I used a crappy FFT on my phone to look at the difference between just my neck & bridge pickups. Neck is the stock Alnico 5 humbucker and bridge is Seymour Duncan Alnico 5 '59 Model hb.
The difference audibly is pretty stark so when I looked at them on the FFT, you really could see a pretty big difference in which frequencies stood out on the 59 vs the stock with had a lot less. So now I'm really curious to see what it would show with and without a cover on a single pickup.
Can you do a TATA on Mini Humbuckers and TV Jones style, and compare them tonally to a PAF or High Gain pickup in a metal context?
Despite knowing what a P90 is I come for the entertainment value 😆 "it's one of these things!" 😅
I used to be a P90 naysayer but I have seen the light. Now I am fully convinced that the holy grail of tonal variety can be achieved with a P90 at the neck and a hum at the bridge.
Completely agreed! I did a mod with my hum bridge/Humsized P90 neck similar to a 4 way tele mod but with a 5 way switch. Seperated the coil lead from the base plate and gave it it's own lead before attaching a lead to the baseplate/cover for grounding. POS 1 is the bridge, which can be split. POS 2 is bridge and neck in parallel, POS 3 is neck, then POS 4 is useless, While POS 5 (When the bridge is split) puts the bridge and neck in series. I plan on switching to a 4 way switch eventually to get rid of the useless 4th position but it works super well for now.
sounds awesome, what guitar is that? i am currently looking for this combination because of your comment here :D tell me more please! @Freddie Ellis
@@Barcarus I have a les Paul that I changed out the pickups on. In the neck is a Bare Knuckle “Mississippi Queen” hum-sized P90 and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge.
I can tell you, it is FANTASTIC! Some amazing tones can be had.
Agreed! If you're going for variety, the combo cannot be beat. It's what I have in my "jack of all trades" telecaster, with a coil split on the bridge humbucker and a phase swift switch.
On my main guitars, I tend to run P90s in the neck position and a strat style single coil in the middle position angled like a strat bridge single coil and out of phase to the neck (and bridge if I'm using a single coil in that position). For bridge pickups, it can vary depending on what I'm shooting for tonally, but it's usually a hot P90 or a slightly cooler humbucker. I firmly believe not having middle pickup is wasted real estate.
My favorite too ... Eddie Cochrane btw ...
Awesome video. I really wish that you could play the P90's and give a comparison between a standard single coil and humbuckers as well. I have only ever played on single coil and humbuckers in my life. I like the way you made your P90's have a humbucker mode. The rest of the P90 you answered a ton of questions I could have. So a P90 is basically an over wound single coil.
That pretty much covered every aspect of the P90 great vide as always Colin.👍🏾🔥👏🏾
Great job Collin, I absolutely love you videos! Keep up the good work 🤩
The content has become exceptionally good on this channel. I just subscribed.
A really informative video, I have gained a much greater understanding of what these pickups are all about, many thanks. They sound awesome as well
That was some serious tone out of those! Rock on!
Ooooh ooooh the sound....!!! Cannot get tired of that sound...great sound balance. Thx!
Hi Collin! Great video as always. Here's a specific question for you: What tools and and knowledge (books, courses...) would you recommend to be a guitar tech?
Basically, I was on my way to become a luthier / pedal builder guy, but I had to drop out of uni years ago. Lately your videos and some other stuff are reigniting that spark once again, so I was wondering if there was a DIY way to continue that path.
clean clear concise...same as always!
Perhaps a video about how string gauges and looseness (due to downtuning) of the strings change the sound of the guitar from a science-y and music-y perspective could be some nice infotainment :D
Another awesome video Colin! Thank you for doing these!
The best description and details about P-90’s. Thanks.
I really love the sound of the neck pickup!
Thanks for adressing questions i wasn't aware i had
Superb content right here. - Thanks a lot. Keep it up.
You made some rock and roll P90s, and that tone made my day.
Thanks for aclarations. Inspiring.
I just recently installed bare knuckle warpig humbucker sized p90s and absolutely love the tone it gives me
Awesome and informative video! Could you cover the pickups of a telecaster in a similar fashion? Specifically, how do they differ from strat single coils and why is the neck one covered?
