"You're not paying a technician for the 20 minutes it takes him to do it, you're paying him for the 10 hours it doesn't take you to do it" made my day!! XD
Or... “You’re not paying a technician for the 20 minutes it took him to do it, you’re paying him for the 10 years it took him to learn to do it in 20 minutes.”
Truer words have never been spoken, in both cases. True value for dollar. Paying someone for their hard earned skill and not wasting my time, and bourbon(which increases my time spent on said project).
It definitely sounds brighter and clearer to me now, especially in the mix, so GOOD ONE for Lollar and especially for you!! Definitely sounds different than the Collings, which is still special, but that's good. Now you have similar guitars, but ones that each do their own thing. Nice job all around! Thanks!
PRS S/D: Pronounced midrange, therefore more muddy Collings: Mid-scooped, definitely more clear Lollar: The perfect balance between the two, upper mids are more present Definitely sounds similar to Rhett Shull's number one pink sparkle Novo, one of the best P-90 sounds out there.
It might sound odd but the PRS'S massive heel pictured @ 23.46 in my opinion ads strange overtones to the necks resonance coupled with their small head stock has a bearing on the guitars tone.. it is well known large head stocks aid in sustain PRS necks look as if they did not complete the shaping............,Apposed to the Collins with the traditional heel and head stock size
re neck pick up judging by its height in the cavity @ 39.07 it is way to close to the strings if you have done so screw it down in to the cavity it will should not be as muddy and more balanced with the bridge coil.
Good to see the “McCarty mud bar” getting an upgrade. Your P90 episode finally pushed me into building a p90 guitar. Styled like a jazz master strat cross. 25.5 scale with Almafitano P90s with A4 magnets. Gotta say that while I’m biased since I built it. It’s now my #1. Never would’ve gotten there without your p90 episode I don’t think. So thank you!
That Collings with the high-wind P90 sounded very good. The PRS was definitely improved by fitting the new pickups. The Lollars in that sounded 'vintage plus', which I guess is what they're intended to be. Are the new pickups high-wind like the one on the Collings or Lollar's standard P90 wind?Are you using a noise gate to eliminate hum? Perhaps I missed it. You're right about the neck pickup's position, it's a long way forward. On an SG, for example, it would be significantly closer the the bridge and commensurately brighter sounding. I personally don't care for neck pickups much and have never really used them.
Hi Mick, hope you are doing well. I am thinking of getting a P90 guitar and even though I am a Fender guy I happen to love the Epiphone Les Paul junior in tobacco burst and it has one single P90. Price is $529 Canadian but I think I may get it. What do you think of those guitars? answer if you have the time or inclination. Stay well buddy.
Hi Mick, Top tip for your cardboard template, just hold the cardboard up to the guitar and stick the screwdriver through the holes- no maths Also I put a set of SD P90s in a guitar 12/15 years ago (if memory serves me correct simular output figures) and is by far my least favourite sounding guitar, I only play it unplugged . All the best Karl
While i formally and shamelessly disagree with your opinion of the stock Soapbar pickups (i love my '98, it has never been muddy), I fully agree with, heartily condone, support, and share your hatred of the unnecessary tying of strings to tuner posts.
Lower the neck pickup a lot. Usually there is a big balance problem with P90s, so your eyes will not like it, but there normally will have to be a big difference in the pickup heights; bridge pu very close to the strings, neck pu. as far from the strings as possible. In my experience ;-)
I guess I'm in the minority. I know the stock P90s on PRS don't get much love. I have a 2009 Korina McCarty with P90s and have no problem with the stock pups. In fact just the other day I plugged it into my TC50 clean channel using The Dude and it sounded great. Of course I bought the guitar used and I ass/u/me that the pickups are stock. I've never checked what they actually are
Stuart Kinzel I bought a PRS S2 a year or so ago, love the playability but pickups were not right. Replaced with some Duncan alnico2 humbuckers and the tech found they weren’t the original PRS pickups in the guitar!
Hey Mick! This is a bit late, but you should perhaps look into the Brian Porter A90. It's got a lot of openness, a bit of sparkle, and would probably fit the neck position nicely. At least, this comes to mind hearing your thoughts on that neck position.
I have one of the thirteen 'made in error' all-mahogany, trem P90 PRS McCarty models. The SD pickups in that were absolutely terrible (with massively different output). Replaced them with BK Blue Note P90s and it's a totally different, but a still classy and understated, guitar.
Hey mick! I’m back at work in an e cigarette store, I have lots of time doing very little, though very glad to be back at work. Love having these experimental pickup and bridge etc videos. Love sitting down and absorbing everything. Cheers
These DIY vlogs are highly instructive in, as you say Mick, learning things. I installed a Faber Wraptonate bridge in my DC LP Jr today, rather than have a tech do it - satisfying and its intonation is good now! With more dynamic range and less complex overtones compared to the Duncans, those Lollars sound and suit your style much betterly. That Collings is killer though! 🤓
This was fun. Your swap out of the pickups reminded me of my own P90 adventure. So I played along to the track at the end with my SG junior and everything compared pretty favourably, which means either that your PRS sounds much better than before, or all of our guitars sound equally crappy! I converted an SG special copy with a nice fat neck into an SG Junior with one Mick Brierley P90 in the bridge (Dan should know about him, he’s an Aussie too) and used a 50s style wiring kit from Guitar Sauce in Australia to make sure the electronics were top notch. Look like it worked for both of us then!
