P90 Pickups for Jazz

**gary mitchell** · 03-26-2009, 12:39 AM

I was telling someone else in here i had and old Godin LG that came with Seymour Duncan P90s and they were too hot so I replaced them with some p90s out of and old gibson les paul gold top.

The godin has a mahogany body and neck and isn't painted, just stained. The p90s through my Roland JC120 sound great and the neck pickup is wonderful to me. I play it more than my Gibsons.

Has anyone of you tried p90s?

What do you think of them?

Seymour duncan makes decent pickups but the ones in this guitar were sp3s which are very hot, too hot for me. That's why I changed them.

P90 Pickups for Jazz-gibson-p90-pickup-jpg

P90 Pickups for Jazz-gibson-p90-pickup-jpg

**theo** · 03-26-2009, 02:15 AM

there is one in my es 125

. it´s the best instrument i´ve ever owned and i get a superb jazz tone from the p90

**FWBO** · 03-26-2009, 08:09 AM

It's interesting how the jazz sound is perceived to eminate from humbuckers and humbuckers alone.

The popularity of teles is a classic example that other pickups can provide a jazz tone.

Nobody would ever query whether an arthtop with a floating "humbucker" produced a good jazz tone. My own understanding is that floaters are not truely humbuckers as in two single coils placed against each other.

I think it is on SD's site that there are some nice P90 audio files with a good jazz sound.

I think the pickup type very much depends upon the guitar. A very dark sounding guitar might benefit from running a P90 to brighten it up.

Horses for courses again!

**ner1971** · 03-26-2009, 11:07 AM

Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, and Howard Roberts (to name just three) all used Gibsons with P90s early in their careers. Personally, I love the sound for jazz music. Sure there is a little buzz to contend with when using single coils (I used DeArmond Dynasonic styled pickups myself), but there are ways of dealing with that - or you just get used to it.

At the end of the day, it goes back to what so many people say...if it sounds good to your ears, then it's good!

**mr. beaumont** · 03-26-2009, 11:08 AM

many classic jazz tones were crafted with single coils, P90's among them. they sound great, IMHO.

**NSJ** · 03-26-2009, 11:36 AM

I got an early 50's ES-175 with a single P90. It's been though many wars before I owned it, shown it's wear, pretty damn beat up. Collectors wouldn't want it, too many dings. I'm eventually gonna sell it, only because I really won't be playing it anymore.

But it still sounds nice and warm, mainly due to the pickup and the wood (the guitar is super lightweight, too).

Ray C. · 03-26-2009, 11:38 AM

I've used the P94R-which is a P90-like pickup that fits neatly in the humbucker space. Easy install and I like the tone. And there isn't the noise you get from a traditional single coil. This is a good option for people who'd like to upgrade an Epi and are looking for a P90 tone.

**Russ Kapp** · 03-26-2009, 06:53 PM

Hi......YES !! I happened upon an Asian Gibson Goldtop classic look alike with three P-90's stock. I decided to risk it as an internet purchase sight and sound unseen and unheard...never played through p-90's before. I cranked up my usual fingerstyle chord melody dog and pony show where I play dinner music jazz using my Tech 21 Trademark 60 and OMG !!! I could NOT believe the tone and touch I was getting from this El Cheepo rig !! It never fails while playing to have th dinner guests come over to check this setup out...what can I say ....P-90 instead of Pepperoni....!!

**Flat5** · 04-09-2009, 04:21 PM

There is an on-line article (I couldn't re-find it) where the object was to list the best pickups for jazz. After extensive research and interviews the top three jazz guitar pickups in descending order were:
1. Gibson Charlie Christian Pickup
2. DeArmond Rhythm Chief
3. Gibson P-90
The humbucker didn't make the cut. As noted above Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Herb Ellis etc. all established their sound with P-90 pickups. P-90s are single coil and have clarity, definition and warmth (in a jazz context), they also can be noisy depending on the individual pickup and the quality of the power source (home/gig electrical circuit). I personally love Kenny Burrell's late 50s, P-90s tone and use that as my personal touchstone. I think, overall, that P-90s are great pickups for almost any music, in particular Blues, Rock and Country. Way more character than Humbuckers, of course Humbuckers "Buck the Hum".

**derek** · 04-09-2009, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by Flat5

There is an on-line article (I couldn't re-find it) where the object was to list the best pickups for jazz. After extensive research and interviews the top three jazz guitar pickups in descending order were:
1. Gibson Charlie Christian Pickup
2. DeArmond Rhythm Chief
3. Gibson P-90
The humbucker didn't make the cut. As noted above Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Herb Ellis etc. all established their sound with P-90 pickups. P-90s are single coil and have clarity, definition and warmth (in a jazz context), they also can be noisy depending on the individual pickup and the quality of the power source (home/gig electrical circuit). I personally love Kenny Burrell's late 50s, P-90s tone and use that as my personal touchstone. I think, overall, that P-90s are great pickups for almost any music, in particular Blues, Rock and Country. Way more character than Humbuckers, of course Humbuckers "Buck the Hum".

