Crunch- P90. They just handle that overdrive sounds so well. Clean- Filter’tron. They have an amazing clean tone. Distortion- Mini Humbucker. They killed it for me in this category. So much oomf. Idea for a similar vid: Jazzmaster pickups, Firebird pickups, JM P90 from Lollar or Novak and the JM 180 from Novak. Or anything else with the Jazzmaster and Firebird pickups they’re just so unique and I think a lot of people don’t know that.
@Dave Stevens damn thats a nice collection man. Theyre all tonally different too. Get a gretsch next. Or a schecter/ibanez. Danelectro or dangelico also hot
If you want filtertron sound stay away from broadtrons. You can always replace them with tv jones pickups. Tv jones has loads of info about pickup swapping and mounting.
@@gavinw5469 broad'tron pickups are very similar. In fact, you could hardly hear the difference and to be honest, I preferred broadtron pickups for some reason. More clarity with that chimey Gretsch sound. P90/single coil and humbucker all in one. Broad'tron pickups are amazing 🤘🏼
Bought my first P90 guitar in 1972 (used 62 SG) and loved it. It was my first real guitar but I did not know what I had until playing in bands w/other members playing humbuckers. Amps and guitars in those days could really produce 60 hz hum...so I was envious of quiet humbuckers, but the P90s killed it on tone! The P90s could also squelch the hum by using middle position. (provided both volume knobs were at the same setting). P90s have earned my respect for decades!
I only started playing like 3.5 yrs ago. I always made sure I'd get a humbucker, since I wanted to learn metal riffs to get started. I'm hooked on the P90 sound. So much diversity. I still love humbuckers more than life itself, but if I'm looking to be creative, I prefer the P90s. Fender Tele Deluxe (HH) Fender American Performer (HSS) Epiphone ES-339 (generic alnico humbuckers) Gibson ES-339 ('57 humbuckers) Fender 'Noventa' Strat (2 P90's)
@@BaconatorJames Over the decades, I have switched fovorites so many times. But always after playing humbuckers for any length of time, the p90 seems so powerful and gutsy, and nothing spanky like a strat. Just a great sound to have on hand when I want it. Love the idea of 339s! I have a 335 and they are just too large for me. Still shopping 339s!!! I will find one eventually!
@Gabriel Mungaray And a strat with a lapsteel humbucker in the bridge is a Coodercaster. Pretty neat that people have been modifying these instruments for so long that some of the mods have become a recognizable instrument of their own.
The SD SM-1 in the D'Angelico is actually a Firebird pickup. Those are different than mini-humbuckers. They're the same size but they're constructed differently. They both sound and feel different. I just wanted to point that out because if one of your viewers liked the sound of the D'Angelico and decided they wanted to look for a mini-humbucker, they would be looking for the wrong type of pickup.
Well, it's actually a Seymour Duncan SM-1b Mini-Humbucker - that's what Duncan themselves call them and claims it has a "Firebird tone". Yes, it's confusing :)
I am a huge fan of the P90's. That being said that Orange Creamsicle Tele of yours always seems to get my attention whether I see it hanging over your shoulder or featured in a video like this. Darrell, your content is always refreshing. My final thought, can't decide a favorite.
Those FilterTrons are freaking amazing, clean and crunch. I'd take the mini humbuckers if I were playing any significant amount of metal, and a Firebird (the ICONIC mini 'bucker axe!) is on my wishlist, to be fair, but a chambered Gretsch is currently higher on that list, and this video demonstrates why.
Thanks for adding the mini-humbucker information to the mix. I love how the mini-humbuckers drove the amp, especially during distortion. They were SO CLOSE to sounding as good as the T.V. Jones'. But, I have to give the nod to the TV Jones' FilterTrons! This might just be sound-infatuation, but, I think true FilterTrons (and is that a loaded statement or what?) 'take the cake', so to speak, for overall performance -- power, balance, tone-separation, clarity, and tonal quality -- in this sort-of "other' category of pickups you reviewed. Nice work Darrell!
They all sound great. P90 is my favorite for everything but clean, where I prefer the lipstick or mini. The mini is my 2nd favorite overall, but not number 1 in any category. Thanks for the demo. Remember people, your amp does most of the work for the tone, and Darrell has great amps.