Hey Mick! It's always a pleasure to see your videos, guys. I have the same problem with the excess of bass in my neck pickups (humbucker and P90)... To get rid of the bass you can solder a non-polarised capacitor as a high pass filter from the middle leg of the volume pot to the pickup selector. That's all. You can try different values (0.047uf, 0.022uf, 0.01uf, etc.) and even different brands to dial in your perfect tone. I've soldered a 6,8nF SOZO Mustard Cap to my Hamer P90 neck pickup and it is glorius now!. This is a very easy fix and it will re-EQ you pickup forever!
Another great vlog! This was a fun watch and I loved the track mix and edit at the end. I would take the Collings any day of the week though. Soapbar and Dogear have different construction though, so that is a factor too. For a neck P90 that isn't all wool, I have to shout out Mick Brierley pickups (Based in South Australia)- I have almost finished a new LP style guitar build (neck pickup butts up against end of fretboard at 23rd fret position) and will be re homing my 50s P90 set from Mick B. In testing before applying finish, the neck pickup breaths...a few times I forgot I was on the neck. Brett Kingman's demo's contain Mick Brierley pickups in some videos.
The new pickups definitely sound better and less muddy ... but, sorry to say, the Collings still wins here. I also don’t particularly love neck P90s relative to a nice Strat but compared to a wooly, muddy neck humbucker that‘s a different story.
Hey Mick! I had the same experience as you regarding P90 neck pickups. I'm also a longtime strat player, and love the neck of course. I acquired a P90 guitar a while back, fell in love with the bridge, but not the neck so much. Long story short, I put an underwound "Alnico poled P90" in the neck, and its heaven(I use 300k pots with it. It's like the fender pickup leo never made). I think the Lollar alnico poled P90 is what you should consider trying.
Love that guitar! Hoping you’re putting in Lindy Fralin’s? Alnico humcanceling P-90...Lollars are great as well. They sound great in that guitar! Also, Lindy has great wiring diagrams. Look at Lindy’s Alnico P-90 for the neck? Can’t wait to hear it in the show!
I was in a similar place: in a PRS single cut I have a Lollar 50s-wind bridge P90 and a Lollar P-90 Staple for that Fender-ier™ neck. Another great combo is the Kinman P90 in the bridge and a Kinman "Surf Staple" 580 in the neck if 50/60Hz hum bugs you. FWIW!
Definitely like the new pickups better than the old. The originals were always just muddy in the low mids but the new ones are much more balanced and have a lot more clarity, really filling the niche of "inbetween a regular single coil and a humbucker" sound that P90s can do so well. You should totally try out a Staple pickup in it though if you still don't like the neck pickup as I remember how much you guys both loved the one in that '54 Les Paul Custom you tried at ATB guitars. Either that or maybe try Lollar's 50s wind P90 in the neck as they're supposed to be lower output than the regular ones and were apparently copied from the original pickups on a '53 Goldtop. I've been kinda lusting after the Lollars for a while but haven't pulled the trigger on anything so I'm pretty keen to see you try them, as well as maybe some other brands as well. I hear OX4, the maker of the PAFs in Dan's Les Paul, makes a mean P90 too! :D Either way, looking forward to a fruitful and interesting P90 Journey in the vein of the Strat Journey you've had with Blue!
I have owned a bunch of Paul Reed Smith guitars from SE, 20th Anniversary Core, Wood Library, and Private Stock. They make some of the most visually beautiful guitars out there. The craftsmanship is truly impeccable. And yet, they all end up sitting in the case and eventually sold on Reverb. You would think with PRS taking the best of both the Fender and Gibson worlds, you’d have the ultimate hybrid.. The Custom 24 is a double-cut guitar with 24 frets, 5-way selector, a trem, maple top on a mahogany body, set neck and a scale right down the middle... and yet the guitar just lacks the mojo and character of a great Fender or Gibson. Some of the finest luthiery but it just doesn’t hit all the buttons for me in tone and that special something. That’s just me.. and I know I’ll continue to buy and sell them hoping to find that holy grail because they are truly stellar craftsmanship. That said I have a Patrick James Eggle Macon in the works and that may be my answer for my PRS blues. It will have a P90 in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge with plenty of “Mojo” 😉
Brian Para the PRSs all have a weird upper-mid peakyness that’s just not musical. When you combine warm tone woods with longer scale length the end result is fine for metal but terrible for vintage tones.
Exactly my findings. The way I have come to think about is, that they are just perfect, and that perfection stands in the way or that special “mojo feel”. Its probably all psycological, but still, it just never hits me emotional, way more my brain. Its a strange thing…
Totally agree. The S2 594 McCartys is so lust-worthy. (Not sure that’s a word, but there you go) I love the S2 line across the board, such a great deal on a great guitar.
The ultimate p90 tone I've ever heard was a DiMarzio Super 3 with an Alnico 4 magnet I swapped into it. It's actually a humbucker, but it has the chewiest attack ever and tons of harmonics. For rosewood fretboards only. Maple is too strident.
