Gibson P90 Pickup
| Posted in Guitar
What is it? What does it look like? What does it sound like?
Gibson introduced several new pickup designs in the late forties, one of which featured six adjustable pole pieces protruding through a black plastic cover secured via so-called ‘dog-ear’ end lugs. This was designated the P90, the pickup which would become the company’s most successful single-coil model.
The P90 was first used on existing archtop guitars like the ES150 and ES300 and by the early 50s the normal P90 was standard fitting for all Gibsons including the ES175, ES350 and also the ES5, which came with three. As Gibson’s preferred pickup, it was also fitted to the more expensive models such as the carved top, big-bodied jazzers such as the L5CES and Super 400CES.
In 1952, the all-gold ES295 and the first Les Pauls were also fitted with the P90 with cream covers to match the other plastic parts. The Les Paul’s carved top demanded a different design so the dog-ears disappeared and the ‘soapbar’ version of the P90 was born, with the cream covers on the gold-topped models and black alternatives on the Custom, introduced in 1953.
In 1957, following the introduction of Seth Lover’s humbucking pickup, the P90 took a back seat, and was only found on the cheaper models, the flat-topped Juniors and Specials. However, it’s on these models that the P90 really found its true home, the Junior especially. This guitar, produced from ‘54 to ‘59 and regarded at the time as a no frills student model, has become an iconic instrument in the history of rock guitar and players like Leslie West (Mountain), Mick Jones (The Clash) and Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) wouldn’t look right playing anything else.
The sound? Raw, brutal, gnarly, in-yer-face rock and roll, superb for driving rhythm. Back off your volume control and it cleans up beautifully. You can find the P90 on the Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Juniors, Specials and SGs. Check them out, you’ll end up loving what many regard as Gibson’s best-ever pickup.
Tags: dog ear end lugs, Epiphone, Gibson, les paul junior, P90 pickup