It was a good demo...... But the guitar to test that P90 true would be a Gibson Les Paul or SG. Early versions of those guitars actually came w/ P90's. As far as I know Fenders never did. Strats and Tele's any ways.
I’ve heard from other people that humbucker sized p90s never sound close or sound as good. You’ve just disproven that statement. Hell yes. I think I’m gonna throw some humbucker sized p90s in one of my guitars.
This is an expected response....Notice how something like this is not only always viewed as making a "huge" difference but that "huge" difference is always negative and never an improvement. People in general are extremely susceptible to "placebo effect" I once told a fellow friend and guitarist that I installed new Seymour Duncan pickups in one of my guitars that I just happen to have on the stand...When I played it, he commented immediately on how much better the tone was. I had not changed the pickups.
Vicky: It's your guitar but routing a Les Paul is a commitment that is difficult if not impossible to reverse. And for that money you could probably just buy a decent P-90 guitar like an Epiphone or Harley Benton to get your feet wet. And besides that, a legitimate reason to buy another guitar is a terrible thing to waste! : )
I mean if you want to cut holes in a Gibson why not get one worth cutting holes in? After all the dream is to own a guitar that makes you want to glue it all back together if it explodes.
I wanted to try P-90's also, so I recently purchased an Artist Grungemaster with P-90's for $200. Best purchase for value I've made, got a great new guitar for the price of 2 P-90 pickups!
FINALLY someone with a good demo of the Dimarzio p90s! I've wanted to hear these for a long time! I may have to spring for a set of the Vintage P90s! :)
They may not be exactly the same, but in my opinion, they are close enough that I would be happy to use them instead of cutting up an expensive guitar. I've been wondering about the humbucker size P90's. If they have a little more bass and you don't want that, roll the tone knob a little, use different caps, or adjust your amp. Thanks for doing this test.
The differences between them all are so minor that I don't think anyone could tell a difference in a live mix from what I am hearing. You might be able to identify individual sounds but I doubt anyone could source it to P90 vs Humbucker P90 vs Noiseless. That Fantom pickup is very impressive though. Whoever insisted on sending that over deserves a day off. Definitely not something I would have ever considered as an option if I didn't watch this video.
From the video I felt like the humbucker size had more output a d was louder, going by the video audio. Aside from that tonally they sounded very very similar.
I love the increased bass response. Sounds fuller to my ears. Also I can imagine better with fuzz. Just bought the fantom to put in the neck of one of my guitars. I'll probably get around to putting it on here in a few weeks
It's because a humbucker sized P90 is wound with 44awg wire while a P90 is wound with 42awg. The smaller wire allows for better and tighter bass response
I find humbuckers always sound scooped and have less thick kids than p90s. Humbuckers are like 6l6’s and p90s el 34s. That being said the humbucker is less thick and airy , the p90s sound darker , I think what you are liking is the scooped darkness versus the denser p90 tone.
I have 2017 Epiphone Pro 1 Les Paul Junior that came with a starter kit. I yanked the horrid stock ceramic mudbucker and installed a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat and it sounds awesome. I just bought a 2020 Gibson Les Paul Special and there really isn't a big difference in terms of sound between the "real" P-90's and the Phat Cat.
I heard a significant boost in presence between the Hum/P90 and the vintage. I would definitely go for the Hum/P90 over the vintage, due to it being far easier to Cut some High vs adding some.
If anyone from Somnium or any of the pickup makers are reading comments to see whether this is an effective series, thank you very much for working with Phil for this. This has been a fantastic series to help us hear the differences and make informed choices. Case in point, I'm absolutely getting a set of those pickups. I absolutely love the sound.
Thanks for the info. I would have really liked to have heard a comparison in a clean setting, no distortion, maybe some arpeggios to really hear the nuances of the pickups.
The only time they were actually A-B when clean it was very very noticeable. Hbucker lacked twang, sounded dead. Seemed to flip opposite with distortion; although wasn’t easy to tell with the space of dead noise between the clipped examples.
I like the way all these sound. I do hear subtle differences in the full-sized and humbucker-sized, but both have great sounds. Not sure which one I would go with, but it's likely if I was modding something, and I didn't want to route out a body, I would be perfectly happy with the humbucker sized ones. Artec makes some good P90s that are humbucker sized as well, for maybe $20-30 if you can find them. These DiMarzios sound fantastic though...
I was never a fan of how they looked so I strayed away, but i picked up the Chapman semihollow with p90s and fell in love. p90s have great character, I put the Bareknuckle Blue Notes in and they are great!.
Was in the same boat so when I saw an Eiphone les paul special with dual p90's and set neck for around $200 i was sold. And sure enough they were just as gnarly as my 7 string ibanez's pickups and yeah the set neck gave more sustain, actually the first thing i noticed playing a note but honestly with some amp i was using the noise was just too much. What good was that tone when its got all this hiss in the background, that being said for certain amps it was great , i was using VST's and amp sims and a lot of them didnt like the p90's, but im a believer in the right amp for the right guitar so i wouldnt be discouraed, just be aware.
IMO if you have a cheap guitar with low quality pickups then yes do it. If you are going to do it to a Gibson Les Paul, then no. The reroute will ruin ruin the resale value and you won't hear a lot of difference.