Hey Mick, really enjoyed this! Was laughing all the way through, at myself! I have PhD in electrophysiology. Did all sorts of soldering and electronics maintenance during those years. Fast fwd a decade and it was with considerable confidence that I approached my first ever guitar mod. I swapped the pickups in my Japanese HH Jaguar for the classic Seymour Duncan pair. I never thought to make a cardboard template (genius mate), did all the work in the cavity of the guitar (horror story) so it looked like a dogs dinner, and I put the bloody neck pickup in backwards 😂 You did a wicked job mate, round of applause 👏👏👏 Thanks, as ever, loving your fine work 🙂🙏
Question for you, Mick: Are you conscious of hitting that Collings a bit harder than the PRS when the old pickups are on? I think - based on your face and your wrist/elbow - that you're holding back precisely because the pickups are bit hotter and you're losing the sense of attack on the strings as a player. I also feel like you're giving the PRS with the new pickups a bit more welly, probably to coax that bit extra out of the lower output pickups. I think that's what you're talking about with push right at the end of video. You obviously enjoy the new pickups more - we can all see that in your face/eyes! I'm very much interested because I've just acquired a Guild Blues 90 which has even pokier P90s than the ones on the PRS. I have to say, though, that given that I haven't had chance to play it in the band (or even loud at the studio) yet, it's a bit early to be considering a pickup change!
Ah that’s really interesting. You may well be right. The PRS with the old pickups was an ugly sounding thing, so hitting the guitar and introducing more overtones and harmonica just adds to the ugliness. So there’s a partially conscious adjustment happening all the time I suppose. That’s what Dan and I refer to as being ‘connected’ with the guitar. If you’re doing something outside of what’s natural and having to compensate in ways you don’t want to.... connection breaks, playing suffers, tone suffers. Interesting! Some people love the pokier pickups though - that’s their happy place. Good luck with it!
Hey Mick, have you thought about trying a DynaSonic style pickup in the neck? I think they tend to have a little more articulation and don't get as muddy as the P90. I know your buddy Ron Ellis makes a pretty amazing ones as they are what Julian Lage uses and are now in his custom Collings. Worth a shot? Loved the vlog! Keep these great Tuesday vids coming, love these personal asides you and Dan provide. All the best.
I like the Collings tone much better...never been a fan of lollars at all...they all sound very 'DRY" to me, if that makes any sense. BTW. some of the most vintage authentic P90s I ever heard were Shed P90s from Wales. They are wonderful!
Nicely done Mick. Only thing I'd suggest is to experiment with the height of the neck P/U, as it sounds like it may be a touch too close to the strings. Should adjusting the height not get you where you want it to be, a BKP Blue Note 90 or Nantucket 90 may be more to your tastes... Cheers... G
Thanks G. Did some of that today - dropped the PU and raised the poles a bit. It’s much better.... but I think a lower power one or a staple is going to be the thing. Cheeers!
A lot of old Gibbos with P90s have the pickups lowered and pole pieces raised, which may be worth a try, a lot of vintage Deluxes had fixed pickup heights. I'd also recommend the Faber bridges, great units and a very close to vintage sound, if thats what you're after, of course
i had the same issue with the p90s that came with my chapman ml3 semi hollow, i switched to lower output alnico 2 bareknuckle Blue Note's and they're amazing. brought new life to the guitar and i love the way it plays and sounds now.
A touch less output and those new pickups could stay out of their own way so you could hear everything you want to, brilliant. Also, don't be hard on yourself about the wiring, I can't tell you how many times I have flipped the leads on the switch, sometimes you re-solder it, sometimes you just spin it in the cavity if you have enough room from the leads.
The neck pickup... Aren't the poles right where the 24th fret would be, just like on a Strat? That's why I tend not to like 24 fret guitars since they move the neck pickup closer to the bridge.
Thank for the vid Mick, fascinating. Of course, if the might Phil X is right, removing the neck pickup will improve the tone of the bridge pickup. Perhaps a little Dan figure in the cavity to finish it off!
Dimarzio makes a great p90 humbucker that would be great in the neck. I have 2 in mine and love them. Just curious have you tried any of the stacked p90?
Not only do I now want a Collings single pickup Jr type guitar, but I also want a Thorpy warthog and a moustache. Ps received my T shirt after the first one got lost in transit. Cheers!
Wow those Lollars sound amazing. The initial play with the stock pickup I thought' Yeah, those sound good". Then you you switch to the Collings and it was instantly apparent that not only they sound more rich but also you prefer them because I could hear it in the way you played. When you switched to the lollars you started to dig in more because I think you could feel the difference right away.
Mick, are these the 50s or standard p90 offering? the 50s is a lot lighter, airy and strat ish. Worth investigating for the neck, also you can really lower the neck pup ime
Lollars got so much more definition and attack. Did you ever try the Lollar single coils? A lot of guitar manufacturers (like Nash Guitars) using them as their stock pickups
It might. The bar magnets are pretty powerful by all accounts so it’s not like a Strat pickup. Although apparently lowering the pickup and raising the poles can be cool. Apparently!
9k does seem to be a sweet spot for a bridge pickup if you want that hotter than true vintage but not so modern you can't get a vintage-y tone. I am curious though, why change the wiring? Surely there's nothing wrong with the PRS wiring and parts.
I wanted 50s wiring a Bumblebee type cap. The former for the sound and the latter for the look! :0) Also, I wasn’t sure what the pots were in the PRS so I just decided to gut it and start again. Cheers!
