- Look for open vintage tones with cutting mid-range?
- We rank and review the best P90 pickups for electric guitars.
- Top Picks for Vintage, Period-correct, Hi-Fi tones, and more.
- See also, 7 Best Pickup Replacements For Gibson SG (Compared)
Just when everyone had written them off, P90s made an incredible comeback in the 2000s. If you thought there were having a moment, it’s time to concede.
Pickup manufacturers have taken notice, and the demand has blessed us with some of the best noiseless P90 pickups of all time.
Traditional P90s are, in essence, single-coil pickups. They flourished in Gibson guitars until the humbuckers were introduced in 1955, which is why their tone is “the early ‘50s sound.”
P90s sounded fabulous, but they were also (arguably) the noisiest pickups on the planet.
They mate the biting-clean sounds of single coils with the rounded punch of humbuckers.
This “fatness-meets-brightness” is desirous for many applications, particularly raunchy power chords and solos oozing with retro character. We aren’t saying they’ll become all-pervasive.
But every guitar player will be drawn to exploring their distinct flavor at some point.
If you’ve reached that point, we sniffed out the top-rated P90s in the current market, separating the good from the bargain-basem*nt humbuckers.
Our top seven picks nail different characters of the old Gibson tone with varying levels of authenticity, output, and hum-free operation.
If you are looking for the best noiseless p90 pickups, you owe it to yourself to check these out.
What are The Best P90 Pickups for Guitar?
Mojo Tone ’56 Quiet Coil P90 Pickup is our pick for the best P90 in the current market. The guitar pickup bears the torch for raunchy retro tones with adjustments to appease modern guitar players.
Consider the SD Antiquity P90 pickup for its gritty mids and retro flavor. The bridge pup sings with tangy snark, and the neck pup purrs with fuzzy warmth. Aged covers are pretty cool, too.
Lindy Fralin P90 pickups are high-quality customizable pickups available in a variety of windings, shapes, and colors. They deliver a refined early 50’s tone without the 60-cycle hum.
- Mojo Tone ’56 Quiet Coil P90 Pickups (Our Pick)
- Bare Knuckle Old Guard P90 Pickups (Best Value)
- Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90 Pickup (Best Vintage)
- Lindy Fralin P90 Pickups
- Lollar P90 Pickups (Best Hi-Fi)
- Seymour Duncan Phat Cats P90 Pickup Set
- Fishman Greg Koch Gristle Tone P90 Pickups
1. Mojo Tone ’56 Quiet Coil P90 Pickup
Mojotone ’56 Quiet Coil P90 pickup is available in a single or set, engineered for clarity and growl without interfering hum.
These pickups use period-correct parts like lower output Alnico 2 magnets, scatter wound coils, handmade bobbins, and 42-gauge coil wire.
Installation doesn’t need any mods, but the manufacturer recommends 500K pots.
Specs
- Quiet-coil (hum-free) passive P-90 Pickup
- Period-correct parts and design w/ modern tweaks
- Alnico 2 magnets, black/cream cover
- The best P90 pickup for the pure early ‘50s sounds
Review
From crispy Townshend chords to gnarly Black Sabbath riffs, the pickup offers a wide range of vintage vibes without the annoying hum.
Unlike the “modern” Lindy Fralins, these P90s offer pure retro sounds with cutting mids and single-coil-like clarity, but not too hot.
You can also pick an overwound ‘Hot’ version for an extra wallop.
This Mojo-Tones sound fat and ballsy, with no dodgy lows or muddy mids at all.
These are crystal clear when clean and cut through with a driven amp.
They are as close as you can get to the “pure” P0 tones but are slightly fatter and chewier than the original 1950s guitar pickup.
The regular P90 is one of the best noiseless P90 pickups in any switch position, with excellent volume balance between the neck/bridge pickups.
The neck position offers thick and warm lows, and the bridge position sounds sharp and authoritative, with loads of character and clarity.
Verdict
The Mojo Tone set is pricey, but it offers an authentic P90 tone with a wide dynamic range.
As a set, it’s hum-free, easy to install, and yields sound that sits beautifully in any mix.
The regular pickups are a decisive upgrade over the stock pickups in any Epi or low-end Gibson.
2. Bare Knuckle Old Guard P90 Pickups
Bare Knuckle recently launched the Old Guard pickup series featuring stellar P90 pickups.
These fresh-on-the-market pups proffer the classic sounds of the 50s and 60s at a cutthroat price.
According to the manufacturer, these pickups are ideal for rock, blues, country, and pop.
Specs
- Hand-wound single-coil Soapbar P-90 Set
- Alnico 2 magnets, black or cream cover
Review
The Old Guard P90 is a single coil with moderate output. It can handle high-gain settings reasonably well.
These are UK-made hand-wound pickups from a brand that has become famous in recent years. They are a more affordable version of the Pig 90 pickup.
You can customize the Pig 90, but the Old Guard is not customizable, which helps keeps the costs low.
