When you’re upgrading your guitar or shopping for a new set of pickups, one of the biggest questions you’ll face is: Should I go with humbuckers or P-90s?

Both pickup styles have shaped decades of guitar music. You'll find these pickups give you sounds that range from crunchy rock riffs to smooth jazz tones. Thanks to modern brands, there are now plenty of affordable humbucker and P-90 options that don’t compromise on sound quality. In this post, we’ll break down the differences, the strengths of each, and help you decide which pickup is the right match for your playing style.

What Are Humbucker Pickups?

Humbuckers were invented in the 1950s as a solution to the noisy single-coil pickup. By wiring two coils together in opposite polarity, they “buck the hum” (hence the name).

Tone Profile:

• Warm, full, and smooth
• Excellent sustain
• Strong low end with a rounded top

Best For:

• Rock
• Hard rock & metal
• Jazz
• Blues with thicker tones

Affordable Options We Recommend:

• Seymour Duncan ’59 Model Humbucker – classic PAF sound at a fair price
• DiMarzio Super Distortion – powerful rock and metal tones
• Tonerider Alnico 2 Classic - warm vintage humbucker tone 
• Railhammer Humbuckers – unique design for clarity and punch

What Are P-90 Pickups?

The P-90 predates humbuckers and is often considered a “hot single-coil.” With a wider coil than traditional Fender-style single-coils, the P-90 sits in its own tonal category—bright and snappy, yet gritty when pushed.

Tone Profile:

• Bright, raw, and edgy
• Midrange punch
• More bite than a humbucker, more grit than a Strat pickup

Best For:

• Classic rock
• Punk
• Blues with attitude
• Indie/garage tones

Affordable Options We Recommend:

• Seymour Duncan SP90-1 Vintage Soapbar – vintage growl with modern reliability
• Tonerider Vintage 90 - soapbar P-90 with vintage grit

Side-by-Side Comparison

Which Pickup Should You Choose?

• Choose Humbuckers if… you want a smooth, powerful tone with less noise, ideal for high-gain playing and warm clean tones. Perfect for players who like thick leads and rhythm tones.

• Choose P-90s if… you want grit, bite, and a more “vintage raw” sound that cuts through a mix. Great for players who want their guitar to sound unique, with a little edge.

The good news? Many guitarists eventually end up owning both—because each style shines in its own way. If you are still having a hard time deciding give us a call! 

Humbucker-Sized P-90s: The Best of Both Worlds

If you love the gritty midrange punch of a P-90 but your guitar is routed for humbuckers, you don’t have to break out the router or swap guitars. Many brands now offer humbucker-sized P-90s, giving you that raw, vintage tone in a direct humbucker replacement size. These pickups drop right into a standard humbucker slot, making them an easy upgrade for Les Pauls, SGs, or any guitar with dual humbuckers.

Why Choose Humbucker-Sized P-90s?

• No modifications needed — perfect retrofit for humbucker guitars.
• Delivers P-90 character (bright, biting, mid-forward).
• Available in both vintage-output and higher-gain models.

Popular Affordable Options:

• Seymour Duncan Phat Cat – classic P-90 tone in a humbucker housing.
• Railhammer Humcutter Series – hybrid designs with P-90 bite and humbucker clarity.
• Tonerider Rebel 90 – traditional P-90 tone

This option is perfect if you want P-90 flavor without major surgery to your guitar, or if you’re chasing tonal versatility in a single instrument.

Final Thoughts

Whether you go with an affordable humbucker or a budget-friendly P-90, you don’t have to break the bank to get pro-level tone. Brands like Tonerider, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Lace, and Railhammer all make excellent options that deliver signature sounds without the boutique price tag.

Explore our full selection of guitar pickups at MacDaddy Music and find the right set to match your style.

In this post we'll look more closely at P-90 pickups. As a quick note of clarification, you may see this type of pickup referred to as a "P90." The technical and correct term for this particular pickup is "P-90" with a hyphen. Both P90 and P-90 are referring to the same pickup.

P-90's originally were used by Gibson for around a decade before the invention of the humbucker. They've remained a popular option through the decades due to their unique tone.

If you're knowledgeable about pickup design you might say "aren't P-90's a single coil pickup?" And the short answer to your question is, yes! That said they're also unique enough in their size, design and tone from typical single coils (Strat or Tele styles) that they warrant their own blog post.