I have to be honest and say that between the PRS and the Collings with their "original" pickups, they sounded *nearly identical*. The Collings is perhaps a bit more airy, a bit less blocky, but clearly the same type of creature. Incidentally, I do prefer the sound of the Collings, as it's slightly less chunky and slightly more open. I, of course, play a 1990 Rickenbacker with Hi-Gain pickups, which is quite a bit less thickerer than any P-90 equipped guitar. PRS Guitars have been among my favorites since before I bought my Rickenbacker, but my favorite model is the CE22. Just as Paul was inspired by Gibson, I was inspired by Paul, and so one of the guitar shapes I've developed for hopefully future production is obviously influenced by the PRS design, but with significantly different details, and I, too, prefer the less ornate models. I also have another model design inspired to some extent by the Rickenbacker 600 series "cresting wave", which I formerly owned as a 2000 model 650 Dakota. Once you got the Lollars in, I'm honestly not sure if I like them more than the Collings or not. I definitely like the Lollars better than the originals. The Collings still seems a bit brighter to me, but the Lollars have a nice smooth sound. I'm listening on my studio nearfield monitors. Once the full track started, it was obvious how much better the Lollars sound to the originals. Definitely worth the investment! Though, the originals did have a charm on the solo portion, thick and aggressive.
is it the thing people keep saying: during the whole quarantine people are spending more money? Let's see how many pickup systems is Mick going to try out at the end... :P :P
I'm sure he will. My experience at a brown transportation company makes me wonder where all this money is coming from. Christmas volume for almost 3 months now and no signs of letting up.
At 38:20 you are pushing the pickup ground wire against the hot lug of the volume pot. You should probably put a piece of heat shrink tubing there to avoid shorting issues that might append in the future.
I remember when I was younger and my squier Stratocaster needed sorting with the wires and my mum who has no knowledge of electronics or guitars just put them back exactly where they should be
@@ThatPedalShow I'm wondering, did you ever try adjusting the Duncans to get more clarity?. I would think lowering the pickups a bit and maybe raising the polepieces might bring out some extra clarity in the sound. I think it's always good to try height and polepiece adjustments before replacing the pickups.
If you want a pre-wired harness for DIY work, feel free, though you will not find them as simple as the companies who make them like to claim. If you are having a qualified tech do the work for you, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T BRING THEM A HARNESS!!!!!! If you know how to do this to a professional level, pre-wired harnesses are always more trouble than just doing it yourself from scratch.
Interesting! I always thought the point of the prewire was so that you can do it yourself. Seems mad to take one to a tech!? But hey ho. If that’s what happens..... :9)
@@ThatPedalShow They drive me nuts every time someone brings them in. Honestly, most of the major problems are because people buy the wrong harness (Les Paul and SG are NOT interchangeable, nor with an ES-335), or the harness is for the wrong year or specific model, but I always find it faster (and cheaper) to do it myself.
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"You're not paying a technician for the 20 minutes it takes him to do it, you're paying him for the 10 hours it doesn't take you to do it" made my day!! XD
Or... “You’re not paying a technician for the 20 minutes it took him to do it, you’re paying him for the 10 years it took him to learn to do it in 20 minutes.”
Truer words have never been spoken, in both cases. True value for dollar. Paying someone for their hard earned skill and not wasting my time, and bourbon(which increases my time spent on said project).
Truer words were never spoken...
There's something about the look of a gold top with P90s. It looks good on nearly every body type.
If you haven't wired a switch the wrong way, you haven't wired enough guitars
I wired a volume pot backwards on my last guitar
Did the pickup selector backwards a while back. Still haven’t been bothered enough to fix it...
It definitely sounds brighter and clearer to me now, especially in the mix, so GOOD ONE for Lollar and especially for you!! Definitely sounds different than the Collings, which is still special, but that's good. Now you have similar guitars, but ones that each do their own thing. Nice job all around! Thanks!
PRS S/D: Pronounced midrange, therefore more muddy
Collings: Mid-scooped, definitely more clear
Lollar: The perfect balance between the two, upper mids are more present
Definitely sounds similar to Rhett Shull's number one pink sparkle Novo, one of the best P-90 sounds out there.
It might sound odd but the PRS'S massive heel pictured @ 23.46 in my opinion ads strange overtones to the necks resonance coupled with their
small head stock has a bearing on the guitars tone..
it is well known large head stocks aid in sustain PRS necks look as if they did not complete the shaping............,Apposed to the Collins with the traditional heel and head stock size
re neck pick up judging by its height in the cavity @ 39.07 it is way to close to the strings if you have done so screw it down in to the cavity
it will should not be as muddy and more balanced with the bridge coil.
I had my 2001 for 6mths before swapping Duncan's for Fralins stock p90s. now, I will be buried with my prs mcsoapy!
Good to see the “McCarty mud bar” getting an upgrade. Your P90 episode finally pushed me into building a p90 guitar.
Styled like a jazz master strat cross. 25.5 scale with Almafitano P90s with A4 magnets. Gotta say that while I’m biased since I built it. It’s now my #1.
Never would’ve gotten there without your p90 episode I don’t think. So thank you!
Cooool!
I'm currently slowly building a guitar with p90s too - but with a Gibson scale:)
I really love my p90 equipped Gibson SG Standard 😍 It's the only p90 guitar (so far) though...
That Collings with the high-wind P90 sounded very good. The PRS was definitely improved by fitting the new pickups. The Lollars in that sounded 'vintage plus', which I guess is what they're intended to be. Are the new pickups high-wind like the one on the Collings or Lollar's standard P90 wind?Are you using a noise gate to eliminate hum? Perhaps I missed it.
You're right about the neck pickup's position, it's a long way forward. On an SG, for example, it would be significantly closer the the bridge and commensurately brighter sounding. I personally don't care for neck pickups much and have never really used them.
The second you put them on there I thought, “I really like the black covers.”
Hi Mick, hope you are doing well. I am thinking of getting a P90 guitar and even though I am a Fender guy I happen to love the Epiphone Les Paul junior in tobacco burst and it has one single P90. Price is $529 Canadian but I think I may get it. What do you think of those guitars? answer if you have the time or inclination. Stay well buddy.
