Vintage Vibe Guitars SP-90

P-90 pickup in a Strat format. Adjustable pole pieces. Twin bar magnets. Comes with two sets of magnets (I selected Alnico V and also Alnico II). Approximately 8.4 ohm DC resistance. Vintage style cloth leads and ground wire. Includes mounting screws, silicone tubing, and detailed installation instructions.

I'm using this pup in my middle American 62' RI Strat. I have a Lindy Fralin Blues Special neck pup and a Seymour Duncan Custom Pearly Gates (in Strat format) at the bridge. I rarely used my middle pup, which was a Fralin, as it's tone while fine, wasn't very distinct. I like P90 tones, so getting some out of my Strat, and using an essentially unused pickup position seemed worth trying.

I think the SP-90 delivers a very nice balance P90 tone and I'm quite pleased and impressed with it. It's added a lot to my guitar in terms of versatility. I play mostly blues and blues rock, so the Fralin is the perfect neck pup for classic blues tones, and for hotter rock lead tones the PG work great in the bridge. This SP-90 seems great for a little of anything, especially roots rock like CCR as I'm getting a killer Born on the Bayou tone from it. It doesn't have the harmonics of the Fralins, and isn't as bright as the PG, but sits comfortably in the middle, and is also distinct. The volume level is similar to the other pups too. I'm playing through Chicago Blue Box Halsted and Goodsell Super 17 amps, which are also very nice. The only effect I use occassionally is a MXR Carbon Copy Delay. I also use good cords, Mogami currently, and you'd be amazed how much difference a good cable can make.

I really like the Vintage Vibe SP-90. It has added alot to my guitar, and compliments what I already had going. Customer Service from Vintage Vibe is also first rate with great communication and fast shippment. I'd certainly recommend checking out this pup if you're interested in getting some happening P90 tones out of your Strat, and I'd certainly recommend checking out any of Pete's pups at Vintage Vibe, based on my experience with this one.

P90 Style PU in Strat Single Coil Format
Matched 3 Pickup Set with Alnico V Magnets

Installed in new Warmoth Strat: one pice ash body, maple neck, ebony fretboard. Wilkinson VG 300 virbrato bridge with steel saddles.

I was not so sure whether P90 and Strat go well together, but I wanted something different, so I gave it a try.

The darker sounding P90 in combination with the very bright sounding guitar (ebony fretboard, steel saddles) are a perfekt match. Shiny highs and a the same time a dark growl - even with clean amp settings (I use an original 65 Vibrolux and a TAD Deluxe Reverb copy). The output is about what you would expect from a P90. These Pickups are great for country and jazz and also do very well with crunchy amp settings. I would not recommend them for metal.

What impresses me the most is the balance between the 3 PUs, there's virtually no output difference, no matter what position is in use. I've also installed a Fat-o-Caster switch, but it turns out the additional switching options are not very usable. I stay with the 5-way standard Strat mode most of the time and I'm extremly happy with that.

In my ears, the SP-90 equipped Warmoth is the coolest Strat ever. I have sold all my other Strats.

I would definitly buy these PU again (and most of the other PUs I've bought from Vintage Vibe Guitars in the meantime).

I have used other brands including boutinque PUs and mainstream manufacturers. Nothing works for me better than the SP-90.

I will not look for any other retrofit PUs for my Strat.

Vintage Vibes service is very personal and quick. International shipping was no problem.

Single coil "strat" size p-90 voiced pickup

Rogue Lap Steel, replaced stock pickup which was weak and thin sounding.

The VVG SP-90 output level is higher than the stock Rogue pickup.

The tone is between that of a p-90 large single coil and a good strat pickup, a little cleaner than a p-90 and beefier than a strat. I play in a blues/rock trio and for our use the sound is really nice. This is a great pickup for an inexpensive lap steel set up for a strat type pickup.

Just because I don't know what a "10" is I will give it a nine.

I would buy this pickup again, the quality is really good! A new pickup comes with two sets of magnets so you can fine tune "your" sound.

The pickup is taller than a stock strat pickup, but that shouldn't be a problem in most newer guitars.

I chose this pickup because I played with a guitar player that had a guitar with a p-90 in it and loved the natural "rock-n-roll" sound of the p-90.

I wish there were more VVG pickups around so they would be easier to find used.

I've been playing bass for 40 years in rock, country, acoustic and lately a blues trio, I monkey around on guitar,but I am not a real guitar player. The guitar player I'm currently working with has been playing for 12 years or so and normally plays a late 80's Strat Plus, a mexi-tele and the Rogue lap steel through two (miked) modified Epiphone Valve Junior heads, one "marshallized" through a celestion 12k-85 and one "fenderized" through an eminence alnico 1028K.