Get video!!! I have a GFS Dream 90 and Mean 90 in an Epi LP standard and they both sound amazing. Not sure how exact they are too to a real P90 but I don't care the guitar sounds incredible.
Hi! I use GFS Mean 90 in the neck of my Gibson SG standard 2016, and it sounds just gorgeous. The cleans are to die for (much nicer than 490R HB:s... )
They won't fit the Epiphone because it's routed for P90's and those are humbucker sized. Edit, any normal sized replacement P90's will fit though if you decide to upgrade.
@@OldSethOnetooth I know, but I thought I could put them in my hardluck kings bossman. The bossman plays great, but it's not really the tone I like. I get that, really more from my charvel style 2 and my peavey Wolfgang special. But since I got my Epi, I love that p90 sound!
That DiMarzio Fantom P90 sounds great, very smart move to send it along. Check out the G&L Ascari GT-90 for some wonderful P90 experience, the one I ordered from MF is perfect in every way, excellent quality. Had it several years now no problems.
RailHammer makes a pickup called the HumCutter. I’ve got them in a few guitars. Noise cancelling P90 tone in a few different outputs. i love them. Definitely worth a look.
They are not the same, and there are physical limitations that mean it's not possible for them to ever be the same. That being said, humbucker sized P90s are awesome, and if you want to put some in your guitar, don't let anyone talk you out of it, I did it on my HH strat and it's sick.
It's because a humbucker sized P90 is wound with 44awg wire while a P90 is wound with 42awg. The smaller wire allows for better and tighter bass response
I'm digging the darker tone of the vintage over the PAF size. Can't take too much highs unless it's a surf tune. I've always played Les Paul's going back to the late 70's with OD + delay and I do roll off the tone to zero or maybe 1 1/2 just to the point where some treble peeks out. Try it on a strat (position 2 & 4) . Roll off both tone knobs or one full on (10) and the other (0). Also, do the opposite (0) & (10). I mostly do this for the soloing section. Just try it for fun. God bless all n keep on rockin.
p90s are making a real come back! But I like the 60hz hum, I feel it adds to the harmonics somehow. Maybe a dirtier signal but that is needed sometimes for hard rocking leads!
On my android phone😅in bridge couldn't tell them apart, but in the neck the real thing was much brighter to me. That quick change axe is so cool for these things. Got a tele with p90s just love it's spanky attitude. Here's a puzzler about a "Lyle" branded import i got second hand 40 years ago... Gibson 335 copy played ok, pickups looked like legit covered HB's, but would hum like singles. One quit so i took it apart to try a fix... the screws from the top went into a "U" shaped rail stamped out of steel surrounded by a single very thin bobbin atop a small magnet. The copper windings were not potted and had corroded in the salt air of the coast... but i loved the way it had sounded! In all it's thin, fragile, noisy, microphonic glory i had become accustomed to it's character and would love to find it's equal. I guess we just get used to what's around us and become accustomed to it. It's a beastie loaded with paf copies now, but I'd still like to get a few crapolas for fun
Nothing wrong with Humbucker sized P-90s. I have used for years and even the cheap ones sound pretty good. Been playing for 51 years and have tried a truckload of pickups.
Dude, I've actually been considering building a three P90 partscaster for some time. Gary Clark Jr's signature SG got me to thinking about a solidbody triple P90 configuration.
The idea was to order a custom thinline strat body with the swimming pool route to fit the P90's from someplace like Warmoth. Unfortunately, this pandemic has certainly delayed the possibility of using Warmoth.
I bought a les paul custom that the original owner swapped in a humbucker style P90 in the bridge and I never felt compelled to swap back the original humbucker. I have other guitars with humbucker and this is probably my favorite tone
Sunflower Seeds. Would have said if it were a Harley Benton, no shame there. In truth It's a Chapman that I picked up dirt cheap. Have no idea what the deal is but it seems everyone is ragging on Chapman these days.
For everyone looking for a Humbucker sized P90; the Seymour Duncan Phat Cat is IMO the best sounding pickup I have ever heard for dirty but not overblown distortion. It’s just so f**** far, dirty and singing. Amazing
Great video. I had a dear tech friend of mine yank out the cheap humbuckers on an Ibanez archtop to put some "cheap" import P90s in it. It is a bit of an involved job that cost me a bit though he did a great job and it looked amazing. We also threw flats on it as I wanted it to be my "olde timey" axe. initally I struggled to really connect with it until someone told me to swap out the alnico V magnets for alnico II. Between that and going back to rounds that guitar is amazing. That said during the swap (done by another amazing tech friend) I realized the construction of P90s and what's really going on). Could have just gone with the humbucker routes though I always thought I'd be losing something. I do think they can sound a bit difference - this video showcases that but they're still very much in the same ball park and, if I could have done it again, I would have just had two phat cats, mean 90s, or gibson P94s and called it a day. Thanks again for a killer video.
Word. I'm Sold. I've been looking for a combo to put in my 60's Aria Pro II (Rescue Build) it's routed for humbuckers. I occasionally play bigger amps (Mesa Nomad 55 - W-210's) and think the Phantoms might be the cure needed to be able to get the P90 tone while keeping things quieter. Thanks for all you do !!!!
