Changing P90 in a Blues 90: GFS??

[Andy Hiwatt]

The only thing I'm not 100% satisfied of in my Blues 90 are the the Seymour Duncan P90 pickups, great quality but these particular models ( SP90 HOT for the necks position, Custom for the Bridge) with ceramic bobbins are too modern and sometimes harsh sounding for my taste. Experimenting a lot with the amp's setting I found interesting and beautiful tones that I can use but I'm seriously considering checking some alternatives out.
My choice will be definitely an old style alnico type of P90.

The obvious and most expensive brands ,Lollar, Seymour Duncan Antiquities, Gibson .. seem to be the obligated choice for a good-top quality old style p.u.

Any advice for a different more affordable choice of good quality?
I read good reviews of Guitar Fetish Pickups ,their P90 from the site description seem to be perfect with vintage features, correct materials and so on ,but they're so cheap..
see them here http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsalviwosoc.html
I know some LTG ers own them and appreciate them..... any opinion or advice about them??

Should I mount them on the Blues90 are the Guitar Fetish P90 the same size and pole spacings of the standard Seymour Duncan-Gibson soapbar???
As usual I should be forced to order them on line without sound testing or seeing the exact pole spacing...any of you already mounted them on a blues 90 or bluesbird, or heard the sound and tone they produce???

 

[mad dog]

I didn't shop around, don't know much about comparative pricing. Can tell you that Harmonic Design's P-90s, called "VP-90" are something special. They went into an Orville LP Special, which now has a sound I can't hear enough. I can highly recommend these pickups.

Fralins are real good too.

 

[jp]

Hi Andy,
Don (fearless leader) knows the guy who started and designs GFS PUs. If you PM him, I'm sure he can give you some more insight. I think he is somehow associated/worked for the latest Dearmond group.

 

[drgonzo2]

Heya Andy. As you're in Europe, why not try a set of Bare Knuckle P90's. See here:- http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ZP-909192.html

I've heard these on several guitars, and compared them to Lollars, Gibbo's and SD's, the Knuckles blew the SD's and Gibsons out of the water, and were easily the equal of the Lollars at a lot less money. They also have the advantage that as they're made in the EU, there's no import charges...

HTH... G

 

[coastie99]

Hey Mr Andy Flashypants 8)

Try all of the above, especially the Bareknuckles, and report back.

I've got a P-90 project coming up, and will have to decide which P-90's ....... your judgment would be invaluable.

BTW. My nephew who bought a '76 SF4 from Hans fitted it with Bareknuckles HB-sized P-90's ( Mississippi Queens ) and reckons they're the biz !!

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

Thank you all guys for giving me your opinions and tips

Drgonzo2Thanks a lot for reminding me of Bare Knuckles p.u., I knew it was a brand of excellence,but never paid that much attention to the variety of great p.u. they manufacture, I always thought they were even more expensive than Lollars , instead I was wrong..I visited the site read a lot of interesting things about the Company Philosophy , materials used,painstaking care in scatterwinding the bobbins and so on. I'm almost convinced in buying those BKP -90, they are expensive, but at least 20% less than what I had to fork for some Lollars or S.D.Antiquity or Fralins. Being Bare Knuckles a British Company the european shipping is also very convenient and with no taxes, even if I could look for some Lollars in a couple of weeks when I'll be in the USA for my holiday trip.
But I keep reading estathic reviews of Bare Knuckles everywhere on the net.
I changed my mind a bit about giving a try to some budget p.u.,GFS particularly, as I read a lot of mixed comments about them: many players say they are quite good sounding for the money,but lament incorrect spacing and different cover dimensions from what's declared on the site ( that makes a hassle mounting them -many people said they had to actually sand the plastic of the cover to reduce dimension in order to install them-) , poor service from the Company ... still the GFS price is unbeatable
I don't know...I 'd like to serve my Blues 90 well,with a good ,definitive
choice of p.u.without regrets.
I wrote B.K. customer service an email asking for p.u.size,dimension ,polepieces spacing and so on...let's see what happens.

 

[drgonzo2]

Glad to be of assistance. The BKp90's I've heard were the BKP-91 models (IIRC), mounted in a LPspecial. I'm not sure which spec the Lollars were, but they were also in an LPspecial. To me, the Lollars were slightly fatter sounding, with slightly more mids than the BK's. The BK's had a more trebly edge to them, and I felt were closer to the sound of the vintage P90's we were using as a reference (in an all original '58 (yes, you've guessed it) LPspecial). The differences between the two tones were noticable but fairly minor. The owner of the aforementioned specials had tried several manufacturers pups, trying to get his stage guitars to sound like the ones in his old one, finally settling on the Lollars in one, the BK's in the second. He's happy with either...

... G

 

[plague]

i've long been considering trying a set of mississippi queens in one of my s300s... the pig90s are tempting but i think i might prefer to stay more classic then ugly things up on my own as needed. i have a bkp custom hss set in my strat and am sold that the quality is certainly worth the price - if you can afford it.

 

[swamp2]

For whatever it's worth, I've bought some GFS stuff and not sure I'll do it again. First order was some strat pickups, IIRC they sent the wrong one's and I had the inconvenience of returning, etc. I bought a set of the P/J bass pickups and the P-pickup was a bit flaky and after a period of time (> a year) it just opened up and stopped working. I think they sound good, but it seems they struggle with quality issues.

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

mmmm...sometimes is good to know the straight truth from experience...your tales make even more cautious ..
Meanwhile the Bare Knuclkes customer service answered to inform me that their BKP-90 are exactly the same size of Seymour Duncans,so everuthing should be ok to mounte them in the exixsting slots.
Gotta make a decision, they're expensive but truly state of the art and crafted with care.
I guess I can sell my Duncans to finance the B.K...

 

[plague]

somehow i managed to miss that the actual point of the thread was specifically an inquire about guitar fetish pups. i currently have a set of their dream 90s in a lawsuit les paul copy ala the old black beauties (which i am interested in selling but thats another thread...). they are indeed very good pickups for the money, but that said even tho i've yet to specifically play the mississippi queens i can vouch that the bkp sets i have played are every bit worth the money as well. now outright equating cost = value would really go against the truths i hold dear as a hunter of bargains on quality gear, but i'd say its really not all that unlike this lawsuit guitar itself vs the og gibson i've aped it after. in the end they're both exceptional guitars in their own right that blow many "competitive" models right out of the water, but you do get what you payed for. what you can afford usually makes the decision between the two a whole lot easier.