A lot of players are searching for the perfect electric guitar, or is it really the perfect guitar pickup. There's a lot of variables involved of course, especially what guitar you put them in, but the myriad choices out that make it a very enjoyable / long search. But what if we're looking for the wrong pickup type in the first place?
Talking guitar upgrades: pickups, pots, maintenance and relic’ing with Monty’s Guitars’ Matt Gleeson
We've always been big P-90 fans – especially recreations of the pre-PAF 50s Gibson designs that are made by the likes of Monty's and The Creamery in the UK. But what about mini humbuckers? Some might view them as a compromise, a lesser humbucker. But YouTuber, producer and musician Rick Beato's Les Paul shootout in the video above bucks (ahem) any such suggestion.
Tone is in the ear of the beholder and Beato and guitarist Rhett Shull use different Les Pauls, of course, but this is an interesting and enlightening comparison for players nonetheless. We have to say we're really liking the brightness of the bridge mini humbucker, and roundness of the neck position here.
But really, they all sound good. Guitarists have never had it so good when there's so many modern model options alongside old school recreations. And we still love the vintage P-90 edge with a more open tonality than modern designs - for us it brings a little Tele to the equation for the best of all worlds. Beato loves them too, while Shull also sagely notes the unsung status of mini humbuckers.
See what you think.
“A pro-quality tool for hard-working musicians who like the guitar to do the heavy lifting”: Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster HSS
“You never know what will happen. You’re on a bus with pythons”: Orianthi on her Orange Oriverb amp, how soloing is like rapping and why confetti cannons are just one of the risks on an Alice Cooper tour
