Guitars with P90s
Discussion
Ive been semi looking around for the next step up from my (first) current guitar, which is an Aria stratalike with HSS coils.
Ive looked at all the usual suspects, but after seeing the Band of Skulls frontman playing a Jazzmaster, I started looking at differnt P90 laden guitars.
I *really* like the sound P90s make over a single or even Humbucker.
Now, I have come across the Squier Telecaster custom 2, to give it the full title. Youtubeage shows a cracking little guitar that can rock out and make a very pleasing noise. This is at odds with my (wrong) impressions of Tele - I thought they only did a thin, jangly type sound.
Its also appears amazing value at only about £240.
Any reason I shouldnt or have missed another contender ?
Whats your views on P90s in general ?
Youtubeage
Any idea what the neck feels like on one of these ?
edit for linkage/pics
Ive looked at all the usual suspects, but after seeing the Band of Skulls frontman playing a Jazzmaster, I started looking at differnt P90 laden guitars.
I *really* like the sound P90s make over a single or even Humbucker.
Now, I have come across the Squier Telecaster custom 2, to give it the full title. Youtubeage shows a cracking little guitar that can rock out and make a very pleasing noise. This is at odds with my (wrong) impressions of Tele - I thought they only did a thin, jangly type sound.
Its also appears amazing value at only about £240.
Any reason I shouldnt or have missed another contender ?
Whats your views on P90s in general ?
Youtubeage
Any idea what the neck feels like on one of these ?
edit for linkage/pics
Edited by Turn7 on Sunday 4th March 12:49
It's a long time since I was actively involved with electric guitars, so I'm probably out of date with a lot of recent stuff. The P90 was originally a Gibson pickup, so of course is most often found on Gibson guitars. These have a shorter scale length than Fenders 24.75" to 25.5", so that in itself will have an bearing on the sound.
One of the major factors in the Telecaster sound is the original bridge, the way the bridge pieces rest on the thin metal tends to reduce the sustain, which contributes to the bright sound. I notice the bridge on the guitar in the picture is a different design, so that might be worth taking into account.
ETA
The Jazzmaster has a shorter scale too, IIRC, but can't remember offhand what it is.
One of the major factors in the Telecaster sound is the original bridge, the way the bridge pieces rest on the thin metal tends to reduce the sustain, which contributes to the bright sound. I notice the bridge on the guitar in the picture is a different design, so that might be worth taking into account.
ETA
The Jazzmaster has a shorter scale too, IIRC, but can't remember offhand what it is.
Edited by singlecoil on Sunday 4th March 20:39
I have a PRS Soapbar SE II identical to this one:
It's a really great guitar - plays beautifully with a fairly chunky, decently-radiused neck (can't stand thin widdly necks myself) and the stock pickups are pretty decent indeed. They are noticeably hotter than the CS69s in my Strat, with a bit more warmth too. I'd give them a look; they come in some ace finishes and can easily be picked up for under £200.
However I must admit that this is my only dealing with a P90-equipped guitar; I'd love a TV Yellow LP Junior in the stable at some point, mind...
EDIT: Having just watched the video, I've noticed that the chap playing is a member of the MusicRadar forums I post on, and also that the guitar is from the Vintage Modified series, which are flipping good for the money.
It's a really great guitar - plays beautifully with a fairly chunky, decently-radiused neck (can't stand thin widdly necks myself) and the stock pickups are pretty decent indeed. They are noticeably hotter than the CS69s in my Strat, with a bit more warmth too. I'd give them a look; they come in some ace finishes and can easily be picked up for under £200.
However I must admit that this is my only dealing with a P90-equipped guitar; I'd love a TV Yellow LP Junior in the stable at some point, mind...
EDIT: Having just watched the video, I've noticed that the chap playing is a member of the MusicRadar forums I post on, and also that the guitar is from the Vintage Modified series, which are flipping good for the money.
Edited by Big News on Monday 5th March 01:40
All the Band of Skulls videos on Youtube I can find show the guitarist using a Gretsch White Falcon rather than a Jagmaster. It's understandable - a White Falcon is a £5000 guitar and you wouldn't want to go gigging with one unless you happened to be a millionaire. I'd guess the recordings are mostly done with a Gretsch, and the live stuff done with whatever "beater" was to hand with effects pedals and amp tweaking done to make it sound like the album. Most bands will do similar, unless they're too poor to own several guitars.
http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_guitars_det...
Something like that will get you pretty close, but you'll need the right amp and effects too.
http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_guitars_det...
Something like that will get you pretty close, but you'll need the right amp and effects too.
I ama believer in maintaining the designers intentions with guitars. If a P90 is your thing, buy a guitar designed for P90's Tele's by accident or design have a twangy bright tone & for me, changing the pickup fundamentally alters that characteristic. I've stuck a Seymour Duncan hotrail in the bridge position of one of my strats for live work.