I didn't even know this was a question people had, but either way I'm now more convinced than ever to put some HB-sized P90s in my Epiphone Les Paul :D
My Fender Telecaster Ja-90 comes equipped with a Seymour Duncan P90 custom in the bridge and a P90 vintage in the neck. Awesome sound, love the guitar. Everyone should have a least one p90 equipped guitar in their arsenal for the different tones they bring to the table.
I about shit when I saw right through that guitar. This is the ONLY way I have seen where two pickups can be compared..... Genius, pure fucking genius.
I’d like to put something like these in my 335 - never been a real fan of humbuckers but love many guitars that come with them lol. Might have to look into this more.
I have three Les Pauls: 2 Goldtops with P90s and one with P94s (Gibson's version of humbucker sized P90s). I can definitely say there are some differences in tone, but they're as slight as this video shows. As in barely noticeable. If you want P90s and your guitar is routed for humbuckers, don't be afraid to try these out. They're great. I've recorded the P90s along side the P94s and can't tell the difference. As an aside, that test wasn't for the pickups, that was a Gibson v. Epiphone test. My Gibsons have P90s and my Epiphone has P94s. No one could tell which guitar was which. Save some money, people.
I put a set of GFS Dream 90 s in a 335 copy and gigged with it for a couple years. Loved them and other musicians thought I was playing a much more expensive guitar. Don't route, as we just heard, the humbucker sized one's do a fine job.
Thanks Tommy! I've been planning on a pair of the GFS HB-sized P-90s for my Epi SG and there aren't many reviews of those. Both pups with their complete wiring harness cost less than $100.
I looked at another website while listening to this demo to prevent the common problem of psycho acoustics and I couldn't hear the difference. I have used Bare Knuckle's Mississippi Queen Humbucker sized P90 for a long time and its a great pickup.
I have an Eastman T486 with Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P90s they are fantastic!!! They are designed to directly replace a humbucker with no modifications to the guitar
Okay, you convinced me. I'm putting some Hum-bucker sized P90s in my Chapman ML-2. Great video and I agreed with your assessments even with the TH-cam compression of the auido.
Great demo Phillip! I have a customized Telecaster with a SD Phat-Cat P90 in the neck position and by far it is my favorite tone... so much so that I plan on buying a Les Paul and fitting two of the SD Phat-Cats in it. Such a killer sound! Perfect blues machine! Thanks for the info!
I really dig the P90 sound. Great comparison. Bonus- I'm not sure why but when you speed up your video during the switching of your pickups somehow it reminds me of the Benny Hill Show.
I have a couple of guitars that I put 'bucker-sized P90's in, and they both sound pretty good to me. I go for a darker and dirtier old-school sound, and they seem to work well for those fuzzy Black Sabbath tones.
The phantom sounded compressed. I like the regular better. I've been kicking around the idea of putting a set of HB sized p90's in my Eastman t386. I have Antiquities in it and they sound great, but they sound better in my LP so I want them back in it. Can you do a shoot out between some different brands? Like phat cat Duncan's and the DiMarzio?
Just found your channel through Rick Beato! Are you able to comment on SD P-Rails and how they might compare? I am *seriously* thinking about replacing my 85/15 s pickups in my PRS SE CU24. Any sage advice?
My take on the noiseless vs normal HB P90 at the end: Noiseless - a bit less bite/spank/presence; a little more compressed. Upper mids and treble *slightly* less pronounced. Probably great for metal/high gain applications where you won't notice this difference as much, but you will appreciate the lack of hum! Sounds great! Normal P90 - sounds great as well! More attack on the note and presence (upper mids-treble), bell-like (not icepicky like some strat bridge pickups), has good output (something other brand humbucker P90s in the bridge have trouble with). My preferred for crunch, jazz, cleanish territory tones. One thing to note, Phil, great job adjusting the pickups! That guitar is awesome for pickup comparisons and you definitely spent the time setting the pickups well beforehand. I'm big into the P90 humbucker sized pickups. I currently have GFS Mean 90s (which sound good and are hella cheap but I like the sound of this Dimarzio one better). Waiting on some BG Pickups Pure 90s, should have in a couple weeks to compare!
@ Phil McKnight. Hey Phil, I have a PRS SE 24 STANDARD that I Love. I recently played a Gretsch G2215 and I really fell in love with the P90 sound and after this video I’m considering installing the Vintage P90 in the neck and leaving the stock PRS pickup in the bridge. What do you think of this idea and is there anything I need to do because this guitar has the coil splits?
I thought they were very close in tone. Maybe the humbucker size P90 had a little more clarity. Between the two, I'd choose the one that fit without having to route out the body. You can easily make a guitar pickup tone brighter or darker by changing the Capacitor, and that is cheap and easy to do.
I think they al sounded similar to the next, but the noiseless to the original is a more noticeable change, if that makes sense. So the original to the humbucker size is a slight difference to the highs, and the humbucker to the noiseless was a further _slight_ change to the highs. So if you were going from original to the noiseless you might notice it much more. Not that any of them sounded bad, nor was any difference large.
