Carl Pickle
Member
Thank you Paruwi, that's some of the best Epi reading I've ever done...!!!
Epiphone Pickup information
- Thread starter Paruwi
- Start date
Paruwi
Kraut-Rocker
Epiphone P-90 PRO™ Pickup
10.01.2016
The world's best single coil pickup gets the PRO treatment
Epiphone's new P-90 PRO™ single coil pickup follows in the footsteps of Epiphone's critically acclaimed custom made ProBucker™ humbuckers and are created with the same attention to detail, employing key features of the original P-90 design by famed Gibson pickup pioneer Seth Lover. And like the Epiphone ProBucker, the new P-90 PRO is a stunning recreation of Lover's pioneering classic that revolutionized the sound of popular music.
The original P-90 pickup was handwound by Seth Lover at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the late 40s, and was inspired by the now legendary (and super rare) "Charlie Christian" pickup, named in honor of the revolutionary electric guitarist from Oklahoma who plugged in with the Benny Goodman band in the late 30s and overnight transformed the guitar from a rhythm instrument to a solo instrument. When Epiphone joined Gibson in the late 50s, Epiphone's new range of "thinline" archtop models like the classic Casino and the Century—now available as the Inspired by "1966" Century—were also powered by P-90 pickups.
Inside the P-90 PRO™ Sound
The Epiphone P-90 PRO is an extremely sensitive pickup that can easily bend to a player's unique touch. Played lightly, P-90 pickups sound full, clean, and sparkly. Driven harder, they give off a distinctive growl and can distort with a voice-like quality that guitarists can "play" and define at will. Because of this versatility, P-90s have found a home in rock, pop, jazz, and country, and over the decades have been a favorite of classic artists like The Beatles, Les Paul, and Keith Richards along with today's top concert draws like Gary Clark Jr., U2's The Edge, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Paul Weller, and James Bay.
To create a new version of the P-90 pickup that could match the tone of the original sought-after P-90s, Richard Akers, Epiphone's Director of Research and Development, once again followed the same design principles used to create the ProBucker™ which brought to life the subtle tones of the rare "PAF"-style humbuckers found in now-priceless late 50s Les Paul Standards. When Akers' first introduced the new ProBuckers during Epiphone's 140th birthday celebration in Nashville, their incredible tone fooled some of the most prestigious (and picky) guitar experts in the country. In fact, many of them asked us not to reveal who they worked for after realizing they had chosen Epiphone ProBucker pickups over their own.
"Just like a good chef uses science and art to create unique dishes, a good pickup designer is able to use ingredients in unique ways to create sound," said Akers. "All the ingredients are available to anyone willing to look but you have to know how to combine them and what is important. Knowing the ingredients in a fine family recipe and how they combine is very similar to how I went about producing these pickups that are synonymous with what our ears have evolved to know as the sound of Rock and Roll."
The P-90 pickup not only powered the earliest Les Pauls, but were also the engine behind the Epiphone Century archtop and the legendary Epiphone Casino, which has hardly ceased production since its debut in 1961. In the 60s, the Casino was heard on an incredible variety of hits including the Kinks "You Really Got Me" and virtually every Beatle recording made from 1966-1969 including "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Revolution," and "Get Back."
The new Epiphone P-90 PRO single coil pickup is made with 18% Nickel Silver covers and has been designed and tooled from the ground up with new bobbins manufactured to historic dimensions, Elektrisola magnet wire, sand cast Alnico V magnets, and pole shoes manufactured using correct alloys and to Gibson's original dimensions. And for you sticklers to detail, the new Epiphone P-90 PRO™ pickups also have tin plated brass base plates like used on 50's and 60's era Gibson P-90 pickups.
For a new twist on the classic 60s era P-90 sound, check out the new Inspired by "1966" Century electric guitar, a faithful reissue of the hard-to-find hollowbody archtop available in both a Cherry and Vintage Sunburst Aged Gloss Finish. As each new generation re-shapes Rock and Roll in their own image, the P-90 pickup inevitably becomes the preferred tool to make bold new sounds, just as it did when it first appeared nearly 70 years ago.