Differences Between a Single Coil and a P-90 Pickup

There are three notable differences between a single coil and a P-90 pickup are as follows:

Magnets:

Single coils use rod magnets (ie the pole pieces are the magnets) while P-90's use bar magnets (ie magnets that run the width of the pickup on the underside with pole pieces transferring the magnetism up through the pickup).

Components:

While the basic components more or less overlap in both models, the P-90 has more parts involved in their build which inevitably change the tone.

Size: 

P-90's are roughly double the physical size of most single coil pickups.  Again - this impacts the variety in tonal differences.

(images courtesy of Seymour Duncan)

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What does the P-90 pickup sound like?

So what does the P-90 sound like compared to single coil (or even a humbucker)?  The P-90 falls somewhere in the middle of the two tonally.  Generally louder and full than the single coil and quieter and a bit brighter than the humbucker.  It provides great punch and clarity compared to a humbucker and a nice gritty edge to it that simply can't be found with a single coil.

Here is a demo video of Seymour Duncan P90 Vintage set and P90 Hot set of pickups:

For comparison purposes, here are some demos of Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups:

If you are looking for more demos, check out this video.

Sizes of P-90 pickups

Now that we've covered the differences between single coils and P-90's, let's look at the three main sizes of P-90's.

Soapbar P-90

As its name implies, this is the shape of a...wait for it...bar of soap!  This is the most widely used size of P-90.  The mounting screws and springs go through the body of the pickup.

Suhr S90 Soapbar P90 Bridge Pickup

Dogear P-90

These have the same base shape as a soapbar model, but with dogear shaped mounting ears which allow for a different mounting option.

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Dogear P90

Humbucker sized P-90

In recent years many pickup manufacturers have released P-90's in a humbucker sized housing which allows guitarists to swap out their humbucker equipped guitars with a P-90 without any modification to their guitar. 

These retain the essential design structure of a traditional P-90.  Models such as the Tonerider Rebel 90 and the, Seymour Duncan Phat Cat are great examples of these at different price points.

It's worth mentioning that there are some hum-cancelling P-90 models on the market.  These essentially stack two single coil P-90's under one housing with one being reverse wound/reverse polarity for hum cancelling operation.

Are P90s better than humbuckers?

If you are looking for a brighter tone and don't mind some hum, a P90 pickup is a good choice for you. If you are wanting a warmer tone with no hum, look into a humbucker. The "best" pickup is the one that gives you the tone you want - and fits your guitar! If you are trying to decide if you should get a P-90 or a humbucker, head here. 

Be sure to head over to our storefront to check out all of our  P90 pickups! 

If you are looking for more information about pickups, be sure to check out our brief overview of the history of guitar pickups as well as an in depth look at single coils and humbuckers.

Truth be told, there is no "right or wrong" order for your pedals. The effects world is an art, not a science. There are some guidelines you can follow in order to help you get the best tone. Generally speaking, effects that change the tone of your guitar should go at the start of your chain, while effects that modulate the frequencies go towards the end.

Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule. Lets jump in to the different types of pedals and discuss where they should go on your pedalboard.

Compression Pedals

Compressor pedals commonly control volume, tone, attack, and sustain. These are typically placed at the start of your chain or at the very end. Placing your compression pedal at the beginning will even-out the input signal. This will give you a tighter tone. Placing compression at the end of your chain will give you a more consistent level across all of your pedals.

Boost Pedals

A boost pedal provides an extra channel for your amp by increasing the volume level of the signal going in. These pedals are usually placed at the beginning of your chain as they can boost your fuzz or overdrive.

Overdrive Pedals and Distortion Pedals

An overdrive pedal will add gain to your electric guitar signal, causing it to break up or distort a bit (or more) depending on how much is used. A distortion pedal produces more gain and clips the signal even harder. These should come early in your pedal chain. These are often placed before fuzz pedals.

Fuzz Pedals

Scientifically speaking, a fuzz pedal alters your sound wave until it is almost square and adds overtones. You will want to place your fuzz pedal early in your chain in order to get the best sound. Fuzzes are often placed after boost, overdrive, and distortion for a richer tone.

