BG Pure 90 Pickups

**Barcia** · 12-21-2015, 08:42 AM

Hi all,

I'm planning to install those pickups on my Ibanez AKJ95, but there's no many recordings on the web. If you have them installed on your archtop, please share your videos/soundclips with us!

Thanks in advance

**SamBooka** · 12-21-2015, 10:11 AM

I suck...

**Herbie** · 12-21-2015, 10:14 AM

I had one in my ES-175's neck position for a week or so. Sounded so generic, cold and similar with other cheap P90's (in real or humbucker size) that I changed fast to default Classic 57. Boomy, trebly, one dimensioned.

Now I made a Lollar 50's Wind P90 to fit the gtr it and it is just wonderful!

Sorry that I was so fast that I didn't record the Pure 90!

Ihope better luck for You with those. They are great value and good looking!

**Grez** · 12-21-2015, 10:23 AM

Sorry, no videos or sound clips, but I have used these and like them very much. Don't let the price fool you. Bryan seems to sell to everyone at what others would call "builder pricing".

**Grez** · 12-21-2015, 10:28 AM

Herbie, I have found, sometimes certain pickups don't agree with certain guitars. Can't entirely say why, but just like sometimes a good amp and a good guitar won't work well together well even though each is good individually.

**SamBooka** · 12-21-2015, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Herbie

I had one in my ES-175's neck position for a week or so. Sounded so generic, cold and similar with other cheap P90's (in real or humbucker size) that I changed fast to default Classic 57. Boomy, trebly, one dimensioned.

Now I made a Lollar 50's Wind P90 to fit the gtr it and it is just wonderful!

Sorry that I was so fast that I didn't record the Pure 90!

Ihope better luck for You with those. They are great value and good looking!

I didnt bond with mine either.. regardless of how I tweaked the height I found it a little on the bright side. maybe good for rock and blues but could not get a grant green/kenny burell thing going with it.

**Herbie** · 12-21-2015, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Grez

Herbie, I have found, sometimes certain pickups don't agree with certain guitars. Can't entirely say why, but just like sometimes a good amp and a good guitar won't work well together well even though each is good individually.

Yeah, I suppose You are right. Woods can be surprisingly different.

**Max405** · 12-21-2015, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by SamBooka

I suck...

No you don't Sam. I enjoyed the video a lot. Sweet playing.
Really, really nice.
It sounds like a 165 that is enhanced. The sound is Great. The playing is just as great!
Joe D

**Rob MacKillop** · 12-21-2015, 11:41 AM

I agree with Joe. Sam, you can't suck and blow at the same time. That was good. I'd like to hear a full piece or solo, because a) you play well, and b) that guitar/pickup combo sounds great. Really.

**Barcia** · 12-21-2015, 01:04 PM

Sambooka, I've seen that video before, is it yours? Sounds good! Have you recorded something more with that guitar? In your opinion, is near a real P90?

Herbie, sad to hear that, I'm looking for that Burrell thing. I want to try this pickup because Bryan says that is a real P90 trimmed to fit inside a humbucker, so I thought it would be near "the real thing"... Was very hard to fit the P90?

Grez, I've read many good things about Pure90s, and the idea of using a plastic cover makes me think "mmm, this Bryan knows what he's doing".

Thanks all

**Grez** · 12-21-2015, 01:40 PM

Now that you have me thinking about it, there are so many P-90 sounds....... Although I've had good luck with his P-90s in all form factors, that doesn't mean they are best for a very specific tone your going for. Also, I tend to freely go between 250k and 500k pots depending on what sounds best for a particular guitar/pickup.

**Barcia** · 12-21-2015, 03:22 PM

Grez, I'm looking for that early Burrell tone. A friend of mine is going to visit his family to the US, and I offered myself to take care of his 1959 ES-125... after play it I'm sure now P90 is the way to go, but if Pure 90s sounds as good as I read in its reviews, it would be a "cheap" alternative.

Thanks again

**SamBooka** · 12-21-2015, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by Grez

Now that you have me thinking about it, there are so many P-90 sounds....... Although I've had good luck with his P-90s in all form factors, that doesn't mean they are best for a very specific tone your going for. Also, I tend to freely go between 250k and 500k pots depending on what sounds best for a particular guitar/pickup.

Good point about the pots. Aside from my stratocaster I never used 250 K. That recording would've been a 500 K linear volume pot and a 500 K audio tone pot. I'm guessing .022 µF capacitor.

**SamBooka** · 12-21-2015, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by Barcia

Sambooka, I've seen that video before, is it yours? Sounds good! Have you recorded something more with that guitar? In your opinion, is near a real P90?

Herbie, sad to hear that, I'm looking for that Burrell thing. I want to try this pickup because Bryan says that is a real P90 trimmed to fit inside a humbucker, so I thought it would be near "the real thing"... Was very hard to fit the P90?

Grez, I've read many good things about Pure90s, and the idea of using a plastic cover makes me think "mmm, this Bryan knows what he's doing".

Thanks all

Yes, that's my ES 165 in the video. I don't have great years and I have an even worse memory so I usually wind up recording stuff when I change pick up. And I change a lot of pick ups! Should be able to navigate to my other videos, there is one with a lollar nonadjustable P90, one with the sethover hum bucker, and now that I've gone back to the 57 classic plus I could probably do one for that as well.

**life_with_a_song** · 12-21-2015, 09:14 PM

Hi Barcia,

I don't have anything recorded at the moment, but I'm a very happy camper with the BG Pure90 in my 16", solid-spruce-topped custom archtop.

