Best humcancelling p90's?

[Paul Conway]

Going to put together a hum-cancelling pickguard for my Reverend Slingshot for those bad interference venues. What hum-cancelling p90 replacements would you recommend?

[mark norwine]

to me.....and this is just my opinion......."P90 tone" and "Humbucking tone" are mutually-exclusive terms.

[Jahn]

harmonic design Z-90s had a nice P-90 bite to them, with no hum - i was very impressed, and they popped right into a bucker cavity in my old ES-135.

[DaveG]

Give Pete Biltoft a call; his pickups are fantastic, and he'll wind anything:

http://vintagevibeguitars.com/

[Blue Strat]

to me.....and this is just my opinion......."P90 tone" and "Humbucking tone" are mutually-exclusive terms.


+1000.

Don't be a girly man, just live with the hum. :D

[Cobra]

Check this thread out, some good info there...

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=424553

[walterw]

any chance that reverend has a trem? if so, the suhr BPSSC is the answer to your prayers. otherwise, there's not even a "good" hum-canceling p-90, much less a "best" one. (there's lots of "ok" ones, from gibson to duncan to fralin.)

[Flyin' Brian]

Fralin P-92

[Paul Conway]

No, no trem. I appreciate that the h/c angle will compromise, but I'm mostly playing non-rock musics these days, and noise is an issue. Perhaps I should have been clearer: the pickguard I have has p90 cutouts. If it doesn't sound 100% (or even 70%) like a p90, I'm not too bothered, as long as it is clear-sounding.

[Fourth Feline]

Hi Paul ,

If you are Devon, why not try try Bare Knuckle pickups ? Whilst I appreciate that your current pickups are P90 shaped - I have a pair of their Humbucker shaped P91/92 type 'Mississipi Queens' - which elimininate noise by being encased in a nickel casing ( i.e creates a Faraday cage). If you may even want to enquire about their lesser known ( but available on request ) 'Manhattan' Art Deco styled P90. The later sounds ideal for your purposes !

At least contact them and ask , as the M.D. ( Tim Mills ) is very, very helpfull - and will help you in anyway he can. :AOK

[Paul Conway]

Thanks for advice, but definitely want p90 sized replacements. Also not a fan of BK's single-coil pickups.

[Fourth Feline]

Thanks for advice, but definitely want p90 sized replacements. Also not a fan of BK's single-coil pickups.

Hi again Paul,

That is interesting to read, as I only have experience of their 'M.Q' P91/2 and a couple of low output humbuckers. May I ask which single coils you tried - and what seemed not quite right about them ? I am genuinely curious to know, for it may warn me in advance of any problems .

Cheers !

[Fourth Feline]

to me.....and this is just my opinion......."P90 tone" and "Humbucking tone" are mutually-exclusive terms.

Hi Mark,

I am interested in your experience / reasoning on this one - as my (P91/2) Mississipi Queens turned to be 'more humbucker than a humbucker' sounding.

Specifically, the P91/92 hybrid type pickups I put in my 335 copy - have delivered a lovely Larry Carlton / B.B.King clean sound, perhaps even more so than the 3 types of humbucker I have tried ( 2 B.K.P sets and one Gibson set ). This of course could be down to the way I prefer my pickup heights, but for me the M.Q 'outhumbuckered' the humbuckers.

Again, I am genuinely curious - my questioning being one of topical interest rather than outright contention.

[mark norwine]

What can I say? **I've** never heard a "hum-canceling version of a P90" that a.) I liked, or b.) sounded (to my ears) anything like a Gibson P90.

If you have pickups that you like, so be it. Remember: if it sounds good (to you), then it IS good (to you).

[Paul Conway]

Hi again Paul,

That is interesting to read, as I only have experience of their 'M.Q' P91/2 and a couple of low output humbuckers. May I ask which single coils you tried - and what seemed not quite right about them ? I am genuinely curious to know, for it may warn me in advance of any problems .

Cheers !

Not sure of the names. Have tried two or three different strat pickup sets and two different tele sets in my local store. To my ear, they were all a little compressed-sounding and one-trick ponies. Much prefer Suhr's single-coils.

