Early 1960s Gibson P90 Soapbar Pickup #2, 8.7k The
P90 is certainly Gibson's most celebrated single coil, and arguably,
the best pickup they ever made. OK, the humbucker isn't too shabby,
either : ). But the soapbar P90 is, IMO, the pinnacle. Compared to its
dogear brethren, soapbars tended to come in a little higher in their
coil winding turns, and the direct mount to the routing in the body
imparts a single-coil tone that's bright and fat, cutting, thick,
immediate and gloriously microphonic; a pickup that truly reacts to
every nuance of your playing. Heck, Seth Lover liked them so much, he
attempted to model the sound of his 'PAF' humbucker after them. Can you
tell I like P90s??
It's
somewhat tough to find a good early soapbar single or set; you
typically see dogears offered for sale on the used market. This is a
great example
and part of a set (the other is also for sale here on Reverb).
Now,
the details: A fantastic 'hot' output of 8.73k -- the Grommet, lead
wire, bobbin type and baseplate dimples likely put this as being
produced in the very early 1960s, although it's possibly late '50s (as
in 1959).
100% original
- HOT 8.73k output, suitable for bridge or neck position
- Early pre-ABS bobbin (small crack in top, doesn't affect play)
- Original 'shallow' cover, playwear as pictured
- Tan grommet, double-white lead wires
- Correct rough-cast AlNiCo magnets with wooden shim spacers
- Lead wire approx. 6"
- Bobbin tape blacklights correctly (see last pic)
- Original coil wire, unpotted
Scotty
Moore, Leslie West, Johnny Thunders, The Beatles, Pete Townshend, Robby
Krieger, Keith Richards, Neil Young, Social Distortion ... many a rich
tonal landscape has been painted with a vintage P90, volume and tone
knob. Grab this one and add your name to the list!
