Probucker Split Coil vs. P90

[RoJay]

This article makes an interesting comparison between a coil split probucker and a P-90 pickup. Review: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plustop Pro | Guitar World

I got a plus top pro recently. Although I've had guitars with the split coil feature before, I never liked it much. However, I'm finding that I like the tone of the split neck probucker in the plus top for playing some more traditional blues riffs, especially when doing hybrid picking. Having never had a P-90 equipped guitar before, I'm wondering what people's opinions are regarding the comparison.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I had a PlusTop Pro with coil splits, and I agree that it sounds great on the neck pickup. However, there's NOTHING that sounds like a P90; raw, rude, rough around the edges when turned up. Roll the volume back and you have a sweet jazz tone. Once you've played a P90 guitar, you'll be hooked!

 

[Tazz3]

Yeah I like the split coil in my plus top I like the both sounds I never played P 90's
So I can't say

 

[RoJay]

Would be nice if Epiphone would make a lefty P-90 equipped LP. One of these days I make have to get a set of humbucker sized P-90s.

 

[Preacher403]

GuitarFetish has some pretty nice humbucker sized P90s that sound pretty good for not a lot of money. Might try those if you feel like swapping pickups.

 

[JohnnyN]

Not saying split humbuckers can't sound nice - they sure can.
But split humbuckers or humbuckers with the coils in parallel sound just what they are, and far from a P90.

Just my opinion - I'm old school and in my world humbuckers have braided wire, and are not meant to be split - YMMV

 

[rem22]

I was not a fan of the spli coil on my Tribute plus at first, then I discovered that it's great for chords, I even prefer the neck split up than the regular neck, which I found too fat and too bassy.

I don't have a P90 exactly, but I have a quarter pounder from Seymour Duncan on my Fender (bridge). I find it does not sound a all like the spli humbucker, the spli humbucker has a low output while the p90 has a high output. The split humbucker remains like a humbucker in some way, it does not have the bite or the quack a single coil has.

 

[Clifdawg]

The coil splits sound pretty good on the Probuckers (plus top pro), they sound like authentic single coils, which is a boon to the neck pickup, which so bassy it gets in its own way when you crank the gain up. However, I wouldn't describe them as anything like p90s.

P90s have a really fat, thick bottom while retaining a glassy top end. They're also incredibly powerful, getting crunchy in a hurry much like a good PAF-style humbucker, but just having a touch of the open, airy qualities of a single coil. That said, they're also noisy, more so than a standard single-coil.

The Probuckers split sound more to me like telecaster pickups when split, especially the neck. The thing that the Probuckers do really well is retain volume when split... I probably only lose 5-10% of my volume by splitting, whereas in my G400 with AC Pros, I feel like I completely lose all my volume and gain by splitting.

However, if I wanted p90s, I would just buy p90s... They just sound like hungry, caged animals with a little crunch. Just don't be surprised if you catch a radio station and massive feedback through them simultaneously if you don't ground the strings.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I haven't had much problem with 60Hz hum or RFI with my P90s, probably because I'm forced to play at such low volumes in the house. I've read that the reason P90s sound much stronger and fatter than other single-coils is because the bobbin that the coil wire is wrapped on is more spread-out under the strings, hence a larger magnetic field. This would explain why a split humbucker will never get that P90 quack.

 

[rem22]

because I'm forced to play at such low volumes in the house.

Lol, I know that, in war with my wife since this morning about that.

 

[JohnnyN]

*snip*
However, if I wanted p90s, I would just buy p90s... They just sound like hungry, caged animals with a little crunch. Just don't be surprised if you catch a radio station and massive feedback through them simultaneously if you don't ground the strings.

Nice description