P-90 Pickups

Soapbar (SB) and Dogear (DE)

I discovered the P-90 for myself way too late, almost in the same manner as the Tele had a shadow existence next to my strat. It was the legendary Peter Weihe’s inspiration that got me hooked. Back then he had this golden sound monster in his studio – a 56 Les Paul Goldtop! You wouldn’t believe the amazing sounds of this magnificent guitar! A little later I had the chance to buy 53er P-90 of a Gold Top, and at the same time an old friend gave me a box with another two old `50s P-90. What a coincidence! These three old pickups were the godfathers of my SB52 set.

SB 52 This is my dedication to the classic ´50s P-90 pickup that started the whole historic Rock´n´Roll sound! Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins - you got it! Any Blues? Muddy Waters, the father of the electric Blues, Hubert Sumlin - all these great musicians used guitars loaded with P-90s. The SB52 will give you this strong but clear sounds. This transparent clarity is responsible for that twangy low end. No muddiness here! Nice upper mids presence and no shrill treble - these pickups are really great. Later on some Rock artists, such as Frank Zappa with The Mothers, Allen Wilson (Canned Heat) or the incredible David Gilmour discovered the qualities of these early ´50s Soapbars or Dogears!

The SB 62 delivers that rich, heavy and full midrangy sound which can easily be described with one song: “Mississippi Queen” by Mountain’s (Leslie West & his Les Paul Jr.) Combined with a cranked Vintage-Amp like the Marshall Plexi, Fender 59 Bassman or a Vox AC 30 the SB62 is the perfect choice for guitar players who are looking for that classic, fat rock sound. Some of the greatest artists like Pete Townshend (SG Special on „Live at Leeds“ album), Keith Richards (Les Paul Jr. TV on “Tumbling Dice”), John Lennon and his legendary stripped Epiphone Casino (“The Beatles”, “Abbey Road”, “Let it be”) or Johnny Thunders (Les Paul Jr. TV) – the list is endless and is connected forever with the P-90 sounds. Blues lovers are likely to use the SB62 for hot and juicy slide playing… as George Thorogood would say: Bad to the bone!