They are fresh on the market, so there isn’t a lot of feedback from the community.
But from the looks (and sounds) of demos and reviews, these pickups deliver the classic P-90 mid-output guitar tones.
They have an old-school flavor, not hi-fi at all. Expect an unwrinkled tone, springy cleans (Tele-like), and excellent bridge/neck balance.
As a replacement pickup, it fits any standard-sized P90 rout, so you won’t need any mods.
Verdict
The Bare Knuckle P90 Set is a middle-of-the-road option for guitar players.
It is hand-wound and masterfully crafted but easy on the pocket. Consider it if you want P90 pickups that deliver an open, old-school sound with traditional output and a highly responsive tone.
3. Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90 Pickup
The Antiquity guitar pickup delivers era-authentic ’50 LP tones using period-correct materials like enamel mag wire, hand-fabricated bobbin, and flatback tape.
The soapbar P90 can be used as a set or single in the neck and bridge position.
It is available in aged black or cream covers and is a drop-in replacement for any standard P90-sized rout.
Specs
- Single-coil passive P-90 Pickup
- Based on the Gibson ‘50s design
- Alnico II magnets, black/cream cover
- Best P-90 pickup for jazzy, mellow sounds
Review
The SD Antiquity P90 pickup features Alnico 2 bar magnets and is wound to reproduce the insolent and resolute tones of a ‘50s LP bridge pickup.
However, the grit is laced with a warmth that makes chord voicings sound full-bodied and round. Very sweet and musical, indeed.
These P-90s are very responsive with a slightly broken-up but balanced overall tone.
They are more polite than the Phat Cats and not as loud as the Lindy Fralins. But they work well in the neck position for clean jazz chords and creamy melodic lines with a kiss of overdrive.
This pickup is raunchy enough for a rock setting, too. In the bridge position, the coarse mid-range and moderately high output can sound convincingly dirty.
Moreover, it’s a definite upgrade over stock pickups in an Epiphone guitar or lower-priced Gibson models.
Verdict
This deliciously vintage P90 pickup is a throwback to the Gibson Kalamazoo days.
It offers great value and has much praise from guitar players and reviewers. You should consider it for the neck position in an ES-style guitar, particularly for a round, woody tone.
4. Lindy Fralin P90 Pickups
You have three options with the Lindy Fralin P90 guitar pickup – Ultimate Vintage, Jazzmaster Tone, and True Tone.
The Ultimate Vintage has a stiff attack, vintage output, and thick/percussive stone. The Jazzmaster P-90 is low-output but clean and has a unique design.
We put forth the Lindy Fralin True Tone as the best noiseless p90 of the litter (to our ears).
Specs
- Single-coil passive P90
- Alnico II magnets, black or cream cover
- Standard, 5 or 10% overwound and 5% underwound
- Best noiseless P90 pickup for guitars
Review
LF True Tone is the flagship hum-canceling P90 pickup, designed for modern output while retaining the traditional tone and aesthetic.
It boasts a unique coil design for a hum-free performance and an innovative magnet structure for clear, articulate sounds.
You can buy this pickup as a set and single in a Dog Ear, Short Dog Ear, or Soapbar design.
Each variation is available in three options – standard, 5% or 10% overwound, and 5% underwound.
You can also specify the type of shielding. Highly customizable, indeed.
Tone-wise, it has a lively character with a huge mid-range response and modern output.
Expect biting brightness in the bridge position, ideal for non-Tele rock and country-style guitar work.
The neck position is perfect for jazz/blues, capable of mellow sounds with excellent note separation.
On the whole, it’s a popular hi-fi P90 pickup with incredible tonal versatility.
Verdict
Lindy Fralin P-90s are one of the best aftermarket P90 pickups.
They sound brighter and louder than the Antiquity and smoother than Mojo-tone.
They are too expensive for a weekend experiment but an advisable investment if you need a versatile, high-performance P90 pickup.
5. Lollar P-90 Soapbar
The Lollar set has two passive single-coil P90 pickups for electric guitars.
Made in the USA, each pickup features unevenly hand-wound coils, demagnetized Alnico 5 magnets, and a cream or black soapbar case.
This replacement set aims to capture the sounds of the ’54 Alnico V Gibson pickups with tweaks that suit the needs of modern guitar players.
Specs
- Passive soapbar P90 set
- Alnico 5 magnet bars and unevenly wound coils
- Available as a set or single pickups
- 2-wire connection, black or cream cover
Review
Lollars are one of the most popular replacements for P90 pickups in the current market, and for good reason.
They deliver fat vintage tones with thick lows, throaty mids, and soft highs. In other words, it’s a refined version of everything you expect in the basic P90 flavor.
The neck pickup yields creamy sounds with the requisite warmth for jazz/blues voicings.
The middle position has Tele-like tangy-sweet cleans, ideal for country players. The bridge position yields PAF-like tones for rock and roll grind, nasty but detailed.
Expect rude mids, pretty cleans, and airy openness as you switch through the positions.
