as a huge social distortion fan, p90s always felt like raw rock n roll. p90s into a cranked bassman with an sd-1/ts/klone and thatll give you goosebumps. id love to hear you demo these dylan pups out thru diff types of amps, from fender styles to marshalls and even something high gain.
Apparently Mike Ness became a fan of P90s after touring with Neil Young and chatting to Neil’s guitar tech. Would love to get one of those Gibson Mike Ness signature guitars but I aint got a spare 6 grand. I’ve got an exact replica of Johnny Thunders Chinese script TV Yellow LP Junior, handmade by Billy Rowe of Rock n Roll Relics guitars it’s the only one in existence and it’s endorsed by Thunders Estate. P90s do have a unique tone
Social D has been my favorite band for 30 years. Best guitar tone ever. I got a PRS SE One (their version of LP Jr.) a Fender Bassbreaker, and TS-9. It gets pretty close at manageable volumes. That tone is worth every bit of that 60 cycle hum.
I watch a decent amount of the Dylan Talks Tone videos and he seems like a really good guy. This is the first time I've seen his pickups used in someone else's video and they sound fantastic! If I'm ever in the market for pickups again, I'll give him a shot.
I've got a set of his Tele pickups and a set of his splittable humuckers in a PRS SE Custom 24. Love them both. Really transformed both guitars. Fair priced and he sent them fast.
Put a Fralin noiseless humbucker sized P90 in my 335 neck position and it has made it so versatile. I’m currently doing musical theater pit work which requires a huge range of tones and that pickup and one drive pedal gave me everything I needed.
Though not a performer like you, I made the same change and was astonished with the difference! Made me a huge believe in Fralin. So much so I grabbed their PAFs for another guitar
I went down the humbucker sized P90 route myself for my Les Paul a few years ago. They were good pickups and I quite enjoyed them. But even though they do a good job, they weren't quite the same so I thought I'd quite like to actually own a guitar with P90s, because it's about the only pickup configs that I don't, nor ever, have owned.....which is ridiculous considering they're in my top 3 guitar tones, and have always enjoyed playing the Les Paul specials and juniors that I've had the chance to play. So I thought I'd give myself an excuse to buy a new guitar, and ended up with a used Yamaha Revstar for a reasonable price. It's a really nice guitar and the P90s sound fantastic. The humbucker P90s are a good option if you don't want to buy a specific guitar, but I'm glad I bought that Revstar, plus I've also got the option to change to mini humbuckers if I ever want to try them, as they're another pickup I've never owned, so we will see 😆👍
Almost 50 years ago, as a teenager, my first Gibson guitar was a used Les Paul Gold Top with P-90 pickups. They were, still, the best pick ups I have ever played, including for finger-style, Roy Buchanan "singing" telecaster sounds, Jeff Beck "growls" and for jazz.. With P-90 pickups, the LP was my perfect all-round gigging guitar. Maybe you could discuss or compare P-100 pick ups? They're a bit of a mystery.
I don't think the p100s are even in the same ballpark. In the 90s, I bought a LP Special at Umanov in Manhattan that had those. Hands down the worst pickups I ever had. Just bland, characterless pieces of garbage. No bite, no bottom. As my Mom would've said, "comparisons are odious!"
P90s are wonderful. They were my first love, as a big fan of Leslie West, as well as Johnny Thunders, and the sleaze he pioneered. They took a backseat, as I dove deeper into guitar. But today I’ve learned to appreciate their other side: those defined clean tones. Thanks for this vid.
I think the middle position with P-90s is a great tone. Especially in that "edge of breakup" zone where superior touch sensitivity really encourages expressive playing.
I made a Tom Delong single p/u Strat with a ‘65 Gibson P-90, talk about incredible LOWS. You can EQ ‘em out. I’m thinking of going to a different resistor. 500 was suggested. It has amazing tone and very little 60 hertz.
I have two guitars with factory P90’s I have over the years built seven partscasters both strat style and telle style, but I never thought to put P90’s in place of single coils or humbuckers. Now I’m definitely looking at modifying my modifications. lol… Thanks Phill and Dylan. Light bulb moments are priceless and made on accident for the most part.
My favorite neck P90 is the PRail P coil. Its bobbin is narrower and shorter, and that gives it a sound a little closer to a Strat -- peak frequency higher than a regular P - no mud, and not honky or too pushy. You actually can split it off from the rail and it fits under a standard Gibson style cover. It’s gorgeous.
