Question MM90 vs p90. Let battle commence!

[Brian G]

In the case of P90's (and MM90's I presume) the flat bar at the bottom of the pickup is the magnet, and the pole pieces are the screws that you see peeking thru the top of the plastic cover.

The screws are not magnetic in and of themselves, except by virtue of being attached to a magnet.

With a Strat-style pickup, the individual pole-pieces are the magnets.

 

[brownpants69]

Righty. I was under the impression that there were differences in construction between p90s and mm90s.

So MM90s are just p90s then?

 

[mbgreene]

If you consider that any single coil barmagnet pickup with adjustable screws is a P90, then yes. But there are many versions of that same pickup in both original equipment and after market manufacturers.

The original P90 was made by Gibson to replace there older style single coil bar magnet pickup (The Charlie Christian style) the name P90 was just their internal nomenclature - which became the standard for the industry (think Kleenex or Vaseline)

If you want to compare EBMM's version - that they have named the MM90 to a P90, you have to decided which P90: Gibson, Duncan, Dimarzio, Rio Grande etc., and then which P90 within those manufacturers you want to compare it Standard, Phat Cat, Blues Bar etc. There are overwound versions, underwound versions AlNiCo III version, AlNiCo V versions, de-gaussed III's to make them sound like Vs (or is it the other way around?)

The best description of the 90's on this board were always from JimiD so I called one up for you

Hi Mckenzie, and welcome to the forum!

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the EBMM custom MM90 pickups. I have owned a Les Paul Jem with P90s, a Godin LG SP90 equipped with Duncan P90s, a Gibson BluesHawk with the Blues 90s and a G&L ASAT with the MFD oversized single coils, and for my money the MM90s are the best of the lot. These Ernie Ball Music Man pickups are beautifully voiced: not particularly hot pickups, they fall short of the mid-pronounced grunt of the Gibson P90s, but have more growl than Gibson's Blues 90s or the Duncans that were in the Godin. Their voice is pronounced and vocal without being overly aggressive, but there's certainly some growl on tap if you need it. This guitar is like a Tele on steroids, and responds very well to Tone and Volume control changes, with the ability to mimic everything from balls-to-the-wall garage rock aggression to country twang and Ricky jangle depending on the pickup choice and control settings. It even does a lovely warm jazz tone. An added bonus is the Silent Circuit, which significantly reduces the hum without a discernible effect on the tone. I think if you liked the sound of it when you first played it you should probably trust your instincts and build one to your taste - and don't worry too much about the resale thing; these guitars are keepers!

good luck!

Hopefully that helps

 

[beej]

Great post Mike!

 

[brownpants69]

Thanks for the post. I feel the same way about my ASS- the tele on steroids.

Can anyone shed light on the specs of the pickup then?

Magnet type, pole piece material, wire material and gauge and DC resistance etc?

Or is it a trade secret?

 

[Eilif]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPr4s3dFNtE]YouTube - Ernie Ball Music Man and Tal Morris[/ame]

 

[robelinda2]

I jut LOVE that Tal vid above! Pacific Blue Burst ASS is beautiful!