Outstanding Vid!!! Great job thanks Phil!!! Dimarzio makes great pickups. I don't think you could go wrong with any of those P-90 types. They all sounded great it really just comes down to your personal preference. However I would really like to see/hear a comparison of the Dimarzio to a set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cats. I believe that it would still end up as you couldn't go wrong with any of them though.
I have a set of GFS Mean 90 humbucker sized p90s that are surprisingly good and do a more than decent job of getting the p90 tone which surprised me just because they were cheap and GFS aren’t necessarily what they claim. I’ve actually got some of their pickups I really like but often they don’t really sound like what they are suppose to be based on. For example I have a set of rail Strat pickups that were advertised as “Bardon style” and they sound absolutely nothing like Bardons but I do like them a lot.
Both sounded very good. Wouldn't complain about the sound of either in a guitar, and there were some similarities, for sure. The humbucker sized one had a humbucker like bark and seemed to cause more compression, and was also slightly muddier - it would work really well for up to 80s heavy metal and no doubt be excellent for punk or "grunge", too. That said, I did prefer the actual single coil P90 due to its lower output character, I felt the twang was more satisfying to my ears, and think it would be my overall choice for pop, funk, alternative, garage or stoner rock.
I liked the soap bars better. It's hard to explain but the soap bars are squishy'er and the humbuckersized p90 was tighter and more punchy and great in its own right but the soap bar sounds like rock and roll to me. Wtf do I know though. Nothing!
That guitar is probably one of the best tools to use to demo pickups I've ever seen.
I was thinking the same thing
Nah
I was like whaaaa? when he swapped it out the first time lol
@@audiomonster303 I KNOW! I was like "what just happene?!"
It was a good demo...... But the guitar to test that P90 true would be a Gibson Les Paul or SG. Early versions of those guitars actually came w/ P90's. As far as I know Fenders never did. Strats and Tele's any ways.
I’ve heard from other people that humbucker sized p90s never sound close or sound as good. You’ve just disproven that statement. Hell yes. I think I’m gonna throw some humbucker sized p90s in one of my guitars.
I think, SD phat cats are responsible for this. While they are p90 type pups, they are not voiced to sound like vintage p90.
This is an expected response....Notice how something like this is not only always viewed as making a "huge" difference but that "huge" difference is always negative and never an improvement.
People in general are extremely susceptible to "placebo effect"
I once told a fellow friend and guitarist that I installed new Seymour Duncan pickups in one of my guitars that I just happen to have on the stand...When I played it, he commented immediately on how much better the tone was.
I had not changed the pickups.
Talking out their arse!
@@stricknine8623 LOL!
@@stricknine8623 That's fantastic haha.
1:55 - That moment when you realize just how awesome P90's sound dirty.
Vicky: It's your guitar but routing a Les Paul is a commitment that is difficult if not impossible to reverse. And for that money you could probably just buy a decent P-90 guitar like an Epiphone or Harley Benton to get your feet wet. And besides that, a legitimate reason to buy another guitar is a terrible thing to waste! : )
Great answer.
Exactly, more point buying a P90 guitar from a luthier who does Gibson clones.
I mean if you want to cut holes in a Gibson why not get one worth cutting holes in? After all the dream is to own a guitar that makes you want to glue it all back together if it explodes.
I wanted to try P-90's also, so I recently purchased an Artist Grungemaster with P-90's for $200. Best purchase for value I've made, got a great new guitar for the price of 2 P-90 pickups!
I'll throw in a plug for the Tagima TW-65, offset body available with P90s. I love mine and it was ~$250 US.
FINALLY someone with a good demo of the Dimarzio p90s! I've wanted to hear these for a long time! I may have to spring for a set of the Vintage P90s! :)
They may not be exactly the same, but in my opinion, they are close enough that I would be happy to use them instead of cutting up an expensive guitar. I've been wondering about the humbucker size P90's. If they have a little more bass and you don't want that, roll the tone knob a little, use different caps, or adjust your amp. Thanks for doing this test.
The differences between them all are so minor that I don't think anyone could tell a difference in a live mix from what I am hearing. You might be able to identify individual sounds but I doubt anyone could source it to P90 vs Humbucker P90 vs Noiseless. That Fantom pickup is very impressive though. Whoever insisted on sending that over deserves a day off. Definitely not something I would have ever considered as an option if I didn't watch this video.
From the video I felt like the humbucker size had more output a d was louder, going by the video audio. Aside from that tonally they sounded very very similar.
Have loved the Phat Cat Humbucker P90's for years!!!!
Johnny Beane it’s amazing. Best pickup I know for slight dirt.
They sounded almost exactly the same, which actually surprised me, I've always heard they sound quite a bit different...
Now you actually heard otherwise...😉
The humbucker sized P90s detect more of the strings range due to their width, the difference is small, but its there
Dylan Zrim I think the chrome cover makes a difference too. If they made one with a plastic humbucker sized cover would be even closer
That's the VALUE of hearsay!
@@MrSongwriter2 I agree! The metal shell is basically a Faraday cage!
The humbucker sized P90 has very noticeable increased bass response.
Not bad but definitely different.