Delay Pedals and Reverb Pedals

Delay pedals will create a copy of your signal and play it back. Reverb pedals will create a "live" sound by emulating sound waves bouncing off surfaces. These are typically placed in the middle or towards the end of your chain. Reverb pedals are often found at the very end of the chain of however, sometimes there can be a modulation effect after it.

Modulation Pedals

Because modulation pedals have different effects (chorus, tremolo, phaser, flanger, and uni-vibe), they can go in different parts of your chain. Generally speaking, modulation pedals will be placed at the very end of your chain. Phaser and flanger pedals are sometimes placed before distortion for a natural sound.

Equalizer Pedals

An equalizer (EQ) pedal allows you to boost or cut gain in a particular frequency for your electric guitar. It allows you to take a sound that you already like and shape it more specifically for your application. These are often placed after your distortion

Wah Pedals

A wah pedal, also known as a wah-wah pedal, alters the tone and frequencies of your electric guitar to give it the distinct sound of someone saying "wah wah." These are often placed before distortion and at the beginning of your chain to create the best "wah" sound. For a more sweeping tone, you can place your wah after your gain effects.

As we mentioned, there really is no right or wrong place to put your effects. Be sure to experiment with your setup to get the tone that you are looking for.

If you still have questions about where to best place an effect in your signal chain, etc please connect with us via the chat feature on our site, via email or over the phone. We'd love to help you out!

A humbucker features two coils, one wound in the opposite direction (reverse wound or RW) and with magnets opposing polarity from the other coil (reverse polarity or RP). This design produces a few unique characteristics.

First, the output of the pickup is higher (hotter, louder, etc). Second, the tone is also a fuller, fatter tone with more mids and bass. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the introduction of the second reverse wound coil eliminated the 60 cycle hum found in single coils.

Types of Humbuckers

There are a variety of humbuckers available, but most fall into a handful of general categories. These categories are PAF, vintage or moderate output, high output, and active humbuckers. You will find that there is some overlap between these. Lets break it down.

PAF Humbuckers

These are designed after the vintage Gibson "Patent Applied For" humbucker. This type of humbucker gives you the tone that most people associate with humbuckers. These types of humbuckers feature moderate output and typically have vintage braided single conductor leads.

What does a PAF humbucker sound like?

PAF humbuckers have a full sound. Your tone will be a little less bright than a single coil pickup. PAFs will give you warm lows and clear highs.

A couple of our favorite PAF humbuckers are:

Seymour Duncan SH-55 Seth Lover Neck & Bridge Humbucker pickup set

DiMarzio DP275 PAF 59 Bridge Humbucker and DiMarzio DP274 PAF 59 Neck Humbucker

Vintage or Moderate Output Humbuckers

These humbuckers are built similarly to PAF's but are built to produce more output and typically different tones due to a change in components.

High Output Humbuckers

High output humbuckers are wound with more wire, so they feature more output than a PAF, Vintage or Moderate stylehumbucker. These pickups are typically used for rock, metal, and their variants. They often utilize four conductor wiring allowing more switching and tonal options than a traditionally designed humbucker.

Active Humbuckers

Active humbuckers require external power and produce a tone that's very modern and typically very high output. Active designs are typically quiet in operation and feature great tonal clarity.

There are a handful of other unique humbucker designs on the market such as the Lace Alumitone models, but the vast majority of models on the market fall into the above categories.

Lead Wires

There are two types of lead wires that are most common.

Vintage braided single conductor

Early humbucker models used what's called a vintage braided single conductor wire. This combines the two individual coils into one, thus creating the humbucker (wired in series - see below for more detail).

This is still a very common wiring style and allows the humbucker to be wired into a standard configuration often with one pickup in the neck and one in the bridge (like a Les Paul or SG style guitar). The two humbuckers can then be wired with a 3-way selector switch to use just one or both of the pickups.

Four conductor

Four conductor models are a more recent development and allow the user to access the start and end of each coil of the humbucker. Why would you want to do that? Well, simply put: options!

Some people like simple, tried and true things while other people like options. If you like options, the four conductor humbucker is for you! With this wiring option you can still wire your guitar just like a vintage single conductor model, yet with the access to each coil you can also use just 1/2 of each humbucker (giving you a tone very similar to a single coil pickup) and you can also switch between series and parallel wiring for different tonal options.

Other Types of Wiring

While the first two types of lead wires are the most common, there are a handful of other options on the market including two and three conductor models.