I am in the middle of a build using these. The prototype using these does, as you say, sound gorgeous! They are a bit high output but this can be compensated for by lowering the pickup away from the strings. This reduces the magnetic choking a lot. Give it a try. Take your amp to breakup and you get a really good vintage tone.
P-Rails are my favorite pickups too and when ever possible I use a 4-way rotary switch with them. My next build will be a Tele HH custom with master vol, master tone and 4-way rotary switch for each of the pickups.
Pickups sound terrific. Not only do they give you that really nice bright shimmer & twang, but the bridge pickup also gives that really slick mid-60s Steve Cropper soul vibe. I became a fan of P90s from listening to Pete Townsend's tone from the late 1960s, when he was playing an SG with P90s.
I watch DTT all the time, but you are the first youtuber I've seen that spotlighted a set of his pickups. I love the sound of his P-90s, whereas I have never been a fan of P-90s before ! I am strongly considering a set for s P-90 guitar that I have that I WAS gonna route out for humbuckers !
My go-to for showcasing P-90s are from late 60s early 70s: Who live recordings of that period and Leslie West with "Mountain". Leslie West opening solo prologue to "Roll over Beethoven" on the opening live track of "Flowers of Evil" REALLY showcases versatility and dynamics unique to a P-90. All the more impressive is that he is using a single pickup Les Paul Jr for that amazing performance.
"Definition" is definitely what I am looking for in a guitar sound. It gives me feel and puts me in the creative zone and it lets me play licks between chords with so much more confidence.
I think that P-90 pickups are some of the most versatile pickups out there. They pretty much have every genre of music covered. They can twang for country, sparkle for jazz, mellow out well for blues, and have plenty of dynamics for rock-a-billy, bassy enough for funk, and can handle different gains covering punk to hard rock. Metal tones might be a grey area but I am confident with a little EQ tinkering they could handle that as well. I have always preferred P-90s for more ambient styles of music that require the use of modulation effects such as stereo chorus, flanger, and such. They just have the perfect blend of warmth and darkness.
@@lueyteledeluxe7457 why you say that I have been playing guitar for over 45 years and have had the opportunity to play some vintage guitars with P-90s as well as modern takes and they are simply one of the most versatile pickups out there. I have played live shows using a 1962 ES 330 equipped with P-90s for rock-a-billy. Then played other venues with a Metal band using my Epi 56 Gold Top. I have sat in with my father's friend's Jazz band using both of these same guitars. If my choice of descriptive words somehow confused or amused you so be it but the truth of the matter is I am a musician that appreciates all music genres and have an appreciation for how different electronic configurations react tonally in different musical styles. Wait until you have aged and matured as a musician you may come to understand my wiring.
Holy cow. What you explained about the mids. Being musical when done right. It just hit me that it's exactly what I'm listening for when I'm adjusting my pickup height. I kind of never thought about what it was it's just a certain tone I know when I hear it. But it is the mids. Well now I know.
It'd be interesting to hear you run the P90s through the EQ, with the "inverse" of the curve you were using with the Strat pickups. I.e., would it be possible to make the P90s sound like the Strat? Not that you'd necessarily want to do that, just for the fun of experimentation.
I would be surprised if that didn't work. You can replicate nearly any tone with the right EQ and amp settings regardless of what guitar and pickups you're using
The neck P90 in my Reverend Double Agent W (Anniversary Edition) has a very Strat-ish tone but a bit fatter. I believe it may be a noiseless design and that may be why.
@@aniquinstark4347 I’m not sure that is true because if what you’re saying is true, there maybe be no reason to buy any other guitar than the one you have if the tone of all others can be “replicated” simply with an EQ device and/or knob fiddling. My feeling is that at even at the most highly focused and most finely tuned eq adjusting and knob tweaking rarely ever really gets one pickup in a guitar to sound like a different pickup type in another guitar in any “ballpark” way, to say nothing of “replicating” it. The “just Eq a Strat right and it will sound like a Les Paul (or vice versa)”remains a scientifically impossible and yet intoxicating thing of dreams.
I just installed a set of Dylan P90's in a Les Paul Special Tribute (2 vol, 2 tone) a couple of weeks ago and they are by far the best P90's I have had. There is total clarity from 0-10 on each pickup and together with no muddy sounds on the lower end. Anywhere you set the tone knob you will clearly hear the notes from every string in a chord.
I love that sound! You need to put those P90s in your next run of guitars! I wonder how those would sound in a PRS Custom Core vs the PRS pickups? That would be interesting.