I love the increased bass response. Sounds fuller to my ears. Also I can imagine better with fuzz. Just bought the fantom to put in the neck of one of my guitars. I'll probably get around to putting it on here in a few weeks
It's because a humbucker sized P90 is wound with 44awg wire while a P90 is wound with 42awg. The smaller wire allows for better and tighter bass response
I find humbuckers always sound scooped and have less thick kids than p90s. Humbuckers are like 6l6’s and p90s el 34s.
That being said the humbucker is less thick and airy , the p90s sound darker , I think what you are liking is the scooped darkness versus the denser p90 tone.
@@heythere6983 "humbuckers always sound scooped "? That is an original opinion. Humbuckers by its designed cut lows and highs, and boost mids.
That humbucker sized one is slightly brither and has more output. I like it
That’s what I thought.. at least on the clean tones
That's not how I heard it. The p90-sized had a little bit more top end, but I could only notice it on the cleans.
sounds like aerosmith
I heard the opposite, I thought the PAF sized P90 sounded a little brighter! But it was subtle!
Good test Phil!
I always considered myself a humbucker guy until got a Les Paul special with P90’s.
I love them.
It’s like finding out your favorite ice cream has another flavor and it’s just as good but different.
@@mraycgz well put
My P90 Les Paul gets NOISY at high gain, I love them clean though.
I have 2017 Epiphone Pro 1 Les Paul Junior that came with a starter kit.
I yanked the horrid stock ceramic mudbucker and installed a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat and it sounds awesome.
I just bought a 2020 Gibson Les Paul Special and there really isn't a big difference in terms of sound between the "real" P-90's and the Phat Cat.
My seymour duncan phat cat neck pickup sounds extremely good clean and looks cool so I'm happy :)
I heard a significant boost in presence between the Hum/P90 and the vintage. I would definitely go for the Hum/P90 over the vintage, due to it being far easier to Cut some High vs adding some.
If anyone from Somnium or any of the pickup makers are reading comments to see whether this is an effective series, thank you very much for working with Phil for this. This has been a fantastic series to help us hear the differences and make informed choices. Case in point, I'm absolutely getting a set of those pickups. I absolutely love the sound.
Last year I dropped some Seymour Duncan Phat Cats in an Epiphone SG, and I am totally in love with that sound! I would definitely do it again.
Started life with a 65 SG jr n will always love the P90
Thanks for the info. I would have really liked to have heard a comparison in a clean setting, no distortion, maybe some arpeggios to really hear the nuances of the pickups.
I have been thinking about a set of P90’s forever. This video confirms that I need to do this. Thanks!
I put Warman hum-sized p90s in a partscaster of mine. My singer compliments my sound every time I play it.
I'd love to hear more of those Fantom 90s. Clean, crunch, lead, bridge and neck. If anyone gets a chance. They sound very good so far!
The only time they were actually A-B when clean it was very very noticeable. Hbucker lacked twang, sounded dead. Seemed to flip opposite with distortion; although wasn’t easy to tell with the space of dead noise between the clipped examples.
I like the way all these sound. I do hear subtle differences in the full-sized and humbucker-sized, but both have great sounds. Not sure which one I would go with, but it's likely if I was modding something, and I didn't want to route out a body, I would be perfectly happy with the humbucker sized ones. Artec makes some good P90s that are humbucker sized as well, for maybe $20-30 if you can find them. These DiMarzios sound fantastic though...
I love that you were enjoying playing as you riffed. Any time you want to play because your gear just sounds good is great!
This is one of the best videos you have ever done.
The Lindy Fralin P90s in a humbucker form is great. Highly recommended!
I’ve been waiting years for this vid Phil! A few other channels have done this but not nearly as thorough as you do them.
Welp, there's my new guitar project- replacing pickups, those sound great. Never played P90's.
Yep, it convinced me too for my project.
I was never a fan of how they looked so I strayed away, but i picked up the Chapman semihollow with p90s and fell in love. p90s have great character, I put the Bareknuckle Blue Notes in and they are great!.
Was in the same boat so when I saw an Eiphone les paul special with dual p90's and set neck for around $200 i was sold. And sure enough they were just as gnarly as my 7 string ibanez's pickups and yeah the set neck gave more sustain, actually the first thing i noticed playing a note but honestly with some amp i was using the noise was just too much. What good was that tone when its got all this hiss in the background, that being said for certain amps it was great , i was using VST's and amp sims and a lot of them didnt like the p90's, but im a believer in the right amp for the right guitar so i wouldnt be discouraed, just be aware.
IMO if you have a cheap guitar with low quality pickups then yes do it. If you are going to do it to a Gibson Les Paul, then no. The reroute will ruin ruin the resale value and you won't hear a lot of difference.
Get video!!! I have a GFS Dream 90 and Mean 90 in an Epi LP standard and they both sound amazing. Not sure how exact they are too to a real P90 but I don't care the guitar sounds incredible.
I have used the GFS Dream 90s in a couple of my guitars and they sound great too.
I've used dream 90s and dig them too. I find the mean 90s to sound more like a p-90 though. Also I have a surf 90 in a guitar I really love.
