Melody Maker Single-Coils - P-90s?

[Zaphod B]

Yesterday I sent an email to Gibson customer support, asking for the proper height adjustment on my (new) Melody Maker pickups, and asking for a technical description.

The response email was in my inbox this morning. (Quick response! ) Along with the recommended pickup height, the rep posted a link to P-90s for technical information.

The pickups on this Melody Maker are slender single coils (like Strat pickups) and are uncovered. They don't look like P-90s to me, but I've never seen a P-90 without a cover.

Anyone know what the guts of a P-90 look like?

 

[Milnoque]

They are not P-90s.
Nor are they the same as the pickups that came with the original Melody Makers.

 

[Zaphod B]

They are not P-90s.
Nor are they the same as the pickups that came with the original Melody Makers.

I knew that they are not the same as the originals, and they sure don't look like P-90s.

I'm just trying to figure out what the hell they are. They sound great - they're very hot - but I'm curious.

 

[Zaphod B]

Actually, I think the very early models may have had the thin single-coils. The Wikipedia article states this, anyway.

 

[notCardio]

Mine had a thin single-coil, but I couldn't tell you if the new ones are the same or not. They at least look similar, to my recollection. Mine was a covered pickup, though. And I don't know the vintage. I thought it was early 60's. And mine was an Epi.

 

[Zaphod B]

I've been poking through Gibson's web site and I don't see any other models that use a pickup like this. That's what seems strange to me....it doesn't make sense for a $400 guitar to have unique pickups, unless they're sourced from outside the company.

 

[ggunn]

Mine had a thin single-coil, but I couldn't tell you if the new ones are the same or not. They at least look similar, to my recollection. Mine was a covered pickup, though. And I don't know the vintage. I thought it was early 60's. And mine was an Epi.

Mine is an early to mid 60's (I bought it used in 1968) single pickup model, and the original pickup looked very much like a Strat pickup without the exposed pole pieces. I wish I'd have left it stock.

 

[notCardio]

Mine is an early to mid 60's (I bought it used in 1968) single pickup model, and the original pickup looked very much like a Strat pickup without the exposed pole pieces. I wish I'd have left it stock.

Sounds like mine. Double cutaway, 3T 'burst, black pg.

The guy who bought it after me replaced the pu with a humbucker.

 

[ggunn]

Sounds like mine. Double cutaway, 3T 'burst, black pg.

The guy who bought it after me replaced the pu with a humbucker.

Mine is single cut and was tranparent cherry red. I put dual buckers and a tune-o-matic on it and had some friends refinish it with brown polyurethane. It looks OK, I guess, if you don't take off the pickguard and look at the "routing" that I did with a chisel. I wish I'd let it be.

 

[jb calvin]

p90's

I have a friend who chooses pick-ups by checking impedance and ohms. He seemed to like my old ones.-?

 

[jb calvin]

Me TOO

Been there!

 

[Anfontan]

I had a rather odd Gibson SG model when I was a teenager, it was a SG-200 that had 2 single coil pickups and slider switches to turn on the pickups, and a master volume and master tone. I found this picture of one that has been refinished-mine was a dark brown finish.
The pickups had plastic covers with the Gibson insignia molded into them and a chrome ring around them-note the slanted neck pickup, I guess it was to be the opposite of a Fender.




https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l161/Anfontan/SG-200_3.jpg


Hey-I found a picture in the original color!

https://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l161/Anfontan/1971_SG_200_b-1.jpg

 

[Zaphod B]

Cool guitar, Anfontan.