That is because Seth Lover didn't invent the first humbucker for Gibson until 1957. There was a TON of jazz guitar played and recorded before humbuckers were available.

**Flat5** · 04-09-2009, 05:09 PM

Not quite sure how the date the humbucker was introduced is pertinent. The above mentioned poll was contemporary and was seeking players feelings about all the pickups available to jazz guitarists and what were the favorites among those.

**hot ford coupe** · 04-09-2009, 06:46 PM

I had a ES 150 with a single p-90 in it. It was one of the finest jazz sounding guitars I ever had.

**mongrel** · 04-09-2009, 08:42 PM

I put one of those Duncan P-90's in the neck of my Peavey Reactor AX, a Tele clone with an ash body and nice flat roseroad board, and found it really sterile. It was the vintage pickup with alnico 5 magnets and measured around 8K. I replaced it, after some additional Dremeling, with a Vintage Vibe HCC bar pickup of 5.5K and now I've got tones real close to vintage P-90's archtops. Go figure. One of the best P-90 jazz tones I've ever heard was from this old guy who used to come into the closest Guitar Center on rainy Saturday afternoons with his Les Paul Studio. He would plug into amps in the back of the store and play basic chord melodies for hours. His tone was superb through tubes or solid state.

**Russ Kapp** · 04-10-2009, 11:49 AM

I forgot to mention in my above reply that I also ran across a marriage of my two fav. guitar/pu elements. I have always liked the jazz sound and playability of the old Gibson 335's and the tone and articulation ( particularly is you play fingerstyle chord melody ) of the p-90's. This came in the form of Epi's signature Nick Valensi series knock off of the Riviera, only this one has p-94's instead of HB's. I have not been dissappointed in what I expected from the p-94's tone treatment in a semi-hollowbody.....sweet !

**Jake Hanlon** · 04-10-2009, 01:29 PM

I have a single p90 on my '56 ES225 and it's the best sounding pick up I've ever heard in my life.

**Chito** · 04-16-2009, 12:36 PM

I just got this 2 days ago. A p90 on an archtop.

Sorry if the pics are too big.

**gary mitchell** · 04-16-2009, 12:43 PM

does godin still make that archtop with the p90

**Chito** · 04-16-2009, 03:09 PM

Yes Gary. It's called the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin. It just came out of the market recently. This model hasn't been around for over a year yet.

**Av's Dad** · 04-16-2009, 03:11 PM

I recorded this
SoundClick artist: Gary Hartlin - page with MP3 music downloads
with this:

I love P-90s in the neck especially for jazz. This chambered Les Paul sounds like an ES-175 to me; rather middy sounding but tight low end. Good jazz tone, methinks.

Gary

**ES350** · 04-17-2009, 01:20 PM

I was just listening to Interplay and that tone that JH gets on that is mighty fine; P90s through a Gibson amp, just a little bit of midrange bump when he digs in. Most of my guitars are P90 models, but I don't have too mnay problems with hum/noise after some shielding and some other practical measures...I have 3 humbucker guitars, but they are sorta boring sounding to me compared to the P90s...

**ES350** · 04-19-2009, 11:08 AM

There are some variants of the P90 out there with a blade instead of a polepiece; gets some of the CC vibe without the necessary routing.

**abelljo** · 04-19-2009, 10:45 PM

If not said before, Grant Green used a Gibson ES 330 with P90. Great Jazz sound. I have one too and it is stringed with flat wound 12's. It is awesome!

**oldane** · 04-22-2009, 07:16 AM

I'd rather use single coil pickups, like P90s, than humbuckers for jazz (and for anything else for that matter). Another popular choice for jazz is single coil blade pickups (the Charlie Christian pickup was of this type). Even a Stratocaster with the stock Fender pickups has a nice and clean jazz tone with the neck pickup, medium gauge flatwounds, a little treble roll off and not-so-low action. Vintage vibe guitars (www.vintagevibeguitars.com) is a good source of custom pickups at reasonable prices - check it out.

**Russ Kapp** · 04-22-2009, 10:30 AM

I recently tried out a custom tele from the Don Grosh folks in Colorado with a Lindy Fralin P92 in the neck and fell in LOVE with the dream tone and playability I have been after for fingerstyle chord-melody jazz for more years than I care to remember. Geeez the WHOLE guitar sings!!
They have a great website, as well, if you aren't yet familiar with this product line ( google Don Grosh ).....In the meantime, saving my pennies ( this could take awhile...) for another one of their only 300 hundred guitars ( typically with a vintage spin )they make per year.....