P90/Filtertron differences?

paulnb57

I'm utterly clueless regarding the tonal merits of the Filtertron pickup, can anyone decribe the tonal difference between a Filtertron and a P90, I have a build in progress that is routed for 3x P90 Soapbars, but a couple of people have suggested going for Filtertrons.....
Also will they fit in the same way as a Soapbar?
Thanks!

earwighoney

You can get Filtertron style pickups which will fit in a P90 route

https://www.mojopickups.co.uk/product/mojotron-p90-sized/

Teyeplayer

They won’t fit in the same way as the dimensions are totally different, however mojo do some awesome p90 sized filtertrons. 

Tone wise these are totally different pickups. Others will be able to advise better but I always feel Filtertrons are almost like a paf but with less mud and more jangle and note for note clarity. A good p90 neck pickup is a delight though, fat, warm and still articulate, almost the ultimate single coil.

You maybe want to try a mix of pickups? 

Corvus

You can get Filtertrons in body mount P90 style, or with wings for hanging from surrounds humbucker style.
Screwed direct to the body they can look a little small on their own but you can get bezels to sit around them.

Sound-wise Filtertrons have rich harmonics, a sweetness to them. Bottom end isn't as bold and defined as a P90, and the mid spread isn't the same. Filters have a clear top end. And of course hum-cancelling.

In the neck, the bottom strings on Filtertrons can be a bit indistinct where the top ones are still clear & chimey. A popular boost in Gretsch-land sucks out some of the low mids & bottom end and sorts that out.

The trad wind is low resistance but the fat magnet makes up quite a bit. Then you have the next hotter, TVJ Classic+ type around 8k (more mids, still very sweet top end), and from there the hotter the winds get, the more towards PAF territory.

Gretsch did ceramic ones too, good in their own way, sound quite different to the trad type alnico.

Winny_Pooh

Hard to describe. P90's are a bit more linear sounding and smoother on the top end with fuzzez. Filtertrons have a more irregular frequency response with bumps in certain places that give an acoustic type sparkle and a twangy low end that compresses when hit hard. P90- Les Paul meets strat.
Filtertron- Les Paul meets tele
I prefer Filtertrons personally.

antifash

I’ve been using the new Full’tron pickups. I’ve never got on with P90s or trad Filtertrons s much before. I don’t really know how the full’trons work - but they’ve got squish, twang and definition like over never had before. http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/namm-2017-gretsch-announces-new-broadkaster-nashville-falcon-and-acoustic-models-647114

Funkfingers

That nice Mister TV Jones supplies adapters that will allow a 'Tron style pickup to be mounted onto a P90-equiped guitar - soapbar or dogear. In the case of their EM-3 plate, it ought to be possible to make one yourself.

Teyeplayer said:

Tone wise these are totally different pickups. You maybe want to try a mix of pickups? 

Indeed. Vastly different tonality, depending on how you amplify them. 

Just to confuse matters, manufacturers now offer both designs in anything from near-as-humanly-possible vintage spec through to increasing degrees of "hot". As 'Trons get hotter, they become increasingly P.A.F. like. Hot P90s turn into Tony Iommi. 

paulnb57 said:

I have a build in progress that is routed for 3x P90 Soapbars

Is the neck glued-in or screwed on? 

'Trons are great on "F" style guitars. They cancel hum whilst retaining much of the airiness and twang. P90s, by comparison, tend to sound noticeably darker. I'm not certain that three of either is a good idea.

Just to add to the confusion, the Gibson Firebird and Deluxe mini humbucker can also be persuaded into P90-sized routs - albeit with an adapter ring.


The only real answer is for the OP to try a few Filter'Tron-equiped guitars. 

paulnb57

New build wil be bolt on neck, biggest issue is here on the IOW I would be lucky to find one Tron equipped guitar never mind several!....

Jimbro66

An example of Tele with filtertrons

and with P90s

Listen through decent headphones to hear the clear differences.

And here is a link to the TV Jones soapbar filtertron, available in traditional black and cream.

https://store.tvjones.com/tv-classic-soapbar-mount-p123.aspx

Plenty of options there

Teyeplayer

Why not go all out on the options and pop a p90 in the neck, filtertron in the middle and mini humbucker in the bridge.

paulnb57

Teyeplayer said:

Why not go all out on the options and pop a p90 in the neck, filtertron in the middle and mini humbucker in the bridge.

Its worth considering!.....

stimpsonslostson

I recently built a Cabronita with a filtertron in the bridge. 
I expected it to be fairly similar to the LP Jr I used to have. It's not. It's more jangly clean and snappy with dirt. 
The jr was creamier clean & snarlier with gain. (Terrible description I know). 

A lot of this could be due to the LP being mahogany & the Cabronita being poplar & maple, plus scale & bridge differences too... 

JerkMoans

Oooooh.  Now I'm REALLY tempted to put 'trons in my Thinline Tele, rather than better wide range HBs....

The agony of choice