Hi Mick, Top tip for your cardboard template, just hold the cardboard up to the guitar and stick the screwdriver through the holes- no maths
Also I put a set of SD P90s in a guitar 12/15 years ago (if memory serves me correct simular output figures) and is by far my least favourite sounding guitar, I only play it unplugged .
All the best Karl
While i formally and shamelessly disagree with your opinion of the stock Soapbar pickups (i love my '98, it has never been muddy), I fully agree with, heartily condone, support, and share your hatred of the unnecessary tying of strings to tuner posts.
Lower the neck pickup a lot. Usually there is a big balance problem with P90s, so your eyes will not like it, but there normally will have to be a big difference in the pickup heights; bridge pu very close to the strings, neck pu. as far from the strings as possible. In my experience ;-)
I guess I'm in the minority. I know the stock P90s on PRS don't get much love. I have a 2009 Korina McCarty with P90s and have no problem with the stock pups. In fact just the other day I plugged it into my TC50 clean channel using The Dude and it sounded great. Of course I bought the guitar used and I ass/u/me that the pickups are stock. I've never checked what they actually are
Stuart Kinzel I bought a PRS S2 a year or so ago, love the playability but pickups were not right. Replaced with some Duncan alnico2 humbuckers and the tech found they weren’t the original PRS pickups in the guitar!
What weird shape Strat you got there Mick ... LOL!
(this joke should work better with "silver skys")
Hahahaha!!!
Hey Mick! This is a bit late, but you should perhaps look into the Brian Porter A90. It's got a lot of openness, a bit of sparkle, and would probably fit the neck position nicely. At least, this comes to mind hearing your thoughts on that neck position.
i like the Lollars better.....axe made for them....wonderful.
am I the only one who digs the black covers more.... with a black switch tip. ooft
I have one of the thirteen 'made in error' all-mahogany, trem P90 PRS McCarty models. The SD pickups in that were absolutely terrible (with massively different output). Replaced them with BK Blue Note P90s and it's a totally different, but a still classy and understated, guitar.
Hey mick!
I’m back at work in an e cigarette store, I have lots of time doing very little, though very glad to be back at work. Love having these experimental pickup and bridge etc videos. Love sitting down and absorbing everything. Cheers
Ur work was sick very neat to me u should see my work!😅..sounds much better with the lollars
These DIY vlogs are highly instructive in, as you say Mick, learning things. I installed a Faber Wraptonate bridge in my DC LP Jr today, rather than have a tech do it - satisfying and its intonation is good now! With more dynamic range and less complex overtones compared to the Duncans, those Lollars sound and suit your style much betterly. That Collings is killer though! 🤓
Thanks Stuart, good luck with the new bridge! Yep, it’s rewarding when you have the time arrrgghh!!!! :0)
This is awesome except for the p90 gas it gave me (my problem)!!
Well dweezil has a gtr with evh vomit on it, you have 1 with mick blood on it
This was fun. Your swap out of the pickups reminded me of my own P90 adventure. So I played along to the track at the end with my SG junior and everything compared pretty favourably, which means either that your PRS sounds much better than before, or all of our guitars sound equally crappy! I converted an SG special copy with a nice fat neck into an SG Junior with one Mick Brierley P90 in the bridge (Dan should know about him, he’s an Aussie too) and used a 50s style wiring kit from Guitar Sauce in Australia to make sure the electronics were top notch. Look like it worked for both of us then!
Mick's blood is my favorite characteristic of tone woods. :^)
Disregard PRS obtain Collings
At last a PRS with dot (moon) inlays.
Hey Mick! It's always a pleasure to see your videos, guys. I have the same problem with the excess of bass in my neck pickups (humbucker and P90)... To get rid of the bass you can solder a non-polarised capacitor as a high pass filter from the middle leg of the volume pot to the pickup selector. That's all. You can try different values (0.047uf, 0.022uf, 0.01uf, etc.) and even different brands to dial in your perfect tone. I've soldered a 6,8nF SOZO Mustard Cap to my Hamer P90 neck pickup and it is glorius now!. This is a very easy fix and it will re-EQ you pickup forever!
Another great vlog! This was a fun watch and I loved the track mix and edit at the end. I would take the Collings any day of the week though. Soapbar and Dogear have different construction though, so that is a factor too.
For a neck P90 that isn't all wool, I have to shout out Mick Brierley pickups (Based in South Australia)- I have almost finished a new LP style guitar build (neck pickup butts up against end of fretboard at 23rd fret position) and will be re homing my 50s P90 set from Mick B. In testing before applying finish, the neck pickup breaths...a few times I forgot I was on the neck.
Brett Kingman's demo's contain Mick Brierley pickups in some videos.
Love you guys! Really... 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Great vid and really interesting. Cheers Mick
I think with P90s you have to ride the volume a bit and it will transform!
Who else checked the typical websites to see what these guitars are going for now?
Rabbit hole)) Thank you Mick!
The new pickups definitely sound better and less muddy ... but, sorry to say, the Collings still wins here. I also don’t particularly love neck P90s relative to a nice Strat but compared to a wooly, muddy neck humbucker that‘s a different story.
Don’t be sorry. That Collings is a truly special thing!