Those P90s sound really great! I'm now wondering about putting one of those in the middle position on my Nashville Tele and rewiring it so the bridge and neck work like a standard Tele and the P90 would stand alone. Thoughts?
I would have never considered P90s until I tried the Gibson Les Paul 60s Tribute. I tried them there. And I bought the guitar there, on the spot. And it's one of the nicest guitars I have ever played.
Wow, those are sweet sounding pups! I may have to give them a try...I already love my HB T-style with the stock P90's, it sounds great. But those are over the top. Dylan does good stuff!
I'm a big p90 fan. Personally prefer slightly cooler models, single coils that have been to the gym rather than on the 'roids! But, like you say, the mid character is key. I find them perfect when playing in a trio to fill out the sound quite subtly. With horns and bigger line-ups teles and strats fit a little easier.
👍👍 I could have some fun with those pickups. One thing you didn't mention is what pots you went with and/or what Dylan recommends. They sound fantastic ☺️
There are a pair of Lollar P90's in my Forshage Orion and I don't think the tones could be improved upon. Those Dylan P90's sound excellent. Something I wouldn't hesitate on purchasing. They could be a great upgrade in say... an Epiphone Casino. Thanks for all your great videos Phil!
Great ! My two favourite guitar equipment aficionados, Phil and Dylan. Thanks for this video because yer right, I wasn't the P90 fan I shoulda been. I really like mini humbucker as I have several Reverends. But I am going to order these P90s that you demo'ed. Theryre great sounding. 👍
I know this video is 11 months old now but it just showed up in my feed for the first time and i absolutely love those P90s and that modified Somnium Tele, also really appreciate your explanation of the difference between a P90 and a more traditional single coil, i own eight electric guitars mostly Strat , Teles or Dinky bodies but none have a P90 in them now i want one
I have a Squier Telecaster Custom, Indonesian, about twenty years old. Black body and maple neck. Duncan P90s. Three way toggle selector, two volumes and two tones. Makes a racket. I'm a bass player, but still like to give a six string a go. BADLY! 🎸🤓
Great video. I’ve been a humbucker guy for nearly 30 years. Have tried single coils and never liked them. They sound great but lack so much. Last year I got an Eastman with P90s. Sooooo good. I dismissed P90s for way too long. Love them now.
I lucked out and got a 94 USA Fender Tele custom with 2 P90's and I've been in love ever since. A Tele single in the bridge and a P90 neck is a good combo too. I like you supporting Dillon too. It was a very good demonstration of pickups that I've been wanting a sample of.
I started watching Phil McNight's channel With the "Sharpen My Axe" series. I started on my Vantage guitar from 1981. , The pots were showing wear & I was never 100% with the pickups. Over the years it became a favorite & taught 3 generations how to play guitar. I amire how Phil has this ability to pick the perfect pickup for the guitar of discussion. My Vantage is my Frankenstein, so many parts have been replaced. This has led me to be a Warmoth customer, I have built 4 Strats (I just feel comfortable & like the body style) which all have their own voice. Next is now going to be a P90 Strat with Dylan pickups. Thanks Phil!
Thanks for demonstrating these fine Dylan pickups. And the P 90’s are awesome!!! Looking forward to buying my own from Dylan as well. I had a new Epiphone Gold Top LP that came with a set of P 90’s which I sold after a year to buy the same guitar with a set of humbuckers. Both instruments were exactly the same specs, neck & hardware except for the pickups. I should have kept it 😢
It is so neat, Phillip, that you chose to play a guitar in the Telecaster shape. I have owned four Tele-type instruments myself, and my current one is a Modern Player Deluxe Thinline, essentially the Jim Adkins signature with a maple fingerboard and without his name. Don't recall if Fender has ever built their own P90s the way they've built their own humbuckers, but this model and the Jim Adkins signature were (I think) both loaded with Seymour Duncan soapbar P90s. I definitely like the way they sizzle when you drive them. I never thought about the notion of amid boost sounding like the guitar had a cold. The most of my adult life, my Pursuit was an emulation of the guitar sound achieved late in the 70s by Tom Scholz. Do people think the Boston guitars sound like they've got a cold?
I have never been much of a fan of single coil pickups. mainly because of the sixty cycle hum. but also because they fail to bring out the full deep tones and better sustain. which also requires a Les Paul. than a person can achieve from humbucker pickups. but these pickups that you showcased in this video are a definite improvement.
