P-90's: Alnico 4 or 5?

[m4rk0]

Or lower?

how do they compare, and does it mean I need to sacrifice output for tone (or v.v.)?

I love what I have heard of the Rio Grande p90s, and they're pretty hot.. I am looking for a warm tone though, but not too muddy!
this is for a hollow (thinline) body with warm woods (korina) so I am looking for the right balance..
this is really hard  :confused4:

 

[jackthehack]

I've got RG P90s in my mahogany Thinline; not muddy at all

 

[m4rk0]

I've got RG P90s in my mahogany Thinline; not muddy at all

thanks!
so they still sound warm though? not too bright?

 

[-CB-]

Not knocking anyone here....but, when someone says - I have a P90 and its (choose one) warm, bright, thin, fat, middy, etc  - its like saying I have a humbucker and its the same thing.

That is, we (mostly) all know that there is a tremendous range of flavors in humbuckers, but somehow seem to notice the obvious that P90's are the same.... (even though we all know Fender type single coils also have a huge range of flavors).  Go figure.

So, using the blanket term - P90, or even GIBSON P90 is not good.  There is simply too much variablity in all the different forms of P90's out there - even the same make and model etc.... such as - Gibson in the aftermarket pickups, has increased its windings about 1k from low 8's to low 9's, and that has made a marked reduction in the upper mids and high end.

FWIW, P90's should have two alnico V bars, and for me at least, about 7.8 or so is best for the neck, and 8.6 for the bridge.  But, I dont like really shrill bridge pickups either.  For a maple neck solid body, like a a Tele or Strat, you can probably add .5 to those numbers and have a real good tone too.

 

[Nando Vallart]

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8005

This thing had a very good use to me...

 

[jackthehack]

I've got RG P90s in my mahogany Thinline; not muddy at all

thanks!
so they still sound warm though? not too bright?

Not in a couple of builds with mahogany necks

 

[tfarny]

A shout out for a Lollar P90 in the neck; super clear, balanced treble response, and tons of character, sorry I'm not good at describing pickup sounds. You can take it in a lot of different directions. About 8k. Personally I much prefer the lollar to the rio grande that I had in it before.

 

[jackthehack]

The RG JazzBars/BluesBars are 10.5K/12.5K; JazzBars match up nicely with the 12.5K BBQ HB at bridge if doing a BFG type PU config. I prefer hotter pickups, Lollar might work better for a more "vintage" sound; you can get that sound out of the RG P90s, but still have a couple of notches left on the vol control for more "balls".

 

[m4rk0]

Not knocking anyone here....but, when someone says - I have a P90 and its (choose one) warm, bright, thin, fat, middy, etc  - its like saying I have a humbucker and its the same thing.

That is, we (mostly) all know that there is a tremendous range of flavors in humbuckers, but somehow seem to notice the obvious that P90's are the same.... (even though we all know Fender type single coils also have a huge range of flavors).   Go figure.

So, using the blanket term - P90, or even GIBSON P90 is not good.  There is simply too much variablity in all the different forms of P90's out there - even the same make and model etc.... such as - Gibson in the aftermarket pickups, has increased its windings about 1k from low 8's to low 9's, and that has made a marked reduction in the upper mids and high end.

FWIW, P90's should have two alnico V bars, and for me at least, about 7.8 or so is best for the neck, and 8.6 for the bridge.   But, I dont like really shrill bridge pickups either.   For a maple neck solid body, like a a Tele or Strat, you can probably add .5 to those numbers and have a real good tone too.

I realize that, but the reason for the confusion is that most pickup manufacturors offer multiple flavors of hb's and sc's, but only one or two P90 variation.

Anyway, I am ordering P90's from Jon Moore (thanks to whoever on this forum recommended him!!) and he lets me choose the magnet type and # of winds.
Based on the feedback so far I am thinking about going for 2 Alnico 5's with 10k winds (neck) and 11k winds (bridge)
sounds good for a hollow korina/goncalo neck?

 

[-CB-]

ask him what the k in winds equals in DC resistance..... that sounds a bit heavy handed in winds for a hollow body.

you want to get under 8k for the neck... then balance it with the bridge.  you can get something like 7.8 and 8.8 or.9.0 and be bout right

 

[jackthehack]

"that sounds a bit heavy handed in winds for a hollow body."

That might be true from the traditional sense, but I like hotter pickups in hollow bodies. Playing through lower wattge tube amps you just have to get used to 7/8 on a 500K volume pot being the new "10", and just diming it where you would typically hit a boost pedal.

 

[-CB-]

On power... I agree.. but the P90s tend to warm up and lose their sparkle when they go hotter