Blues 90 Pickup Options

[caliban335]

I've had my Blues 90 for two months now and have to agree with those who feel the stock pickups are a little too aggressive. I'm thinking of replacing them and would appreciate any thoughts and experiences others may have on the board. If I recall correctly, the stock pickups are Seymour Duncan P-90s with ceramic magnets. I find it hard to get anything but a very nice distorted tone no matter how much I back off on the volume and/or tone controls. I've read a lot of good things about Lollar pickups. but would like to tap into the expertise on the board before making a final decision. Thanks in advance.

 

[matsickma]

The Guild SF3 with P90's I have use SD Antiquity's. They are a much smoother P90 as compared to the P90's on my Bluesbird90.

M

 

[mad dog]

I have heard these lately:

- Lollar P-90s (in the Collings 290)
- Fralin 10% underwind neck set (in a friend's ES-135)
- Harmonic Designs VP-90s (in my Orville LP Special)

All are wonderful sounding. The Harmonic Designs being my favorite so far. There's also a very talented guy on the west coast, David Plummer, who sells new and rewound P-90s about which I hear nothing but raves. (zhangbucker@yahoo.com) I'd have David rewind those p/us.
MD

 

[gtraddict]

It depends on the amp you are running through and the speakers. The amps I usually go through have blue back alnico 10's and I can get a nice clean sound but when I hook up or go through 12' celestions or a 15" it is a different story.
As far as changing I would go with Lollars 50's Winds which are nice fantastic sounding I had these in a Les Paul. http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/mercha ... 90-pickups
These are copied after Sean Costello's 50's Les Paul sound(need to You Tube this guy great tone) These are rated at half the ohms almost half; low mids 7k compared to 12 and 14k for the Duncans. Since these guitars are tone chambered/semi-semi-hollowbody the pickups should produce a nice woody acoustic sound and let the guitar sound come out a bit.

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

I 'm one of those Bluesbird owners that don't fancy that modern and not so dynamic tone of the stock P90 Duncans on the great Blues 90.
I posted a thread a couple of months ago about it.. after a long internet search I was almost convinced to buy a set of Bare Knuckles P90 ( heard and read very positive comments about them, e-mailed the company to ask about dimensions and mounting instructions, and they were very quick and friendly in answering) .
Being in Europe it looked like the most convenient option for me,cheap shipping, no Customs Duties and a quality very near to Lollars. Then I left for my USA holiday ..of course had the chance to visit many guitar stores, asked about the Lollars P90 that everybody loved but were not easy to find in stores. I found them in a Portland guitar store, they were very convenient compared to the price they ask for them here in Europe, so I got the set for $180 ( the same on line price) a lot less than what I'd pay for the Bare Knuckels in Euros.
I've got to wait till my luthier comes back from holidays at the end of august to have them mounted on the Blues 90 but I'm sure I made the right choice; I've heard the same pickups on a Les Paul and they seemed to have a magical tone, smooth, silky, not so overpowered, very clear and definited notes, and beautiful balance from sting to string. Distorted they sound good as well, ringing and singibg and sustaining a lot.
The Sean Costello model are probably even smoother and lush sounding ( I adore the tone of his Les Paul and his music by the way..) but also the standard P90s that I bought impressed mer a lot.

 

[Walter Broes]

My experience with P90's has been that as long as you don't stray too far from the original "formula", they'll sound like P90's, and most often sound great.
I've heard old ones that were amazing, old ones that were not that great, boutique ones that were killer, other boutique ones that were a little lacking, and I at one point had a very, very cheap set of P90's that were wound to between 7 and 8K, with alnico V magnets - and they were amazing!

I think the main thing with them is that once you put in ceramic magnets, or wind them hotter than 8K, they become less dynamic, lose that airy treble, and basically turn into a loud, bassy, midrangey pickup that is great for power chords and distorted leads, but not much else. YMMV.

 

[caliban335]

Thanks guys. I need to do some more research, but it looks like Jason's getting a lot of votes. Having had great experiences in the past with his product is a plus as well.

Thanks again.

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

I'm back on this topic after expressing my satisfaction for the pickups swapping on my westerly Blues 90: I changed the overwound screaming ceramic stock Seymour Duncans with a set of standard alnico Lollars P90s.
As I said in another recent topic I'm totally satisfied with the change, because these Lollars are truly amazing on the edge of unbelievable for my taste:shimmering and very rich in overtones, totally crystal clear notes when playing chords ( clean, crunchy or distorted tones,same absolute definition...),and during lead lines it feels like the notes are pouring out of your fingers when you play. I don't want to sound elegiac or silly saying this but ..it was really an experience when I first plugged the Blues 90 after the pu swap. Even if I do not compare the Lollars to the harsh sounding stock Duncans that were on before ( an impossible comparison because they 're so different and superior sounding..alnico Vs ceramic ..there's no match really..) I'm totally won over by how wonderful this guitar sounds now, very different but equally wonderful through the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and the Ampeg J12, it reminds me of the first time I played and heard my Rickenbacker 360 at 6-7 volume on a good tube amp...the same feeling of the chords filling the room ,notes lasting forever and the sheer beauty and child-like excitement of that sound filling the room.
Last Friday for the first time since the pu swapping I had the chance to play the Blues 90 with the Lollars at high volumes in a rehearsal space ,after having experienced and loved the lollars only at home volume levels for the last month....Well I was absolutely blown away one more time...every sensation and good word I wrote must be multiplied and enphasized, also my band mates were astonished at this tone ( and my bass player that loves guitars too already has the same Lollars P90s on a Usa Epiphone Casino..) .
Like many other players I join the ranks of those who heartly advice the Lollars to everybody who's in doubt and looking for more classic sounding P90s for Guilds or whatever other brand, they can REALLY change and dramatically improve the tone of your instrument,and yor joy to play it.

 

[caliban335]

Andy Hiwatt;

Were those the '50s Wind or standard P-90 from Lollar? Thanks.

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

Hi Caliban
like I wrote in the beginning of my last post they are the STANDARD P90s, the only model I could find in the many guitar stores I visited during my summer trip through the USA. I only saw them in Portland(OR) where I bought them tax free for $90 each, like the regular online price from the Lollar Site( even if lately I saw they are now more expensive at $100 each), and then in Berkley (CA) where they costed $20 more.

I 've never seen the Sean Costello model anywhere but on the site, they should sound wonderful if they are truly a copy of the late Costello's Les Paul.

Anyway, like I already said, I'm totally happy with the standard Lollar P90s,and I'd advice them to anybody in need to change pickups for a more classic tone.

Something I forgot to describe before is that these Lollars even if they are rated around 8.2k(neck) and 9.1k(bridge) that is almost half the ratings of the stock Blues 90 Duncans, are anyway pretty LOUD themselves and like a good P90 should be, but with a lot of dynamics and string definition, and absolutely no harshness, they are IN CONTROL, loud but you can tame them,and the distortion is sweet and more natural sounding at all volumes,both with pedals that with the overdriven amp. MOdulation pedals ( tremolo, phazer,wha wha... ) sound great through them as well.