Mighty Mite P-90 Soapbar

This is a single coil set of pickups I purchased off ebay.

I installed these pickups in an epiphone les paul that I bought a year ago. The stock pickups were really wimpy, so I decided to rout my guitar body and toss these in.

These pickups sound wonderful. They are perfect for classic rock/blues (what I usually play), and would be perfect for anyone looking to get a little more out of their lp. The bridge definitely has some twang to it now, and the neck has a beautiful mellow type of sound. It was well worth the effort for me. If you want to capture that something that was present in '60's rock, this is it.

If these were destroyed or stolen, I would DEFINITELY buy another pair. They're exceptionally priced for the value they represent. I've been playing for a couple years now, and own a 1970's Epiphone Texan along with a Strat. Like I said, if you're looking for a vintage rock sound, these are the pickups to spring for. The only downside is that I would have appreciated longer screws and more foam for mounting these things. As it stands, I'll have to rout a couple pieces of plywood to stick under them to bring the pickups closer to the strings. Even as far away as they are, though, I get a lot of volume out of them.

Not certain, but I believe that it has an alnico V magnet, and is hot output. Normal size soapbar p90, came with cushioned foam to put on the bottom of the pickup, dropped in my guitar with no problems. Cost me all of $15.00.

Put it into my 2003 Paul Reed Smith SE Soapbar II, bridge position.

For those of you wondering whether or not $15.00 is worth a good pickup...it certainly is! In fact, when compared to my stock pickup, and my slightly-lacking-in-output Seymour Duncan stack p90, this thing really shines! Hot output, but not distorting; middy, but not nasally; warm, but not muddy; treble(ie), but not ear-piercing. This is a very even tempered pickup as well, not too dramatic in any eq department, with the exception of maybe a 0.5 difference in more mids. The noise on this thing wasn't bad either, which was also surprising, but I have honestly heard better noise management. Certainly better than my stock pickup, and I can say that I have had $15.00 well spent!

Of course, I'm sure there are higher-end p90's out there that have a little less idle noise, and may be a bit more refined and genuine, but after comparing the price, I could almost laugh. This proves how easy and cheap it is to make a quality pickup, and it really hangs in there with the top pickup-making contenders.

The verdict is in: The Mighty Mite (Vintage/Alnico) P90 is a quality pickup!

p-90

epiphone les paul goldtop with p-90's, only the bridge pickup was switched out

The user that said this in an earlier review was right on the money "Had a Gibson p-90 in this Epi a while back, it sounded very different from the Mighty Mite. The Gibson had much more midrange, and wouldn't cut through the mix like the MM. I like the sound of the MM P-90 better than the Gibson, it's big and ballsy, and much more presence."

The midrange of the stock p-90 in the bridge was so middy, despite that guitar playing like a dream otherwise, the mids would keep me from reaching for that one more often

I installed it out of curiosity, having used one of these mighty mite p-90's in another guitar at one point, I switched it out...Now my Gold Top sounds like my LP Custom's slightly younger brother that can almost rock as hard, instead of the brother that can't even compete or get a word in edgewise...For as inexpensive as these go for, they are most definitely worth a try, and even I was skeptical

If they go bad, they seriously don't cost much, and it's made me appreciate my Gold Top much better, despite how backwards it sounds that I'd replace the stock bridge PU with something that costs 15-20 dollars and have it actually yield worthwhile or shockingly good results. Before the switch, my Tele sounded meatier than the Gold Top, and now the tables have turned

This is a Passive P90 single coil clone.

These are going into a 65 Gibson Firebird 1 thast I'm restoring. I am replacing the Neck, which was a Gibson 1978 PAF reissue, and the Bridge was a Seymour Duncan DC (Custom from the late 70's).

The neck has that beautiful "ping" and a growl that suits the guitar well, and yet can be warm. The bridge has a bit less output, but harmonics shimmer in all positions on the neck. Together they have a nice, clean tone. Best for Rock and blues, ok for jazz and country, not at all suitable for metal.

I have always wanted a guitar with P90's and since I found this Firebird at a pawn shop, I figured "what the hell." It got a new pickguard, and a real 65 truss rod cover. I love the tone of them, and since I don't do metal, they're great for me. Just remember that these are single coils, and therefore, you'll have some hum. The higher the gain, the more noise you'll get. but they do sound great! I choose these for the price, and can find no real flaws with them.

