P90 pickups

[Slartibartfarst42]

I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable on humbuckers but my understanding of P90 pickups is extremely limited and I'd like to understand them a bit better as I start to save for a P90 for the neck of a guitar I've just acquired. I'm looking at 4 possibles and I wondered how the different features affected the tone you'd get:

Blue Note - AII - 42AWG PE
Nantucket - AV - 42AWG PE
Manhattan - AIII - 42AWG Heavy Formvar
Mississippi Queen - AIV - 42AWG PE

So how are each of these different in terms of tone (if you've tried them), what impact will the four different magnets have on the tone and dynamics and what difference does 'Heavy Formvar wire make compared to plain enamel?

[Philly Q]

Not a clue about the specifics, I'm afraid, but I do love P-90s. 

It'll be interesting to see if you get much response.

[Telerocker]

I like P90's too. Besides the MQ and the PIG90 I didn't see that much reviews on the forum, but we have descriptions on the BKP-site.

My rough idea about those four, but I don't own one of them (I will in the future):

- Blue Notes: sweet, soft, musical, open, perfect bluespickup for your 1956 Goldtop.
- Nantucket: classic P90, raw, gritty, punchy and cutting, pure rock 'n roll, but versatile enough for different styles.
- Manhattan: crystaline cleans, open, dynamic, soft in the low register, jazz, light pop, funk, maybe even some bluesstyles
- Mississippi Queen: Nantucket in hb-coat, balanced, punchy, full yet cutting, dynamic. Blues, rock, even hardrock.

[Kiichi]

I like P90's too. Besides the MQ and the PIG90 I didn't see that much reviews on the forum, but we have descriptions on the BKP-site.

My rough idea about those four, but I don't own one of them (I will in the future):

- Blue Notes: sweet, soft, musical, open, perfect bluespickup for your 1956 Goldtop.
- Nantucket: classic P90, raw, gritty, punchy and cutting, pure rock 'n roll, but versatile enough for different styles.
- Manhattan: crystaline cleans, open, dynamic, soft in the low register, jazz, light pop, funk, maybe even some bluesstyles
- Mississippi Queen: Nantucket in hb-coat, balanced, punchy, full yet cutting, dynamic. Blues, rock, even hardrock.

My thought on the Nantucket MQ is mostly the same, but one has to note that the MQ neck is AIV instead of AV. So there is a difference there. I guess the bridges are pretty much the same (no confirmation though), but I wonder about the necks.

Blue notes are some I really wanne try some day, they just sound so nice on paper.

My MH neck is the most natural PU I have ever had the pleasure of playing. It is not as soft in the bass as I thought though. That P90 attack and definition keeps it all clear and cutting. Overall it has a musical roundness, but that is needed cause the PU is so natural and honest. Really sweet and organic all around.
Closest thing to actually getting a mic near the PU with all kinds of goodness added.

[Dave Sloven]

I've been thinking about buying an SG Junior, and I've been wondering about either the Nantucket or the Supermassive, so interested to hear what people say about the Nantucket for hardcore and punk applications.  Seems to me that the Supermassive would be a natural for that, perhaps more so even than the A-bomb

[Andrew W]

I have a 90s Hamer Special with a Nantucket in the bridge and a Blue Note in the neck. I love both, and the combination works very well together. The Blur Note is quite sweet sounding when played gently but does have enough bite when you dig in, it's perfect if, unlike Guitar George, you do want to make it cry and sing. ;)

The Nantucket is very rowdy and feisty. TO me it has a lot of qualities in common with a great Tele bridge pickup in that has a lot of attack, a lot of snarl and can certainly cover punk, but backed off it can still manage some restraint. The Nantucket does get you to really play hard, it's very rewarding.

Great pickups, both.

[Slartibartfarst42]

It sounds like putting a MQ bridge into the neck position would make it kinda like a Nantucket neck model.

This is really difficult because I think I'm trying to assess P90 pickups based on my knowledge of humbuckers and the same rules don't seem to apply. On a humbucker, I know I don't like 42PE wire as it lacks cut but it seems like that won't be the case with a P90. I've also always assumed that any magnet below AIV would be too soft in the bass but again, this may well not be true in a P90. I think I need to focus on the Blue Note and Mississippi Queen as they seem closest to what I'm after and whatever I get, it will need to go with an Abraxas bridge as I'm pretty much set on that one.

