Supermassive P90 adjustment?

[Sothoth]

I got a set of Supermassive P90s and like them a lot.  They sound great but in a band situation there are some clean tones I'm looking for and these get a little muddy sounding and volume and/or with just a little distortion, OD, or fuzz.  I'm hoping for  a few suggestions to improve things.  My assumption is that they're really strong in the mids and bass, which I think is unusual for a classic P90, and perhaps I would do well to put in a treble bleed?  I can lower the pup, of course, because I realize that a relatively hot P90 probably doesn't need to be as close to the strings as a classic output/voiced P90. 

The guitar is a G&L ASAT Junior II, which I love.  It's mahogany body, with a bolt on maple/rosewood neck.  Tune o matic bridge.

Any other suggestions (cap, pot, etc), or feedback on the treble bleed or height, would be appreciated.

[Telerocker]

First try to adjust the height. One mm does a lot with scatterwound pickups. P90's tend to get muddy, because their all about big mids. You have to adjust the eq and/or gain on your amp. A treble bleed is always a good addition.

[Kiichi]

Height: Absolutely. Maybe even take up the screws one or two turns. That can help too.

Sides that, what wiring are you running? Modern or 50s? If the former that change can help.

Also: 500k or 550k?


The sum of these small things can comfortably put you over the edge if they come together. Easiest starting points for sure imho.

[Dave Sloven]

I have a Stockholm in my Junior, which is hotter again than the Supermassive, and I don't have these problems.  I will try to remember the setup for you and post a photo that shows the height.

This is what the tech said he included in my harness (remember this is a single pickup guitar, no neck pickup):

Modern Style SG Harness With Bleed Kit
1x .033uf K7 Cap
2x 500k Mojotone CTS pots
1x Switchcraft Jack
Military Specs Shielded Wire

I have fully-shielded (and grounded) pickup and control cavities.  If shielding is not properly grounded it can mud up and darken the tone.  The only big issue I had with mine was a loose pickup mount, but that was because it originally had the oddball 'batwing' mounting system.

I think I have my pickup fairly high, but not too high. Hopefully you can tell from these photos.

[Sothoth]

First try to adjust the height. One mm does a lot with scatterwound pickups. P90's tend to get muddy, because their all about big mids. You have to adjust the eq and/or gain on your amp. A treble bleed is always a good addition.

I'll mess with the height again tonight.  Thanks

[Sothoth]

Sides that, what wiring are you running? Modern or 50s? If the former that change can help.
Also: 500k or 550k?

500k.  I don't mind trying a higher resistance pot I've never gone over 500k tho.  Just wanted to be sure it wasn't a typo and you meant 250k and not 550k.

[Sothoth]

...post a photo that shows the height.

That would be great or just guess if the bridge is 1/8" or 1/4" or whatever from the strings if you gently press the strings up against the last (21st/22nd) fret.

This is what the tech said he included in my harness (remember this is a single pickup guitar, no neck pickup):

Modern Style SG Harness With Bleed Kit
1x .033uf K7 Cap
2x 500k Mojotone CTS pots
1x Switchcraft Jack
Military Specs Shielded Wire

That's helpful.  Your cap is a little higher than mine (I think I have a 0.022) but the treble bleed might be worth trying.  I do think they sound best with a treble bleed unless it's a overly bright or twangy guitar.  I'll just give it a try, only takes a few seconds.  I'll report back when I've messed with it all.

I think part of the issue is that I can't truly crank the amp at home, it's with the band that I crank it to a level where I can really tell it's not quite right.

[Sothoth]

Is that an SG Junior in Watermelon?  Never seen that.  Only a real man could pull that off so my hat is off to you :)

[Dave Sloven]

I couldn't find anything to measure it with but I placed a Jazz III pick against the plastic of the housing and measured the distance from there to the top of the string, it was basically the round bit on the blunt edge of the pick, which is guess is only 6-8mm.  So the distance from the strings is not huge.  Resistance reading on my pickup (which was a custom job before the P90 version of the Stockholm was released) is 15.9K on the warranty card, so it's got plenty of juice.

The guitar is a 2006 SG Junior in Coral Pink.  They were built for the Japanese Gibson distributor Yamano.  I picked it up second-hand here in Australia via ebay a couple of years ago.  Besides the pickup and the wiring I guess you can see that the bridge has been changed as well, as have the tuners and nut.  There is a thread on the upgrades here somewhere.  The AT sticker makes it look more punk and less camp


I would probably try 0.015uf in the neck and 0.033uf in the bridge if I were you.  The cap in mine is one of the Russian NOS polys.  You can get them cheap on ebay if you want to buy a ton of them, I think they are fairly cheap individually too. I use WD Music 0.022uf PIO caps in my Explorer with Nailbombs and my SG with Cold Sweats, but I am thinking of changing the harness in the latter as the Cold Sweat bridge is too bright and the neck is a bit dark

[Sothoth]

...which is guess is only 6-8mm.  So the distance from the strings is not huge. 

Thanks that's helpful.  I'm in that zone as well.

The guitar is a 2006 SG Junior in Coral Pink. 

Sweet axe.  I really like SGs.  Somehow the color and sticker and the whole ensemble really works. 

[Sothoth]

Ok, I played with the pickup height and found what I think is the sweet spot and balanced with the neck pickup to have similar volumes.  I cranked it at home on my 2x12 and it sounds pretty good.  But it was gigging where I had issues, so perhaps it was that amp and not my guitar at all.  I should find out at practice on Tuesday.

[Sothoth]

Quick update... I swapped out my Supermassive set with a Nantucket.  What can I say, they're freakin AWESOME.  Best P90s on earth IMHO.  The Supermassives were a bit too mid-focused.  The Nantuckets have more pronounced highs but are beautifully balanced and articulate.  I really love these pickups!!