I love the mean 90s
Hi! I use GFS Mean 90 in the neck of my Gibson SG standard 2016, and it sounds just gorgeous. The cleans are to die for (much nicer than 490R HB:s... )
I have a Mean in my 335 Tanglewood! Great pick up!
I would not have considered this pickup unless you had featured these, now I’m considering these for my les Paul
I have a Seymore Duncan Phat Cat in one of my guitars and it gives a fantastic hot P90 sound in a humbucker shape.
I tried both SD Phat Cat and GFS Mean 90:s in my LP:s and SG:s, and actually much prefer the GFS. Try it, they are dirt cheap !
One thing I know I'll get surfing old Phil uploads is answers to my questions.
Just got my 1st p90 guitar. Epiphone '56 Goldtop reissue... man, I love it! Those humbucker size vintage p90s sound terrific! I gotta have a set now.
They won't fit the Epiphone because it's routed for P90's and those are humbucker sized. Edit, any normal sized replacement P90's will fit though if you decide to upgrade.
@@OldSethOnetooth I know, but I thought I could put them in my hardluck kings bossman. The bossman plays great, but it's not really the tone I like. I get that, really more from my charvel style 2 and my peavey Wolfgang special. But since I got my Epi, I love that p90 sound!
They sound a lot closer than I expected. That’s good to know.
That DiMarzio Fantom P90 sounds great, very smart move to send it along.
Check out the G&L Ascari GT-90 for some wonderful P90 experience, the one I ordered from MF is perfect in every way, excellent quality. Had it several years now no problems.
Great Video!! Another option are Duncan P-Rails. P-90, Rails (Single coil sound), Parallel Humbucker & series humbucker
Yeah I got one but the p90 setting is dull to my ears. I like the humbucker and strat modes ok. Myself I wouldn’t buy another one.
Thanks Phil! Very timely! I've been wondering about humbucker sized P-90's. Pressed "order"! Thanks!
RailHammer makes a pickup called the HumCutter. I’ve got them in a few guitars.
Noise cancelling P90 tone in a few different outputs.
i love them. Definitely worth a look.
Another comparison that might be interesting is a Seymour Duncan P-Rail with the rail switched out
They are not the same, and there are physical limitations that mean it's not possible for them to ever be the same. That being said, humbucker sized P90s are awesome, and if you want to put some in your guitar, don't let anyone talk you out of it, I did it on my HH strat and it's sick.
It's because a humbucker sized P90 is wound with 44awg wire while a P90 is wound with 42awg. The smaller wire allows for better and tighter bass response
So what brand did you use?
I was busy and forgot to keep track. I had to look to see which pickup was being played through. That's good news!!!
I'm digging the darker tone of the vintage over the PAF size. Can't take too much highs unless it's a surf tune. I've always played Les Paul's going back to the late 70's with OD + delay and I do roll off the tone to zero or maybe 1 1/2 just to the point where some treble peeks out. Try it on a strat (position 2 & 4) . Roll off both tone knobs or one full on (10) and the other (0). Also, do the opposite (0) & (10). I mostly do this for the soloing section. Just try it for fun. God bless all n keep on rockin.
p90s are making a real come back! But I like the 60hz hum, I feel it adds to the harmonics somehow. Maybe a dirtier signal but that is needed sometimes for hard rocking leads!
I totally agree with you on having a humbucker sized P90 in the bridge and a regular P90 in the neck would be a great combination!
I've put that combo in my Pacifica, a Phat Cat in the bridge and a Fralin P90 in the neck, I've been very happy with them.
that overdriven dimarzio p-90 sounds heaven !
The Fantom P90 can be coil split if you want the brighter single coil sound. Super awesome and diverse pickup!
The humbucker sized sounded surprisingly more single coily than usuaL P90. Thanks for that video!
Which one ? Fantom or vintage ?
On my android phone😅in bridge couldn't tell them apart, but in the neck the real thing was much brighter to me. That quick change axe is so cool for these things. Got a tele with p90s just love it's spanky attitude. Here's a puzzler about a "Lyle" branded import i got second hand 40 years ago... Gibson 335 copy played ok, pickups looked like legit covered HB's, but would hum like singles. One quit so i took it apart to try a fix... the screws from the top went into a "U" shaped rail stamped out of steel surrounded by a single very thin bobbin atop a small magnet. The copper windings were not potted and had corroded in the salt air of the coast... but i loved the way it had sounded! In all it's thin, fragile, noisy, microphonic glory i had become accustomed to it's character and would love to find it's equal. I guess we just get used to what's around us and become accustomed to it. It's a beastie loaded with paf copies now, but I'd still like to get a few crapolas for fun
I got the Fantom dogear p90 and that thing woke my Jr up and took it to another level. great pickup.
I have a double cut special and want a p90 in the bridge. I honestly didn’t know they came in HB size. Thanks once again Phil.
Wow all so close, I really like the fantom 👍
Dimarzio makes great P90s! Also that guitar is just an amazing tool to showcase different pickups on the go.
Nothing wrong with Humbucker sized P-90s. I have used for years and even the cheap ones sound pretty good. Been playing for 51 years and have tried a truckload of pickups.
Man....now I want a Strat with 3 P90s!
Dude, I've actually been considering building a three P90 partscaster for some time. Gary Clark Jr's signature SG got me to thinking about a solidbody triple P90 configuration.