Neck shines with clean, oddly enough there's too much sustain or reverb... This is very clearly an amazing neck pup. Got to believe that the bridge would sound better in an LP... I think the tele style is too much tin... Call me crazy but I bet these things would be perfect in a gold top... Great review and Great playing Phil! Definitely check these out!
Always love your stuff, Phil! I Love Dylan's pickups, I cant stand his personality. There is the art, then there is the artist and his pickups are truly art.
Thank you for mentioning the p90's are normally quieter than single coils. I don't understand why so many people think they're noisier than SC's. IMO a good p90 is the perfect pickup. More clarity than a HB, more beef than a single coil. They are the goldilocks pickup that sounds just right.
I put a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P90 in the neck of my Les Paul Modern. It brought the guitar to life! I could hear notes being played on the low strings!
I’ve recently started to really get into P90s this started with an Epiphone Casino and then a Harley Benton LPJ and it’s a really great pup at cutting through the mix it’s got a distinct character all of it own. Thanks again for another great Utube session.
i put a humbucker sized P90 Bridge pickup in the neck from tonerider and got killer tone. in the bridge i have a custom wound humbucker. I am going more for clean, some slight drive or a bit distorted. so good for funk, jazz blues, strings flat wound .13s
I am a fan of the G&L Jumbo MDF pickups. DylanTalksTone did a video comparing the p90 to the MDF pickups, they are similar, Dylan said the MDF was like half a P90
Same here. My special was the one to make me a p90 lover. However I find the neck is muddy. I was going to put in a capacitor mod to fix it but, I think I'm just going to try some new pups.
Those did sound great. Somewhere in the middle of the dirty sounds I thought I heard just a touch of George Thorogood. Awesome. And I agree, if a small builder can make them great... Why not support them. Dillon does have some interesting info on his channel also. Nice playing Phill.
I’ve got two Spacerangers by Musicvox. One has mini humbuckers and the other has P 90s which I am really trying to find my happy place with. This video is really helpful. Thanks a lot. Nice job!!!
Dylan makes beautiful sounding pickups, reasonably priced too. Love Them and your playing and demonstration. P90 pickups are what made Townshend Live At Leeds and Woodstock so Great. Thank You
The only have one coil, they ARE single coils. They have a different magnetic circuit and a different magnetic feild shape. Fender has no copyright on the words "single coil"
I have watched Dylan's channel for years, and he really explains the is and outs of pickups well. I am also a big fan of his products. If you are looking for a specific sound, he will walk you thru the ways to achieve it with a custom wound pickup.
Very good video! I have just recently bought a guitar with P90’s in it and I just can’t put it down. I really love the sound that they produce. Great tone! Thanks for sharing.
I found them late also. Not for any real reason. They really are in their own class. They are not just good for cleans. Put th in front of a loud British style amp and they get nasty in an awesome way. In ways the other types just can't do!
Thank you-I’ve been considering a Guild Star fire I Jet 90 because it has P90s, and as Rhett Shull once out it, “with P90s you can do anything,” he was referring to those being in his 338... that’s like a strat with 3 P90s and a hollow body. It sounds intriguing.
I have a set of Seymour Duncan phat cat p90s and I absolutely love them. The tone is awesome! They are quite in the way of hmm but to me they are in between a humbucker and single coil. Very versatile.
Absolutely LOVE P90's! My first "real guitar" had P90's but being a easily swayed kid my LesPaul Special now has had the original DiMarzio PAF pick ups since they were first available in the 70's... BUT!! I do have a Gibson Les Paul Tribute gold top with P90's, and an Epiphone Casino with P90's also! Great sound! Thanks for the reminder... grabbing the gold top now... lol
I tried to get into a P90 guitar by getting a Squier CV Jazzmaster last year and I just never bonded with the guitar. I love how these P90s sound. I just have to decide what guitar I want to get to use them in. And I'd definitely be interested in using this specific brand. They sound fantastic in your demonstration.
Jazzmaster pickups are not p90s they just look similar. Do you mean you put p90s in the Jazzmaster? Just because otherwise you never had p90s. The Jazzmaster pickups are actually not at like p90s.
@@paulgordon6949 learn something new everyday. No, I bought it with the stock pickups. Had I liked the guitar, I would have eventually learned that they weren’t P90s and changed them. But I just didn’t really like the guitar itself. But thanks for setting me straight.
I’m a luthier and one of my favorite pickups are from Lindy Fralin. Those sound a lot like his. He makes a humbucker sized that is humbucking but is a split p-90 basically but one is reversed wound. You’ll see 3 posts on one side and 3 on the other. Nice looking tele