Incredibly interesting and helpful ! Thanks Colin
Colin is the most knowledgeable person on UA-cam regarding the electronics surrounding electric guitars and accompanying equipment. We are very lucky to have him available for free to help us guitarists understand our instruments and accompanying equipment. Thank you Colin.
helluva great video, nice pickups, love that sound
I love p-90s, especially in the neck. They have a bit of bandpass in them and just have that vibe.....
P-90's have become my faves... love the tones!
Holy fuck! I'm late to the party here, but Colin has a decent haircut finally.
i started on single coils an soon switched to buckers, and was sold for years! was buying strings at local shop a a p90 equipped guitar hanging there, and thought why not! wasn't expensive! well made though! i had a gibson standard, a PRS! So How's about something different! i couldn't put the thing down! i loved the sound! set at 8 starts breaking up, roll it back plays clean with a richness lacking in strat single coil's! not as loud as a bucker but harmonically, so much fuller! crank it to 10 and it gritty and raw! I LOVE THEM!
Really liked the bridge one sounded.
Great job! Those pups sound way better than my og p90's set on my lp.
TATA idea: "Out of phase pickups -- huh? how? and why?" (Bonus points if you use the keywords "Peter Green" and "Brian May"!)
I wonder if there's really an out-of-phase pickup out there... 🤔😏
I like this idea.
Isn't a phase difference between the coils what makes humbuckers (somewhat) noise cancelling? If so, most humbuckers would technically be out of phase.
I just realised that my statement is inaccurate. The polarity of the magnets are reversed. The phase is probably the same. If it was opposed, the signal coming from them would start cancelling itself out - possibly causing the Peter Green tone.
Within the pickup it would be even worse. More cancelling out of the signal than with neck & brigde PU signals...
@@schmoemi3386 there isn't a single out of phase pickup however two pickups could be wired out of phase to eliminate Hum this is how humbuckers are made so the outside noise that will be the same for both coils will get cancelled and the normal signal even stronger.
I've never meet a Scotsman I didn't like. Bravo Sir.
Great video, my favorite pickups. My Epi '56 Reissue has been my baby for 10 years now, along with a P93 Riviera I bought last year. Unfortunately the P93 is being repaired, haven't been able to play it for a little while now.
love the headstock! i like the one on the Fender Fire Bird also....
Great show! Thanks! ⚡
Hi Colin, i have a question regarding potentiometers for my guitar. Can i use any potentiometers, or should i buy dedicated potentiometers for guitars? I have some 250k pots laying around from previous school assignments and i was wondering if i could use those for a strat.
Nice wind on those very precise job Sir
I always explain P-90's to folks by telling them "It's basically what happens when you wind a single coil pickup like a humbucker." But there's much more to it than that. This video really lays it all out there. Thanks man.
Awesome video! Great information!
hellz yeah! great video man! you rock!
would love to see an episode on Low-Z pickups. as far as I can tell they're the only option that can "hear" frequencies above around 12kHz
Really great informal video thanks so much!
So neat you build your own pickups, wish I was smart and handy like that lol!
Cheers!
I can honestly recommend Alegree Noiseless P90's - just fitted a pair on my 80's Greco guitar an they sound great. Both coil split with 3 way switches. Loads of tones and 3 gain levels to choose from. And only £40. Insane.
I didn’t know I wanted a telecaster with dual P90’s until now
This was ace. Glad I found the channel mate. I'm getting into playing and need as much education as possible. Cheers
What are the advantages to winding your own pick up?
Would pedals or amp settings do the same thing as number of winds or magnet strength ?
This video was awesome. Thanks.
Nice and clean explanation!
Pd: where can I listen to the theme you use at the end of your videos?
It was specifically written as the intro/outro theme, so that's the only place it exists.
Great video. I learned so much. I have one guitar that has a P-90 and a PAF (Seymore Duncan): a Yamaha PAC 611. Now I have a little more knowledge of how to use the volume and tone pots.
Nicely done.
I've always preferred the sound of single coils over humbuckers because of the brighter tone, but humbuckers suit the higher gain hard rock that i play. I have a '72 tele deluxe reissue and the "wide range humbuckers" were too muddy, so i swapped them out for seymour duncan sp90's. Best music gear decision i've ever made. Still have the sound of single coils but enough output to play with the amount of distortion that i use and not have to change settings when i switch to another guitar with humbuckers. It's my go to guitar now.