Del Dudley go for it! Might need to do some serious routing to fit them.
Yes go for it! Buddy of mine picked up a used Roadstar modded (and very well done too) with three Duncan P90's, stupendous tone!
The idea was to order a custom thinline strat body with the swimming pool route to fit the P90's from someplace like Warmoth. Unfortunately, this pandemic has certainly delayed the possibility of using Warmoth.
I put two GFS "Mean 90s" in my Les Paul and they sounded great.
I’ve got 2 dream 90s in an epiphone SG and I’m very pleased. So much better than the stock humbuckers and the middle position is MWAH
I replaced the stock pickups on my old epiphone dot deluxe with gfs mean 90s years ago and I love them
I bought a les paul custom that the original owner swapped in a humbucker style P90 in the bridge and I never felt compelled to swap back the original humbucker. I have other guitars with humbucker and this is probably my favorite tone
I have a guitar ( undisclosed brand) that could and will get a set of the humbucker sized. Thanks for the demo. Keep rocking 😎
Sunflower Seeds. Would have said if it were a Harley Benton, no shame there. In truth It's a Chapman that I picked up dirt cheap. Have no idea what the deal is but it seems everyone is ragging on Chapman these days.
@Sunflower Seeds Nope, made in Indonesia but the build quality is pretty good and the model I have is as heavy as a les paul.
For everyone looking for a Humbucker sized P90; the Seymour Duncan Phat Cat is IMO the best sounding pickup I have ever heard for dirty but not overblown distortion.
It’s just so f**** far, dirty and singing. Amazing
Yes it's an easy choice go for the look because they both sound great
Great video.
I had a dear tech friend of mine yank out the cheap humbuckers on an Ibanez archtop to put some "cheap" import P90s in it. It is a bit of an involved job that cost me a bit though he did a great job and it looked amazing. We also threw flats on it as I wanted it to be my "olde timey" axe. initally I struggled to really connect with it until someone told me to swap out the alnico V magnets for alnico II. Between that and going back to rounds that guitar is amazing. That said during the swap (done by another amazing tech friend) I realized the construction of P90s and what's really going on). Could have just gone with the humbucker routes though I always thought I'd be losing something. I do think they can sound a bit difference - this video showcases that but they're still very much in the same ball park and, if I could have done it again, I would have just had two phat cats, mean 90s, or gibson P94s and called it a day. Thanks again for a killer video.
Word. I'm Sold. I've been looking for a combo to put in my 60's Aria Pro II (Rescue Build) it's routed for humbuckers. I occasionally play bigger amps (Mesa Nomad 55 - W-210's) and think the Phantoms might be the cure needed to be able to get the P90 tone while keeping things quieter. Thanks for all you do !!!!
I didn't even know this was a question people had, but either way I'm now more convinced than ever to put some HB-sized P90s in my Epiphone Les Paul :D
My Fender Telecaster Ja-90 comes equipped with a Seymour Duncan P90 custom in the bridge and a P90 vintage in the neck. Awesome sound, love the guitar.
Everyone should have a least one p90 equipped guitar in their arsenal for the different tones they bring to the table.
I about shit when I saw right through that guitar. This is the ONLY way I have seen where two pickups can be compared..... Genius, pure fucking genius.
For such a huge company, why is this the only demo video of the Dimarzio Vintage P90 humbucker size I could find.
I’d like to put something like these in my 335 - never been a real fan of humbuckers but love many guitars that come with them lol. Might have to look into this more.
I have three Les Pauls: 2 Goldtops with P90s and one with P94s (Gibson's version of humbucker sized P90s). I can definitely say there are some differences in tone, but they're as slight as this video shows. As in barely noticeable. If you want P90s and your guitar is routed for humbuckers, don't be afraid to try these out. They're great. I've recorded the P90s along side the P94s and can't tell the difference.
As an aside, that test wasn't for the pickups, that was a Gibson v. Epiphone test. My Gibsons have P90s and my Epiphone has P94s. No one could tell which guitar was which. Save some money, people.
I put a set of GFS Dream 90 s in a 335 copy and gigged with it for a couple years. Loved them and other musicians thought I was playing a much more expensive guitar. Don't route, as we just heard, the humbucker sized one's do a fine job.
Thanks Tommy! I've been planning on a pair of the GFS HB-sized P-90s for my Epi SG and there aren't many reviews of those. Both pups with their complete wiring harness cost less than $100.
The bucker sized is a wee bit fatter but can’t fault either for sound!
Immediately liked the humbucker-sized P90 MUCH better. Cool vid, thank ya!
I looked at another website while listening to this demo to prevent the common problem of psycho acoustics and I couldn't hear the difference. I have used Bare Knuckle's Mississippi Queen Humbucker sized P90 for a long time and its a great pickup.
I have an Eastman T486 with Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P90s they are fantastic!!! They are designed to directly replace a humbucker with no modifications to the guitar
Guitar: neat trick. I saw the Humbucker shaped P90's on Seymour Duncan website last month, and I bet they sound great.
That Fantom P90 sounds awesome!