I went through two custom humbucker makers' work (using them over a combined time period of about nine months) before I settled on the Pure90 for this guitar. I should also point out that I tweaked the final electrical set-up with a green Russian K42Y .047 (I believe it's called) PIO capacitor, as well as a 500k CTS pot for the volume control, and a 250K CTS pot for the tone control. I won't ever change this set-up, as it gave me the tone I was looking for after years of searching and tweaking other guitars.

**Herbie** · 12-21-2015, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by Barcia

Sambooka, I've seen that video before, is it yours? Sounds good! Have you recorded something more with that guitar? In your opinion, is near a real P90?

Herbie, sad to hear that, I'm looking for that Burrell thing. I want to try this pickup because Bryan says that is a real P90 trimmed to fit inside a humbucker, so I thought it would be near "the real thing"... Was very hard to fit the P90?

Grez, I've read many good things about Pure90s, and the idea of using a plastic cover makes me think "mmm, this Bryan knows what he's doing".

Thanks all

I love that Burrell thing too! I gave up trying to get that sound after reading that his guitars are (usually) 25"5' scale. His amp seems to be very so close to the break up that my heavy handed and uneven right hand touch would never keep the sound as consistent as his.

It took almost a year to find out a way to modify a dogear P90 to a hb holed ES-175. I needs a bit of wild attitude to pricey pickups: You have to saw a ~5mm squares from every corners of the metal base plate away. Then the pu fitted low enough in the hb hole.

Then You have to make a 3-4mm thick plywood shim or a riser and drill 2 small holes into it diagonally for screwing it to the humbucker ring screw holes in the top of the guitar. Then You can put so many dogear shims to raise or drop the pickup in the right height and screw the package into the pliywood riser, and NOT to the top of the gtr.

Now I have to look up or order a new pickguard for my git. P90 dogear cover is a bit bigger than hb.

I don't have pics, sorry. I'll try to get some time to take some... but the x-mas routines are pushing...

Good luck in Kenny sound hunt!

**neatomic** · 12-21-2015, 10:35 PM

herbie..that's exactly the effort thats needed!.. well done..but thats why p-90 in humbucker mount is popular..way easier..the biggest flaw of humbucker sized p90 is wrong gauge wire...most pickup makers use #43 wire to get the right resistance..closer to a p90...but a p90 was really #42 wire...and it makes a difference...so basically if u want a humbucker sized p90 with the right wire its going to have to be underwound...otherwise the wrong wire..to get to the right resistance..ie. no win situation

there are tricks tho

haha

of course when you plop a p-90 humbucker sized pup into a humbucker mount..you've lost the 24th fret polepiece alignment advantage..so

getting very technical..bye bye

cheers

**mr. beaumont** · 12-21-2015, 11:02 PM

Blue Note/50's Burrell tone: hollowbody with P90, crank the amp to the point of where hard hit notes distort a little.

Recorded tone should be all electric.

I can nail it with my Godin Kingpin...i'll try and post a video tomorrow.

**neatomic** · 12-21-2015, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Blue Note/50's Burrell tone: hollowbody with P90, crank the amp to the point of where hard hit notes distort a little.

Recorded tone should be all electric.

I can nail it with my Godin Kingpin...i'll try and post a video tomorrow.

fender tweed deluxe...amp break up..and not that loud!

cheers

**feet** · 12-21-2015, 11:32 PM

had one in my old es333. i remember being pleased with it. was not trying to achieve jazz tones with it, however, but it was as well made and sweet sounding as anything out there.

**Herbie** · 12-21-2015, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by neatomic

herbie..that's exactly the effort thats needed!.. well done..but thats why p-90 in humbucker mount is popular..way easier..the biggest flaw of humbucker sized p90 is wrong gauge wire...most pickup makers use #43 wire to get the right resistance..closer to a p90...but a p90 was really #42 wire...and it makes a difference...so basically if u want a humbucker sized p90 with the right wire its going to have to be underwound...otherwise the wrong wire..to get to the right resistance..ie. no win situation

there are tricks tho

haha

Thanks neatomic! So there IS a reason why all the hb sized p90's sound like each other. And why a p90 master Jason Lollar does not make a "hb sized p90" but a "single coil for hb size". Which does not sound p90 neither.

Lindy Fralin has a newish model, Big Single Coil (or something like that), could it bring some new dimensions to this highly popular area?

**mr. beaumont** · 12-22-2015, 01:56 AM

Originally Posted by neatomic

fender tweed deluxe...amp break up..and not that loud!

cheers

Yup, smallish amp, pushed hard.

**Barcia** · 12-22-2015, 01:51 PM

Thanks all!

Mr Beaumont, I tried to nail that tone with a kingpin, but it was plugged into a Roland Cube... cold. In november I was visiting London (lucky to coincide with the EFG Jazz Festival!) and entered into "Wunjo Guitars". I wanted to try a pair of Guilds (one with dual P90 and the other with DeArmond Rhythm Chief) when someone said: "hey, you're playing K. Burrell stuff! Wait... try this". He plugged a '59 ES-225 into a Fender Tweed Deluxe, and... I couldn't stop playing!

So you're right: P90 + tube amp is the way to go!

**Barcia** · 12-22-2015, 02:06 PM

Here's a little experiment I recorded this weekend. First guitar is my stock Ibanez AKJ95, second one is my friend's ES-125. Same EQ (Fender Mustang I '57 Fender Deluxe emulation).

**Herbie** · 12-27-2015, 07:12 PM

Hmm... If Kenny's sound comes from P90 + Tweed Deluxe, how come his signature Heritage guitar has a (neck) humbucker and his sig amp looks or seems more like a blackface fenderish amp?

And with these he still sounds like ...himself!