On the rock numbers, it's ideal, come off the overdrive though & the guitar's completely lost it's strat 'quacky' tone. By all means put whatever pups you like in your guitar, no laws against it, but for me, it's good to have the right tool for the job.
On the rock numbers, it's ideal, come off the overdrive though & the guitar's completely lost it's strat 'quacky' tone. By all means put whatever pups you like in your guitar, no laws against it, but for me, it's good to have the right tool for the job.
I have played the Squier Custom II w/ P90s in a shop. The neck had a nice feel with a satin finish (which I liked). The shape was what fender term "modern C"-actually felt perfect for me with medium sized hands, nowhere near enough chunky as some Les Pauls I've tried but definitely chunkier than some classic player 50s strats I've played. Frets were medium jumbos so very good for bends etc. Again, felt good--as jumbo frets always feel a bit overkill in these type of guitars for me.
Re: sounds, it sounds exactly what you'd expect it to be-a tele on steriods. The word 'thin' is not on the tonal palette here. I reckon the P90s played a big part in that. I played it through a Vox night train and it had the rawk. Lovely 'open' overdriven sounds both on the neck and bridge pickups; was surprised at the clarity of the tones-no muddiness here. It still had some twang, but it is a very muscular twang, if that makes sense! One thing I noticed was that both the pickups were quite trebly, not ice-picky trebly but enough brightness and treble to make the pickup selector a bit pointless i.e. not enough versatility in the sounds when you go from neck to bridge, although this might have been due to the Vox I played it through. Didn't notice any scratchy pots or anything. You've got to try this guitar. If you can get on with the neck, you'd love it.
ETA: Wrt the brightness of the tones, the Les Paul like tone controls will come in handy as you can adjust it to taste for both the pickups independently. Another plus, if you ask me!
Re: sounds, it sounds exactly what you'd expect it to be-a tele on steriods. The word 'thin' is not on the tonal palette here. I reckon the P90s played a big part in that. I played it through a Vox night train and it had the rawk. Lovely 'open' overdriven sounds both on the neck and bridge pickups; was surprised at the clarity of the tones-no muddiness here. It still had some twang, but it is a very muscular twang, if that makes sense! One thing I noticed was that both the pickups were quite trebly, not ice-picky trebly but enough brightness and treble to make the pickup selector a bit pointless i.e. not enough versatility in the sounds when you go from neck to bridge, although this might have been due to the Vox I played it through. Didn't notice any scratchy pots or anything. You've got to try this guitar. If you can get on with the neck, you'd love it.
ETA: Wrt the brightness of the tones, the Les Paul like tone controls will come in handy as you can adjust it to taste for both the pickups independently. Another plus, if you ask me!
Edited by Dr Z on Monday 5th March 11:53
That's cool! If budget would allow, check out the Fender JA-90 tele too. Another good rock machine that sounds darker/beefier owing to semi hollow body, mahogany neck and hot duncan pickups. I had a feel for this guitar while at the shop and it had a nice set neck with amazing upper fret access! It is on my wishlist to buy at the end of this month!
Turn7 said:
That's good as I've found a local shop with both Jazzmaster and Tele to have a bash with at the weekend.
/excited.
Jazzmaster pickups are not P90's -- they have a sound all their own and are constructed differently./excited.
If you try out a JM make sure it's a decent one (US) - the Japanese ones have (or at least had) very ordinary sounding pickups more akin to a Strat!
Turn7 said:
Will try.If not 90s what are they? they look like soapbars?
"Although they look similar, they are constructed differently. Whereas the polepieces of the JM pickups are magnets, the P-90 has its magnets placed underneath the coil. The JM coil is wound flat and wide (moreso than the P-90), in contrast to Fender's usual tall and thin coils. This gives them a warmer tone without losing their single coil clarity. The Jazzmaster has a mellower, jazzier tone than the Strat, although it was not widely embraced by jazz musicians. Instead, rock guitarists adopted it for surf rock. The Ventures and The Fireballs were prominent Jazzmaster users."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazzmaster
singlecoil said:
Turn7 said:
Will try.If not 90s what are they? they look like soapbars?
"Although they look similar, they are constructed differently. Whereas the polepieces of the JM pickups are magnets, the P-90 has its magnets placed underneath the coil. The JM coil is wound flat and wide (moreso than the P-90), in contrast to Fender's usual tall and thin coils. This gives them a warmer tone without losing their single coil clarity. The Jazzmaster has a mellower, jazzier tone than the Strat, although it was not widely embraced by jazz musicians. Instead, rock guitarists adopted it for surf rock. The Ventures and The Fireballs were prominent Jazzmaster users."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazzmaster
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