rays44
Active member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2001
- Messages
- 2,914
The contestants are:
'53 goldtop (stop tail)
"56 custom
'56 special (neck p/u replaced w/ a Duncan vintage P90)
The amps:
Budda superdrive 30
Boogie MK 2 combo
Fender Deluxe Reverb 2
Goldtop: p/u's 8.3k - 8.9k
Fat push in the upper mids with LOTS of information between lows and highs (more so than any of the others). Likes all amps clean or dirty. Highs and lows are always just enough without ever being muddy or ice-picky regardless of amp setting. Roll those tone controls back in the middle p/u position and there's a world of tone to explore. Has the most sustain of any guitar I've ever heard or owned.
Custom: p/u's 7.9k - 8.3k
The alnico neck p/u is worth the price of admission. Clear and articulate with a "piano wire growl" in a pushed clean channel amp. It's still a P90 but with less push in the upper mids. Handles overdrive like a champ up to moderately high levels. The bridge is brighter than the goldtop, almost like a fat tele. Nice upper mid push but not as brutal or complex as the goldtop. (not a bad thing) Again, dispells the myth that customs are darker than standards.
Special: p/u's 8.0k - 8.5k
The original neck p/u was muddy and didn't balance well with the bridge. The Duncan vintage neck is a great authentic sounding P90. Both p/u's are brighter with more push in the upper upper mids than the goldtop. Less complex. This guitar just wants to rock and is happiest with the most overdrive you can feed it. Sounds ok clean, but that's not it's forte'. This is the sound of Mountain from Mississippi Queen to Theme. The Budda and Boogie sounded so good you just wanted to slap them both.
These are the vintage guitars that I am so very fortunate to own. Funny that they're all all P90 lesters. Hope this little shootout was useful to anyone interested in old P90 lesters.
'53 goldtop (stop tail)
"56 custom
'56 special (neck p/u replaced w/ a Duncan vintage P90)
The amps:
Budda superdrive 30
Boogie MK 2 combo
Fender Deluxe Reverb 2
Goldtop: p/u's 8.3k - 8.9k
Fat push in the upper mids with LOTS of information between lows and highs (more so than any of the others). Likes all amps clean or dirty. Highs and lows are always just enough without ever being muddy or ice-picky regardless of amp setting. Roll those tone controls back in the middle p/u position and there's a world of tone to explore. Has the most sustain of any guitar I've ever heard or owned.
Custom: p/u's 7.9k - 8.3k
The alnico neck p/u is worth the price of admission. Clear and articulate with a "piano wire growl" in a pushed clean channel amp. It's still a P90 but with less push in the upper mids. Handles overdrive like a champ up to moderately high levels. The bridge is brighter than the goldtop, almost like a fat tele. Nice upper mid push but not as brutal or complex as the goldtop. (not a bad thing) Again, dispells the myth that customs are darker than standards.
Special: p/u's 8.0k - 8.5k
The original neck p/u was muddy and didn't balance well with the bridge. The Duncan vintage neck is a great authentic sounding P90. Both p/u's are brighter with more push in the upper upper mids than the goldtop. Less complex. This guitar just wants to rock and is happiest with the most overdrive you can feed it. Sounds ok clean, but that's not it's forte'. This is the sound of Mountain from Mississippi Queen to Theme. The Budda and Boogie sounded so good you just wanted to slap them both.
These are the vintage guitars that I am so very fortunate to own. Funny that they're all all P90 lesters. Hope this little shootout was useful to anyone interested in old P90 lesters.
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