My collection now includes: (Deep breath) 1968 Greco ES920, late 70's/early 80's Kramer no name, 79 Epiphone Genesis Deluxe, 82 Electra X155, mid 80's Lotus double cut neck thru Paul clone, 84 Yamaha 300H, 85 Westone Dimension IV, 85 Yamaha RB250II bass, 87 Yamaha SE1212, 87 Ovation Celebrity CC157, 90 Ibanez S540, 91 or so Tradition Paul, 92 Rickenbacker 4003 bass, 2002 BCRich Mockingbird, 2002 Applause 12 string, 2003 Samick 335 clone, and a 2006 Brice 6 string fretless bass. Whew! All played thru a Marshall g20cd, Roland Jazz Chorus 77, Hughes and Kettner Bass Force L, and a crappy Crate MXB25 or something Bass amp.

Single Coil Passive P90 Pickup
Impedance unknown

Installed in 1990s hecho-en-Mexico Fender Telecaster classic. This is one of the best bang-for-the-buck Teles ever built. Vintage profile maple neck/fingerboard and ash body, vintage-style 6-saddle bridge; vintage Fender logo.

It originally had a coil-tapped humbucker in the neck position, but I removed that in order to put the Mighty Mite P90 in place--I'm not much of a humbucker type of guy, and I love the pudge and punch of a P90.

The bridge pickup is the original classic-style flush-pole-piece Telecaster bridge

Output level is well-balanced in relation to the bridge; great punchy tone--not at all bassy or muddy.

I play guitar/slide guitar/harmonica in a Texas Roadhouse band (blues+classic rock+Outlaw Country=Texas Roadhouse) called the SCREAMIN' ARMADILLOS. This pickup perfectly fits my musical style-sweet & tuff vintage swagger with phat overtones.

I use several effects judiciously; TS9 Tubescreamer-MXR Phase 90-Boss RT20 Rotary Ensemble-Dunlop Jimi Hendrix JH2s Classic Fuzz-Dunlop Crybaby-Danelectro DaddyO-DOD FX40B Equalizer-Rocktron ShortTimer Delay-Rocktron Hush (all mounted and powered by Furman SPB8 pedalboard)

This amalgamation goes into a 63RI Fender Vibroverb.

If it were destroyed, I would definitely buy it again--great sound, great looks, great price!

Pickup features: P-90 single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Mex-Strat (believe it or not)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Vintage noiseless (neck)
Other pickups on guitar: Fender Vintage Noiseless
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, Jazz
Reason for pickup change: The noiseless neck pickup was a little weak and I needed something to punch through for jazz-like solos.

Perceived output level: Slightly more output than American Strat stock pickups
Tone: high midrange, bassy... little noisy (to be expected)
Sonic evaluation: After years of having guitars stolen, broken, and fried electronics, I've kinda declared myself a strat man. It's really the most reliable guitar you can get. I have too many pedals going through an old Fender PA135 head and a 2x12 16 ohm cab.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock, Progressive rock, Jazz

Comments: I had to pretty much use a jig-saw and a hammer to squeeze this thing into the neck position of my mex-strat. It was more of an experimental whim, but it turned out that it was really the perfect sound I've been looking for over the last 6 years or so. I think the closest resemblance for a sound comparison is the old Ibanez Talmans with the P-90s. Really awesome deep, smooth sound that kicks for jazz, and recently I've noticed a few metal heads considering a P-90 in the neck. For the money, you really can't go wrong. It's nice having people come up after shows and ask how I got a strat to sound like this. But I have to say, if I were going to invest in a nicely customized replica, I might look in the direction of Seymore Duncan.

Pickup features: Single coil.
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Squier Fender Jagmaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock humbuckers
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: me
You musical style(s): Punk rock, Indie Rock
Reason for pickup change: Stock humbuckers sound dark and a bit muddy

Perceived output level: Less hot than stock humbucker, which is a good thing for me. Similar to Kent Armstrong P-90 humbucker retrofit.
Tone: Middy. Well balanced.
Sonic evaluation: My main amp is a blackface Fender Bassman with a Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp (all tubes). The sound is crisp and not muddy at all. I really like the way it reacts between smooth and hard picking. Power chords, open chords, single notes...everything sounds good.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It is versatile. I play mostly punk rock (tube overdrive) and Indie rock (cleaner sound). Very nice sounds.