Wiring configurations & terms for Humbucker pickups

The following terms will be helpful for you to know in regards to Humbucker pickups

Coil Splitting

This is possible with a humbucker that allows you to access just one of the coils (typically a 4-conductor model). When accessing a single coil the output will typically be 1/2 of what the standard output is for the humbucker. Tone will be similar to a single coil pickup.

Parallel Wiring

Again this is possible with a 4-conductor pickup. This allows the user to access both coils on the humbucker and use them side by side thus creating a different tone than wiring in series. The output is less than series wiring and produces more clarity and high end.

Series Wiring

Most "traditional" humbuckers (ie those built with a vintage braided lead wire) are wired in series- essentially going from one coil into the other coil consecutively. Series wiring produces more output than parallel and typically features more mid range tone.

Wax potting

Early pickups, especially humbuckers would sometimes produce microphonic feedback (ie unpleasant feedback, not the musical type often associated with rock music). This was caused due to small voids inside the pickup between the different components.

Dipping a finished pickup into liquid wax fills these voids and prevents microphonic feedback from occurring. Wax potting is typically standard for most modern pickups, but since wax potting does make small changes to the tone of a pickup there are a few exceptions such as the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover model.

All of these terms and concepts discussed have a lot more detail that can be discussed, but I've tried to summarize into basic concepts in an effort to give a quick overview. A great resource if you'd like to read more in depth is the Seymour Duncan Pickup Glossary.

You can find all the Humbucker pickups we sell at Macdaddy Music here.

In my last blog post I gave a historical summary and brief overview of the various types. In this post we'll look more closely at single coil pickups. 

At their simplest, single coils are the most basic and widely used pickup on the market.  Originally, they used a relatively simple design consisting of a fiberboard bass & top, magnetized pole pieces, copper wire, and usually wax (dipping a pickup in hot wax allows the voids inside the pickup components to be filled, thus eliminated unwanted microphonic feedback). 

Over the years there have been a number of developments that have opened up more possibilities. One of the biggest reasons for innovation in the single coil pickup is the constant issue caused by 60hz hum from electrical outlets (if you care to read more on this topic here's a more in depth article from a source more knowledgeable than myself). One of the most basic developments is the idea shared with a humbucker: 

Reverse winding/reverse polarity (rw/rp) 

A simple concept to help solve a nagging issue. Matching two single coils with one rw/rp pickup eliminates the noise from 60 cycle hum when both pickups are used together.  In a Stratocaster model, an rw/rp pickup is most often used in the middle position allowing hum cancellation in the "notch" positions (ie positions 2 and 4 on a 5 way switch).  The same concept applies to any other two pickup style guitar (Tele, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, dual P90 equipped guitar, etc), with the hum cancelling occurring only in the middle position on a 3 way switch.

Noiseless single coil design

In the early 1980's Lace Music began to produce their Single Coil Sensor pickups. 

These were a way to achieve a nearly noiseless sound out of a single coil sized pickup by itself, while still retaining the basic tone associated with vintage style single coils.  Building on the same idea many other manufacturers would begin to build their own version of noiseless single coils including Fender (SCN & N3), Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio Lindy Fralin and others. While the designs vary slightly from builder to builder, the concept is the same: to build a single coil sized (and sounding) pickup that eliminates 60 cycle hum!

Single coil sized humbuckers

Similar to the Lace Sensor style of pickup, manufacturers also started to build single coil sized humbuckers.  In one sense, these are the same as noise cancelling single coils in that they cancel hum, but in another sense they're quite different. While noiseless single coils are intended to retain vintage "single coil tone," a single coil sized humbucker is designed to provide the tone of a humbucker in a single coil housing. 

Tonally speaking, a humbucker is a beefier sounding, higher output pickup compared to a traditional single coil.  Many manufacturers now make some version of these such as the Seymour Duncan JB Jr.

Active single coils

As active pickups began to grow in popularity, single coil models of active pickups also became more widely used.  An active single coil retains a lot of the sparkle, clarity and punch that single coils are typically known for while allowing for higher output and noiseless operation. These provide a very different tone that's widely used especially in heavier and more modern styles of music. EMG's SA Active Single Coil is a popular example of this style single coil.