Lollar P-90s are also famous for excellent volume balance with a dash of heat in single-note lines.
In a nutshell, they are a hi-fi alternative offering the traditional tone with more treble clarity.
Verdict
This pickup set reminds us that looking back for inspiration can be good.
The Lollars sound just as round and raw as any other P90 but also creamy, clean, and ’50s-flavored.
They offer an articulate period-correct tone reminiscent of an upscale archtop. They rank among the best noiseless P90 pickups for Fender or Gibson-style instruments and modern hybrids.
6. Seymour Duncan Phat Cats P90 Pickup Set
These hand-built SD pickups offer the P90 experience retrofitted under a humbucker cover.
Each pick is a true sing-coil P90 soapbar with Alnico-2 magnets, extra shielding, vacuum wax potting, and black or cream covers.
It is noise-free when used as a set (reverse wind, reverse polarity), but you can use singles in the neck or bridge position.
Specs
- Passive single-coil Soapbar P-90 Set
- Alnico 2 magnets, black/cream/silver cover
- Best P-90 pickup for a standard humbucker rout
Review
The Phat Cats are your best bet if you are new to the P90 mania.
These pickups are designed to fit into a standard humbucker rout, saving you the trouble of buying a new guitar.
A cheap mod is all you need to brush shoulders with its thick propositions and crazy amounts of tone.
The Phat Cats are best known for their response to high-gain settings and overdrive.
They grunt belligerently with stiff, percussive sounds when you attack the strings. As a set, they have a lot of tonal versatility and a balanced output with little-to-no noise.
Expect mid-forward tones with skinny lows and a crisp top end.
The neck pickup has loads of clarity, and the growly bridge pickup is crisp and hot.
Whatever you can coax from the pickup will sound at home in rock, blues, country, and even rockabilly.
The sounds are suitably clean but not warm or rounded enough for jazzy pursuits.
Verdict
The Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P90 Pickup is closer to an overwound single coil than a traditional soapbar P90.
It’s not comparable to stock Gibson P90s due to the difference in size (and sound). But there aren’t too many options to buy a P90 pickup that fits a humbucker rout.
In that exacting use case, the Phat Cats are the best P90 pickups in the current market.
7. Fishman Greg Koch Gristle Tone P90 Pickups
Old-school P-90s were notoriously noisy, arguably the most hum-inducing pickups ever made.
Fishman solved that problem by reimagining the P-90 design instead of looking backward for inspiration.
These Fluence soapbar pickups use Alnico bar magnets, a 48-layer coil, and threaded pieces with proprietary wire and windings.
The redrawn design yields a pickup that stretches the definition of what a P90 looks and sounds like.
Specs
- Fishman Greg Koch Signature P-90 pickups
- Hum-free soapbar set powered by a 9V battery
- Three voices for vintage, hot, and Tele-like tones
Review
The Fluence P-90s are highly resistant to signal loss or loading, which makes them ideal for any stage or studio setting.
You can tap into three voices to sculpt tones at the bidding of a push-pull knob. These are three subtle but distinct P90 flavors – Vintage, Hot, and Clear.
The vintage voice yields thick tones with a biting edge. The hot voice mimics an overwound P-90, ideal for percussive riffs, power-chord rhythms, and other high-gain rock textures.
The third voice generates twangy Tele-like sounds for clean chord work with a dash of heat.
Lastly, the Fluence P90 pickups are super clean and articulate, perhaps too clean for old-school P-90 lovers.
In fact, we recommend you skip these if you are specifically looking for wooly vintage tones.
They have other things to offer – clarity, versatility, and expressiveness.
Verdict
The Fishman Greg Koch Signature pickups are modern-sounding P90s in the sense that they trade some grit for extra output and clarity.
Consider them if you want hum-free P90s with a wide palette of tones but less granular mids.
It’s a sideways mod rather than an upgrade over stocks. But you’ll only get there if you can mate your guitar to push-pull pots and a 9V battery.
FAQ
What is the hottest P90 pickup?
The Mojo-Tone ’56 P90 (Hot Version) is the hottest P90 pickup we encountered.
The 10% overwound Lindy Fralin P90 pickups are also hot, fat, and nasal-sounding.
Generally, any overwound pickup will give hotter and fatter sounds compared to the standard design.
What genres are P90s good for?
P90s are worth considering for all genres except modern rock and metal.
Modern P90 pickups by Mojo-Tone, Seymour Duncan, and Lindy Fralin have a versatile tone usable for a wide range of genres like country, blues, pop, and jazz.
They don’t work for metal because P90s are single-coil pickups with moderate output, which means they can be noisy in high-gain settings.
Is there a P90-sized humbucker?
There is no commercial P90-sized humbucker from a big-name manufacturer in the current market.
However, you can find a few P90-sized humbuckers from boutique pickup makers or custom order them.
Alternatively, you can get an expert to rout your guitar to fit any P90 or humbucker. Also, there are several humbucker-sized P90 pickups available online.