The lipstick pickups seem to reproduce all the sounds the strings produce. My sound preferences are influenced from years of playing acoustic instruments.
P90's for crunch, Lipstick for the cleans, and Filtertron for distortion....that sounded best for me. However after playing for 45 years I only recently got a p90 loaded guitar and I just love it, it's so versatile.
Well personally I've always loved the sounds of a Mini hum bucker, although p90s to my ear sounds close, but I'd like to have at least 1 guitar with each of the four version
I liked the Filtertron's over all but if I could select just one it would be the Lipstick's. As always, great comparison with excellent and understandable commentary. Thanks Darrell.
I really liked the P90 in distorted mode although I was not a fan of the "hum". My favorite of the 4 all around was the Filter'tron with the mini humbucker coming in second. I'm sure there is a niche for the "lipstick" pickup but most likely not something one of the other pickups could closely replicate. For me my newest favored guitar is a Gretsch G5655TG with a TV Jones classic Filter'tron in the neck position and a Power'tron plus in the bridge position. It's a killer combo to have in one guitar with the neck pickup giving that classic jangly Gretsch sound and the Power'tron plus giving the extra gain for playing 70ies and 80ies classic and hard rock. The Broad'trons that came in the guitar sounded decent but to me were missing that classic Gretsch sound.
Love P90 pickups! But those Filtertrons sounded awesome when you rang out that power chord on the Distortion channel!! That high mid sizzle just rips!! Sounded good on cleans too... a little more breakup but still jangly. Might need to add them somewhere in the collection...
I don't know if it's me or the youtube compression, but the lipstick pickups on the clean sound kind of had a "light and airy" quality, sounds like they would be great for playing some tangerine dream or something like that. Overall I think I preferred the filtertrons when all the sounds are averaged out.
Each had their unique tone and wouldn't mind one of each for the range I like to play. Would also add the Rickebacker with toaster pickups to the mix as a comparison as well. Ricky's have their unique sound.
First off ... great learning video, as always. I am a P-90 lover so nothing changed there but I was really surprised at the tone of the Filtertrons! I will be adding a Filtertron guitar to my collection! For some reason, I never tried a Filtertron before so thanks for that ... although my wife may kill me! LOL UPDATE: Just bought a Gretsch 5230 silver with hardcase for $450+$50 shipping on Reverb.
New subscriber here... After recently watching a few of your rebuild videos, I have decided to upgrade a couple of my old guitars. You made it look simple enough that I am confident that the builds will go great. Thanks for the inspiration!
Great video. This is The pickup video I've been wanting. My favorites are the P-90s Filtertrons and the mini humbuckers,especially the mini hbs. One of my favorite mini humbuckers is a model by Seymour Duncan,which is hit enuff for heavy metal and suitable for country blues and rock. Also by Duncan a P-90 with the same characteristics ,also a favorite.
Thanks very much for this comparison, Darrel. I'm just a beginner, but I really like the brightness of the P90 pickups. The two humbucker pickups sounded almost muddy in comparison. Yours in humility, Jim
Very well done comparison. I would like to hear a Telecaster with the mini humbucker in the neck and the P90 in the bridge. I would think you could cover a lot of interesting tonal ground with that setup.
Just bought a D'Angelico Atlantic Deluxe in Satin Sienna Wash, an exclusive color from Manchester Music Mill. One of only three in the world with that color, kind of a burnt orange. Absolutely beautiful color, with 2 mini humbuckers. After way too much research, I think the minis will suit me the best.
Explains why I use my Gretsch with filtertrons the most - It can take massive distortion and amazing clean tones and all in between. Responds most consistent to pedal board changes so switching tones during a song is the most seamless imho.
I was pretty bummed when the Schecter cats eye was out of stock, too bad I loved the tones on that. Lipstick and filtertron had a great jangle to them imo
If the coils are potted, the main difference that a wide coil over a narrow one is that the wider one takes more wire to form each loop, so in total there is more resistance per unit of inductance. Of course this can not be easily circumvented but using stronger magnets (for example magnet rods instead of magnet base+screws), lower gauge wire (thicker=lower resistance) and somewhat less winds can bring a p90 very close to a Strat-style single coil.