"What we perceive today to be a great sounding pickup is partially great because that is the sound we grew up hearing as the definitive sound of Rock and Roll. It's what our ears want to hear," said Akers. "There is also a lot of truth to the fact that through some very intelligent engineering and also some just plain old luck, Seth Lover and Gibson created fantastic sounding pickups that worked extremely well in the guitars they were producing at the time. Our modern manufacturing procedures certainly give us a higher degree of consistency but it's hard to top the sound produced by the best examples of the golden era."
http://www.epiphone.com/News/Features/2016/Epiphone-P-90-PRO-Pickup.aspx?RSSName=News-Features
10.01.2016
The world's best single coil pickup gets the PRO treatment
The original P-90 pickup was handwound by Seth Lover at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the late 40s, and was inspired by the now legendary (and super rare) "Charlie Christian" pickup, named in honor of the revolutionary electric guitarist from Oklahoma who plugged in with the Benny Goodman band in the late 30s and overnight transformed the guitar from a rhythm instrument to a solo instrument. When Epiphone joined Gibson in the late 50s, Epiphone's new range of "thinline" archtop models like the classic Casino and the Century—now available as the Inspired by "1966" Century—were also powered by P-90 pickups.
Inside the P-90 PRO™ Sound
The Epiphone P-90 PRO is an extremely sensitive pickup that can easily bend to a player's unique touch. Played lightly, P-90 pickups sound full, clean, and sparkly. Driven harder, they give off a distinctive growl and can distort with a voice-like quality that guitarists can "play" and define at will. Because of this versatility, P-90s have found a home in rock, pop, jazz, and country, and over the decades have been a favorite of classic artists like The Beatles, Les Paul, and Keith Richards along with today's top concert draws like Gary Clark Jr., U2's The Edge, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Paul Weller, and James Bay.
"Just like a good chef uses science and art to create unique dishes, a good pickup designer is able to use ingredients in unique ways to create sound," said Akers. "All the ingredients are available to anyone willing to look but you have to know how to combine them and what is important. Knowing the ingredients in a fine family recipe and how they combine is very similar to how I went about producing these pickups that are synonymous with what our ears have evolved to know as the sound of Rock and Roll."
The P-90 pickup not only powered the earliest Les Pauls, but were also the engine behind the Epiphone Century archtop and the legendary Epiphone Casino, which has hardly ceased production since its debut in 1961. In the 60s, the Casino was heard on an incredible variety of hits including the Kinks "You Really Got Me" and virtually every Beatle recording made from 1966-1969 including "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Revolution," and "Get Back."
The new Epiphone P-90 PRO single coil pickup is made with 18% Nickel Silver covers and has been designed and tooled from the ground up with new bobbins manufactured to historic dimensions, Elektrisola magnet wire, sand cast Alnico V magnets, and pole shoes manufactured using correct alloys and to Gibson's original dimensions. And for you sticklers to detail, the new Epiphone P-90 PRO™ pickups also have tin plated brass base plates like used on 50's and 60's era Gibson P-90 pickups.
For a new twist on the classic 60s era P-90 sound, check out the new Inspired by "1966" Century electric guitar, a faithful reissue of the hard-to-find hollowbody archtop available in both a Cherry and Vintage Sunburst Aged Gloss Finish. As each new generation re-shapes Rock and Roll in their own image, the P-90 pickup inevitably becomes the preferred tool to make bold new sounds, just as it did when it first appeared nearly 70 years ago.
"What we perceive today to be a great sounding pickup is partially great because that is the sound we grew up hearing as the definitive sound of Rock and Roll. It's what our ears want to hear," said Akers. "There is also a lot of truth to the fact that through some very intelligent engineering and also some just plain old luck, Seth Lover and Gibson created fantastic sounding pickups that worked extremely well in the guitars they were producing at the time. Our modern manufacturing procedures certainly give us a higher degree of consistency but it's hard to top the sound produced by the best examples of the golden era."
http://www.epiphone.com/News/Features/2016/Epiphone-P-90-PRO-Pickup.aspx?RSSName=News-Features
georg_figel
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Did anybody try the P-90 Pro?
Is there any online shop that sells the Epiphone Pro pickups?
Is there any online shop that sells the Epiphone Pro pickups?
This is my question as well. Epiphone lists their ProBucker for sale as an accessory item but not any of their P90s.
Since they're touting major changes in the Pro versions over previous ones it might be nice if they made those available as aftermarket replacements.
