Advice understanding which p-90 would best suit my needs....

[Njhux]

I'm sorry to make what is no doubt another "What pickup is best for me" thread.  I'll try to be as specific about the gear I use etc. and what I'm looking for.  I have to be honest and say this will be my first replacement pickup, I've recently got a much better amp and the limitations of my pickups are now showing through.

So...

I mainly play an Epiphone Lt Edition Les Paul Junior '57 Reissue, basically a mahogany solid body with mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard.  For my budget and needs, it's nice.  However it's got a stock Epiphone p-100 stacked humbucker, which i'm now looking to replace with a proper single coil p-90.  Heard lots of good stuff about BKP, but I'm not sure which p-90 would suit my style, needs etc.

I play through a 1980's JCM 800 vertical input combo, straight in, no effects.  The p-100 drives it fairly well, but it just feels a bit thin and lifeless. It doesn't have much bass response, or that p-90 mid-range drive to it.

I play in a gigging punk/punk-rock band, where I play rhythm.  I occasionally play the odd lead bit (think recycled Chuck Berry riffs!) but rhythm is my job.  However I do need to still cut through against the other guitarist who prefers a much more modern distorted sound.

I'm unsure of which p-90 would suit me best.  The Junior is used just for playing flat out through the high input of the JCM800 and in the band I rarely ever play it clean.  If I need to play clean I have another guitar I use.  I'm thinking of thr junior just being a gutsy rock n roll overdriven guitar, without much need for variation.  As it's intended I guess.

I'm unsure if I should be leaning towards the highest output 92, to drive the amp the most....or not. That might be totally wrong! Would I be better off with the p-91 as the middle option?  Any advice and shared knowledge would be very much appreciated.  I apologise for my long post;  I thought I should lay out all the facts! Cheers.

[Twinfan]

I have regular P90s and they're sweet and round.  For what you want, I would definitely go for a P91 or a P92.

Not mcuh help, but at least you're down to only two options!

[Philly Q]

I've got a BKP-91 in a Japanese Epiphone LP Junior, so pretty similar to yours.

I've owned a couple of P-100s in the past, and I'd say any "true" single-coil P-90 is going to give you more midrange guts and drive.  As you said, P-100s are quite thin and lifeless.

I'm not sure what's best for the kind of music you play, but if you play mostly rhythm I'd imagine you don't want too much power in a P-90, because you'll lose some crunch and definition with a lot of overdrive.  My BKP-91 is pretty powerful and can quite easily get a bit blurry with distortion.

So I'd say BKP-91 or even BKP-90, probably not BKP-92.  Check with Tim though.  I'm usually wrong.

[Njhux]

Thanks for that guys.  Maybe that's the way to think of it - any true p-90 is going to be an improvement over the p-100.

So I know I want a true p-90...it's understanding the differences that's got me confused.  Looking at various pickups, each manufacturer has a different idea of what output constitutes "vintage" "hot" etc.  e.g. a Seymour Duncan vintage p-90 has a DC of 9.35k which seems really high.  But then they make hotter ones too...  I know output isn't the be all and end all, but being relatively new to the pickup world it's hard to know how else to get an idea of each different pickup.

Hmmm, all a bit confusing. I'll keep researching and meanwhile hope a pickup master reads this and points me in the right direction!

Cheers.

[Twinfan]

The magnets are important too as they have influence on the character of the pickup.

My P90s are Alnico II which is low output and warm.  Great for clean and nearly clean tones.  P91s and P92s use Alnico V which is more powerful and a bit brighter.  Great for heavier gain tones.

You're in a punk/punk-rock band so I think the P-91 or P-92 with the Alnico V magnet is better suited.  Alnico II is more bluesy, think Rolling Stones type crunch.

How much gain do want in your tone?  If you want lots then I'd go P-92.  If you're after a slightly cleaner tone I'd for a P-91

:)

[PhilKing]

I would get the P-91 for what you require, I have BK P-90, 91 and a Pig-90, plus lots of other P-90's.  The higher the DC on a P-90 the darker it gets, so while a Pig-90 has great bass, it is at the expense of mid and top (though P-90's have more than a humbucker anyway).

Back to why I think the P-91 will do it for you, it is an AV magnet, which gives more push to the sound, but keeps the standard wind, which will let you cut through with your chord work.

[gwEm]

i agree with phil... p90s gain low end quickly the more coils you wind on them. those duncan/armstrong/etc 'hot' P90s use thinner wire than the vintage correct one tim uses on the BKP90,91,92 (but not on the pig90 probably). i would take a BKP91 also.

[Philly Q]

Back to why I think the P-91 will do it for you, it is an AV magnet, which gives more push to the sound, but keeps the standard wind, which will let you cut through with your chord work.

Oddly enough, my BKP-91 is an AIV, although I didn't specifically request it - I just said to Tim I was after a Leslie West tone.  Or it may just be an error on my warranty card  :P .

[Njhux]

Excellent.  Thanks very much for all that information.  It's helped me with my decision and helped me understand the nature of pickups fullstop which is very helpful.

It's looking like the consensus id leaning towards the P-91 unless I want to go really high gain which would be the p-92.  Has anyone every compared the tone (bass and mids) of the p-91 and p-92?  Any ideas how much it really changes?  I like the idea of keeping the mids to push through the mix...particularly given the other guitarist's modern slightly scooped sound.  

Appreciate all the advice.  Thanks.

[Twinfan]

I don't think the P-92 has a very large appeal.  I just think it would be too much unless you want a really, really fat tone.

I think Hunter has a P91 neck/P92 bridge in his LP Special?  You may want to PM him and get his opinion  :)

Edit:  Yep, he has a clip too:  http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8328&highlight=p91

[Njhux]

Wow!  That sounds amazing.

Don't suppose you know if he's playing through the 2 pickups together or just 1 in some bits and the other in other bits?  Maybe I should just PM the man as you suggest and see if he'll throw some of his experience my way.

Thanks very much for linking to that.  Much appreciated.

[HTH AMPS]

you could go for a Pig-90 if you want br00tal P90 tone.  it's not listed on the website, but its a HOT P90 version of the Warpig.

[Njhux]

Judging by the respect BKP seem to have earnt and from the amount of work and thought and listening that goes into making their pickups, I'm sure the answer to this is yes....

...but do the high output p-90s i.e. the p-92 and the pig90 maintain that p-90 midrangy sound whilst increasing the output?  What tonal differences are there?  I'm looking for a bit more low end and bass than perhaps a stock 90, but it's the midrange cut that I'm focussed on most (hence the choice of p90s)  and I don't want to lose that.

[HTH AMPS]

hotter P90s always give you MORE midrange, less treble and less of that twang in the bass end.

[Njhux]

Interesting.  I think I'm going to have to look around and listen to more audio samples.  I'm thinking the P-91 seems like the best for all my needs at the moment.  Maybe more research will prove me wrong...

Cheers