Love the clean sound of the Lipstick pickups, followed by the Filtertrons. Minin Humbuckers last but still a great bright sound! I would love to have a set of Mini Humbuckers that fit directly into a standard Humbucker size/cavity!
One more video that shows me how little I know about guitars...thanks so much, Darrell. I loved the P90s in all three settings, the Filtertron was great in Crunch and Distortion. The lipstick pickups are a bit too "weak" for my taste, if you can express it like that. Not really sure about the mini humbucker so far...
P 90s also typically have 2 bar magnets, compared to a normal hum bucket which has one. Filtertrons also have much stronger magnets and lower wound coils
I LOVE the P90 sound, i have a Gibson SG Special and is a joy to play, really versatile pickup, for aggresive rock with distortion to something more mellow and jazzy clean.
I've got an old Les Paul Deluxe with them, they're a very particular sound. I find them closer to fender style single coils than the PAFs or P90s like you usually find on a Gibby but with their own percilular bite. Gary Moore used them extensively with Thin Lizzy.
@@JELIFISH19 A Firebird pickup IS a mini-humbucker. Gibson made 2 distinct mini-humbuckers--ones with pole pieces and ones without. They were two different designs but both were mini-humbuckers.
@@meatwad1 They're completely different designs. A mini-humbucker shares the same design as a normal-sized humbucker, it's just smaller. A Firebird pickup uses a completely different construction which yields a different sound. It has nothing to do with visible polepieces. The SM-2 and SM-3 aren't Firebird pickups even though they look identical to the SM-1. And some of the pickups that Gibson has put into Firebirds have been mini-humbuckers with covered polepieces. The OP commented on the brightness and clarity of that pickup. But much of that is attributed to it being a Firebird pickup.
@@meatwad1 Minihums are made like humbuckers, just mini. Firebird pickups are 2 rails, each in a bobbin, wrapped in wire. Same foot print, vastly different design and sound.
As is usual, great comparison video. I really liked the P90's then the Filtertron. But each type of pickup had great sound and a place in someone's lineup or main tone. Thanks Darrell for putting in the time and knowledge in this comparison review.
The mini-humbucker appears to be more of a firebird mini than the Epiphone design. As well as the absence of adjustable pole pieces, the firebird mini-humbucker has a different magnet configuration.
Liked the low end beef of the mini humbucker and the balance of low end + bite of the filtertrons. I'm a rhythm player and those seem would be good for my playing style. Thanks for doing this comparison!
I’ve been playing humbuckers for over 30 years. Always dabbled with single coils and always liked them, just always more drawn to humbuckers. Jumped in and tried some P90’s a year ago and have to say that I love them. Somewhere in between humbuckers and single coils somehow. Got a guitar with P90’s (B&G little sister) and it’s become my ‘go to’. Well worth trying out something other than the standard, I did and I’m really enjoying it!
I love the Gretsch ! Recently is in the market a new model that bring two P - 90 and vibrato bigsby 70, I'm seriously thinking to buy it ! Is in 600 bucks ! .What do you think ?
I put a Firebird humbucker in my Les Paul Deluxe. Slightly lower output, but more top end. Breaks up nicely, and has more of the tele on steroid vibe than a p90 very happy with it.
Filtertrons, by far. Cuts way better in the mix. I don't like scooped mid.. I put P90 as 2nd. Can't go wrong with SG in Drop-D with P90. And the mini-humbucker as 3rd. It had its own character soundwise. But it was also quite scooped with hi-gain.
I have a Epi LP with GFS pickups that I also equipped with a Seymour Duncan Blackouts Active Preamp, with a Dream 180 and Dream 90 in the neck, so I actually have a noiseless P-90 with pretty boosted output. It actually sounds REALLY good on both clean and high gain metal tones. The middle position is like a metal rhythm guitarist's dream.
Hey all! Let me know which pups you liked the most in each comparison!
Enjoy :)
Those Dan electro pups were good. Why aren’t those nearly as popular as humbuckers?
was wondering if you would consider please reviewing the new fender noventa serise.. especially the strat.. thx.
