'50s Wind P-90 Soapbar

Product Details

The Lollar 50s Wind P-90 is based on the pickups found in electric blues legend Sean Costello’s 1954 Les Paul Goldtop. Our 50s Wind P-90s are a faithful tribute based on Jason’s careful reverse engineering of Sean’s original pickups. They use lower output magnets specifically degaussed for a bright, percussive tone with plenty of cut. The 50s Wind P-90 isn’t as hot as our Standard P-90 and it puts more emphasis on the top end, with much less of the typical P-90 midrange “grind.” They’re a perfect fit for players who want a clear and chimey P-90 sound, and those who draw inspiration from Sean and the 50s- and 60s-era work of electric blues heavy hitters like Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin.

Avg. DC: Neck 7.1K, Middle 7.2K, Bridge 7.4K (Read about DC resistance)
Recommended Potentiometers: 500k
Recommended Capacitor: 0.022μF

'50s-style Pre-wired Kit for Les Pauls

Upgrading the electronics in a Les Paul^® yourself couldn’t be easier than it is with our Lollar Pre-wired Kits. The kits are hand-wired in our shop and meet Jason Lollar’s preferred specifications. This kit can be used in just about any Les Paul equipped with two pickups that each have their own volume and tone controls.

Whether you’re installing new pickups and want high-quality electronics to go with them, or you want to upgrade the stock electronics in your Les Paul^®, our pre-wired kits are a great option. We’ve done most of the work so all that’s left for you to do is install the kit in your guitar and solder in your pickups, output jack and switch.

MORE DETAILS
 

Pickup Dimensions

(Shown with cover)

Lollar P-90 '50s Wind Soap Bar Pickups

Above soundfiles played by Greg Timmons with a Fender Brown Vibrolux and a Lollar SG.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you offer metal covers for P-90s?
We don’t. However, there is a possible workaround. If you are replacing a P-90 pickup that has a metal cover, you can send us your pickup (we’ll need the entire pickup, not just the cover) and we can build one of our P-90s into your metal cover. Please contact our CS department for details on sending us your pickups—info@lollarguitars.com or 206-463-9838 (Mon – Fri, 9AM – 5PM Pacific Time)

What values of potentiometers and capacitors do you recommend for P-90 pickups?
The most common/traditional choices are 500k pots (both volume and tone) and .022μF caps—and these are the values we typically recommend. That said, there are no hard and fast rules. You can read more about how different pot and cap values affect tone in this two-part blog post: Part I - Pots, Part II - Caps.

How far from my strings should I set my P-90 pickups?
With two exceptions—our P-90 Staple and Alnico Pole P-90—all of our P-90s have adjustable poles. Your poles should be adjusted so they are as close as possible to the strings without actually touching them. We recommend starting with a 1/8” gap between the top of your pickup’s poles and the bottom of the strings and slowly reduce the distance. Be sure to check that the strings don’t hit the poles when you’re playing or muting the strings with the palm of your hand, and that there is clearance when you’re fretting high up the neck.

Do you make noiseless P-90s?
Our DC-90 is a hum-cancelling soapbar pickup that was inspired by our P-90's tone.

Do you offer a third wire on P-90s—like you do on your Tele neck pickups—for series/parallel or in/out of phase switching?
We can do a jacketed two-conductor wire with P-90s that will allow you to take advantage of in/out of phase or series/parallel wiring for a small per-pickup upcharge—contact us for pricing and details.

Do you offer F-spaced P-90s?
All of our Soapbar P-90 bridge pickups are available as F-spaced, except for our P-90 Staple. As the strings taper from the bridge toward the nut, there is no need for F-spaced neck pickups.

Can you explain the difference between the 50s Wind and Low/Standard/High Wind P-90s?
The Low/Standard/High Wind P-90s are variations on the same pickup. They use the same types of magnets and wire. They’re built the same way but with fewer turns in the case of the Low Wind and more turns for the High Wind.