Opinions on - two P90 pickups with a single coil in the middle?

axisus · September 2023

OK combo? Bad combo?

I'm making my new no 1 guitar (I can feel it in my bones!), and it is currently going to be two P90 pickups. I love that look plus I've never had that before.

However .... it's bugging me that I do love those strat 2 & 4 sounds, and I'm suddenly wondering if I might need to try sticking an SC in the middle to try and get something of that sound, or better still, stick some kind of stealth pickup in the middle out of sight!

Anyway, the 2 P90 plus 1 SC thing, I don't particularly recall seeing guitars like that so one would assume it isn't a great idea. Any opinions?

What I don't want is three P90s.

WezV · September 2023

what is it about 3xP90's you don't want?

I think it would look best. If the strat tone is what was required of the middle pickup I would mount a strat pickup in a P-90 cover to keep the look consistent

ICBM · September 2023

If you do it, you will want a deliberately underpowered, weak and thin-sounding middle pickup - and switching which doesn’t give it on its own in the middle position but gives the two P90s.

Like a HSH without the humbuckers split, P90s are much too midrangy to give an authentic Fendery sound in the 2 and 4 positions unless you use an exaggerated middle pickup to suck the mids out - PRS used the Duncan Vintage Rails (a terrible, gutless pickup by itself) in the middle position of the Swamp Ash Special, and it works beautifully.

axisus · September 2023

WezV said:

what is it about 3xP90's you don't want?

I think it would look best. If the strat tone is what was required of the middle pickup I would mount a strat pickup in a P-90 cover to keep the look consistent

I'm just not that keen on the look of three P90s. No Rhyme or reason.

axisus · September 2023

ICBM said:

If you do it, you will want a deliberately underpowered, weak and thin-sounding middle pickup - and switching which doesn’t give it on its own in the middle position but gives the two P90s.

Like a HSH without the humbuckers split, P90s are much too midrangy to give an authentic Fendery sound in the 2 and 4 positions unless you use an exaggerated middle pickup to suck the mids out - PRS used the Duncan Vintage Rails (a terrible, gutless pickup by itself) in the middle position of the Swamp Ash Special, and it works beautifully.

Thanks, interesting. I particularly like the sound of middle position giving the two P90s. Food for thought!

Winny_Pooh · September 2023

Fralin does a p90 with alnico polepiece slugs. You could pop one in the neck. It's not pure strattiness but if slightly underwound it'll sound great.

ICBM · September 2023

axisus said:

Thanks, interesting. I particularly like the sound of middle position giving the two P90s. Food for thought!

Bear in mind you can't do that with a standard 5-way switch - you'll need either a Megaswitch model E 5-way or a 3-way switch for the P90s and a separate switch (eg a push-pull) to turn on the middle pickup.

Funkfingers · September 2023

Another vote for an Alnico slugs middle pickup - rods or "Staple" blocks.

TV Jones puts 'Trons into P90 sized covers.

Alegree makes a Stratocaster-sized pickup, tweaked to sound more like a P90.

Even with two pickups, it should be possible to fake Stratocaster "2 and 4" sounds via clever wiring. e.g. A half-out-of-phase circuit, a Freeway 3B3 or a Schaller Megaswitch E (circuit SS3).

Sporky · September 2023

Isn't there a issue with hum cancelling if you want to have both P90s, or either P90 and the middle pickup, unless the middle is a single-sized humbucker and you split it differently for each P90? Maybe a hotrails?

I'd definitely do it with a Super switch, so you can have:

Neck
Neck & middle
Neck & bridge
Middle & bridge
Bridge

On just one simple-to-use control.

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Opinions on - two P90 pickups with a single coil in the middle?

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