Hey Mick! I had the same experience as you regarding P90 neck pickups. I'm also a longtime strat player, and love the neck of course. I acquired a P90 guitar a while back, fell in love with the bridge, but not the neck so much. Long story short, I put an underwound "Alnico poled P90" in the neck, and its heaven(I use 300k pots with it. It's like the fender pickup leo never made). I think the Lollar alnico poled P90 is what you should consider trying.
this is what i was going to recommend 👍🏻
Try some throbak pickups.
I sure like that tweedy pedal. Works well with the p-90s
Love that guitar! Hoping you’re putting in Lindy Fralin’s? Alnico humcanceling P-90...Lollars are great as well. They sound great in that guitar!
Also, Lindy has great wiring diagrams.
Look at Lindy’s Alnico P-90 for the neck?
Can’t wait to hear it in the show!
I was in a similar place: in a PRS single cut I have a Lollar 50s-wind bridge P90 and a Lollar P-90 Staple for that Fender-ier™ neck. Another great combo is the Kinman P90 in the bridge and a Kinman "Surf Staple" 580 in the neck if 50/60Hz hum bugs you. FWIW!
Definitely like the new pickups better than the old. The originals were always just muddy in the low mids but the new ones are much more balanced and have a lot more clarity, really filling the niche of "inbetween a regular single coil and a humbucker" sound that P90s can do so well. You should totally try out a Staple pickup in it though if you still don't like the neck pickup as I remember how much you guys both loved the one in that '54 Les Paul Custom you tried at ATB guitars. Either that or maybe try Lollar's 50s wind P90 in the neck as they're supposed to be lower output than the regular ones and were apparently copied from the original pickups on a '53 Goldtop. I've been kinda lusting after the Lollars for a while but haven't pulled the trigger on anything so I'm pretty keen to see you try them, as well as maybe some other brands as well. I hear OX4, the maker of the PAFs in Dan's Les Paul, makes a mean P90 too! :D Either way, looking forward to a fruitful and interesting P90 Journey in the vein of the Strat Journey you've had with Blue!
Nice! I think the staple is a good call. Cheers!
I have owned a bunch of Paul Reed Smith guitars from SE, 20th Anniversary Core, Wood Library, and Private Stock. They make some of the most visually beautiful guitars out there. The craftsmanship is truly impeccable. And yet, they all end up sitting in the case and eventually sold on Reverb. You would think with PRS taking the best of both the Fender and Gibson worlds, you’d have the ultimate hybrid.. The Custom 24 is a double-cut guitar with 24 frets, 5-way selector, a trem, maple top on a mahogany body, set neck and a scale right down the middle... and yet the guitar just lacks the mojo and character of a great Fender or Gibson. Some of the finest luthiery but it just doesn’t hit all the buttons for me in tone and that special something. That’s just me.. and I know I’ll continue to buy and sell them hoping to find that holy grail because they are truly stellar craftsmanship. That said I have a Patrick James Eggle Macon in the works and that may be my answer for my PRS blues. It will have a P90 in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge with plenty of “Mojo” 😉
Brian Para the PRSs all have a weird upper-mid peakyness that’s just not musical. When you combine warm tone woods with longer scale length the end result is fine for metal but terrible for vintage tones.
Exactly my findings. The way I have come to think about is, that they are just perfect, and that perfection stands in the way or that special “mojo feel”. Its probably all psycological, but still, it just never hits me emotional, way more my brain. Its a strange thing…
PRS should do a soapbar version of their S2 McCarty.
P90s come and go, trend wise, from what I understand. Maybe they’ll revisit at some point,
Oh how I have been lusting over those S2 McCartys. I am already having trouble deciding which one I would get without making P90’s on em😂
Totally agree. The S2 594 McCartys is so lust-worthy. (Not sure that’s a word, but there you go) I love the S2 line across the board, such a great deal on a great guitar.
The ultimate p90 tone I've ever heard was a DiMarzio Super 3 with an Alnico 4 magnet I swapped into it. It's actually a humbucker, but it has the chewiest attack ever and tons of harmonics. For rosewood fretboards only. Maple is too strident.
I wish they'd do the McCarty (not the 594) in S2 or SE :/
Hey Mick, really enjoyed this! Was laughing all the way through, at myself! I have PhD in electrophysiology. Did all sorts of soldering and electronics maintenance during those years. Fast fwd a decade and it was with considerable confidence that I approached my first ever guitar mod. I swapped the pickups in my Japanese HH Jaguar for the classic Seymour Duncan pair. I never thought to make a cardboard template (genius mate), did all the work in the cavity of the guitar (horror story) so it looked like a dogs dinner, and I put the bloody neck pickup in backwards 😂 You did a wicked job mate, round of applause 👏👏👏 Thanks, as ever, loving your fine work 🙂🙏
I feel your pain Mark. I’ve bodged sooooo many guitars. :0) I now need to google electrophysiology....
Question for you, Mick: Are you conscious of hitting that Collings a bit harder than the PRS when the old pickups are on? I think - based on your face and your wrist/elbow - that you're holding back precisely because the pickups are bit hotter and you're losing the sense of attack on the strings as a player. I also feel like you're giving the PRS with the new pickups a bit more welly, probably to coax that bit extra out of the lower output pickups. I think that's what you're talking about with push right at the end of video. You obviously enjoy the new pickups more - we can all see that in your face/eyes!
I'm very much interested because I've just acquired a Guild Blues 90 which has even pokier P90s than the ones on the PRS. I have to say, though, that given that I haven't had chance to play it in the band (or even loud at the studio) yet, it's a bit early to be considering a pickup change!
