P90s and me

[Russ C]

Happy footnote to opening post:
I put Celestion V30’s in my Twin (not easy since they come with only 4 holes in them) and I played my P90 gold top with it on the weekend. I got the eq gloriously right (I have memorised it) and the onstage sound was pretty well everything I could have asked for. The first thing 2 muso friends in the audience said was wow that guitar sounds amazing.
I wish I was younger so I’d have more years to gig with it.

[Dave Hicks]

My P90 guitars. The ES125 came to me with humbuckers. It now has a Vintage Vibe CC Rider neck and a VV P90 bridge pickup.

[capefisherman]

The absolute best sounding electric I've ever heard was a 1951 or 52 LP gold top with p-90s, all original. Plus the guy playing it is a great player. But they almost sounded "alive" with a distinct personality that responded fantastically to every nuance in his playing, straight through a Fender Twin with zero effects. That made me "get it" about early LP's.

Ironically, I had a mid 50's Epi Casino back in the late 80s and believe it or not, it was looked down on by all the Gibson ES-335 humbucker crowd who idolized the studio guys in those days. I sold it for....well, its too embarrassing to admit. Sorry.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by capefisherman

The absolute best sounding electric I've ever heard was a 1951 or 52 LP gold top with p-90s, all original....

Ironically, I had a mid 50's Epi Casino back in the late 80s....

PSA:

• The Les Paul didn't come to market until 1952 - anything earlier would have been a prototype and, if it in fact exists, would likely have remained in the possession of either Gibson or Les Paul himself...
• The Casino was a 1960's Kalamazoo product: Gibson bought Epiphone in 1957 and began production in '58, with the Casino joining the line in '61 - there were no thinlines or double-cutaway instruments produced by the New York operation...

[BoneDigger]

Probably my favorite P90 equiped guitar is my Noventa strat. I also own a Casino and it's a fabulous guitar as well! I love P90s for that slightly fatter single coils tone.20231013_143928.jpg20231013_144008.jpg

[L50EF15]

I HAD a mint 1966 ES 125TC for about five years; had to sell it (I still regret that) but got back into the P90 game with a 2016 Les Paul; it’s a Tribute from before they started calling them that, basically a P90 Studio. It sings, simple as that. I remember A/B’ng against a humbucker Studio and even the people in the store said to get the P90 (I play with a pronounced jazz accent even if I don’t play the Real Book): “For how you play, it’s better.“ Clean warmth” is the best way I can put it.

Wonderful pickups on which lots of great music has been made; they are my favorites.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by L50EF15

...got back into the P-90 game with a 2016 Les Paul; it’s a Tribute from before they started calling them that, basically a P-90 Studio. It sings, simple as that. I remember A/B’ing against a humbucker Studio and even the people in the store said to get the P-90 (I play with a pronounced jazz accent even if I don’t play the Real Book): “For how you play, it’s better.“ Clean warmth” is the best way I can put it.

Wonderful pickups on which lots of great music has been made; they are my favorites.

I've got the limited-run 2011 LP Studio '60s Tribute goldtop/P-90 which, thanks to the revealed PRS-style "binding," looks like a sweet under-the-bed '56 that got played in smoky honky-tonks for a few years, managed to avoid the flying beer bottles and tobacco stink, and got put away for good around the time Elvis came out of the Army. Sounds like a P-90 Les Paul should - sweet when you want it (got flatwound 10's on mine - this one'll do jazz, and in 60+ years of playing it's the best surf guitar I've ever had ) and mean when you need it to be (it's my straight-ahead rock plank) - but thanks to the internal body relief doesn't weigh like a '50s goldie (mine's probably in the 8-lb +/- range), and the Clapton-approved first-run '60s-style Slim Taper neck means it handles more like an SG than an LP. Kinda hard to get these days for obvious reasons, and IME if and when they do come up for sale they can command as much as a $400-500 premium over the equivalent burst models for a primo example, but if you're lucky enough to find a minty-clean one they're still a bargain at around $1K less than the current Standard P-90 - here's a pic:

[L50EF15]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

I've got the limited-run 2011 LP Studio '60s Tribute goldtop/P-90 which, thanks to the revealed PRS-style "binding," looks like a sweet under-the-bed '56 that got played in smoky honky-tonks for a few years, managed to avoid the flying beer bottles and tobacco stink, and got put away for good around the time Elvis came out of the Army. Sounds like a P-90 Les Paul should - sweet when you want it (got flatwound 10's on mine - this one'll do jazz, and in 60+ years of playing it's the best surf guitar I've ever had ) and mean when you need it to be (it's my straight-ahead rock plank) - but thanks to the internal body relief doesn't weigh like a '50s goldie (mine's probably in the 8-lb +/- range), and the Clapton-approved first-run '60s-style Slim Taper neck means it handles more like an SG than an LP. Kinda hard to get these days for obvious reasons, and IME if and when they do come up for sale they can command as much as a $400-500 premium over the equivalent burst models for a primo example, but if you're lucky enough to find a minty-clean one they're still a bargain at around $1K less than the current Standard P-90 - here's a pic:

Yes! That’s what I’m talking about! Mine is a near twin, but has a satin finish honeyburst. I have it setup with Chrome 12s and usually play clean (I agree about the surf tones), but it can roar when turned up.