Okay, you convinced me. I'm putting some Hum-bucker sized P90s in my Chapman ML-2. Great video and I agreed with your assessments even with the TH-cam compression of the auido.
amazing sound !! I love P-90 pickups !!
Great sounds. Did you edit out the cycle hum in post or are they really that quiet?
Great demo Phillip! I have a customized Telecaster with a SD Phat-Cat P90 in the neck position and by far it is my favorite tone... so much so that I plan on buying a Les Paul and fitting two of the SD Phat-Cats in it. Such a killer sound! Perfect blues machine! Thanks for the info!
I really dig the P90 sound. Great comparison.
Bonus- I'm not sure why but when you speed up your video during the switching of your pickups somehow it reminds me of the Benny Hill Show.
I have a couple of guitars that I put 'bucker-sized P90's in, and they both sound pretty good to me. I go for a darker and dirtier old-school sound, and they seem to work well for those fuzzy Black Sabbath tones.
The phantom sounded compressed. I like the regular better. I've been kicking around the idea of putting a set of HB sized p90's in my Eastman t386. I have Antiquities in it and they sound great, but they sound better in my LP so I want them back in it. Can you do a shoot out between some different brands? Like phat cat Duncan's and the DiMarzio?
Just found your channel through Rick Beato! Are you able to comment on SD P-Rails and how they might compare? I am *seriously* thinking about replacing my 85/15 s pickups in my PRS SE CU24. Any sage advice?
Interesting the sound very very similar. Great video Phil! Your channel is the best 🙏🙌👌
My take on the noiseless vs normal HB P90 at the end:
Noiseless - a bit less bite/spank/presence; a little more compressed. Upper mids and treble *slightly* less pronounced. Probably great for metal/high gain applications where you won't notice this difference as much, but you will appreciate the lack of hum! Sounds great!
Normal P90 - sounds great as well! More attack on the note and presence (upper mids-treble), bell-like (not icepicky like some strat bridge pickups), has good output (something other brand humbucker P90s in the bridge have trouble with). My preferred for crunch, jazz, cleanish territory tones.
One thing to note, Phil, great job adjusting the pickups! That guitar is awesome for pickup comparisons and you definitely spent the time setting the pickups well beforehand.
I'm big into the P90 humbucker sized pickups. I currently have GFS Mean 90s (which sound good and are hella cheap but I like the sound of this Dimarzio one better). Waiting on some BG Pickups Pure 90s, should have in a couple weeks to compare!
@ Phil McKnight. Hey Phil, I have a PRS SE 24 STANDARD that I Love. I recently played a Gretsch G2215 and I really fell in love with the P90 sound and after this video I’m considering installing the Vintage P90 in the neck and leaving the stock PRS pickup in the bridge. What do you think of this idea and is there anything I need to do because this guitar has the coil splits?
I thought they were very close in tone. Maybe the humbucker size P90 had a little more clarity. Between the two, I'd choose the one that fit without having to route out the body. You can easily make a guitar pickup tone brighter or darker by changing the Capacitor, and that is cheap and easy to do.
Thanks for the comparisons! Considering the Humbucker Sized P90!
I think they al sounded similar to the next, but the noiseless to the original is a more noticeable change, if that makes sense. So the original to the humbucker size is a slight difference to the highs, and the humbucker to the noiseless was a further _slight_ change to the highs. So if you were going from original to the noiseless you might notice it much more. Not that any of them sounded bad, nor was any difference large.
Outstanding Vid!!! Great job thanks Phil!!! Dimarzio makes great pickups. I don't think you could go wrong with any of those P-90 types. They all sounded great it really just comes down to your personal preference. However I would really like to see/hear a comparison of the Dimarzio to a set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cats. I believe that it would still end up as you couldn't go wrong with any of them though.
If you take consideration the pickup positions effect on the sound they should sound close identical
I have a set of GFS Mean 90 humbucker sized p90s that are surprisingly good and do a more than decent job of getting the p90 tone which surprised me just because they were cheap and GFS aren’t necessarily what they claim. I’ve actually got some of their pickups I really like but often they don’t really sound like what they are suppose to be based on. For example I have a set of rail Strat pickups that were advertised as “Bardon style” and they sound absolutely nothing like Bardons but I do like them a lot.
Humbucker size Dimazio P90. No brainer. Could you please do the P90 vs the PAF? Cheers. Great sounding guitar btw!
I have a couple of guitars with the P94s which Gibson's version of humbucker sized p90s and I love them
super cool video!!! great option for someone looking for a p-90 tone in a humbucker route!!
Both sounded very good. Wouldn't complain about the sound of either in a guitar, and there were some similarities, for sure. The humbucker sized one had a humbucker like bark and seemed to cause more compression, and was also slightly muddier - it would work really well for up to 80s heavy metal and no doubt be excellent for punk or "grunge", too.
That said, I did prefer the actual single coil P90 due to its lower output character, I felt the twang was more satisfying to my ears, and think it would be my overall choice for pop, funk, alternative, garage or stoner rock.
I liked the soap bars better. It's hard to explain but the soap bars are squishy'er and the humbuckersized p90 was tighter and more punchy and great in its own right but the soap bar sounds like rock and roll to me. Wtf do I know though. Nothing!