Ah that’s really interesting. You may well be right. The PRS with the old pickups was an ugly sounding thing, so hitting the guitar and introducing more overtones and harmonica just adds to the ugliness. So there’s a partially conscious adjustment happening all the time I suppose. That’s what Dan and I refer to as being ‘connected’ with the guitar. If you’re doing something outside of what’s natural and having to compensate in ways you don’t want to.... connection breaks, playing suffers, tone suffers. Interesting! Some people love the pokier pickups though - that’s their happy place. Good luck with it!
Def improvement in clarity...
Hey Mick, have you thought about trying a DynaSonic style pickup in the neck? I think they tend to have a little more articulation and don't get as muddy as the P90. I know your buddy Ron Ellis makes a pretty amazing ones as they are what Julian Lage uses and are now in his custom Collings. Worth a shot? Loved the vlog! Keep these great Tuesday vids coming, love these personal asides you and Dan provide. All the best.
I did think about that as it goes. I’ve always loved them in every Gretsch I’ve played with them. Hmmmmm
I like the Collings tone much better...never been a fan of lollars at all...they all sound very 'DRY" to me, if that makes any sense. BTW. some of the most vintage authentic P90s I ever heard were Shed P90s from Wales. They are wonderful!
Nice. The Collings has a Lollar too. Cheers!
Nicely done Mick. Only thing I'd suggest is to experiment with the height of the neck P/U, as it sounds like it may be a touch too close to the strings. Should adjusting the height not get you where you want it to be, a BKP Blue Note 90 or Nantucket 90 may be more to your tastes...
Cheers... G
Thanks G. Did some of that today - dropped the PU and raised the poles a bit. It’s much better.... but I think a lower power one or a staple is going to be the thing. Cheeers!
A lot of old Gibbos with P90s have the pickups lowered and pole pieces raised, which may be worth a try, a lot of vintage Deluxes had fixed pickup heights. I'd also recommend the Faber bridges, great units and a very close to vintage sound, if thats what you're after, of course
Thanks Don. I’ll deffo try the raised pole pieces!
Rockin the Big Country jammies Beardo!
i had the same issue with the p90s that came with my chapman ml3 semi hollow, i switched to lower output alnico 2 bareknuckle Blue Note's and they're amazing. brought new life to the guitar and i love the way it plays and sounds now.
Great job. Love P90s. Have Duncan Antiquities in 2 Gibsons and may finally take the plunge now and try out the Lollar. Thanks for all you do.
double cuts and p90s - very glad for this Vlog to come about - just as my Monty's '54 p90 has come in
A touch less output and those new pickups could stay out of their own way so you could hear everything you want to, brilliant.
Also, don't be hard on yourself about the wiring, I can't tell you how many times I have flipped the leads on the switch, sometimes you re-solder it, sometimes you just spin it in the cavity if you have enough room from the leads.
The neck pickup... Aren't the poles right where the 24th fret would be, just like on a Strat? That's why I tend not to like 24 fret guitars since they move the neck pickup closer to the bridge.
Would be good to measure it!
Thank for the vid Mick, fascinating. Of course, if the might Phil X is right, removing the neck pickup will improve the tone of the bridge pickup. Perhaps a little Dan figure in the cavity to finish it off!
I think Phil is always right. :0) Get rid of the pickup you don’t need, right!? :0)
Dimarzio makes a great p90 humbucker that would be great in the neck. I have 2 in mine and love them. Just curious have you tried any of the stacked p90?
No, not my thing. I had a P-100 once in a guitar and that was not suited to the kind of stuff I like. Cheers!
Collings sounded better every time, although the Lollars did improve the PRS.
Yeah, no arguments here. :0)
Hey Mick, have you had a chance to check out Lambertones pickups? They make some really cool things, and added a p90 somewhat recently.
Nope. Sounds cool though! I went with Lollar because I've heard them in so many guitars. I'll check em out!
the Lollars sound sooo much more defined. The 50's winds are the cream of the best though.
Not only do I now want a Collings single pickup Jr type guitar, but I also want a Thorpy warthog and a moustache.
Ps received my T shirt after the first one got lost in transit. Cheers!
Yay! All of this is good. :0)
Congrats Mick T. New ps. sound Amazing/incrível!
Wow those Lollars sound amazing. The initial play with the stock pickup I thought' Yeah, those sound good". Then you you switch to the Collings and it was instantly apparent that not only they sound more rich but also you prefer them because I could hear it in the way you played. When you switched to the lollars you started to dig in more because I think you could feel the difference right away.
Mick, are these the 50s or standard p90 offering? the 50s is a lot lighter, airy and strat ish. Worth investigating for the neck, also you can really lower the neck pup ime
These are the standard ones Justin. I think you might be right about a 50s for the neck. That could be cool!
Perhaps I missed the explanation, but why did you rewire the whole guitar with all new pots and everything instead of just swapping out the pickups?
I like starting from scratch... wanted to make sure they were 500k pots, a better cap and 50s wiring. Cheers!
Yeah. That’s a big difference in the Micks. See what I did there. I’m here all week.
Lollars got so much more definition and attack. Did you ever try the Lollar single coils? A lot of guitar manufacturers (like Nash Guitars) using them as their stock pickups
A P-90 is a single coil. Do you mean Fender-style pickups?
how about a lollar gold foil in the neck?
I quite like the black covers. Looks like Doug Aldrich's gold top Les Paul with black P90 pickups
500k pots with single pickups? is that why the sound is a bit muddy? normally its 250k pots i think. im sure PRS know what they are doing though
The higher the number the less mud. Cheers!
