My Recommended P90 Equipped Guitar
Some different P90 variants - image copyright Dimarzio
Hi gang. In this article I take a request to recommend a P90 equipped guitar that will not break the bank and that will deliver that true P90 sound. This time, I will offer you three instruments that I have tried, two of which I bought that provide great playability and the incomparable sound of P90 pickups.
P90s are single coil pickups with all the wonderfulness of single coils and of course the downside of noise. However, a great playing guitar with really good P90s is pretty darn awesome, so without further ado, let’s look at my three top picks in a solid body guitar with P90 pickups.
Epiphone Les Paul Special
Yes this is the same Les Paul Special that I did a head to head comparison between the Epiphone version and the Gibson version. I bought the Epiphone over the Gibson, saving $1800 CAD and believe 100% that I got a better guitar. The Epiphone Pro 90 pickups are both warmer and brighter than the Gibsons, the pots and switching are all CTS, far superior to the no name whatever in the Gibson. I really appreciate that the wraparound stop tail has basic intonation adjustments. The Gibson wraparound stop tail has no intonation ridges. The neck is fast and it plays a dream. The finish I chose is the TV Yellow shown above. The body is solid mahogany. Current MAP is $709
Gretsch Electromatic G5210T - P90
This is a fabulous instrument. The fit and finish are superb. It is available with either a fixed bridge or the Bigsby shown in the image above. I bought mine in a metallic Amethyst colour with the Bigsby. The P90s in this guitar are not quite as hot as in the Epiphone and if you prefer to not overdrive the preamp from the guitar, you may find this instrument preferable. The Bigsby does add some weight and brings with it all the tuning anachronisms found in Bigsby systems. There is a volume for each of the Gretsch designed P90 E pickups, a shared tone pot and a master volume on the front lower cutaway. The thumbnail inlays are beautifully done and the neck is smooth and fast. The neck binding is superb and there is no fret sprout. The body is made of chambered mahogany which offsets the weight added by the Bigsby. Current MAP is $969.99 CAD
Yamaha Revstar Standard
This is the model that I did the evaluation of. It plays very well and those pickups provide a nice solid intermediary between the hotter Epiphone and the lower output Gretsch. Like the Epiphone it has a fixed tailpiece but a nice bridge that is adjustable for intonation and saddle height. Fit and finish is standard Yamaha, superb right out of the box. This guitar is very lightweight and a great choice for someone looking to minimize the weight on the ends of the strap. It has a single shared volume and tone and a five way pickup selector for a really nice wide range of tones. This is made in Indonesia, instead of China if that matters to you. The pickups are Yamaha designed and use Alnico V magnets. The tone pot is a push pull and has what Yamaha calls a Focus mode, that is supposed to give the sound of overwound pickups. I’m always straight with you and call this a solution in desperate quest of a problem. I don’t think that the Focus thing adds any value, and you can use it or not as you prefer. This guitar, the RSS20T has a MAP of $1099.99
Summary
No matter which one of these you choose, you are going to be getting a great instrument without breaking the bank or paying the ludicrous brand name sticker tax. In one case, the Epiphone, it is far and away a better instrument than the same model from Gibson as far as I am concerned in every way that matters. You should of course try to play each yourself at a great guitar shop that lets you plug in through an amp such as what you already own, or something similar.
Thanks as always for reading. Please subscribe to be notified of new articles and podcast episodes. Submit a comment or send in a question, I read and respond to all. Until next time, I’m Ross Chevalier, and I bid you peace.
