Narrow field pickups closest to P90's

[Revelation]

We have the TCI pickups in Paul's and Customer 24 08. There is the narrow field pickups in the Studio and then the N53 Deep dish pickups.

Which of them do you think sounds closest to a P90 or and how close do the TCI sound to the Stuido pickups?

 

[NiceBrightColors]

I can’t speak to the Paul’s or 24-08, but when choosing my last guitar (picking between Special and Studio) I did a silly amount of review of the NF.

The NF have some of the qualities of a P90, they are warm and fat compared to a traditional Strat single coil, but they really are their own thing. They also have some qualities of a mini HB. But, I really can’t say it would be fair to consider them as a copy of either P90s or Mini HBs. They really are their own thing, and personally, I think that is the best thing about them. They sound great and are a joy to play.

If you are trying to replicate some P90 tones, you could probably get pretty close with the right amp and settings and playing with the volume and tone on the guitar. But, they will never be identical since they are not P90s. I suspect this would be the same with the Paul’s or 24-08. My thought would be if you want to get close, you can probably get pretty close with the NF. But, if you want the exact P90 sound, you need P90s.

 

[Rider1260]

To be honest to my ear nothing PRS makes or has made sounds like a P90 , at least the ones I have played in Mira 245 and a CU22 P-90 and a couple of old Les Pauls. If it makes sense most all the PRS pickups I have played have been more refined sounding even there hot pickups don't have any real spikes in the EQ to my ear. maybe the larger 408 pickup tapped has some of that bite I hear in most P90s

 

[markd21]

I always felt that my Pre-TCI Paul's Guitars were the closest to a type of P90 tone when the pickups were split.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

If you listen to Paul, then the Deep Dish II sort of does.

 

[dogrocketp]

Lindy Fralin is winding a noiseless P-90 for my SE One as we speak. He’s also putting his volume control and a TBX tone control in the pickguard.

 

[dmatthews]

Lindy Fralin is winding a noiseless P-90 for my SE One as we speak. He’s also putting his volume control and a TBX tone control in the pickguard.

Cool! Looking forward to the results!

 

[Broseph]

Paul’s pickups TCI sounds much closer to p90 than narrow fields or deep dishes. The narrow fields have more clarity and treble. The TCI approach a hum free p90.

 

[Maertl513]

As well the clear humbucking position of 513s were told to be P90ish. To fulfill sometimes sound expections a few other factors need to be fulfilled, too, to come as close to the role model in mind. Same scale, same string gauge, same body, neck, and fretboard material, same weight, same position of the pickup between nut and bridge for the same amplitude of the strings, same density and expansion of the magnetic field and so on. Oh, same amp/cabinet.
A P90 mounted on a multiscale, extended range guitar will sound different to a LP Junior, even Lindy Fralin wounded both.

 

[Oscar]

Only a P90 sounds like a P90. There are lots of ways to borrow aspects of that sound but there’s nothing like the real deal. And the platform matters. A lot. The quintessential P90 sound is a Gibson with P90s. A dry-ish, woody-ish tone with a percussive element and some single-coil snarl. Dropping a P90 in a PRS might get you in the ballpark - or not. Likewise, dropping a 58/15 in a Les Paul won’t make it sound like a 594.

Having said that, I think quite a few PRS pickups borrow aspects of the P90 tone. Those in my DC3 have the snarl. Those in my 594 HB have the smokiness and detail. Those in my core NF3 have the balls and the slice. If I had to pick one, it would be the 58/15LT but I can’t ignore the 594 HB around them; the hollowbody adds the honk.