What is a P90 and a related GFS Dream 90 question

[tcarp]

Here's the pickup noob part of me asking....

I recently bought a set of GFS Dream 90's thinking I was buying humbuckers. I haven't used them yet but I understand they are simply P90's under a chrome h'bucker cover.

So what exactly is a P90...single coil....humbucker, or something else?

The GFS Dream 90 has the wiring of a single coil, and I'm thinking of trying the neck p'up in my latest partscaster, paired with a traditional single coil SD Vintage '54 bridge. What can I expect with 250K pots?

Tom

[copperheadroad]

These dream 90 are similar to a p-90 but the physical size of a p-90 can't be housed in a humbucker but p-90's & the dream 90's are single coils
with 250k pots I suspect they might not be bright enough

[Chrismo]

A P-90 is a beefier singlecoil that is the "bridge" between a single coil and a humbucker. Just enough clarity but with enough meat to punch an amp.

The Dream 90s work well with 250K pots, but they're not very P-90ish to me. To me, they're very Rickenbacker-esque in tone, at least to my ears. They're great sounding pickups and would balance well with the Vintage '54.

[Tim Armstrong]

Yeah, a real P-90 is just a beefy single-coil pickup. Note that it's not uncommon to find a smaller pickup hiding under the cover of some copy P-90s (not saying that's the case with GFS stuff).

Tim

[Narcoleptigon]

I've read that the D90 is really just a fat sounding Strat-type singlecoil. The case size is for show, but the metal housing probably has some affect on the resonance. It's not constructed just like a p90, which has sideways facing magnets with a stout coil wrapped above them.

[TeleMan59]

I just put a D90 in the bridge of what was a HH tele w/500 pots. It works well. Nice balance with the HB set low away from the strings. Like the single coil sound in the bridge.

[AJBaker]

From what I understand, the mean 90 is a better example of a p90 under a humbucker cover. The dreams seem to be strat pickups under a large cover.