[jzucker]

you may want to try a lollar mini humbucker

[Fourth Feline]

Not sure of the names. Have tried two or three different strat pickup sets and two different tele sets in my local store. To my ear, they were all a little compressed-sounding and one-trick ponies. Much prefer Suhr's single-coils.

Thanks for the feedback Paul, it certainly gives food for thought. I probably have not noticed it in the Mississipi Queens, as I actually 'dial in' a fair bit of compression by way of pickup heights and choice of leads e.t.c. As for out and out single coils , I am meanwhile quite happy with my stock Baja pickups, and for what used to be my main gigging guitar ( '57 re- issue Strat ) I got along fine with a set of Lace 'Holy Grails' - as at the time a completely 'organic ' sound was of secondary importance to getting rid of the noise in small venues, where the audience prefered a clean signal to what a we as players would probably define as a tonal ideal.

Cheers !

[walterw]

... I'm mostly playing non-rock musics these days, and noise is an issue. ... If it doesn't sound 100% (or even 70%) like a p90, I'm not too bothered, as long as it is clear-sounding.
in that case, duncan's p-90 stack or gibson's p-100 will do just fine, giving silent operation at the price of a bit more "meek" of a sound.

[Paul Conway]

Thanks for the feedback Paul, it certainly gives food for thought. I probably have not noticed it in the Mississipi Queens, as I actually 'dial in' a fair bit of compression by way of pickup heights and choice of leads e.t.c. As for out and out single coils , I am meanwhile quite happy with my stock Baja pickups, and for what used to be my main gigging guitar ( '57 re- issue Strat ) I got along fine with a set of Lace 'Holy Grails' - as at the time a completely 'organic ' sound was of secondary importance to getting rid of the noise in small venues, where the audience prefered a clean signal to what a we as players would probably define as a tonal ideal.

Cheers !

Mate, I think that sometimes in our little gear world, we can forget about practicalities! In the last serious gigging band I was in a few years back, I used EMG's, which around here is a bit like admitting you wear a wig, or something. But the hum-resistance (and shock-proofing given the delicate state of wiring in some places) made them a practical choice.

Plus, I do feel that what creates a great tone in the practice room doesn't always translate to a great 'in the mix' sound. On occasion, I've dialed in a sound that works with the band, only to be shocked when playing with it in isolation.

[hollowbody]

I can recommend the Haussel P.90s which can also be found in a humbucking shape if required.

[Tone Dome]

I was lucky enough to get my mits on a Gibson Gold Top last week that had a pair of Kinman hum cancelling P-90's in it for beta testing from Chris Kinman. Man these things are soooo sweet. Apparently these are not the final tweak and sound sweeter than Gibsons P-90 but I understand Chris has another one that is a lot closer being more raucous and a bit more nasty.

Anyway, I was amazed to hear a realistic P-90 sound without all that horrible hum. They even look loke P-90's too with the 6 little screws peeking through the cream cover. The tone is sweeter than my real Gibson P-90's but just as dynamic and maybe a bit louder. These things really sing with a righteous tone if ever I heard it. I was on my way to heaven, sorta lost in the big fat single coil tone when the guitar was wrenched back by the owner (who I've known for a while) wanting to sink into the glorious sound himself again. It’s like a hypnotic drug hehehehe

It's about time Kinman finally got his P-90 out of the lab and into guitars, I've been waiting since I dunno when for this to happen. It must have been a tough nut to crack to take this long. Now that I finally got to hear them my patience has been rewarded. I can't wait for them to come on sale. I thinking about asking for Chris to autograph a set for me seeing as I waited so long.

[Paul Conway]

I was lucky enough to get my mits on a Gibson Gold Top last week that had a pair of Kinman hum cancelling P-90's in it for beta testing from Chris Kinman. Man these things are soooo sweet. Apparently these are not the final tweak and sound sweeter than Gibsons P-90 but I understand Chris has another one that is a lot closer being more raucous and a bit more nasty.

