Anyone tried the one-magnet P90 trick?

eclecticsynergy

eclecticsynergy

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Read an article about removing one of the bar mags from a P90, giving it a weaker and much narrower magnetic field.
It's said to reduce output significantly and increase clarity, resulting in a tone more like the Gretsch pickups.


There's a nice Sentell bridge P90 in my drawer that I'd like to try in neck position on my LP Special. Still has plenty of lead but it's a strong wind, 9.9KΩ. Too hefty in terms of both output and tone to do well at the neck, I think. (Some noiseless P90 types read 10K but they have two coils - mine is a conventional single coil P90. Pretty hot and midrangey.)

So that mod seems ideal for this situation.

Still, if it's useful and simple, why hadn't I ever heard of it? Especially now that low-output P90s are all the rage, you'd think it would be a popular mod. That article was the only reference I could find to this and I'm not fully confident it works as claimed. Maybe it's a closely guarded secret?

Just wondering if anyone here has tried this. And if so, what the results were.

I'd welcome comments & advice even from those who haven't.
 
uhm..........................................................................
no
that was a comment
I have no advice--
I do await your testing/review and feedback--- well probably LESS feedback but uhm .........
what is this about again?
 
eclecticsynergy said:
Read an article about removing one of the bar mags from a P90, giving it a weaker and much narrower magnetic field.
It's said to reduce output significantly and increase clarity, resulting in a tone more like the Gretsch pickups.


There's a nice Sentell bridge P90 in my drawer that I'd like to try in neck position on my LP Special. Still has plenty of lead but it's a strong wind, 9.9KΩ. Too hefty in terms of both output and tone to do well at the neck, I think. (Some noiseless P90 types read 10K but they have two coils - mine is a conventional single coil P90. Pretty hot and midrangey.)

So that mod seems ideal for this situation.

Still, if it's useful and simple, why hadn't I ever heard of it? Especially now that low-output P90s are all the rage, you'd think it would be a popular mod. That article was the only reference I could find to this and I'm not fully confident it works as claimed. Maybe it's a closely guarded secret?

Just wondering if anyone here has tried this. And if so, what the results were.

I'd welcome comments & advice even from those who haven't.
Click to expand...

I've never tried it. I've never even had a P-90! But, it sounds like an interesting idea. It would functionally be the same concept as a split humbucker, though I think it would sound noticeably different from a split humbucker because of the greater number of windings in a P-90, versus one coil of a humbucker.

For what it's worth, a split humbucker has it's own character. It's not like a Strat sound. It has a rather airy quality to it.

I'm curious to hear what you think of the results of your P-90 mod.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
The problem is, the pickup has never been in this guitar. So i can't make a before recording.

Actually I'm not that concerned with making it Gretschy; if I can tame the output and bass enough for it to do well in neck position I'll consider it a success.
Click to expand...
Not a problem at all. Put the pup in as is, make a sound clip. Pull the pup out, remove 1 magnet, put pup in, record same licks/songs with modified pup. Problem solved, actual data to show us your theory is true.
 
I have been wondering a similar but different thing myself.
Think about cheap Strat ceramic pickups.
Some have a single magnet and some have twin magnets like a P90
ceramic-pickups2.jpg
My question is, why? And would popping one of the twin magnets off give a similar result?
 
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Hackmaster said:
I have been wondering a similar but different thing myself.
Think about cheap Strat ceramic pickups.
Some have a single magnet and some have twin magnets like a P90
View attachment 42528
My question is, why? And would popping one of the twin magnets off give a similar result?
Click to expand...

Since those slugs are steel inserts, it is much like a P-90; it is not like a Strat pickup.

I've played the twin-magnet type.

I don't think they sound bad, as others claim.

I read a lot of comments on some forums claiming the twin-magnet Strat pickups sound bad. But, usually those comments are comparing them to a traditional Strat-type single coil. The twin-magnet Strat pickups do not sound like a traditional Strat pickup. So, if that's what someone is expecting, that person will be disappointed.

I've found them to have a smoother, less spiky tonality than a traditional Strat pickup, especially with distortion.
 
smitty_p said:
Since those slugs are steel inserts, it is much like a P-90; it is not like a Strat pickup.

I've played the twin-magnet type.

I don't think they sound bad, as others claim.

I read a lot of comments on some forums claiming the twin-magnet Strat pickups sound bad. But, usually those comments are comparing them to a traditional Strat-type single coil. The twin-magnet Strat pickups do not sound like a traditional Strat pickup. So, if that's what someone is expecting, that person will be disappointed.

I've found them to have a smoother, less spiky tonality than a traditional Strat pickup, especially with distortion.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input, Smitty.
The single magnet ones I have seen mostly on Asian copies.
The twin magnet ones have been mostly on Mexican Strats.
 
smitty_p said:
Since those slugs are steel inserts, it is much like a P-90; it is not like a Strat pickup.

I've played the twin-magnet type.

I don't think they sound bad, as others claim.

I read a lot of comments on some forums claiming the twin-magnet Strat pickups sound bad. But, usually those comments are comparing them to a traditional Strat-type single coil. The twin-magnet Strat pickups do not sound like a traditional Strat pickup. So, if that's what someone is expecting, that person will be disappointed.

I've found them to have a smoother, less spiky tonality than a traditional Strat pickup, especially with distortion.
Click to expand...

The ones that Fender used to put in the MiM Strats, two ceramic bar magnets with steel slugs, were some of my favorite stock Fender pickups ever. "Stratty" sounding but modern at the same time. Everyone rained poo on them and replaced them but everyone also seems to think that the only tones worth having originated 60+ years ago.
 
gball said:
The ones that Fender used to put in the MiM Strats, two ceramic bar magnets with steel slugs, were some of my favorite stock Fender pickups ever. "Stratty" sounding but modern at the same time. Everyone rained poo on them and replaced them but everyone also seems to think that the only tones worth having originated 60+ years ago.
Click to expand...

I have a full set of those MiM pickups that I may use in a Strat project.

They do get hate. Fortunately, I heard them in my son's MiM Strat before I knew what they were and before the internet told me that I wasn't supposed to like them!

The cool thing is that they can be purchased for next to nothing on eBay.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
Read an article about removing one of the bar mags from a P90, giving it a weaker and much narrower magnetic field.
Click to expand...
Interesting idea that should be pursued for anyone searching for a particular sound. I too would like to know if this mod works for you.

But I can already tell that this would not be something that I would personally like if the end result involves thinning out the tone for more articulation. I consider my P90 guitars to have copious amounts of articulation, and I wouldn't want to change anything about the characteristics of the mighty P-ninety.
 
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