Gibson P-90

Pickup features: single coil
Impedence or other specs: got me

Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul Jr. (homemade)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: everybody, it's legendary
You musical style(s): rock, y'allternative
Reason for pickup change: no change--just put it in at birth

Perceived output level: bluesy, crunchy, smooth. Depends on volume and amp setting
Tone: ballsy crunch, chiming clean, mellow blues
Sonic evaluation: Mahogany body Les Paul Jr. clone through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Occasionally through a tube screamer.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rock and country, blues, folk, y'allternative

Comments: This is exactly as I wanted it. I couldn't be happier with the way this guitar turned out. The pickup is amazing. There is a reason this thing has been around since your grandpa was teething. Any style imaginable is easy for this pickup to handle. Clean it is a smooth and clear messenger of blues and ballad. Distorted it is a crunchy block of Keith Richards-inspired rock madness. A no-nonsense pickup that you can't go wrong with unless you are only into heavy metal. And if you are I'm sure you're not reading a P-90 review.

Pickup features: passive
Impedence or other specs: 9k ohms

Model of guitar or bass: 1955 Harmony deep body archtop ( Like an es 350)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Old De-Armonds which were missing from guitar
Other pickups on guitar: -
Artists using this pickup: T-Bone Walker(ages ago) BB King (1050's) Freddie King
You musical style(s): Blues, rockabilly, jazz
Reason for pickup change: The guitar I had bought was pick-upless

Perceived output level: VERY good for jazz and blues. Very hot pickup. Powerful, consistent.
Tone: Not a lot of treble here. Middy and Bassey
Sonic evaluation: 1955 Harmony archtop with '59 Bassman re-issue, reverb tank, Danecho delay pedal.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For Blues, Jazz, Rockabilly, these pickups work amazingly well.

Comments: These pickups are like the Holy grail. They're nothing short of Fantastic. I'd hate to have to part with them.

Pickup features: Single
Impedence or other specs: ?

Model of guitar or bass: Hoffner Verithin 66
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Hoffner orginal humbucker
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Slide, blues
Reason for pickup change: The orginal Hoffner is an very good guitar, but the pickups bloody mess.

Perceived output level: Twangy hot
Tone: Middy, middy.........
Sonic evaluation: I use a Bassmanamp and speaker from 1965, an Fender Hotrod Deluxe.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Slide, blues.

Comments: The P-90 pickups get?s you best slide sound. I have tryed i think all pickups in the world.

Pickup features: 2 P90 single coils
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass:
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Very high (higher than most humbuckers
Tone: Very rich sound
Sonic evaluation: Peavey classic 30 (Vox AC30 in a small box!)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Classic 60s

Comments: I have 3 other Gibsons, a couple of Fenders and a Rickenbacker. None of them match the full sound given by the 330. It is the richest, fullest sound I have ever heard.
The downside? Absolutely useless if you try to apply overdrive or sustain!

Pickup features: Single coil passive
Impedence or other specs: about 8 or 9k ohms

Model of guitar or bass: Custom made SG
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: These were the first pickups on the guitar
Other pickups on guitar: These are the only pickups on the guitar
Artists using this pickup: Tony Iommi had them in his Gibson SG special before they were replaced by John Birch Biflux pickups (a move I will soon make)
You musical style(s): Heavy Rock, Blues, Metal, Jazz
Reason for pickup change: I had heard that these pickups were fantastic from many reviews, I played a guitar that had the Seymour Duncan P-90s, and I loved the sound that Tony Iommi got on the first Black Sabbath album (The last song, Warning, was recorded on an SG with P-90s).

Perceived output level: They are relatively high output, more so than a strat's or tele's
Tone: very bassy, great for a twang, but not much for distortion or sustain
Sonic evaluation: I have these pickups in a guitar that I built myself completely from aftermarket parts and a huge board of furniture grade poplar. My anp is a Carvin SX200 (an awesome, very loud amp) that works very well with humbucker equipped guitars. Unfortunately, these pickups just cannot get a good sound from my amp. There is almost no sustain, and my guitar is a maple neck through with a stop tailpiece and Sperzel tuners. I've used the pickups through the clean channel and they sound awesome, very much like a Stevie Ray Vaughan or Albert King sound. However, they just don't work well with the distortion on my amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly Classic Heavy Rock, like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Boston, and Jimi Hendrix. But I do love to play The Beatles, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Cream, and The Yarbirds. If you're going to use this pickup, use it in the bridge position to get the most sustain possible.