A few years back I found a Gibson 120th anniversary LP Melody Maker brand new for $375 because the store just couldn't sell it, so I bought it on a whim. I'd never used p90s before and they're probabily my favourite pickup now.
Love your TATA's. Can't wait to see more TATA's in the future.
Thanks for this video.
Your videos are very weel done, full of precious infos, many thanks for sharing wit us. One question, Fender Jazzmaster guitars are provided with pickups that look like a P90, but that are not built like a classic Gibson P90. They have magnetized poles like a classic single coil and do not have screws with an underlying magnet like a real P90. I tried them and I have to admiti that the neck pickup is awesome, it sounds like a really fat single coil, keeping the tonal characteristics of a single coil, but with a fatter tone (but not muddy), while the humbucker does not sound at all like a real P90, and in my opinion it is too thin even if it is a 9K 6H pickup. Are these fendere pickups considered P90s or not? Thanks
Sounds excellent. Best Regards and Thanks
Amazing video bro ;), learning a lot Owo
Thanks for this video. What winder are you using please?
I ordered a P90 neck pickup from Bootstrap called the Screwdriver with Alnico 2 magnets for my Tele and it's also above 9K... actually 9.4K; it totally kills the previous Strat and Tele PU's! P90s paved the way for humbuckers and can make any guitar sound fat and I'm looking forward to swapping out a humbucker for one in an entry-level Maestro Les Paul Junior!
Great vid, Colin! Question for your next TATA:
Do aluminum guitar necks have truss rods? If not, does that mean I have to rely solely one the bridge height and nut depth to adjust the action?
Thanks as always!
As an aluminum neck lover: Yes and yes BUT you’ll never have to worry about the neck flexing, so it’ll always stay at the same amount of relief that was machined into it
Correct me if a video already covers this but I would like a TATA on edge of breakup. What is it and how do you get there with higher vs lower wattage amps? Keep up the great content!
My favorite pickups! No other pickup has that growl when pushed.
Is it correct think its similar to a happy medium between a humbucker and a single coil as you mention you can kinna tune in either depending on your tone/vol controls?
emg's new colored pickup covers look the most like bars of soap than any other soap bar pickup, especially the purple/blue ones. Remember when Agufish had a guitar with those a few months back? Also I have 3 guitars, all 3 with double humbuckers (various routing options ) but not a p90 yet though I love their tone :(
Your advertising and acting abilities are really good. Also your ability to explain and communicate technical detail. Not bad for a "soap shy weegie".
Brilliant Channel! I greatly appreciate your explanation and delivery! Awesome Content! Blessings! 🤘🏻😎🖤💯
Hi Colin, for a future TATA can you explain '50s wiring' and how it differs from other wiring?
I hear the term a lot, in particular with Gibsons.
Can you do a loaded voltage output video of H, SC and P90 PUs with say an e-bow or equivalent device to keep string excursion the same? This would give us an idea of what low/med/high output specs really mean. Seems right up your alley with the test equipment you have and tech background.
Ha, ha always informative and fun. The production is top class, do you have a team producing this?
Just me, I do all my own stunts
Hi. Exelent video but i got a question. After seeing the video i didnt understand if p90 cancel the noise or they are affected the same way like single coils?
Great tone! Did you use 500k pots?
I think those cream p90s look very beautiful on that black shield! Keep them on!
Man that set of ALnico 2 abdd 4 P-90s souded AMAZING!! Well done!!! I want a set!!
3 P 90's on my Vintage V6P are ceramic stacked, when did Ceramic come into the P90 world or are they P90;s ? the specs of the Wilkinson M series P90 are neck 9.06 middle 9.16 bridge 15.12 , I am wondering about swapping to an Alnico P90 but figuring the third P 90 to replace or could just have to Alnico neck and bridge and keep the stock bridge, ?
can you explain g&l mfd pickups. they seem to be ceramic p90s but sound different so i don't know. thx
Great video
Yo man, give me your take on this. Coil tapped P90-P90 setup with a 4th position that uses both together as a humbucker vs a Coil splitable H-H setup. I'm not really a guitarist, I just like watching all these videos and absorbing information.
These sound ace!
Love the P90 sound! TY for showing how they are made. For those wanting to tryout P90s but are worried about reworking their guitar to get them to fit they make humbucker sized P90s.