Single coil passive;
Neck-8,500 windings; Impedence 8.4K ohms
Middle-8,500 windings; Impedence 8.5K ohms
Bridge-10,000 windings; Impedence-10.2K ohms

Installed in 1962 ReIssue Fender Stratocaster;

Installed in all three positions (Neck, Middle, Bridge); Replacing original stock vintage-style pickups.

I don't know of any artists using these pickups.

I changed the pickups because I wanted something with more "oomph"; they delivered awesomely. Since this axe is used mainly for playing slide, the thought of P-90s in a Strat made me as happy as a pig in mud.

Output level is strong, but not "too much"--they don't get into the goofy "screamy" sound that often pervades many Stratocaster replacement sets. They also don't sound like every other Strat on the planet (i.e., Texas Specials).

The SP-90s send out a great P90-ish sound (just as advertised), but I didn't lose that classic Strat sparkle and spank. I would describe it almost like a hybrid of a vintage P-90 and a vintage 1960s Stratocaster. The tone is very well balanced, no overly muddy or bright tones on either extreme.

I have used a 1963 ReIssue Fender Vibroverb, as well as going direct into the mixer for recording (both sounded great). I also use several effects judiciously; an Ibanez TS9 TubeScreamer, a MXR Phase 90, a Dunlop Original Crybaby wah, a Boss RT20 Rotary Ensemble (Leslie cabinet simulator), a Danelectro Daddy-O overdrive, a Dunlop JH2S Jimi Hendrix Classic Fuzz, a DOD FX40B 7-band Equalizer, and a Rocktron HUSH pedal (noise reduction).

I play Texas Roadhouse music (blues+classic rock+Outlaw country=Texas Roadhouse) called the SCREAMIN ARMADILLOS; people have described our music as ZZ Top and the Fabulous Thunderbirds touring with 1975-era Waylon Jennings. These pickups fit perfectly with my style, especially considering I'm using this axe to primarily play slide.

If I lost these pickups for any reason, I would immediately get another set.

I???ve been playing guitar for 18 years; I also own a classicly-styled hecho-en-Mexico Fender Telecaster and a 1980 G&L F-100; I have already decided to have Pete custom build me a set of P90s to fit in the G&L???s humbucker routings.

I love these pickups; they even look good, with the slotted panhead pole pieces. I am completely satisfied, and I would immediately put these pickups into any Stratocaster.

I compared these pickups with Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials, Fender Vintage Noiseless, and a Fender Tex-Mex Strat Set; the SP90s won, hands down. I have found THAT sound.

One final thing; Pete sent some really great documentation, and was willing to quickly answer e-mails and talk to me on the phone; even after the sale. He has great customer service, and I would recommend his honesty and skill to anyone.

Single coil, passive. 10K bridge, 8.5K neck and middle

Swamp ash Strat with maple/rosewood neck

I have decided to finally post some reviews about Pete Biltoft???s Vintage Vibe pickups. These are the only ???vintage voiced??? pickups I use in my instruments now. They come individually packaged with great care, each with their own handwritten ???birth certificates??? should you ever need to have them replicated or replaced. Pete offers a lifetime guarantee on his excellent work.

The SP90???s are P-90 pickups in a standard Strat package. The ones I am reviewing shipped with ceramic magnets and adjustable pole pieces. These are installed in a super light swamp ash Warmoth Strat with a modern construction maple/rosewood neck.

To my ears, these pickups sound like the true P-90 that a friend has in a in his Les Paul Special, but with a slight nod toward Fender single coils. They have great upper high-mid complexity (which distances them from the Texas Specials), and really hit the face of the amp hard. Through my dad???s ???58 Champ or through my own Yamaha DG60FX (the amp Allan Holdsworth is currently playing) the results are equally satisfying. Remarkable consistency from position to position.

With these pickups, this guitar (a very warm, surprisingly Les Paul-sounding instrument acoustically) moves facilely from early Santana tones through Les Paul sounds (the player, not the instrument) to of course, the mandatory Leslie West stuff. If you want a good idea of what the neck pickup can do, listen to Neal Schon on the beginning of Journey???s Lights and you will get the idea. Of course, with the power of these things, they can also do John Sykes-era White Snake tones very convincingly. (For instance, the solo sections on Is This Love?) In the 2 and 4 ???out of phase??? positions is where these pickups most closely resemble the Texas Specials. There is a fair amount of ???quack??? present, but it lacks the depth that more underwound pickups can achieve.