While most of what I've referenced in this post references Strat style pickups, the same concepts and design are used for Tele pickups and in some instances other lesser used single coil designs.

Macdaddy Music sells a variety of pickups. Be sure to check out our Tele pickups, Strat pickups, and P90s. 

Guitar pickups have been around since before the widespread use of solid body electric guitars that made them an instrumental part of modern music (excuse the pun).  Before Les Paul, before Leo Fender, there was Charlie Christian.  While not the first guitar pickup model ever built, Charlie's pickup was the first used in wide scale production starting in the 1930's.  

Then as most people know, Les Paul, Seth Lover and Leo Fender (among a few others) helped innovate and popularize the concept of a solid body electric guitar pickup. Even in the very early days there were a variety of different models all with their own unique tone, design and aesthetic appeal.  Here's a brief summary starting from the early days and moving forward.

Single Coil Pickups   

As the name implies, the single coil is built with a single coil of wire (wound on a bobbin, with magnets, pole pieces, etc).  These were used (and still are) in Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars.  They're know for their bright and punchy tone and helped define entire genres of music.  Oh yeah they also are known as inherently noisy due to something called 60 cycle hum (more on that later). While Strat and Tele pickups have their own unique tone, the basic concept, design and tone is very similar.  In later years other models would use a similar pickup design, but with a different size and shape.  Models such as the Jaguar, Jazzmaster, and the Mustang.

Humbucker Pickups

Humbuckers: These used a similar, yet slightly more complex design to single coils.  Instead of just one coil of wire, a second coil is used right next to the first, but wound in the opposite direction and with a magnet opposite in polarity.  This produces a few unique characteristics.  

First, the output of the pickup is higher (hotter, louder, etc).  Second, the tone is also a fuller, fatter tone with more mids and bass.  Lastly (and perhaps most importantly) the introduction of the second reverse wound coil eliminated the 60 cycle hum found in single coils (get it? "Hum"bucker? Old joke, I'll be here all night).  That function alone was the driving reason behind the design of the humbucker, but obviously the advent of the humbucker also produced another tonal option for guitarists to choose from. The humbucker was and is still widely used.

P90 Pickups

P90's: The P90 was originally used by Gibson to replace the aforementioned Charlie Christian pickup.  Initially it came in two different sizes/housings: the soapbar and the dogear (names are self-explanatory).  The P90 is a single coil pickup, but due to it's size it has its own unique tone.  It's not as bright as Strat & Tele single coils, but is brighter and more transparent than the humbucker.  In recent years the humbucker sized P90 has become a popular pickup.

Mini Humbucker Pickups

Mini-Humbuckers: The mini-humbucker grew in popularity a little later than the other models mentioned thus far. Originally designed by Epiphone, then acquired by Gibson when they purchased Epiphone in the late 1950's, the mini-humbucker is exactly what it sounds like: a smaller humbucker.  Gibson used the mini-humbucker in many of their models in the 1970's.  Tonally they offer the hum cancelling of a humbucker, but due to the smaller size they have a brighter tone not found in standard humbuckers. 

With the increasing popularity in replacing pickups, the mini-humbucker offered another unique feature.  Coupled with the mounting ring, the mini-humbucker was a perfect retrofit for a soapbar sized P90. This allowed replacement of P90's without having to route into the body of a guitar.

Active pickups: 

In the mid 1970's, a whole new design came along - the active pickup.  Introduced and popularized by EMG Pickups, active pickups utilize electronic circuitry within the design of the pickup to affect it's tone.  Part of the design requires external power usually coming from a 9v battery. Active pickups still use the basic concepts of traditional pickup design, but with the active circuitry produce different tones, typically flatter frequency responses and also allow for higher output than a traditional pickup.  Active pickups have grown in popularity over the years and as with most types of pickups they help define whole genres of music.

I've skipped over a lot of great innovations and models, but this hits the high points of the history of the electric guitar pickup. Another great article I read recently featured some of the great innovations in guitar pickups put together by Guitar Player magazine.  Check it out here.

Be sure to check out Macdaddy Music's large selection of pickups!

There are only 300 of the Aurora and 200 of the Nebula being manufactured. EVER.  We're getting a handful of each in and are taking pre-orders.  Get them while you can! When they're gone, they're gone!  To pre-order please either call (218.260.4176) to order over the phone or email and we'll send a Paypal invoice.