Crunch- P90. They just handle that overdrive sounds so well.
Clean- Filter’tron. They have an amazing clean tone.
Distortion- Mini Humbucker. They killed it for me in this category. So much oomf.
Idea for a similar vid: Jazzmaster pickups, Firebird pickups, JM P90 from Lollar or Novak and the JM 180 from Novak. Or anything else with the Jazzmaster and Firebird pickups they’re just so unique and I think a lot of people don’t know that.
Clean- Filter’tron! I don't care for or play much crunch or distortion.
If I could only have one pickup it would be Filtertrons.
Really cool demo. Thanks for making this!
David smash!
Heyyyyyyy
Djent isn't music.
I can see it now, video titled : 'When Someone Requests Darrell Braun'. LOL!
The last good guitar tubers really . Dovy, Phillip McKnight , And DB .
Guys to the wives: "honey i swear they are all different i need all of them to have a sonically wide range"
LOL. I've said that exact thing...!
@@williamstanford7994 haha, please give me 🖐️, we all say the same thing to the wife.
Nope. I can honesty say I’ve never done that. I have a Kiesel guitar that has split coils. I only need that one. 😬
@@Burnt_Gerbil Shhh....
@Dave Stevens damn thats a nice collection man. Theyre all tonally different too. Get a gretsch next. Or a schecter/ibanez. Danelectro or dangelico also hot
My ears kept coming back to the Filtertron pickups as the sound that best fits what I like.
😊I picked a gretsch because of that
Get yourself a nice gretsch. Even the lower end models are actually quite nice
If you want filtertron sound stay away from broadtrons. You can always replace them with tv jones pickups. Tv jones has loads of info about pickup swapping and mounting.
@@gavinw5469 broad'tron pickups are very similar. In fact, you could hardly hear the difference and to be honest, I preferred broadtron pickups for some reason. More clarity with that chimey Gretsch sound. P90/single coil and humbucker all in one. Broad'tron pickups are amazing 🤘🏼
True. I was just sayimg if he specfically wanted filtertron sounds though. If he loves broadtrons than there is nothing wrong with that.
Those filtertrons sounded awesome in that guitar.
Bought my first P90 guitar in 1972 (used 62 SG) and loved it. It was my first real guitar but I did not know what I had until playing in bands w/other members playing humbuckers. Amps and guitars in those days could really produce 60 hz hum...so I was envious of quiet humbuckers, but the P90s killed it on tone! The P90s could also squelch the hum by using middle position. (provided both volume knobs were at the same setting). P90s have earned my respect for decades!
I only started playing like 3.5 yrs ago. I always made sure I'd get a humbucker, since I wanted to learn metal riffs to get started. I'm hooked on the P90 sound. So much diversity. I still love humbuckers more than life itself, but if I'm looking to be creative, I prefer the P90s.
Fender Tele Deluxe (HH)
Fender American Performer (HSS)
Epiphone ES-339 (generic alnico humbuckers)
Gibson ES-339 ('57 humbuckers)
Fender 'Noventa' Strat (2 P90's)
@@BaconatorJames Over the decades, I have switched fovorites so many times. But always after playing humbuckers for any length of time, the p90 seems so powerful and gutsy, and nothing spanky like a strat. Just a great sound to have on hand when I want it. Love the idea of 339s! I have a 335 and they are just too large for me. Still shopping 339s!!! I will find one eventually!
I was really impressed by the P-90’s 👍
I never heard a Filtertron demo before, but I was impressed with how full they sounded. They sounded the best to me. Thanks for the comparison.
Yeah, the futons are the original hum bucking pick ups. They just didn’t apply for the pattern but Gibson couldn’t sue them.
The neck lipstick on a Danelectro I owned is still the best clean neck sound I've ever heard in a guitar since I starded playing in 1995.
I gotta go with the Filtertrons for their clarity and jangle overall but that mini humbucker is very close especially with distortion!
Love me some P90s
P90s forever.
It's 2am here in the UK but Darrell just uploaded a video about four different pickup styles. I guess I'm STILL not going to bed
I got me a Gretsch G2655TG-P90 it has both of those pick ups. Filtertron and P90!!!! Awesome sounding! Filtertron at the bridge and P90 at neck.