[Philly Q]

This is really difficult because I think I'm trying to assess P90 pickups based on my knowledge of humbuckers and the same rules don't seem to apply. On a humbucker, I know I don't like 42PE wire as it lacks cut but it seems like that won't be the case with a P90. I've also always assumed that any magnet below AIV would be too soft in the bass but again, this may well not be true in a P90. I think I need to focus on the Blue Note and Mississippi Queen as they seem closest to what I'm after and whatever I get, it will need to go with an Abraxas bridge as I'm pretty much set on that one.

This is true, I don't (for example) like AII humbuckers but that slightly softer attack works nicely in single-coils, P-90s included (that said, I'm not sure if modern Gibson P-90s are AII or AV....)

Still, you're the man for the job.  I was impressed with the way you figured out the effects of different wire and magnets in the humbucker models.  :D

[Slartibartfarst42]

I read a lot and I like to learn so it's been a labour of love. When I first arrived on the BKP forum I knew virtually nothing about pickups but I think I'm probably reasonably knowledgeable now; at least on humbuckers. I've never really been all that interested in P90 pickups but I'm starting to run out of BKP humbuckers that really interest me. I will get an Abraxas, I'd love to try an A-Pig some day and I have a mild interest in a Black Dog and VHII but the rest don't really interest me that much so it makes sense to turn my attention towards something else. I'll speak to Tim about it but there's no rush.

[Telerocker]

I'm not a AII-addict at all, but I imagine a Bluenote-loaded Goldtop is something like champagne with strawberries. I like sweet P90-shimmer in a mahogany guitar. Maybe the Nantuckets can sound sweet too, but in the clips they're more in-yer-face rock 'n roll.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I was quite taken with the idea of a Blue Note in the neck but Tim feels that the AIV Mississippi Queen will balance better with an Abraxas in the bridge so that's the way I'll go. Now I just need to save  :D

[Kiichi]

Yeah, balance makes sense there. If you are set on the Abraxas that should work better. Still wanne push you towards also getting a P90 bridge, but knowing you you are set on the Abraxas with good reason, even though I think youŽd really appreciate the qualitys of the alternative....ok, ok, I Žll let you be. Just get the money and write the review mate xD

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think that sticking with a humbucker in the bridge is down to two basic factors. Firstly, it's simply fulfilling a long held desire. Almost every time I've looked into buying a humbucker, I've been drawn towards an Abraxas due to my love of Santana's tone from the Moonflower era but every time, something else has taken its place. I guess I figure that if I don't get it now, I never will and I'm reasonably sure I'll like it. I know I like the Crawler, which is said to have similar qualities and I know I like the Emerald neck, which uses the same wire and magnet. The other reason is purely down to being within my comfort zone. I know about humbuckers but I don't know about P90 pickups so I can rationalise my choice of the Abraxas easily but a P90 bridge would be much more of a shot in the dark. Truth be told, if I could think of another BKP humbucker for the neck that I'd like, I'd go with that but I'm not convinced that such a pickup exists. For what I want it needs to be vintage hot output at most but my experience with the Crawler neck makes me wary of 42PE wire in a humbucker. The only options I can think of would be either a VHII or Riff Raff on the assumption that the AV magnet would give it the cut the 42PE seems to lack. Assuming they won't do what I want, a P90 is the only other option available. It would still have the 42PE wire but the different frequency responses of a P90 means it may still retain the cut I like.

I can't honestly see me dropping the Abraxas bridge but I am still open to the possibility of a VHII or Riff Raff neck instead of a Mississippi Queen. I assume the Black Dog neck would be too hot and grindy. The benefit of having to save is that I have time to mull these things over.

[Telerocker]

My experience with P90's (no BKP's) is that the bridge can deliver serieus meat, without loosing edge. I had a Yamaha AEX502 and a Troy van Leeuwen-signature with three p90's. The last one produced great fat tones with enough cut. Instant classic rock. Too bad the Bigsby caused tuningsproblems. I couldn't gig with it one set without tuning all the time.