Single Coil Size P-90

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Offline phrankenstrat

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Single Coil Size P-90
« on: December 04, 2020, 01:30:52 PM »
Just like the title says. I'm looking for a single coil sized p-90 sounding pickup. I've glanced through the offerings and I can't seem to find anything. Can someone point me in the right direction? Possibly I missed something in the lineup. Thanks!

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Offline buddroyce

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2020, 01:47:50 PM »
It's not noise cancelling but the first thing that came to my mind was the SDS-1.
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Offline phrankenstrat

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2020, 01:55:32 PM »
It's not noise cancelling but the first thing that came to my mind was the SDS-1.
Thank you. I'll have to check that out. To be honest, I never looked in the non-humcancelling section as I greatly prefer noiseless. Have many Area pickups in my guitars and it would be awesome if they made a noiseless single coil sized P-90.

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Offline buddroyce

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2020, 02:08:38 PM »
If you're looking for something that's noiseless that's kinda in the same area but not quite a P-90, I found the Injector Bridge to fit the bill pretty well also.
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Offline phrankenstrat

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2020, 03:04:36 PM »
If you're looking for something that's noiseless that's kinda in the same area but not quite a P-90, I found the Injector Bridge to fit the bill pretty well also.
I have a set of Injectors in a Fernandes Strat (which incidentally is the guitar I'm looking to put it in). While I think they are great, beefy sounding pickups, they don't really give me that P-90 vibe. Almost too tame I would say.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2020, 03:06:19 PM by phrankenstrat »

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Offline darkbluemurder

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2020, 02:25:16 AM »
Injector bridge is still a strat bridge, and to my ears only slightly leaning to the p90 territory. So is the Virtual Solo. There is no P90 in the DiMarzio Area series so if it has to be a humcancelling DiMarzio you would have to go to the dual rail types. Chopper would be closer but to me it is more hot PAF than P90. The Kinman Big Nine-O comes close. 

I agree with Budd that the SDS-1 comes close, too, but it is not humcancelling.

Cheers Stephan
Area 67, Area 58, Area 61, VV Pro 54, Injectors, VV HB2, Virtual Solo, SDS-1, Area T, Area Hot T, Area T 615, Virtual Hot T, Chopper T, Bluesbucker, Breed set, Air Norton, Super Distortion, DLX+ set, DLX-90, DP240, DP198, DP168, VPAF b, AT-1, Mo' Joe, FRED, Super 2; GS b

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Offline RayBarbeeMusic

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2021, 08:06:33 PM »
Kinman Big 90 is definitely significantly darker and has more inductance than an injector bridge, and doesn't respond as well to tone roll off.  The Injector bridge response amazingly well to a .0015 cap and a 500k tone rolled down; it can sound much more like a humbucker than the Big 90 in that scenario, where the Big 90 gets dark and pick attack gets lost with the same setup.  With the tone wide open, the big 90 is definitely darker.  He has a new one called kick-in-the-arse that I haven't tried yet, that is probably closer to a P90.

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Offline RayBarbeeMusic

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2021, 01:25:38 AM »
I revisited this and directly compared some of the pickups in question. 

First:  P90 tone...what do you mean?  Do you mean something that actually acts like a P90?  Have you used P90s extensively?  If you haven't, you probably don't know what that is.  They have this high end roll off thing some people love, I h8 it with a passion as it kills pick attack dead.  Sounds like a strat pickup or a PAF with the tone rolled all the way down even when it's wide open.  Gets exponentially worse as you add wire, so if you overwind one above 8k, the high end takes a dive into hell.  If you never pick fast, ok, but if you do, you will hate it with a passion.

What people who haven't used them tend to mean is, big fat loud single coil.  So which you mean makes a difference. 

Kinman Big 9-0:  Sounds like a P90 insofar as it's hot, and the high end is compressed and rolled off, albeit not quite as much as a 90.  The more I play it, the more I hate it.  It has a weird high end that is muted, overwhelming mids like a cocked wah, and not in a good way.  Sounds good on low chords and some power chords, h8 it for leads.  I can get similar sounds if I take an Injector bridge and roll the tone way down, but the injector never sounds or responds as bad as the Big 9-0.  If you've really extensively used overwound P90 bridges for real, you might like it as it has some of those qualities.  They are qualities I personally hate though.

Injector Bridge can do the bright strat thing with the tone wide open, but responds very well to a .0015uf cap rolled down. Becomes fatter but not weird like the Kinman.  Sounds like Blackmore with that setup and the tone rolled off, but I'd compare it more to a tight PAF with that done than a P90, unless your definition of P90 is the second one I use above. 

Fast Track 1:  This is the 2nd definition I use above in spades.  Big, fat, loud single coil.  No high end weirdness of a real P90 or the Kinman.  Like the injector, responds well to a.0015uf cap on the tone control, but wide open it's perfectly usable.  Bright highs and big, tight, but not boomy, low end.  I really like this in the bridge of a strat, it sounds 'right'.  Bright enough to mix with the singles, enough bass to not sound thin, fattens up nicely without losing all articulation as the tone is rolled back.  This would be what I'd point someone to if they wanted a really huge single coil sound in the bridge, like all the good qualities of a P90 with none of the high end weirdness-baggage.  Add:  Plays nice with 250k pots.

Chopper.  This is a PAF sound, I don't care what DiMarzio says.  I compared it to at least 30 different PAFs in the bridge of strats and it falls right into that camp, and it's one of the best available as well, really sounds great.  Sounds nothing like a P90.  Fatter, no high end roll off or compression.  I love this pickup in the bridge of a strat to.  Add:  Works better with 500k pots.

Also RE the chopper and fast track 1:  You do NOT have to split them in position 2 to get good quack with the middle pickup.  With full sized humbuckers, you really do, and you need to use the bridge coil, which often means flipping the magnet.  FT1 and chopper have a tighter magnetic field and do not need splitting for a correct strat position 2 tone.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2021, 02:46:23 PM by RayBarbeeMusic »

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Offline darkbluemurder

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2021, 04:04:39 AM »
Many thanks Ray for this informative post. From personal experience I can attest to everything about the Kinman Big 9-0, the Injector bridge and the Chopper. No personal experience with the Fast Track 1 so I cannot comment there.

Cheers Stephan
Area 67, Area 58, Area 61, VV Pro 54, Injectors, VV HB2, Virtual Solo, SDS-1, Area T, Area Hot T, Area T 615, Virtual Hot T, Chopper T, Bluesbucker, Breed set, Air Norton, Super Distortion, DLX+ set, DLX-90, DP240, DP198, DP168, VPAF b, AT-1, Mo' Joe, FRED, Super 2; GS b

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Offline Slartibartfarst

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Re: Single Coil Size P-90
« Reply #9 on: June 01, 2021, 07:11:52 PM »
Search for 'Creamery Pickups' as he makes a singlecoil sized P90 set. The guy who owns it is called Jaime and he's VERY good. I find his pickups better than Bare Knuckle, and cheaper. I used to have these in a Strat and they're beasts.