Comments: Of course, the sound you will get depends a lot on your amp (and settings). These Mighty Mite PU are a very good match with my blackface bassman / Mesa preamp. Depending on settings, I can get overdriven sound ? la AC/DC, dirtier garage overdrive or almost clean single coil sound ? la Sonic Youth. The tone is pretty similar to the Kent Armstrong's p-90 (humbucker retrofit) that I installed on an Epiphone DOT. But the mighty mite are "dirtier", which I like. My Jagmaster will become my main axe from now on. The stock pickups were not that bad, but way too hot... They were muddy. They sound good only by using an EQ (reducing low mids). But I prefer plugging directly to the amp...nothing else in between. It's always a guess to buy online without trying. But for the price, you can't go wrong (12.95$ /each). Quality / price ratio is great. I am not an expert for technical stuff, I don't know about the quality of the components used in the PU, but soundwise, it's very good and that's why it's a real good deal !! If stolen, I would replace with same thing.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Sheraton II
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan '59
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Texmex and rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted more bite, I don't like humbuckers even when they're split, they sound too skinny

Perceived output level: A little less than the Duncan's in humbucking mode
Tone: Quite balanced, and surprisingly twangy for a p-90!
Sonic evaluation: I use a Fender Blues Jr. The Mighty Mite's have lots of bite, they sound more like a fat strat pickup than a P-90. Had a Gibson p-90 in this Epi a while back, it sounded very different from the Mighty Mite. The Gibson had much more midrange, and wouldn't cut through the mix like the MM. I like the sound of the MM P-90 better than the Gibson, it's big and ballsy, and much more presence. When combined, the two MM sound big and twangy, kinda like a Gretsch.
And the Mighty Mite's are cheap!
One problem though. The MM are microphonic, which is a pain in the ass, but I guess that explains the price.
However, they're still a bargain.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play texmex, spaghettiwestern influenced music, and these pickups work quite good for this kind of music.

Comments: Good value for money.

Pickup features: single cooil
Impedence or other specs: 8-9

Model of guitar or bass: tele
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: standard weak tele neck pickup
Other pickups on guitar: bridge single coil
Artists using this pickup: ?not sure
You musical style(s): indie rock
Reason for pickup change: neck pickup was to weak. i use a couple of different alt. tunnings so i constantly change guitars for different songs. the origanal pickup was so differnt from my strat i would have to re-adjust my amp settings to hear it everytime i would switch guitars.

Perceived output level: this pickup is what i would call a mid-range pickup, much hotter than the standard single coils in the tele
Tone: great, great, great all around sound. i'm very picky when it comes to pickups. these were by far the most suprising pickup i've ever heard. perfect lows...i hate really bassy humbuckers, but cant stand a really thin higher end single coil. the sound was a perfect balance.
Sonic evaluation: i use a cab w/ 4 12" celestians, and a 200w solid state randall...i know it sounds getto, but it has an amazing sound. i dont use much distortion. this combo has a great warm clean sound. of which this p-90 complaments very well.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: indie/experamental.....clean sound

Comments: overall i would say i love this pickup.....for the money there is no better p-90 made. i also make custom guitars, and this will deffinetly be the next set of pickups i use. if you hate the sound of typical humbuckers and are looking, or have been searching for that "one" sound. i strongly suggest this pickup. i had to do a little customizing to fit it in my axe but it was the best thing i've ever decided to do. overall i give it a 9 only because i didnt test every p-90 out there......(but i feel like i dont need to)

Pickup features: single coil / passive
Impedence or other specs: 9.2k

Model of guitar or bass: Home made mahogany strat style
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson P-100
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): blues/rock... alot of slide
Reason for pickup change: I did not route the pickup cavities deep enough to accomodate the stacked coils of the Gibsons. I needed a quick fix without going back into the woodshop. I decided to just install single coil pups.

Perceived output level: Strong... hotter than the Gibsons which measured about 6.2k
Tone: pretty well balanced, although one of pole pieces was stripped and would not adjust
Sonic evaluation: Playing through a Peavey Delta Blues 30w 210 tube amp. Clean, these pickups sound great. Strong, full rich low end with snappy upper mids. With a little overdrive, I thought they were very nice on the treble side, but a little muddy on the wound strings. This was on bolt neck guitar though. It would be interesting to try these in an LP Special! Very nice growl and bite with the slide, especially on double stops.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues rock... good for rhythm and lead sounds. Like in both neck and bridge positions.

Comments: I am an accomplished guitarist with over 25 years of experience. People compliment my sound and style. For my preferences, I would be more likely to use these again over the $160.00 dollar a pair Gibson P-100's. The gibsons were fine, but for me, cost is a factor. The Mighty Mite P-90 is an extremely amazing pickup for 13 bucks each!!!!