RadioFM74
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Update for anyone who might be interested: I have measured the DC resistance of the P-90s on my 2019 Casino and they’re still the rather overwound variety…
Neck: 11.8 kΩ
Bridge: 11.7 kΩ
I did this with a short patch cable and the pots dimed. I’m sure there is wiggle room, but
- it should be a valid ballpark reading to see whether the “new” Casino P-90s are still “hot” as the old ones or rather “vintage voiced”;
- as a way to check I’ve done readings on my tele and strat and they’re spot on spec.
My hypotheses are that:
- either my Casino, albeit a 2019, has got the old-style pickups on it (it’s a Cherry red and I suspect these were never part of the new run), or
- it is indeed a “new style Casino” as the date would suggest but Epiphone’s advertising at Summer NAMM 2018 that the Casino would henceforth sport “new P-90 Dogear Classic” instead of the plain “Epiphone P-90s” advertised in the “Collection 2018” catalogue was just marketing (and no specs are available AFAIK).
I of course don’t care for readings per se, but after a honeymoon phase I thought that the guitar sounded a tad harsh and congested – good, but not as great as it could – and I suspected it had rather overwound pickups. Suspicion confirmed, and I believe I am going to try new P-90s… suggestions welcome of course!
Neck: 11.8 kΩ
Bridge: 11.7 kΩ
I did this with a short patch cable and the pots dimed. I’m sure there is wiggle room, but
- it should be a valid ballpark reading to see whether the “new” Casino P-90s are still “hot” as the old ones or rather “vintage voiced”;
- as a way to check I’ve done readings on my tele and strat and they’re spot on spec.
My hypotheses are that:
- either my Casino, albeit a 2019, has got the old-style pickups on it (it’s a Cherry red and I suspect these were never part of the new run), or
- it is indeed a “new style Casino” as the date would suggest but Epiphone’s advertising at Summer NAMM 2018 that the Casino would henceforth sport “new P-90 Dogear Classic” instead of the plain “Epiphone P-90s” advertised in the “Collection 2018” catalogue was just marketing (and no specs are available AFAIK).
I of course don’t care for readings per se, but after a honeymoon phase I thought that the guitar sounded a tad harsh and congested – good, but not as great as it could – and I suspected it had rather overwound pickups. Suspicion confirmed, and I believe I am going to try new P-90s… suggestions welcome of course!
Denny
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Looking online and through vast resources there is conflicting info on the Epiphone Classic 57 CH pickups. Some resources list the magnets as Alnico V while others list the mags as Alnico II. My assumption is that perhaps the mags were changed from one to the other depending on the year of production? Any clarity or info on this will be appreciated.
Denny
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I hear ya, however I would rather know for sure than assume. In the immortal words of Felix Unger" When we assume we make an ass out of u and me LOL
.I Really prefer the Alnico II myself.
Raiyn
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Don't like 'em? Swap 'em. Problem solved.
Robert Simpson
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That's what I did. Now have a set with A4 8.0k bridge and 7.3k neck. These are more to my tastes. Casino Coupe.
Not Epiphone's opinion. They told me they don't have any authorized web dealers for their products.
Lou-Hela
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Mate. I have have nothing but top quality
Raiyn
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Pretty sure this is going down the old Mime trail.
I don't doubt you one second on that. Just like I'm sure there are great playing Chibsons, there are also megatons of great sounding Chinese pickups available under many names. They are just not 100% Epiphone real deal.
On Epiphone's web site, they sell for $149.99
https://www.epiphone.com/Gear/Pickups-and-Electronics/IEPB
If Alibaba is selling real ones for $23.40, you should then be able to also buy a brand new "100% real deal" Epiphone LP Custom for $108.00 from the same source.
I'm more inclined to believe Epiphone's word on their legitimity.
AliExpress is the direct marketing rep for every copy maker in China so there's that as a starter. #2 is Epiphone does not market it's products through AliExpress. #3 AliExpress sells hundreds of fake products. They're known for it.
I don't doubt you about sound Lou but Epiphone produces it's own pickups. They do not buy them from an outside source and there is no way Epiphone is selling it's own pickups through AliExpress in direct competition with themselves.
What you have may be labeled as ProBuckers but they are not Epiphone built ProBuckers. Think about it.
I don't doubt you about sound Lou but Epiphone produces it's own pickups. They do not buy them from an outside source and there is no way Epiphone is selling it's own pickups through AliExpress in direct competition with themselves.
What you have may be labeled as ProBuckers but they are not Epiphone built ProBuckers. Think about it.
