Stan Hinesley Hot P-90

Mine is a black soapbar style pickup.
The website states that the pickup has Alinco 5 magnets and resistance is listed at 8.6 Ohms.
Like all Hinesley pickups, this one is scatterwound by hand and potted by Stan.

I bought a Gibson Les Paul Doublecut 'Faded' model a few years ago. This was my first experience with P-90s. I loved the neck position immediately (nice bluesy sound, muddy in a good way) I didn't care for the stock bridge pickup. Not terrible, but it didn't inspire to play. At one point, I dropped in a Seymour Duncan Stacked P-90. The Duncan was not an improvement. I liked the hum-canceling aspect of that pickup but the sound was weak and wholly without character imho. I sort of put that instrument off in the corner for a while.

I first heard of Hinesley through Howard Glazer who is a great blues player and a serious tone hound. He was playing some Hinesley humbuckers and his sound (which was always great) was outstanding that night. I decided to try Hinesley's hot 90 in the bridge position on my Gibson and I couldn't be happier. The output is actually very close to the stock Gibson in the neck position. [Note: Hinesley alos offers a Screamin'90 at 10.4 Ohms] Sonically, the Hinesley stands out as a handcrafted, premium component. On chords, every string sings individually. I particularly like the tight, punchy low end. On a clean amp, this is a great pickup for rockabilly, and snappy blues stuff. When dirty, I can't help thinking Stooges/NY Dolls. I'll admit that I'm not a P-90 expert, but as far as I can tell, the Hot90 does what a P-90 is expected to do, but with a little extra class.

I've got about a dozen guitars. I normally prefer Fenders with maple necks equipped with a combination of humbuckers and single coils. That said, I expect to play this guitar a lot more now. Also, I plan to look into other Hinesley products based on the qulaity of this unit. At the current prices, I can't imagine buying mass market replacement pickups ever again.

Single coil, passive humbuckers, scatter wound by hand to custom specification (5% over wind on neck, 10% over wind on bridge)

From Stan's HAS Sound website: "Features double opposing Alnico 5 magnets and steel adjustable poles. Available in soapbar or dogear styles with black or cream covers. 2-conductor shielded leads. Vintage style braided push-back wire available upon request.
DC resistance = 8.6k ohm, Alnico 5." (I'm assuming mine have a higher resistance but I haven't measured it.)

They???re hum cancelling in the middle position too.

I ordered a calibrated set to go in my PRS SE Soapbar guitar: Mahogany neck & body, rosewood fretboard, fixed bridge. (p/ups in Bridge & Neck positions). ??? Not a bad guitar after changing volume & tone pots to ones that WORKED! (Actually the tone pot is a push/pull: Midrange Plus Control/Woman Tone Control from Stan as well ??? see below)

The stock p/up in the neck position had a good over all tone but the bridge didn't do it for me. This guitar is set up for slide playing but I wanted more bite and power out the bridge position without the tone thin-ing out. I know that I shouldn???t have compared this guitar to the higher end Les Paul or my old Strat but now it???s on a level.

The output of these p/ups is (IMO) a great balance of power, articulation and warmth in both positions. There???s certainly more output in the bridge position than the stock p/up without taking over from the neck position. Very nicely balanced making the setting of the p/up heights a two minute job.

I???m running this through a 40w DSL401 Marshall Tube amp. Original Crybaby wah, H&K Tube Factor, MXR: ZW44 in front and a Boss DD5 in the fx loop (plus sometimes a Marshall Vibratrem). It???s a very simple set up that???s responsive to my playing and supports the primary tones of my guitars.

As for the sound of these bad boys they really do have to be heard rather than just talked about (I hope to get a sample of the sounds for Stan???s website soon). There is a difference between machine wound and hand scatter wound p/ups that I???m finding difficult to describe ??? they just sound clearer with more texture and they sound more dynamic. I play a lot of unaccompanied stuff (Chris Whitley & Ben Harper meets SRV!?!?) and so I play with perhaps a wider tonal range than if I was playing with a bass player etc. (I wouldn???t want to get lost in the mix would I?). These p/ups deliver the classic P90 sound: Warm and clear on cleaner settings (I seldom play totally ???clean??? but I will with the neck and middle positions since installing these p/ups), Thick, solid and harmonically rich when overdriven with a great bite when the tone pot???s fully opened ??? especially with slide playing, through an overdriven tube amp the harmonics are incredibly complex and varied depending on p/up position. With the tone pot closed (between say 0 & 4) a great Santana-like tone is achieved. I can???t seem to get any sounds from this guitar, with this set-up that I wouldn???t consider using at some point in a mix.

I???m just like a lot of other players out there totally obsessed with tone. My set-up is simple with good quality components right down to the quality of cable & picks etc. My playing is pretty simple too so I guess I have to compensate with a good sound! If these p/ups were destroyed somehow I???d be back to Stan in a heartbeat (although they do come with a 1 year warranty). I???ve had various tone control components from Stan installed (see my review of the midrange plus tone control under ???HAS Sound???) and these p/ups really reinforce what I suspected a while ago; that Stan???s a true craftsman: A very reasonably priced one at that ??? there are other p/up manufacturers that I???ve heard whose p/ups are on a par with Stan???s, ???Bare Knuckles??? for one; and to be honest it was a toss up between going to them or Stan but for the price of one of their p/ups I could get a calibrated set from Stan so in the end it was a no-brainer. I???m not one of those people who wants an ideal guitar, perfect for every genre and facet of his or her playing, nor do I want 30 Les Pauls all set up with the same p/ups. I believe that each guitar should have different strengths whether it be because of scale length, woods, pickups, finishes or dents etc and as such all my guitars bring something unique to my ???collection???. Having said that though, regardless of the price paid for the PRS SE I???d have to say that if I was to build my own perfect Frankenstein one day it???d have a set of these p/ups loaded up.

Single coil. Alnico 5 overwound P90. 2 con. wire. Black cover

I put this in the neck of a Godin LG90 (string thru mahogany body and mahogany neck). Very warm sounding instrument. Guitar comes with ceramic Seymour Duncan P90's. I like the bridge tone there, but the neck was a bit muddy for my taste. I looked around, and decided to try one of Stan's p/u's. I had delt with him before on parts and he's a super helpful guy.

I emailed Stan and descibed the guitar and what I was after. I was considering the Alnico 2 version. He recommended the Alnico 5 for it's somewhat brighter/clearer tone. He steered me right for sure, he's extremely helpful and prompt. This p/u is an excellent match for my guitar. It's not really much weaker as to output than the bridge p/u (easily balanced with height adjustment)so it has plenty of kick, but it clears/cleans up really well with the volume knob. I play thru an old black faced Fender and use only one dirt box on occasion. Tried many things, but always wind up back at simplicities doorstep. This p/u is well balanced as to tone. A slight backing off of the volume and there's ample clarity for any playing style imaginable. Kick it on full volume and it sings. Great sustain. Clarity and sustain.......I say that's a good p/u.

I've had the pleasure of playing several old Les Paul Specials, Gold Tops and Juniors and I'll say that the best of those would have to be a 10 as far as P90's go. So I give this a 9. It's truly a great sounding p/u if you like P90 tone, which I do. I've been playing for over 25 years and am blessed to own quite a few good older guitars nowadays (Strats,Pauls,Teles,PRS) but the guitar I now gig with is the Godin. It's a fine well made, straight ahead instrument and this p/u is the icing on that particular cake. Thanks Stan!