Comments: I'm going to be replacing them soon with a John Birch Magnum for the bridge and a Gibson Tony Iommi for the neck. They have unparalleled clarity and output. The P-90s would ideally be suited for a Stevie Ray Vaughan sound. I don't think they're bad pickups, just not the pickups for me.

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1963 ES-125tc
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: the artist formerly known as Les Paul
You musical style(s): muddy waters, mississippi john hurt, booker white etc.
Reason for pickup change: n/a

Perceived output level: hot enough overdrive a vintage tube amp quite nicely.
Tone: fullest in low-midrange, clear highs but not glassy like a strat p/u
Sonic evaluation: '63 ES125TC, '63 Supro Corsica tube amp.
This pickup is awesome. With hollowbody guitars it gives a complex, dark, woody growl. It does not sound like any other single-coil out there and belongs in a class by itself. It's nice and fat when clean, but when it is just starting to break up is when this thing really shines. It responds nicely at that point, going from clean with punchy midrange to growling as you play more aggressively. As the level of overdrive increases, the distorted sound does not smooth out like a humbucker. It is a very coarse, gravelly sound that really is the hallmark of the P-90. I guess the main point I would make about the original P-90 when compared to reissues/copies is that it really has a dark, raucous, earthy distortion that never loses it's complexity or edge. The copies I've played sound very good, but don't duplicate this. The P-100 is another pickup entirely and will disappoint anyone seeking early Gibson tone. Either the P-90 copies or P-100 will give you alot less noise though, if that's your concern.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: perfect for delta blues and very early rock, good for jazz, but not the best. probably won't work for texas style blues, metal, surf- you get the idea

Comments: I've been playing for 12 years. I've played mostly vintage low-end Gibson hollowbodies (like this one) through small vintage tube combos. This type of set up is less expensive then most rigs, is very easy to transport, and makes one HELL of a racket. For that purpose, the P-90 is the only pickup for me. You can probably get 'em pretty cheap from vintage dealers, I've never had to buy one as mine have been durable.

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: rated 8.3 kOhms

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul Special DoubleCut
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock epiphone soapbar
Other pickups on guitar: stock epiphone soapbar at neck
Artists using this pickup: too many to ennumerate
You musical style(s): blues, rock, general noodling
Reason for pickup change: stock bridge p/u just didn't have "that thang"

Perceived output level: definitely hotter than the epi soapbar, about the same as a PAF humbucker
Tone: quite well balanced, with a bit of midrange emphasis
Sonic evaluation: i usually play through a Marshall DRP-1 preamp into the mixing console, or through DRP-1 into headphones for late-night noodling

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For blues, this thing rages! Think early Freddie King. In a rock vein, "Live at Leeds" era Who, early Santana, or mid-period Stones. Probably wouldn't use it for country (though you could get an "interesting" tone, i'm sure) or for Metal (the scooped-m

Comments: Yes! Now we're talkin'!! The stock Epi soapbar at the bridge just seemed "wimpy" and using an overdrive pedal to up the gain just seemed to exaggerate finger noises, etc. I could never find a happy medium amp setting that let both the neck and bridge p/u's sound decent. The "real" P-90 has one-third more output. It's rated at 8.3 kOhms (mine measured 8.4 with my VOM). When I got the stock p/u out I measured and got a reading of 6.3k, about the same as a stock strat. Now I've got enough gain to go from clean to crunch with the volume pot. It is louder AND more articulated than the Epi soapbar; excellent pick dynamics and fewer "handling noises" than the Epi. It's wax-potted to reduce microphonics. I considered a Duncan Vintage Soapbar, but Fuller offered me the Gibson at the same price as the Duncan at a different shop so I decided to try the "real thing" first. I had also considered a P-100 for the hum-cancelling factor, but they just didn't seem to have the raucous tone of a P-90. I've mostly played a battered Fender Mustang for the last 25 years; awhile back someone brought a Paul w/P-90s into the studio and I was floored by the punchy, raw tone. Now I've got it, too. Maybe I'll try a Duncan in the neck position at some point, but the Epi neck pickup sounds decent and combines with the Gibbie really well. Yeah, it's got some good old single-coil hum. . . but so what. Let it rock! I'd give it a "10" if it were free. . . .