P94?

[exaN]

I've been thinking of building another Warmoth which is pretty much all planned out but I'm not sure about the pickups. I'm not really familiar with the whole P90/P94 world but I realized with my first Warmoth Strat (which is my first single coil guitar) that I actually like the character of single coils, but I also like the "power" of a humbucker. So I'm actually considering P90's or P94's.

Can you guys tell me the real difference between a P90 and a P94? And maybe share some experiences you had with them?

 

[Jusatele]

two thongs here, no need to search out p94s, just get it routed reg humbuckers and go for a humbucker you need, would save a lot of looking for that custom p04 you want.
If you are already routed, find someone who will wind you up a hot p90, may cost less in the long run. Winding pickups is not that uncommon, I bet you can find someone to do it for you who actually can make one sound decent. Bur remember, how a PU sounds is different from guitar to guitar, including of the same shape.

 

[exaN]

two thongs here, no need to search out p94s, just get it routed reg humbuckers and go for a humbucker you need, would save a lot of looking for that custom p04 you want.
If you are already routed, find someone who will wind you up a hot p90, may cost less in the long run. Winding pickups is not that uncommon, I bet you can find someone to do it for you who actually can make one sound decent. Bur remember, how a PU sounds is different from guitar to guitar, including of the same shape.

So you mean that P94's are too similar to humbuckers to be worth spending the time and money?

And I'm thinking a mahogany SG for this build.

 

[Cagey]

P94s are physically the same size as traditional humbuckers, but they don't sound anything like them. They're single coil pickups. They're typically a bit hotter than standard P90s, so putting them in place of regular humbuckers doesn't mess with your output balance. It's basically an easy way to get a single coil in place of a humbucker, if you've already got a guitar/pickguard routed for humbuckers, such as a Les Paul or an SG. They'll have a better tone and frequency response than traditional humbuckers, but they'll also be noisy since they're single coils.

 

[lafromla1]

two thongs here

where did they go?  ???

 

[swarfrat]

I'm beginning to ponder routing for humbuckers and sticking in Frailing P92's. In part because I'm not 100% sure I want P90's or not. I've been planning on humbuckers up until recently.

 

[-CB-]

#1 - remember that P90 flavors are at least as numerous as Humbucker flavors.  Duncan and DiMarzio and all the rest make big bucks from offering what is essentially a whole bunch of variations on the basic humbucking pattern.  So it goes also with P90s.  There is no single P90 tone, just as there is no single humbucking tone.

#2 - I've tried them all (almost) - all the HB sized "P90" type pickups.  They're not quite the same.  The Duncan Phat Cat is close to the old and light wound P90 of 50's and early 60's.  Very nice in thinlines imho.  The Rio Grande Bastard/FatBastard was way too dark for anything except the brightest guitar.  The Fralin is also like Lindy's other pickups, rather light in tone, a good match for any thinline.  The Gibson P92, to me, is the rip-snort ragged monster it should be, probably the best of the bunch.  The Gibson tone may be from the cover design, dunno.  I do know that they were developed in Germany back in the late 80's and Gibson took them on in the mid 90's, and now makes them up in their Illinois pickup factory.

 

[exaN]

#1 - remember that P90 flavors are at least as numerous as Humbucker flavors.  Duncan and DiMarzio and all the rest make big bucks from offering what is essentially a whole bunch of variations on the basic humbucking pattern.  So it goes also with P90s.  There is no single P90 tone, just as there is no single humbucking tone.

#2 - I've tried them all (almost) - all the HB sized "P90" type pickups.  They're not quite the same.  The Duncan Phat Cat is close to the old and light wound P90 of 50's and early 60's.  Very nice in thinlines imho.  The Rio Grande Bastard/FatBastard was way too dark for anything except the brightest guitar.  The Fralin is also like Lindy's other pickups, rather light in tone, a good match for any thinline.  The Gibson P92, to me, is the rip-snort ragged monster it should be, probably the best of the bunch.  The Gibson tone may be from the cover design, dunno.  I do know that they were developed in Germany back in the late 80's and Gibson took them on in the mid 90's, and now makes them up in their Illinois pickup factory.

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking about P94's because if I don't like them, I can still fit in some humbuckers and I'll be fine, which you can't do with P90's.

 

[TBurst Std]

I have always liked the HD Z-90s I have heard. Thinking about getting one as a try.