I love weird partscasters with obscure pick-ups. You can get a lot of different tones but maintain the ergonomics and reliability of a strat
/tele
Totally agree with that : it's an interesting path to follow. Joe Gore on you tube is a reference on that subject !
@Gabriel Mungaray And a strat with a lapsteel humbucker in the bridge is a Coodercaster. Pretty neat that people have been modifying these instruments for so long that some of the mods have become a recognizable instrument of their own.
The SD SM-1 in the D'Angelico is actually a Firebird pickup. Those are different than mini-humbuckers. They're the same size but they're constructed differently. They both sound and feel different. I just wanted to point that out because if one of your viewers liked the sound of the D'Angelico and decided they wanted to look for a mini-humbucker, they would be looking for the wrong type of pickup.
Well, it's actually a Seymour Duncan SM-1b Mini-Humbucker - that's what Duncan themselves call them and claims it has a "Firebird tone". Yes, it's confusing :)
Being able to see these more interesting pickups with more interesting tones is always something to take a listen to. Great work!
Thanks RC!
@@DarrellBraunGuitar Cheers!
Holy Crap! Those Filter'Trons sound incredible clean!
Thats why Id choose them
I bought a Gretsch with filtertrons and they're the most versatile best sounding pickups I've ever used
They're awesome
The grind from P90;s turns my crank
P90s are killer!
Yep p90 n1
Tron n2
Minihum n3
Lipstick n4 (on n1 when on a nice lady)
@@netcatfulful lol it's good
Wank'n'crank?
I am a huge fan of the P90's. That being said that Orange Creamsicle Tele of yours always seems to get my attention whether I see it hanging over your shoulder or featured in a video like this. Darrell, your content is always refreshing. My final thought, can't decide a favorite.
Going to listen to this video again, this time with some nice headphones. Great work, Darrell!
I’ve actually been hoping for a video like this from you!
Glad to help!
The Filtertrons surprised me with how good they sounded ... !
Try listening to some other tron variants.
From Leo: This is something Gretsch fans have known for years.
@@gavinw5469 That’s one of the reasons I love AC/DC too.
eww
My favorites for Crunch: P90, Filtertron. For Clean: P90, Filtertron, Mini-Humbucker. Distortion: They all sounded good. Thanks
Those FilterTrons are freaking amazing, clean and crunch. I'd take the mini humbuckers if I were playing any significant amount of metal, and a Firebird (the ICONIC mini 'bucker axe!) is on my wishlist, to be fair, but a chambered Gretsch is currently higher on that list, and this video demonstrates why.
The filtertrons stood out as favorites in the crunch section. There was a fullness and clarity. Thank you for the comparison.
P90s and Mini Humbuckers for me... Great content man, kudos
I’ve been try to avoid common tones like that for a while! This really helped!
The video was just uploaded less than a minute ago. How did it “help?” 🙄
@@ZaneDalton the thumbnail for the video showcased the pickups to use...
Thanks for adding the mini-humbucker information to the mix. I love how the mini-humbuckers drove the amp, especially during distortion. They were SO CLOSE to sounding as good as the T.V. Jones'. But, I have to give the nod to the TV Jones' FilterTrons! This might just be sound-infatuation, but, I think true FilterTrons (and is that a loaded statement or what?) 'take the cake', so to speak, for overall performance -- power, balance, tone-separation, clarity, and tonal quality -- in this sort-of "other' category of pickups you reviewed. Nice work Darrell!
This is just a great video. I just adore P90s so much. But I had no idea I would like filtertrons that much.
Dig the filtertrons, but P90's are badass too!
I agree with you LakesideWelding.Jerry........I felt the same way love P90s but the Filtertrons so clear highs
@@gregtreble9086 im building a couple of guitars now. I want to put filtertrons in one, and a P90 in the neck position in the other!
P90 on clean, 'Trons with crunch and distortion. Both sounded lovely though. Thanks a lot Darrel! This gave me some clarity. \m/
They all sound great. P90 is my favorite for everything but clean, where I prefer the lipstick or mini. The mini is my 2nd favorite overall, but not number 1 in any category. Thanks for the demo. Remember people, your amp does most of the work for the tone, and Darrell has great amps.