I suggest wiring these in with a 500K control pot. If you want to emphasize a more ???stratty??? sound, add a treble-bleed cap IN SERIES WITH A 250K RESISTOR across lugs one and two of your volume control. (The resistor retains the proper functional range of the volume control.) If you want a more traditional P90 sound, leave the treble bleed cap off.

One thing I will say in all my reviews of Pete???s pickups, and I can not stress this enough. These pickups are all EXTREMELY TOUCH SENSITIVE. They replicate and even amplify variations in your picking technique, especially if you use your fingers at all. If you rely on your pickup to compress your sound due to poor right hand technique or play music that tends to stay in one dynamic range, these pickups may not be for you. However, if you want a lot of expressive range from your instrument (ala Derek Trucks or Mark Knopfler), order a set of these now!

To end with, I like these so much that I have ordered a set with alnico magnets for a more ???vintage??? voicing to match a slightly mellower guitar I own. I am buying more of these pickups??? That???s the best endorsement I can give them.

9.5

Pickup features: strat sized P-90, set of three
Impedence or other specs: 8.2 for neck and middle, 9.6 for bridge

Model of guitar or bass: custom built strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: I don't know
You musical style(s): rock, blues, some jazz, and heavier stuff
Reason for pickup change: I wanted something different from the typical strat single coil sound. I always liked the sound of P-90s so I chose these.

Perceived output level: hotter than regular strat pickups, but very balanced and musical
Tone: tone is very balanced in all positions, nice P-90 growl.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a custom built strat type guitar and a small no name tube amp. I was really impressed with these pickups. The sound is very balanced, sounds very good clean or overdriven. The bridge can get some nice twang and the neck pickup is very smooth. The middle pickup also sounds very good by itself or in combination with the other 2 pickups. I usually stay away from overwound pickups because I don't think most of them sound very good, but these are exceptional!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play a variety of styles (rock, blues, jazz, etc.) and these pickups are a good match for everything I play.

Comments: I've been playing for about 17 years. I own a variety of guitars and a couple of amps. I tend to favour single coils and vintage type pickups because I find they maintain clarity even in high gain situations. I was looking for something different for my strat and bought these based on reviews and sound clips. As I told Pete from Vintage Vibe, I will definitely be buying more pickups from him. They are the best I've heard and the construction and customer support are top notch! What more could you ask for? If you're looking for something special, give Pete a call.

Pickup features: single coil-sized p-90
Impedence or other specs: 9.2 ohms

Model of guitar or bass: Japan strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: jb jr
Other pickups on guitar: stock
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): all over the place, but mostly rock
Reason for pickup change: jb jr was kind of flat and muddy.

Perceived output level: less than jb jr, which is good, because you get more clarity
Tone: very balanced
Sonic evaluation: Blues Jr with all kinds of pedals. This thing is a perfect combination of a tele and a p-90. It's great for everything-leads, rhythm...lead rhythm, rhtythm/lead, leady/rhythm, :) I love this pickup, it but more bass response into my bridge position compared to a normal strat pup. it's got a nice growl to it. takes well to compressors, drive pedals, and works well with the volume and tone knobs on the guitar. It also mixes perfectly with the middle pickup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I have a band with a girl singer and we rock out.

Comments: Pete has amazing customer service, even though he's busy as all heck. the construction of these pickups is like an art form in itself. Neatly sheilded with copper foil, waxed cloth covered leads, instructions and handwritten specs for your pickup. he really personalizes these things.

Pickup features: Single Coil P90 passive
Impedence or other specs: Strat-sized P90's

Model of guitar or bass: American Deluxe Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Lace Chrome-Domes
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): whatever i'm in the mood for!
Reason for pickup change: I have several sets of Vintage-Vibe pick-up's, to me they are the best boutique pick-ups on the market today.

Perceived output level: More than a normal single coil
Tone: With the "Chromacaster" switch, you can get just about any tone,there are 16 different pick-up combinations!
Sonic evaluation: I am using a Vox AD60VT, a Fender Blues Junior, and a Roland Micro-Cube for practice.These pick-ups sound fantastic through any of my amps.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I normally play 60s,70's rock, some blues and I might try some of the newer stuff around at the moment, as long as it's half decent.These pick-up's suit ALL styles of music, they are about as veratile as it gets.

