From COLLINS_JI–(at)–andem.com Fri Aug 25 14:30:27 CDT 1995
Article: 57294 of alt.guitar
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From: COLLINS_JI–(at)–andem.com (Jim Collins)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar
Subject: Re: Standard Humbucker Sized P90
Followup-To: alt.guitar,rec.music.makers.guitar
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 10:09:44 -0700
Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc.
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In article <41jr5b$3i--(at)--ews.rwth-aachen.de>, P.Terhoeve–(at)–tm.rwth-aachen.de
(pt) wrote:

> Hi folks,
>
> is there any standard humbucker sized P90ish pickup on the
> market, which one could just drop into a guitar routed for
> HBs?
>
> Thanks
>
> Peter Terhoeven
> P.Terhoeve–(at)–tm.rwth-aachen.de

There are two humbuckers that I’ve tried that come pretty close — and
close is about all you can expect. The first is the DiMarzio Humbucker
>from Hell. The goofy name might lead you to believe that it is a
shredder’s pickup, but it couldn’t be anything farther from that. It is a
full-sized humbucker — exposed coils, and each coil has adjustable hex
pole pieces. This thing really does have a single-coil-like sound, just
louder and without the noise. I put a pair of these in a Les Paul, and the
results were pretty good. I liked the HfromH in the neck position more
than I liked it in the bridge position. (They do not come in neck-specific
or bridge-specific models. At least they didn’t when I tried them.) Now,
you’re not going to get a Les Paul to sound like a Telecaster, but these
pickups do brighten things up. The pickup is of the four-conductor plus
ground ilk.
The other model is the Paul Reed Smith Deep Dish II pickup (as opposed to
the Deep Dish pickup, which is different). This is a more traditional
looking pickup — two exposed coils, one with slugs, one with adjustable,
slotted screws. This is the typical three-conductor plus ground PRS
pickup. These also do not come in bridge-specific or neck-specific models.
I have a pair in a Les Paul right now. I also have a Les Paul with P-90s
in it. I think the PRS pickups come closer to the P-90 sound than the
HfromH pickups do, but I will admit that it has been a while since I had
the HfromH pickups in a guitar. This was my impression when I put the PRS
pickups in there. They have a good sound, and louder than P-90s. I like
the PRS in the bridge position more than I liked the HfromH in the bridge.
I remember thinking that the HfromH in the neck was just a tad brighter
than the PRS. A few years ago, GP reviewed each of these pickups in the
same article. The reviewer had put an HfromH in the neck position, and a
PRS in the bridge. He loved it. If you want to mix, this would be my
recommendation, too. However, overall, I like the PRS pickups more.
With my P-90s, I can get an interesting variation of the famous “woman”
tone. (Whereever that name came from is a mystery to me.) Using both
pickups, turn the bridge pickup’s tone control full on, and the neck
pickup’s tone control full off, then adjust the volume of each so that the
bridge is just a hair louder than the neck. It is best when the bridge
volume is full on, and the neck is backed off a little. Cool tone, and one
that I’ve never been able to get with any normal humbuckers. The PRS Deep
Dish II pickups give me that tone, just like the P-90s, but without the
noise.
Jimmy