Stacked P90s,are they worth coil splitting?

CampbellH · December 2023

I have a pair of stacked P90s. They are only 2 wire and I was wondering if anyone has had similar and found a big enough difference that it would be worth me rewiring them to get the option to coil split or just leave them as they are.

I haven't test fitted them to a guitar yet. Just awaiting a project that p90s would suit.

Funkfingers · December 2023

Emphatically, no.

Gibson and Duncan stacked coils P90-style pickups default to parallel coils interconnection. To achieve a worthwhile DC resistance figure, the individual coils are wound to monstrous output levels. These coils rarely sound good by themselves.

It is possible that some makers build stacked coils P90-alikes that default to series mode. Again, these would not be worth splitting. The output would be too weedy.

Exceptions to my sweeping generalisation would be the new Duncan Silencer model (which I have yet to try) and the Fishman Fluence Greg Koch Gristle Tone models.

CampbellH · December 2023

Funkfingers said:

Emphatically, no.

Gibson and Duncan stacked coils P90-style pickups default to parallel coils interconnection. To achieve a worthwhile DC resistance figure, the individual coils are wound to monstrous output levels. These coils rarely sound good by themselves.

It is possible that some makers build stacked coils P90-alikes that default to series mode. Again, these would not be worth splitting. The output would be too weedy.

Exceptions to my sweeping generalisation would be the new Duncan Silencer model (which I have yet to try) and the Fishman Fluence Greg Koch Gristle Tone models.

Cheers I am going to leave them be. They are certainly an interesting looking pup as the P90 cover only covers the top coil with the bottom coil is hanging out the bottom. I think some routing may be required to which ever guitar I think these suit.

OilCityPickups · December 2023

Nope no no no no nix nah!

Funkfingers · December 2023

CampbellH said:
I think some routing may be required.

CAUTION: Don't forget that the mounting screws for soapbar P90 stacks need a good thickness of wood at the bottom of the cavity into which to bite. Is the body of the host guitar thick enough?

For me, the main reason to avoid P90 stacks is their sound. They never have the fruity rudeness of a single coil original.

CampbellH · December 2023

As I haven't heard these stacked P90s. At the price that I got them for I thought it was worth a punt. I have fitted a couple of guitars with P90s and it would be nice try them out. I am refurbing a LPJ just now and I will try it out in that, and as I still have another LPJ that I fitted a dogear P90 to I will be able to do back to beck recordings to compare.

ICBM · December 2023

I had a 90s Les Paul Junior with a P-100 once… I thought it lacked that ‘fruity rudeness’ Funkfingers described so accurately - to be fair, the previous Junior I’d had was an original ‘57 - so I tried disconnecting the lower coil.

Result - super-loud ‘telephone tone’. And somehow, worse hum than a normal P-90 as well…

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Stacked P90s,are they worth coil splitting?

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