These demos are more pleasant than those that you usually play. Keep it like that!
The lipstick pickups seem to reproduce all the sounds the strings produce. My sound preferences are influenced from years of playing acoustic instruments.
Good work DB. I gotta say, why don’t I own a guitar with Filtertron pickups??????? IMO, they sounded the best overall.
Now I need a filterton guitar! GAS! :D
As an owner of a tele cabronita with filtertrons, I concur. They're insanely versatile pickups.
Harley Benton TE-90FLT go go go
Everyone needs a decent Gretsch
P90's for crunch, Lipstick for the cleans, and Filtertron for distortion....that sounded best for me. However after playing for 45 years I only recently got a p90 loaded guitar and I just love it, it's so versatile.
One of my absolute favorite guitars is a Michael Kelly thinline tele style with P90s. It sounds absolutely amazing!
Well personally I've always loved the sounds of a Mini hum bucker, although p90s to my ear sounds close, but I'd like to have at least 1 guitar with each of the four version
Great rundown Darrell. Fwiw i highly recommend Kent Armstrong noiseless P90s!
I liked the Filtertron's over all but if I could select just one it would be the Lipstick's. As always, great comparison with excellent and understandable commentary. Thanks Darrell.
They are all great unique tones. Ultimately we all need a Relish with all our favourite pickups in modules to cover everything.
I do like that Fender tele with filtertrons! Thanks for the video comparison!
I liked the Filtertrons! Might be a consideration for a project guitar I have.
I Love P90's to begin with and the Filtertron has me re-thinking the Humbucker all together.
I agree 100%
Exactly the video i was looking for! Thanks Darrell, your timing is impeccable
Mini humbucker was great. Really warm and sounds great in the mix
I used to own a 1978 Gibson deluxe LP with mini HB’s. Bought it new and regrettably had to sale it. Best sounding guitar I’ve ever had!
Lovely Video Darrell. The Filtertron stands out even with the YT compression on the sounds!
Good demo. Fairly comprehensive without being too long. I would have like to hear the mini-hums in the neck position. My fave was the filtertron.
I really liked the P90 in distorted mode although I was not a fan of the "hum". My favorite of the 4 all around was the Filter'tron with the mini humbucker coming in second. I'm sure there is a niche for the "lipstick" pickup but most likely not something one of the other pickups could closely replicate. For me my newest favored guitar is a Gretsch G5655TG with a TV Jones classic Filter'tron in the neck position and a Power'tron plus in the bridge position. It's a killer combo to have in one guitar with the neck pickup giving that classic jangly Gretsch sound and the Power'tron plus giving the extra gain for playing 70ies and 80ies classic and hard rock. The Broad'trons that came in the guitar sounded decent but to me were missing that classic Gretsch sound.
Love P90 pickups! But those Filtertrons sounded awesome when you rang out that power chord on the Distortion channel!! That high mid sizzle just rips!! Sounded good on cleans too... a little more breakup but still jangly. Might need to add them somewhere in the collection...
Lipsticks really shine in clean rhythm palying
I don't know if it's me or the youtube compression, but the lipstick pickups on the clean sound kind of had a "light and airy" quality, sounds like they would be great for playing some tangerine dream or something like that. Overall I think I preferred the filtertrons when all the sounds are averaged out.
I'll be coming back to this video whenever I'll be planning my next project.
Thank you!
Me too!
Each had their unique tone and wouldn't mind one of each for the range I like to play. Would also add the Rickebacker with toaster pickups to the mix as a comparison as well. Ricky's have their unique sound.
First off ... great learning video, as always. I am a P-90 lover so nothing changed there but I was really surprised at the tone of the Filtertrons! I will be adding a Filtertron guitar to my collection!
For some reason, I never tried a Filtertron before so thanks for that ... although my wife may kill me! LOL UPDATE: Just bought a Gretsch 5230 silver with hardcase for $450+$50 shipping on Reverb.
My favorite for
Crunch: P90
Clean: Lipstick
Distortion: Filtertron
New subscriber here... After recently watching a few of your rebuild videos, I have decided to upgrade a couple of my old guitars. You made it look simple enough that I am confident that the builds will go great. Thanks for the inspiration!