Got a t.a.t.a and h.u.f.o. for you Col. Is there a split coil (or tap) that can HONESTLY do both a great single coil and humbucker? Is it a "best average" or "close enough"? Basically, is there a split that can eliminate need for 2 guitars if you want that sweet sweet tone?
Nice sound 👍
That ad is amazing 👌
I’ve got a pickup question for a future episode.
Zebra humbuckers vs PAF vs Burstbucker, and does having a metal cover change the tone from an uncovered pickup?
Whoa. First. Pafs as well as every other humbucker come in zebra color combo so you need to do some more research and understand that zebra isn't a type of pickup. It's a color. And it makes zero difference in how they sound. That's straight out of the mouth of the man who invented them.
Burstbuckers are just a model of humbucker from Gibson. Just like a Slashbucker. Those are Slash Signature humbuckers. Burstbuckers are just another of their humbucker models. They needed a name to distinguish them. Burstbuckers are available in zebra color combo also. As well, all humbuckers come as reverse zebra color combo, also.
Now covered vs uncovered is a good test. There are Sonic differences when you compare a metal covered pickup vs an uncovered pickup. That would definitely be something Colin would be good at explaining and showing differences on his oscilloscope.
You might want to watch Rhett Shull's "What is that PAF sound?" and 'history of the PAF' so you have a better understanding of this all and can ask meaningful questions next time. There are other sources for this info and you would do yourself a favor to use them. Don't rely on just a single source aka Colin. Expand your knowledge. Help yourself here.
You can't compare a type of pickup(PAF) to a color of pickup(zebra) to another model of PAF-style pickup(burstbucker). Their design is based on the original PAF pickup so you'd basically be comparing 2 of the same type of pickup. You can note differences in materials and sound but by design, they are basically the same.
JC, the kind of question Jonathan has asked is EXACTLY the kind of thing TATAs should be about!
People hear all these words and don't know what the difference or distinctions are.
Is a zebra pickup a different thing from a PAF is a legit question to ask for someone who has just started looking into all of this.
I think this will make an excellent topic and is something I'll cover in a PAF TATA episode.
@@ScienceofLoud thanks for pointing that out, Colin. I wasn't thinking about it from that POV. I appreciate it, brother!
Love your TATAs Colin. I would like to ask; is it possible to get good high gain metal tones from single coil/p90 style pickups? Or am I daft for not immediately reaching for a humbucker for that application? Cheers.
Motorhead's Eddie Clark was known to play a Strat. The guitarist in my metal/punk band switches between singles and humbuckers, without any meaningful difference. Use what you want.
Thank you.
I had a Tajima with P90s last year. I miss them.
This is great!!!
Aye! Ye did a good job lad! \m/
Fender Jazzmaster pickups are also shallow and wide. So why do they sound different than P90s? Part of this, apart from the JM's use of alnico polepieces and whatever number of turns on the coil, is the shape of the magnetic field produced. The JM's field lies between the top and bottom of the polepieces, similar to a Strat pickup. By contrast, the bar magnets of the P90 direct the field out to the sides, such that the sensing area is between the the top of the slugs/screws, and the outer edge of each bar magnet.
This sort of "redirected single-coil" approach shows up in other kinds of pickups as well. The Fender Jaguar pickups, with their "claw" do a bit of this, and provide a gutsier tone than a standard single coil of the same electronic and polepiece characteristics. Lace pickups are another kind of single-coil that exploit the redirected field.
Many "gold foil" pickups are single-coils wound around a ceramic or rubber magnet, adhered to a soft iron base. One side of the base is bent upwards in a manner that allows a set of 6 screws to be inserted, creating something that is kind of half a P90. That is, the field produced goes between the top of the magnet and the raised side of the ferro-magnetic base. I used to own one of the old Epiphone New Yorker pickups. Before gifting Mark Knopfler with it, I did manage to take it apart to reveal its secrets, and it too is very close to the structure of a gold foil. Both gold foils and New Yorkers have a row of adjustable screws that *look* like they sit atop a second coil, but on closer inspection are too close to the outer edge of the pickup to have a second coil underneath them.
Like the P90, redirecting the shape of the sensing field, such that it has a more "sideways" orientation, rather than vertical/top-to-bottom, yields a tone that tends to have more of the mids, less of the "glassiness" of a Fender-type single coil, and consequently a little more powerful sound.