Anyway, I was amazed to hear a realistic P-90 sound without all that horrible hum. They even look loke P-90's too with the 6 little screws peeking through the cream cover. The tone is sweeter than my real Gibson P-90's but just as dynamic and maybe a bit louder. These things really sing with a righteous tone if ever I heard it. I was on my way to heaven, sorta lost in the big fat single coil tone when the guitar was wrenched back by the owner (who I've known for a while) wanting to sink into the glorious sound himself again. It’s like a hypnotic drug hehehehe

It's about time Kinman finally got his P-90 out of the lab and into guitars, I've been waiting since I dunno when for this to happen. It must have been a tough nut to crack to take this long. Now that I finally got to hear them my patience has been rewarded. I can't wait for them to come on sale. I thinking about asking for Chris to autograph a set for me seeing as I waited so long.

Awesome.:)

[Brett Faust]

Check TV Jones Filter Tron in a p90 cover ,other winds are available as well.
Dimarzio also has a range of p90 size pickups.
Bartolini as well.

[Tone Dome]

I'm not talking about things that simply have a P-90 cover but sound (and in fact are) something quite different, I wanted a pickup that looks like and sounds like a P-90 that has no hum.

The reason I waited so long for the Kinman 90 is because it's the only one that can lay claim to that spec and I hoped it was only a matter of time. The new kinman 90 looks like and sounds like an actual P-90 and for those players like me who want that awesome huge single coil sound that only a P-90 can deliver there is no need to settle for anything less now. The Kinman 90 is truly awesome and then some. Like I said, real righteous tone without the awful hum.

Dimarzio, Duncan, TV Jones and even Gibson themselves don't make a P-90 like that, just mere un-recognizable facsimiles. I want the real deal.

[walterw]

I'm not talking about things that simply have a P-90 cover but sound (and in fact are) something quite different, I wanted a pickup that looks like and sounds like a P-90 that has no hum.

The reason I waited so long for the Kinman 90 is because it's the only one that can lay claim to that spec and I hoped it was only a matter of time. The new kinman 90 looks like and sounds like an actual P-90 and for those players like me who want that awesome huge single coil sound that only a P-90 can deliver there is no need to settle for anything less now. The Kinman 90 is truly awesome and then some. Like I said, real righteous tone without the awful hum.

hot diggity!

dimarzio and kinman were the only folks i know of making hum-canceling single coils that didn't cancel the tone as well, and dimarzio kinda missed the boat with making a side-by-side bucker in a p-90 sized housing and calling it a "virtual" p-90. i'm glad that kinman picked up the gauntlet, as it were.

[Paul Conway]

Any idea when these Kinmans will be out, or whether there will be different models?

[lusn]

I have corresponded with Chris Kinman several times about this- they are nearing completion, but will prolly take a few more months to hit the website. He is the ultimate perfectionist and won't release them until they meet his standards. Judging by his single coils, it will be worth the wait. I have a Yamaha AES 1500 waiting for them...

[Paul Conway]

I have corresponded with Chris Kinman several times about this- they are nearing completion, but will prolly take a few more months to hit the website. He is the ultimate perfectionist and won't release them until they meet his standards. Judging by his single coils, it will be worth the wait. I have a Yamaha AES 1500 waiting for them...

Sounds just the ticket. Bloody marvellous!

[smolder]

I have a couple of burstbucker guitars and I also have a LP special. It had P100's which are Gibson's hum canceling P90's... but I took them out (still got em if you want them). I put a Fralin in the neck and a SD P3 in the bridge and love it. They have that raw P90 sound I was looking for and overdrive the amps well. Mine aren't that noisy, but to me... that a P90 hums a bit when loud is part of the charm.

[nsureit]

The classic P90 is just plain noisy. Plug into a noise cancelling pedal like an MXR Smartgate or a Boss NS2. They work great, and you don't lose any of the P90's nastiness.:)

[steve39stripes]

The Seymour Duncan stacked P-90's are amazing and can even be wired to be a little hotter if desired. I have them in a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and they sound great.