Great video. This is The pickup video I've been wanting. My favorites are the P-90s Filtertrons and the mini humbuckers,especially the mini hbs. One of my favorite mini humbuckers is a model by Seymour Duncan,which is hit enuff for heavy metal and suitable for country blues and rock. Also by Duncan a P-90 with the same characteristics ,also a favorite.
I liked the lipstick Pickups with the Distortion. Great demo as usual Darrell. Thank you
I love p90's and then the Flitertron. Didn't really care for the Lipstick.
Thanks very much for this comparison, Darrel. I'm just a beginner, but I really like the brightness of the P90 pickups. The two humbucker pickups sounded almost muddy in comparison. Yours in humility, Jim
They all sound great 👍. The filtertron seems so clean without the low mids. Very usable imo. Thanks
Awesome presentation and comparisons!
Thanks for the great job as always. Definitely dig the P90s
Very well done comparison.
I would like to hear a Telecaster with the mini humbucker in the neck and the P90 in the bridge.
I would think you could cover a lot of interesting tonal ground with that setup.
Just bought a D'Angelico Atlantic Deluxe in Satin Sienna Wash, an exclusive color from Manchester Music Mill. One of only three in the world with that color, kind of a burnt orange. Absolutely beautiful color, with 2 mini humbuckers. After way too much research, I think the minis will suit me the best.
Explains why I use my Gretsch with filtertrons the most - It can take massive distortion and amazing clean tones and all in between. Responds most consistent to pedal board changes so switching tones during a song is the most seamless imho.
Props to Danelectro. Great comparison video.
They sounded surprisingly good with gain! Pretty impressed
They make them for other guitars, too. Just picked one up for my Tele from GuitarFetish.
I was pretty bummed when the Schecter cats eye was out of stock, too bad I loved the tones on that.
Lipstick and filtertron had a great jangle to them imo
If the coils are potted, the main difference that a wide coil over a narrow one is that the wider one takes more wire to form each loop, so in total there is more resistance per unit of inductance. Of course this can not be easily circumvented but using stronger magnets (for example magnet rods instead of magnet base+screws), lower gauge wire (thicker=lower resistance) and somewhat less winds can bring a p90 very close to a Strat-style single coil.
Love the clean sound of the Lipstick pickups, followed by the Filtertrons. Minin Humbuckers last but still a great bright sound! I would love to have a set of Mini Humbuckers that fit directly into a standard Humbucker size/cavity!
1. Filtertron
2. Mini humbuckers
(I know why I love Gretsch)
That mini humbucker sounded great. Also the lipstick cleans were fantastic.
One more video that shows me how little I know about guitars...thanks so much, Darrell. I loved the P90s in all three settings, the Filtertron was great in Crunch and Distortion.
The lipstick pickups are a bit too "weak" for my taste, if you can express it like that. Not really sure about the mini humbucker so far...
Dude! Great video! Very easy to follow and understand. Loved the presentation. Thanks! I liked all the pickups!
P 90s also typically have 2 bar magnets, compared to a normal hum bucket which has one. Filtertrons also have much stronger magnets and lower wound coils
The distorted lipsticks really surprised me. Never heard that much distortion with those. Sounded cool.
Fantastic and ultra informative video. Great job and thank you! P90 is the one my ears love. Looks like another guitar is inbound now.
Great demo. Thank you.
P90s starts with the Dennis Kayser chord!
I LOVE the P90 sound, i have a Gibson SG Special and is a joy to play, really versatile pickup, for aggresive rock with distortion to something more mellow and jazzy clean.
I swear this is the year of the P90. So many videos on them lately.
I think its always been the year of the p90.
I like the sound of the p90
Best ever from Iommi to Duane Eddy to Leslie West..versitile
Didn’t know mini humbuckers will turn out to be so bright and clear. For me, it’s the mini humbuckers that impressed me a lot
I've got an old Les Paul Deluxe with them, they're a very particular sound. I find them closer to fender style single coils than the PAFs or P90s like you usually find on a Gibby but with their own percilular bite. Gary Moore used them extensively with Thin Lizzy.