Comments: I've been playing 15 years, I have a Tokai Gold-Top, a Fender Deluxe Strat, a Dillion Gold-Top, an Epiphone SG400, a Dillion Thin-Line Tele, and a Seagull S6 acoustic. They all have vintage-Vibe pick-ups except for the Thin-line,and the acoustic of course!This assembly is by far the best value around at the moment, I'm a lefty so I usually get the shit end of the stick when it comes to any thing outside the norm, but $200 for a set of three Boutique pick-ups, a lefty pearl 3-ply scratch-plate, parchment covers and knobs,all the pots, the Chromaster switch, and all wired up ready to just drop it in and play? I dare anybody to show me a better deal anywhere.The big plus that I found buying from Vintage-Vibe is the customer service.This is where Pete Biltoft is head and shoulders above the rest.His e-mails are always curtious and prompt, as are his suggestions if you tell him what you are looking for in a pick-up.He will wind pick-ups to just about any specification you want, if your not sure about pick-up winding (as I was'nt), do what I did, just send him a list of a few songs with the sound you want ,he will work out what you are looking for. I've had Fender Custom Shop pick-ups,Lace, Seymour-Duncan,DiMarzio, Fralins,and Gibson pick-ups.To me, Pete Biltoft makes a better sounding pick-up, and beats them hands down on customer service and value for money. Would I replace these pick-ups if anything happened to my guitar? I would'nt have anything else in my guitar!!

Pickup features: single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Vintage Strat
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: Whalebone Bill
You musical style(s): Blues
Reason for pickup change: Tone & power

Perceived output level: Absolutly Great !
Tone: Stand alone tone, unequaled !
Sonic evaluation: Custom Strat with vintage VTX classic Peavey

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Electric Blues/ all positions are the best I have ever heard !

Comments: Yes, I would buy again, I have tried many different pickups over the years, and I have not ever been satisfied until I installed Pete Biltoft's SP90's. I will never take them out of my strat. I have custom tele's with Pete's pickups in them, and an ES335 with Pete's P90 replacements in it.I also have a Les Paul that will soon have Pete's P90's in it. I have a new custom strat that I just got through building with Pete's Vintage Staggers in it. Pete Biltoft's pickups are superior to any thing I have used in 49 years of playing !! For more information on Pete Biltoft/Vintage Vibe Guitars, read my article at bluesforpeace.com/blog

Pickup features: Passive single coil, adjustable poles, bar magnets
Impedence or other specs: It's basically a P-90 crammed into a standard single-coil housing, this one is 8.39k

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock single coil
Other pickups on guitar: standard Vintage Vibe single coils
Artists using this pickup: unknown
You musical style(s): Alt/Rock/Blues, fairly heavy at times
Reason for pickup change: Needed something quieter, and better. Especially needed a bridge pickup that would deliver good distorted tones. Guitar has S-S-S rout, and I like P-90's so... SP-90 seemed like a great option.

Perceived output level: Very close to a P-90, up there with many low to mid-output humbuckers.
Tone: I'd say balanced. It's got a good kick in the mids and lows compared to a regular single coil, but isn't stuffy or muddy at all. It does a good job at sounding like a P-90, but it won't make a Strat sound like a LP special.
Sonic evaluation: I use several strats into a variety of small combos, Fender Prosonic, HRD, Boogie Studio 22+, etc. I use tones ranging from subtle cleans to raging heavy distortion, and all points between. I use effects sparingly but do use wah and whammy pedals. I don't like using boosts much, and prefer to get distortion just from amps. This pickup does a great job of driving high-gain preamps with a nice solid signal, while still retaining clarity and single-coily goodness. I get best results with a 500k volume pot with this pickup. It's slightly lower in output than my other strat with full-size overwound P-90's in it, because of the space limitations of the single-coil cover. With the tone on 6 or 7, this pickup can hang with as much gain as you want to run it through without sounding thin or warbly. It's also very quiet for a true single coil, thanks to the thoroughly shielded coil and bobbin. I'm very happy with it!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is basically a rockin' bridge pickup for a strat, great for anyone who finds standard bridge single coils thin or shrill. Probably not the best for country chicken-pickin' or thrash metal, but great all-purpose pickup for rock/blues etc.

Comments: I've been playing for about 15 years, and these pickups are helping me zero in on the sounds I've always wanted to get. It's my second set of Vintage Vibe pickups, and I'm just as happy with these as the first set. Pete's customer service is great, his construction is excellent, he offers a lifetime warranty, and his prices are excellent. I hope he's in business for a long time, because when I need more pickups he's the first place I'll look.