1956 Goldtop would fit a Gibson P90

[felipevsw]

Hello all!

New member here.

I have acquired a 56 Goldtop (year 2008) and I'm wondering if the stock Gibson P90s would fit this guitar. I understand there is somewhat a difference between imperial and metric units, and I'm worried if I remove the Epiphone P90, the Gibson P90 would fit in the body cavity as well as the bridge P90 poles would "match" the string spacing on the bridge, which I assume is 52mm wide as opposed to 50mm wide on the Gibson?

I have no way of testing this scenario before I commit to the purchase of the Gibson P90s, since this is my first guitar with soapbar P90s... My other guitars have dogears and humbuckers. Also, there isn't a store I can go to check unfortunatley.

This model doesn't have the PRO P90s which seem to be more well regarded than the earlier ones, but I do intend to play the guitar with the stock pickups and draw my own conclusions before I purchase new hardware.

Anyone here ever swapped the stock P90s to Gibson P90s on this model? Please share your experiences.

Thanks.

 

[BGood]

First, I think that if you take the time to dial in the height on the original Epi P90s you'll find they are stellar. If not, the Epi Pro would be (if you can find a set, maybe on Stratosphere). I don't think Gibson P90s will be better.

Start by lowering the neck pickup as low as it will go. To do that, remove anything in the cavity that would prevent that (foam, springs). You'll find that it sounds great there. Then adjust the bridge P90 so middle position gets that beautiful chimy, almost acoustic tone.

When lowering a P90 lower than it has been before, make sure you push down hard on the cover as you screw those long skinny screws. If you don't, you might snap them. Don't ask how I know that.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

Welcome Felipe!
Have you tried the Epiphone P90s first ? They are usually highly regarded.
Even the non Pro Epi P90s are normally really nice.
It's one thing Epiphone is truly good at !

 

[felipevsw]

Thanks.

I will definitely try the stock pickups for a while before I decide to buy new pickups. I forgot to mention this on my first post.

I was just trying to reach for help beforehand, in case I decide to change pickups down the road, I wouldn't need to wait for an answer then.

Cheers

 

[soulman969]

Welcome to the forum Felipe. I have the very same guitar also a 2008. Let me share with you what I've learned about it.

I've compared these pickups with those in a jam buddies Gibson '56 Gold Top and there is very little difference other than the Epi P90s being a bit more transparent at lower volumes. When pushed both can get as nasty as you like but the Gibson may have slightly more output.

This could be related to just that one set of pickups however. We probably measured their resistance but it's been so long ago I don't recall what the readings were other than there wasn't much difference.

Another thing I learned from Epiphone themselves is there is not any major difference between our 2008 P90s and the P90 Pros. I doubt most would be able to tell a difference in a blindfold test. I'm not advising you not to do it just saying you may not gain anything.

If I was gonna spend the money on a pickup upgrade I'd consider something like noiseless Fralin's rather than just swapping in a different set of typical P90s. I listened to a shoot out between about a dozen P90s some years ago and found my two favorites were SD Antiquities and Fralins. But those were my favorites. You may like something else.

 

[BGood]

I listened to a shoot out between about a dozen P90s some years ago and found my two favorites were SD Antiquities and Fralins. But those were my favorites. You may like something else.

 

[soulman969]

Saw that already and watched it a few years ago.

This was a fun experiment but unfortunately with most of the clips they're using a different guitar with Gibson P90s I believe. I believe it's only with the red Special are they swapping pickups in the same guitar.

My preference is for the kind of clean transparent tonality I hear from the Lollars and the pickups of the other small winders. I thought that Fralins were much like the Lollars but better.

I will also freely admit that I'm not a fan of Gibson P90s at all and liked those in my Epi '56 Gold Top much better and again due to what I perceive is more clarity. I'm always looking for that in any pickup.

 

[BGood]

... liked those in my Epi '56 Gold Top much better and again due to what I perceive is more clarity. I'm always looking for that in any pickup.

If you ever find a set of Sanford Magnetics, jump on it, whatever the price is. If you've never seen the skies open and hear the angels sing, those will show you. I had a set I foolishly sold because I didn't have an amp to match P90s at the time.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

When lowering a P90 lower than it has been before, make sure you push down hard on the cover as you screw those long skinny screws. If you don't, you might snap them. Don't ask how I know that.

Or just as likely strip the screw holes in the body. BTDT.

FWIW I think all "regular" P90s are the same size, but what you will find is that the pole piece spacing varies. SDs and Epiphones are 49.2 mm (1-15/16 in) E to e, some are 50 (no big deal) but some can be 52 mm ( 2 in). That affects to spacing for the holes in the covers.

Also, some covers are "fatter" than others. Just been through that with my Chibson. I replaced the Chinese P90s with a spare pair of Epi P90s I had, and bought new plastic covers. The P90s themselves fitted fine, but the covers were too long and too wide for the cavities. Not by much, but enough. I ended up using chromed metal covers off eBay instead.

 

[Robb]

Intalled Wilkinson alnico 5 P-90's yesterday in an LP style guitar and man ! Now they growl and holler like I rarely heard before.
I'm amazed by the quality of them cheap pups !!!

 

[Robb]

Oh and welcome aboard BTW

 

[felipevsw]

Intalled Wilkinson alnico 5 P-90's yesterday in an LP style guitar and man ! Now they growl and holler like I rarely heard before.
I'm amazed by the quality of them cheap pups !!!

Thanks.
Really? I had one of those Vintage (brand) AFD Les Pauls that had Wilkinson zebra humbucker in it, and I didn't like them at all. But P90s are their own thing. If I can find one cheap, I'll buy it to test. Better than spend a ton of money on a Gibson pickup only to have a marginal improvement.

 

[BGood]

I've yet to play a P90 that sounded bad; different yes, but never bad.

 

[Goldie]

Hello all!

New member here.

I have acquired a 56 Goldtop (year 2008) and I'm wondering if the stock Gibson P90s would fit this guitar. I understand there is somewhat a difference between imperial and metric units, and I'm worried if I remove the Epiphone P90, the Gibson P90 would fit in the body cavity as well as the bridge P90 poles would "match" the string spacing on the bridge, which I assume is 52mm wide as opposed to 50mm wide on the Gibson?

I have no way of testing this scenario before I commit to the purchase of the Gibson P90s, since this is my first guitar with soapbar P90s... My other guitars have dogears and humbuckers. Also, there isn't a store I can go to check unfortunatley.

This model doesn't have the PRO P90s which seem to be more well regarded than the earlier ones, but I do intend to play the guitar with the stock pickups and draw my own conclusions before I purchase new hardware.

Anyone here ever swapped the stock P90s to Gibson P90s on this model? Please share your experiences.

Thanks.

Lollar P90's fit in mine perfectly.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Lollar P90's fit in mine perfectly.

Plenty of brands but I wouldn't go for the cheapest, and I would make sure you get ones with the single core, braided sheath leads.

When you put them in, I would suggest using the bridge pickup lead as the common ground between the pots like this:



Note I wried mine for independent volumes and "vintage" tone controls.

If you're up to it, consider rewiring the toggle switch with braided wire too.

You can put clear heatshrink over the braiding to avoid possible shorts like I did.

 

[Darkness]

When you put them in, I would suggest using the bridge pickup lead as the common ground between the pots like this

That's an interesting move, I like it.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

That's an interesting move, I like it.

It's how ES-335s with shielded pickup leads are wired.