That's not a mini-humbucker. The SM-1B is a Firebird pickup.
@@JELIFISH19 A Firebird pickup IS a mini-humbucker. Gibson made 2 distinct mini-humbuckers--ones with pole pieces and ones without. They were two different designs but both were mini-humbuckers.
@@meatwad1 They're completely different designs. A mini-humbucker shares the same design as a normal-sized humbucker, it's just smaller. A Firebird pickup uses a completely different construction which yields a different sound. It has nothing to do with visible polepieces. The SM-2 and SM-3 aren't Firebird pickups even though they look identical to the SM-1. And some of the pickups that Gibson has put into Firebirds have been mini-humbuckers with covered polepieces.
The OP commented on the brightness and clarity of that pickup. But much of that is attributed to it being a Firebird pickup.
@@meatwad1 Minihums are made like humbuckers, just mini. Firebird pickups are 2 rails, each in a bobbin, wrapped in wire. Same foot print, vastly different design and sound.
I am not first, as I prefer to take my time thinking of something clever to say. I will get back to you later...
probably less trolls this way!
Always been a big fan of mini humbuckers. I have a set on a 70s LP Deluxe.
As is usual, great comparison video.
I really liked the P90's then the Filtertron. But each type of pickup had great sound and a place in someone's lineup or main tone. Thanks Darrell for putting in the time and knowledge in this comparison review.
The mini-humbucker appears to be more of a firebird mini than the Epiphone design. As well as the absence of adjustable pole pieces, the firebird mini-humbucker has a different magnet configuration.
Yup. That's a Seymour Duncan SM-1 in that guitar which is a Firebird pickup. The SM-2 and SM-3 look identical but aren't Firebird pickups though.
Liked the low end beef of the mini humbucker and the balance of low end + bite of the filtertrons. I'm a rhythm player and those seem would be good for my playing style. Thanks for doing this comparison!
You give the best back to back comparisons. For me, I liked the mini HB
I loved the p90 clean and the mınıhumber for the other two.
I’ve been playing humbuckers for over 30 years. Always dabbled with single coils and always liked them, just always more drawn to humbuckers. Jumped in and tried some P90’s a year ago and have to say that I love them. Somewhere in between humbuckers and single coils somehow. Got a guitar with P90’s (B&G little sister) and it’s become my ‘go to’. Well worth trying out something other than the standard, I did and I’m really enjoying it!
What about mini humbuckers
Like them all for different reasons, but if I had to pick just one, I’d probably go with the mini-humbucker followed closely by the Filter’trons.
Beautiful guitars. What a GREAT invention guitars truly are. They all sound and look sweet here. Very cool stuff Darrell.
Thanks Darrell, helpful comparison!!
I just bought myself a Gretch. Amazing tone!
I love the Gretsch ! Recently is in the market a new model that bring two P - 90 and vibrato bigsby 70, I'm seriously thinking to buy it ! Is in 600 bucks ! .What do you think ?
@@ernestoflores5771 I don't know man. I'd have to hear it first.
@@flatbill2 : Right, Thanks !
A comparison of neck pickups would be great too. I tend to use "crunch" or distorted sound more in the neck pickup than the bridge.
I haven’t seen a video like this before. It’s awesome , it helps a lot . Thank you
I put a Firebird humbucker in my Les Paul Deluxe. Slightly lower output, but more top end. Breaks up nicely, and has more of the tele on steroid vibe than a p90 very happy with it.
Filtertrons, by far.
Cuts way better in the mix.
I don't like scooped mid..
I put P90 as 2nd.
Can't go wrong with SG in Drop-D with P90.
And the mini-humbucker as 3rd.
It had its own character soundwise. But it was also quite scooped with hi-gain.
I have a Epi LP with GFS pickups that I also equipped with a Seymour Duncan Blackouts Active Preamp, with a Dream 180 and Dream 90 in the neck, so I actually have a noiseless P-90 with pretty boosted output. It actually sounds REALLY good on both clean and high gain metal tones. The middle position is like a metal rhythm guitarist's dream.
Thanks for the comparison, Darrell. I have a new-found respect for P-90s.