Hey Mick. To get rid of some of the bass on the neck pickup would lowering the pickup help give you a little more clarity??
It might. The bar magnets are pretty powerful by all accounts so it’s not like a Strat pickup. Although apparently lowering the pickup and raising the poles can be cool. Apparently!
9k does seem to be a sweet spot for a bridge pickup if you want that hotter than true vintage but not so modern you can't get a vintage-y tone. I am curious though, why change the wiring? Surely there's nothing wrong with the PRS wiring and parts.
I wanted 50s wiring a Bumblebee type cap. The former for the sound and the latter for the look! :0) Also, I wasn’t sure what the pots were in the PRS so I just decided to gut it and start again. Cheers!
I have to be honest and say that between the PRS and the Collings with their "original" pickups, they sounded *nearly identical*. The Collings is perhaps a bit more airy, a bit less blocky, but clearly the same type of creature. Incidentally, I do prefer the sound of the Collings, as it's slightly less chunky and slightly more open. I, of course, play a 1990 Rickenbacker with Hi-Gain pickups, which is quite a bit less thickerer than any P-90 equipped guitar.
PRS Guitars have been among my favorites since before I bought my Rickenbacker, but my favorite model is the CE22. Just as Paul was inspired by Gibson, I was inspired by Paul, and so one of the guitar shapes I've developed for hopefully future production is obviously influenced by the PRS design, but with significantly different details, and I, too, prefer the less ornate models. I also have another model design inspired to some extent by the Rickenbacker 600 series "cresting wave", which I formerly owned as a 2000 model 650 Dakota.
Once you got the Lollars in, I'm honestly not sure if I like them more than the Collings or not. I definitely like the Lollars better than the originals. The Collings still seems a bit brighter to me, but the Lollars have a nice smooth sound. I'm listening on my studio nearfield monitors.
Once the full track started, it was obvious how much better the Lollars sound to the originals. Definitely worth the investment! Though, the originals did have a charm on the solo portion, thick and aggressive.
Hey guys, don’t get mad. Is there a link for the Dan drive Tweedy? Sounds ace! I’ve been working a lot and I feel like I am out of the loop.
There’s no direct link unfortunately. Dan is contactable via Instagram and ATB guitars in Cheltenham sell them. Cheers!
Great vid, but I'm surprised you don't use a small towel to protect the guitar when soldering. I've had a few incidents…
I like the incidents. Weird I know!
What the heck is a nats chuff?? You said the covers were off by a nats chuff and I'm dying from laughter!
Ah. - gnat is a small insect. A chuff could be either nether orifice.
Got a 1980 Aria Pro ii PE800 which has the two knob wiring, beautifully done in those days
If you want a two knob schematic that is quality
is it the thing people keep saying: during the whole quarantine people are spending more money? Let's see how many pickup systems is Mick going to try out at the end... :P :P
I'm sure he will. My experience at a brown transportation company makes me wonder where all this money is coming from. Christmas volume for almost 3 months now and no signs of letting up.
"This is my actual blood" Sorry mate, i had to start laughing. Thanks for making me feel human. Great work on the PRS and the vid many thanks!
That's the first PRS guitar I have seen that made me think about ever owning one... Very nice...
Six string supplies do great pre wired harnesses.
Still prefer the Collings.
have finish video , but I like bareknuckl BLUE NOTE 90 and HALF NOTE 90
At 38:20 you are pushing the pickup ground wire against the hot lug of the volume pot. You should probably put a piece of heat shrink tubing there to avoid shorting issues that might append in the future.
Good shout!
I remember when I was younger and my squier Stratocaster needed sorting with the wires and my mum who has no knowledge of electronics or guitars just put them back exactly where they should be
So that Collins just seems clearer to me. More articulate?
Yep.
Its a great sounding guitar.
Your Collins guitars sound amazing Mick!
@@ThatPedalShow I'm wondering, did you ever try adjusting the Duncans to get more clarity?. I would think lowering the pickups a bit and maybe raising the polepieces might bring out some extra clarity in the sound. I think it's always good to try height and polepiece adjustments before replacing the pickups.
Wow such a big difference, the new pickups made the guitar so much better. Great Vlog Mick 👌🏻
Mick, maybe you'd like Firebird mini HBs instead?
Unique things! Probably pretty cool in this guiyaZzz
Longtime fan btw. Love Dan and Mick. Great guys, awesome players, always educational.
Came back for that lick at @44:51 🙌
What were the P90's you swapped in??? I really dig the new sound!
Info in the description. Lollar Standard P90s ser...
It turned out pretty good. 🤙🏼
Need one Mc Cathy P90 😍
If you want a pre-wired harness for DIY work, feel free, though you will not find them as simple as the companies who make them like to claim. If you are having a qualified tech do the work for you, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T BRING THEM A HARNESS!!!!!! If you know how to do this to a professional level, pre-wired harnesses are always more trouble than just doing it yourself from scratch.
Interesting! I always thought the point of the prewire was so that you can do it yourself. Seems mad to take one to a tech!? But hey ho. If that’s what happens..... :9)
@@ThatPedalShow They drive me nuts every time someone brings them in. Honestly, most of the major problems are because people buy the wrong harness (Les Paul and SG are NOT interchangeable, nor with an ES-335), or the harness is for the wrong year or specific model, but I always find it faster (and cheaper) to do it myself.
Lovely guitar.
"A gnats chuff" that is gold! I'm keeping that one. In the US the closest I can come up with is a c hair.