Who makes some p90s over 9k ohms? I know Lollar makes some, Zhangbucker, WCR (his only bridge p90 is 10.2k w/ 42 gauge wire!) There is an import version of Kent Armstrongs P90s that are 9.9/10k, but thats getting a little overboard I think... I'm on a bit of a budget or else I would immidiately go for a Zhangbucker Honk 90+ with a tap to bring it down a little bit...maybe its worth waiting for, but its for my backup guitar which is an Epi '56 LP which is an old guitar that I've had for many years. It has a TV Jones neck p90 which is awesome. The bridge p90 is cool but its just a bit weak and not punchy enough. Great mids and screaming but its lost its cool somehow. That stock bridge pickup is 8.8k I think. Not sure of the TV Jones specs.
The other week I went over to (WCR) Jim Wagner's place and we installed his P-90s 8.4k in the neck and 10K in the bridge, in my All black Custom Deluxe Tele. Very clear and Very clean.........Then down a dirty with the gain up. The best of both worlds..........really!! We also changed out to his special spec CT Pots and WCR Caps. Jim also makes a 22K P-90......He demoed for me on his SG.!!! Gave my Gas bad Gas.......I my take out the 10k and put in the 22Ks Sounds really good.......Jim's got the stuff.....believe me.
Yeah I talked to Jim about it, its very cool, he let me hear a clip of him using it in his SG with Chris Hicks/Marshall Tucker Band. Very awesome sound. I use his Fillmore pickups in my SG. I gotta have maximum midrange honk. Lots of high-mids please.
I have Vintage Vibe tapped P90s (you can also switch out and even mix magnets). My bridges are over 10k ohms. If going that route, I would get a tap that had a significant difference - 7k or below. Good luck on your choice.
The hot Kent Armstrong you mentioned is actually pretty nice. I recently posted one for sale along with a bunch of other pickups, and it didn't sell. Now I'm kinda glad it didn't because I may want another whirl with it. Dimarzio's regular soapbar model is also quite hot. It's below 9.0k but it uses ceramic magnets staggered with iron bars, which seems to make the perceived output higher. The Dimarzio has the best sound under any amount of gain (even just a tiny bit) of any P90 I've ever used or heard, but I did not like its clean sound. The hot Kent, on the other hand, still had a nice clean sound, I thought. FWIW, the guitar these were in is a Reverend Warhawk II 390, and I ended up with 3 Lollars in there. I use this guitar primarily for clean sounds. If I want to go high gain, I usually go for humbuckers.
Agree with this. Too bad you couldn't get the punchy gain tones of ceramic and the articulation and bite of Alnico in the same pu. Always trade-offs, I s'pose...
+1 A very hot P90 with lots of bark and bite but cleans up nicely when you back off the guitar's volume. I found the same to be true of the Rio Dirty Harry Tele bridge pickup, which is a Tele housing with P90 magnet structure.
I totally dig the Dimarzio dual coil P90s; I have them in an Epi LP Special (P90 LP Special style). Hot P90 tone, hum cancelling and you can do series/parallel/split wiring. YMMV...
Rio Grande makes a couple P90's over 9K, specifically the Jazzbar and Bluesbar pickups. They also sound very good, with a broad flat midrange that really fattens up the guitar, but they turn down nicely too. Not a "Vintage" sound, but great rock pickups with surprising clarity.
Pete Florance of Voodoo Pickups keeps his up there and they sound awesome. Brian Monty uses that for his P90s. I've had a Voodoo P90 that was 10.9k in a converted 1959 Melody Maker and I've got one just over 10k in my Monty Rockmaster (single cut Jr. style) and both sound great. Fully vintage character to the sound, but rawer and ballsier. Think Mississippi Queen.