Over on Jazz Guitar Online (a/k/a “the Belgian site”), I said it was the perfect jazz guitar. I stand by that statement, at least for plugging in. I saw Les Paul a few times when he had Lou Pallo in the band, and Lou got this amazing almost acoustic sound out of his LP. He either had a P90 or an Alnico staple pickup in the neck. I can approach that sound with my guitar. So happy to have it.

Hopefully this link works for pictures:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoD6dbYu...RlODBiNWFlZA==

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by L50EF15

...I saw Les Paul a few times when he had Lou Pallo in the band, and Lou got this amazing almost acoustic sound out of his LP. He either had a P-90 or an Alnico staple pickup in the neck. I can approach that sound with my guitar...

I caught Les at the old Fat Tuesday's club in the mid-90's; I seem to recall Lou had an Alnico in the neck, but I'll go out on a limb here and say that much of the reason for his near-acoustic tone is the fact that he was also using the low-gain input on his silverface Twin (FYI Les - no fan of high-gain pickups BTW - used an identical Twin for his appearances)...

[GoPappy]

I've got one of those. I found it at a pawn shop about 18 months ago for a great price. A buddy of mine (who is a guitar tech who has toured with a R&R Hall of Fame band for a long time) did a setup on it for me. When he brought it back to me, he said "This is a special guitar. Don't ever sell it." I intend to follow his advice.

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

I've got the limited-run 2011 LP Studio '60s Tribute goldtop/P-90 which, thanks to the revealed PRS-style "binding," looks like a sweet under-the-bed '56 that got played in smoky honky-tonks for a few years, managed to avoid the flying beer bottles and tobacco stink, and got put away for good around the time Elvis came out of the Army. Sounds like a P-90 Les Paul should - sweet when you want it (got flatwound 10's on mine - this one'll do jazz, and in 60+ years of playing it's the best surf guitar I've ever had ) and mean when you need it to be (it's my straight-ahead rock plank) - but thanks to the internal body relief doesn't weigh like a '50s goldie (mine's probably in the 8-lb +/- range), and the Clapton-approved first-run '60s-style Slim Taper neck means it handles more like an SG than an LP. Kinda hard to get these days for obvious reasons, and IME if and when they do come up for sale they can command as much as a $400-500 premium over the equivalent burst models for a primo example, but if you're lucky enough to find a minty-clean one they're still a bargain at around $1K less than the current Standard P-90 - here's a pic:

[BoneDigger]

I had a Les Paul Classic with P90s for a while. Beautiful guitar! Unfortunately, I just could not bond with that particular guitar. I love how they look and I think in the right hands they are special. This one just had a lifeless quality about it. I really wanted to love it. It just wasn't to be.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I had a Les Paul Classic with P-90s for a while. Beautiful guitar! Unfortunately, I just could not bond with that particular guitar...This one just had a lifeless quality about it...

Had the chance to A/B my 2011 Tribute P-90 about ten years ago, against a very well-maintained gennie '58 darkback/PAF goldtop owned by a nonagenarian WW II vet - hard to believe, but there are still some undiscovered examples out there (sorry guys, this one went to his son when he passed - and he knows exactly what it's worth... ) - through both his early-60's Sano 1x12" combo and my Bugera V22...

Call me crazy, but I liked my little $800 bargain plank better than his $150K+ (at today's prices) collector piece - livelier and more resonant both acoustically and amplified, not to mention about three pounds lighter (his was pushing 11 pounds on the strap... ). As GoPappy said about his, mine's also a special guitar: I turned down $1400 from a local hot picker back in 2015 - about what a structurally-/electronically-solid but well-played one goes for today - and wouldn't sell at any price...

[FanoFan]

I've loved P90s since the first time I heard them. My number one right now is a Fano JM6 Alt Defacto (hence my username) with Fralin P90s.

[PapaLobo]

I have 5 p90 guitars, they are my favorites .

PRS McCarty Soapbar , PRS McCarty Soapbar ltd Rosewood neck
'55 Gibson LP Special , Knaggs Kenai T1 Soapbar, and A PRS Custom 22 triple soapbar trem.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

Probably my favorite P90 equiped guitar is my Noventa strat. I also own a Casino and it's a fabulous guitar as well! I love P90s for that slightly fatter single coils tone.Attachment 98950Attachment 98951

Yesterday when coming back from our gig, we stopped off at my duet partners house, and when we got there, he pulled out a few year old, made in China, Epiphone Casino. It belonged to a close friend, a very good local blues player, who wanted my partner to just change out just the harness. But after hearing a set of the Wolfetones in another guitar, he told him to replace all the electronics. He went with CTS pots, switchcraft switch and jack, and some SOZO caps. The pickups he installed were a Wolfetone mean and meaner set. The guitar sounded absolutely killer. As a matter of fact, the neck pickup (which I think is the hardest to get right in most guitars) sounded great, with just the right balance of fatness and clarity, and the bridge pickup smoked. The middle position was hum cancelling. I think the Epiphone sounded better than my old $3000 Gibson Historic ES330.