I don't need new P90s .... do I?

[Sirdoh]

The universal GAS question. A Chinese casino. I've changed pickups before to really change the character of a guitar but is "slightly better" worth it?

 

[Norton]

Most of the time I'd say You don't NEED new pickups. but the covers they put on the casino's really do have Very Audible impact on the tone of those P90's.

It's hard to beat a P90.... even the cheapest "crappiest" P90 can really sing. but There's a whole lot of nuance to be found in that form factor.

So you can get something different if that's what you're looking for.

 

[BGood]

The universal GAS question. A Chinese casino. I've changed pickups before to really change the character of a guitar but is "slightly better" worth it?

The slightly better is often placebo induced. Pickups aren't at the top of the tone chain.
#1 is the speakers
#2 the amp
#3 your playing (pick stiffness, its attack and finger picking)
#4 pretty equally what remains

Oh yeah, forgot ... your ears today. Tomorrow is another story.

 

[Darkness]

I've watched a lot of videos of guys swapping Epi P90s for SD, Lollar, etc. The difference in sound after is nothing I couldn't achieve by adjusting my amp or pedal. Why do it? Because everybody can make a stock guitar video, but if you mod a guitar you'll get more views. It reminds me of guys putting a fancy air filter in their car and saying it has more horsepower, "I can feel it".

I am curious though, how much a change in pots and caps would make. The problem is, it sounds great already so I won't bother. My Casino is my favorite guitar to play, I won't be messing around with any of it except maybe the bridge.

 

[Epison]

If it's a IBG model i'd say leave it alone. I have a epi IBG LP special and i had a higher end gibson special before it, and the p90s in my epi sound as good if not better. Better balanced for sure. On th gibson i had to remove 1k worth of windings on the neck pup so it wouldn't overpower the heck out of the bridge. The IBG line's P90s are as good as anything. Many say gibsons are as good as anything so these too should be. Plus i read a post where a guy swappped real gibson P90s into his IBG special and said they sounded identical.

 

[Equalphone]

If it's a IBG model i'd say leave it alone. I have a epi IBG LP special and i had a higher end gibson special before it, and the p90s in my epi sound as good if not better. Better balanced for sure. On th gibson i had to remove 1k worth of windings on the neck pup so it wouldn't overpower the heck out of the bridge. The IBG line's P90s are as good as anything. Many say gibsons are as good as anything so these too should be. Plus i read a post where a guy swappped real gibson P90s into his IBG special and said they sounded identical.

There's a guy who goes by the user name antigua who hangs around some other forums. He does pickup testing at the engineering level. DCR, inductance, resonant peak, charts and graphs of the response of the pickups. He's tested and charted dozens. As I recall, there is a moderate difference in the Gibson P90 vs, Epi P90 at the tested / specs level. I'd have to dig for details now.

In my own, completely subjective tests back to back, I found that the Epi's seem to be a little less "open" than the Gibsons. But the difference was small. Whether it was better or worse is up to your ears and the sound you want. The EPis can definitely nail some great P90 tones.

 

[Equalphone]

@Sirdoh : You could try plastic covers to replace the metal ones and see if there's a difference. Might gain some treble, might not. You can also try setting them higher or lower (requires buying or making spacers for dog ears). That might change things up in a way you like. Raising or lowering pole pieces also makes a difference...and it's not the same as raising or lowering the whole pickup IME... so try that.

I'd bet you can find more difference via adjustments than by replacing them... although someone else might wind a P90 dogear to a sound you like better. That doesn't mean it is "better". It's a question of what you like.

 

[Sirdoh]

I am curious though, how much a change in pots and caps would make. The problem is, it sounds great already so I won't bother. My Casino is my favorite guitar to play, I won't be messing around with any of it except maybe the bridge.

Now that you can be fairly certain about: None. Resistance is resistance so changing a resistor(which is variable any way) is pointless unless you change to a larger value. The cap in the tone circuit "might" give you something.
Al that being said, my tone knobs are stiff. Probably they got hit in their former life. So I am changing the tone pots this weekend.

 

[Darkness]

Now that you can be fairly certain about: None. Resistance is resistance so changing a resistor(which is variable any way) is pointless unless you change to a larger value. The cap in the tone circuit "might" give you something.

Sorry, I was thinking more in line of going 50s style if it isn't already wired that way, and swap the pots if they're cheap ones. To be honest I'm not sure which way it is wired, I'd need one of those surgical cameras to find out.

 

[3bolt79]

I got an IBG LP Junior. The high E and B strings weren’t even in volume to the other four strings. One full turn to raise the B pole piece and 2 for the high E. It sounds perfect to me now.

I thought about shimming the pickup to get it a little closer to the strings, but it turned out it wasn’t necessary. Minor adjustments can make a clearly audible difference. And they don’t cost anything.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

The universal GAS question. A Chinese casino. I've changed pickups before to really change the character of a guitar but is "slightly better" worth it?

How old is your Casino? How hot are the pickups in it ?
My Casino Coupe came stock with the 12K set. I've had them changed for a set of the current P90 Pros that are in the Casino Worn and in the latest batch of Standard Casino, which are wound at about 8.5 K.

With the same setup (same wiring harness, same amp/speaker combo, same cables, etc.), it has made an audible difference. The P90 Pros sound brighter and chimier.

 

[Norton]

Different is different. doesn't mean better. spending $ on swapping a part doesn't guarantee "better" results...

But different is different. something like a low wind Lollar does not sound the same as $9 off brand p90's. There are just too many structural and component differences for that to even be possible.

Doesn't mean you can't make great records with an off brand $9 pickup. Under a wall of fuzz, things do tend to equal out. But those differences are going to show when the signal starts to clean up even a little bit....

Whether those nuances matter is totally up to you to decide. Choices can be beautiful things.

If you don't think pickups matter... don't even start with speakers. That's opening a door into entire universe of MASSIVE variation.