Looking for advice and experience: P90 vs humbuckers!

[Alfi27]

Good evenin' chaps!

I will soon put together a Telecaster, or more specifically a Cabronita with some slightly non-standard specs. Everything is pretty classic except for the pickups, which have always been why I have never gone all the way and gotten a Cabronita before now. I ordered it with P90 routing, but when I ordered it I planned on getting a nice Les Paul which I eventually had to forget about due to economical reasons. About the same time I became obsessed with the less-is-more concept and I really just want one guitar in addition to my modded-to-hell Squier Classic Vibe Strat (HSS), which will function as a backup guitar, modding platform and bringing the strat quack when needed. It has to be versatile, but it has to pull off the tones I will be using it for at least 80% of the time in a satisfying matter. Those 80% consists of a solid rock tone through my Suhr SL67 for classic, hard and punk rock (think AC/DC, GNR/VH and Green Day), and the rest is everything from jazzy pop to blues to heavy, thrash and power metal.

What's the problem, you might ask? Well, as awesome as P90s sound (when I compare the Mississippi Queen classic rock clip to the same clip of any humbucker it just slays all of them) they will introduce some noise which in ideal environments are not bad at all, but when I sit in front of my computer for recording or play at a venue where they have a neon sign or poorly grounded outlets I am very worried that it will get out of control. I am also a singer so if I have to stand at an odd angle to get rid of the noise and that angle happens to be with my back towards the audience, that is obviously not an option. When I have been gigging I have always used humbuckers or RWRP singlecoils so I have no experience myself, but I have read some horror stories.

So, I like the core tone of the P90s more for my style but I can't help thinking that humbuckers will be more versatile, and on top of that you have coil splitting options. For those of you who have heard of the Ilitch hum cancelling system, that would have been a great option if they could have taken my order before the end of August... The guitar has to be ready for action by August, because I am going to LIPA in September.

I would highly appreciate experience from those of you who have been gigging a lot with singlecoil guitars, doesn't matter if it's a Telecaster, Les Paul Junior/Special or Stratocaster or whatever. If you have suggestions for (preferably vintage or vintage hot) humbuckers that will sound great in a Telecaster with mahogany body and roasted maple neck for the styles mentioned/versatility and split well, that will be welcomed with great appreciation! If I go with P90s I am pretty set on a Nantucket set, maybe with a Supermassive in the bridge position. I am also open for creative solutions, like a dummy coil that can be activated with a push pull pot or something. Or what about push pull for series operation? Not ideal for tight rhythm rock stuff maybe, I would appreciate input on that as well.

Thanks a lot in advance, cheers!

[Telerocker]

Rebel Yell's: classic rock to metal. They might do fine a mahogany guitar.

[Alfi27]

Thanks man! That would probably work well, depending on the guitar being naturally bright or dark (which I don't know yet). I did discover something today, though; the VHII is remarkably similar to a P90 in a lot of ways! It has that same clear top end, great attack/dynamics, raw mid range and tight bottom end (although a little bigger and more of it) and of course hum cancelling and great for coil splitting.

I may get a Les Paul as well, either go with a cheap 1995 Les Paul Studio in a few days or save up for a nicer one, and if I do I may just go with Nantuckets to get a little bit closer to that traditional Tele vibe.

[Telerocker]

Thanks man! That would probably work well, depending on the guitar being naturally bright or dark (which I don't know yet). I did discover something today, though; the VHII is remarkably similar to a P90 in a lot of ways! It has that same clear top end, great attack/dynamics, raw mid range and tight bottom end (although a little bigger and more of it) and of course hum cancelling and great for coil splitting.

I may get a Les Paul as well, either go with a cheap 1995 Les Paul Studio in a few days or save up for a nicer one, and if I do I may just go with Nantuckets to get a little bit closer to that traditional Tele vibe.

The VHII is quite open and noncompressed, yet has good bass and a good midrange. You can steer the gain of the amp with your pickattack. I'm not so fond of the VHII-split, compared to the Crawler in my other strat.

Oh yeah, I would love to have Nantuckets one day. Just have to find a good guitar to put them in.

[Alfi27]

Thanks again man! Appreciate that you're taking the time to post in my thread! Is the forum almost dead these days, or is it just lack of experience of what I'm asking?

Anyway, I bit the bullet and got a humbucker guitar... Not a Les Paul, but a PRS Mira! It is all mahogany and I think it's slightly thicker than an SG, so it should sound somewhere in between an SG and a LP. I will try the Abraxas I have left over from another guitar in it, and if it sounds great; that's great! If it for some reason doesn't sound great I am pretty sure the problem will be that it sounds too dark, and in that case I really want to try a RY set again! The G0 Les Paul I had with the RY sounded so glorious, that I can't forget it. The guitar should be credited for that also, of course, but I have faith that it can be recreated by another guitar!

The Telecaster will get a set of P90s, probably Nantuckets or maybe a Supermassive in the bridge; haven't quite decided, maybe I buy a NT set and a single SM bridge just to experiment! P90s are cheaper than humbuckers fortunately 

[darrenw5094]

The Abraxas should sound ok in the Mira......i don't see much of  a problem, unless you want more highs