Cheap P90

[radtz]

It's a late 1960 / early 1970 Richmond Japan. Probably late 60s. The 70s ushered in cheap Strat and Les Paul copies. It may have been sold in the early 70s but made in the late 60s.

JEDISTAR JAPANESE GUITARS SITE shows a Short Scale Bass with the same Bridge and Tail Piece. There is a book "History Of Japanese Guitars" that probably has a section on Richmond. Their Logo has existed for awhile.

Decca / Winston / Kingston all swapped out parts or bought from the same supplier. Most had their distinct pickups though. I had / have a good sized collection of these guitars. Mine are from the 70s mostly. I sold off a lot of them over the years.

I use mine for Slide Guitars mostly.
FG

That's great info. in all of your post here. The existing pots are labeled 500k and there is a green cap (no idea what that means) on the tone pot. I'm just gonna drop in the bridge pick-up and see how it sounds. My guess was the guitar was 1960's Japan but I am no expert. Definitely budget/student line. I saw the Jedistar site too. There are a couple of Richmonds for sale on Reverb. No one has any details though.

 

[stormin1155]

My theory on P-90s is that it is such a robust design that it's hard to find a bad sounding one. Even the stock P-90s on the $99 SX I once had sounded good. You can find ones with different tonal characteristics, and some are certainly noisier than others, but I've played countless P-90s, and can't remember ever playing one that sounded really bad.

 

[radtz]

Guitar Madness sells P90 Side By Side Magnet Single Coils. Would drop right into the pickguard.

GFS 300 Hot Pots ... work great with P90s. Tone Cap= your preference.

Measure and match your current pole spread.

OMG LOL...SO the new pickups came in from Guitar Madness last week. I was about to solder in a new one and look what that exisitng single coil turned out to be...

I see its a bit rusty and the poles aren't adjustable. so I am may go ahead with the new one. Any issues with the rust?

 

[FenderGyrl]

OMG LOL...SO the new pickups came in from Guitar Madness last week. I was about to solder in a new one and look what that exisitng single coil turned out to be...
View attachment 1112577I see its a bit rusty and the poles aren't adjustable. so I am may go ahead with the new one. Any issues with the rust?

Wow,
Moisture got into it. The coil wrap is probably bad as well. I would set it aside.
Maybe read it with a Voltmeter just for kicks. Bag it and tag it. I'd put the new pick up in it. Probably would be a good idea to get some electronics cleaner to spray into the pots before you close it back up.
FG

 

[fender4life]

Bootstrap screwdriver....i'd wager they are as good as gibson and $40 each. I have a number of bootstrap tele pickups and just ordered a strat set and all have been as good as any fender pickup i used, and fenders were all i used for a long time. Look up bootstrap here.......tons of members love them. Lot of members here say they're as good as most anything and insanely cheap. https://bootstrappickups.com/collections/soapbar/products/bootstrap-screwdriver-set-for-gibson®-p90

Also, as some have said a set of used epiphones out of a 2020 or above in the Inspired by Gibson line are as good or better then gibsons. I had a gibson with their top P90s and i prefer my epi specials p90s because they are better balanced and otherwise sound the same. Others have said the same and even gone as far as trying gibsons in their Epi only to find no difference.

 

[Bruxist]

Bootstrap screwdriver....i'd wager they are as good as gibson and $40 each. I have a number of bootstrap tele pickups and just ordered a strat set and all have been as good as any fender pickup i used, and fenders were all i used for a long time. Look up bootstrap here.......tons of members love them. Lot of members here say they're as good as most anything and insanely cheap. https://bootstrappickups.com/collections/soapbar/products/bootstrap-screwdriver-set-for-gibson®-p90

Also, as some have said a set of used epiphones out of a 2020 or above in the Inspired by Gibson line are as good or better then gibsons. I had a gibson with their top P90s and i prefer my epi specials p90s because they are better balanced and otherwise sound the same. Others have said the same and even gone as far as trying gibsons in their Epi only to find no difference.

Do you have one? I have been considering one but had not bought one yet, in part since they were not taking orders.

 

[fender4life]

Do you have one? I have been considering one but had not bought one yet, in part since they were not taking orders.

No, but i have yet to buy a bad bootstrap so i would assume they're good. The only issue is the same one u may find with any good pickup....will it match your guitar's tonal profile. On the other hand it's been said many times that it's almost impossible to make a P90 that doesn't sound great barring junk quality parts or way overwound etc etc. But bootstrap uses good quality parts and those are wound to traditional specs

 

[radtz]

Wow,
Moisture got into it. The coil wrap is probably bad as well. I would set it aside.
Maybe read it with a Voltmeter just for kicks. Bag it and tag it. I'd put the new pick up in it. Probably would be a good idea to get some electronics cleaner to spray into the pots before you close it back up.
FG

I have to fire up the soldering iron anyway to resolder the ground wire. I'm going to deox the pots well (they both were a little scratchy), I'll put in the new bridge pick-up (that will take 30 seconds of pickguard filing) and run with the new one. I still thinks its funny that it had a P90 in it.

 

[mojo filters]

It seems like you already have a guitar that you like - still nearly in stock form - but enhanced by non-intrusive improvements and upgrades you've already added.

You still have interesting original features, notably a pickup in single coil clothing that's built like a P90:

I don't have any guitars with a P90 and I would like to have one. I have a 60's-ish cheap student model Richmond guitar (I would love any info about the brand, the Google struck out - I assume its a Tiesco). It has a single coil middle pick-up. I was thinking about replacing the existing PU with a dog ear P90.

The issue is the guitar is worth about $100. I really like playing it, the intonation is fine, the action is low, it stays in tune and it weighs only 5.07 pounds. When I got it, I replaced the tuners, but I digress. I don't want to spend $140 for a pickup on a $100 guitar. I was thinking about a dog ear on top of the pickguard, but if I had to, I could route the pickguard for a soapbar, but I would rather not. I ordered a cheap P90 dogear PU cover to see if one would fit.

Are there any dirt cheap P90s that sound close to a "real" P90? I'm thinking less than $50. Also, would I have to repalce the volume or tone pots to switch from the single coil to the P90 single coil? I'm thinking ohm value here.

View attachment 1108821

OMG LOL...SO the new pickups came in from Guitar Madness last week. I was about to solder in a new one and look what that exisitng single coil turned out to be...
View attachment 1112577I see its a bit rusty and the poles aren't adjustable. so I am may go ahead with the new one. Any issues with the rust?

If I was in your position, I'd be strongly inclined to keep the vintage Richmond as-is. It's a lovely looking guitar you can't buy today, but if that alone is not enough reason to keep it looking that way - you can also never tell when an influential guitarist might suddenly raise the profile of that particular model.

I can understand the urge to scratch a proverbial itch, by way of adding a new flavour to your guitar collection. I managed to spend decades playing and owning various instruments, without ever paying the attention duly deserved by P90 pickups.

I only became interested in P90s relatively recently, when I began paying much more attention to pickup design in general, and classic configurations in particular. However as someone who only owns a few carefully curated electric guitars that range dramatically in value, I'm not yet in a position to explore the P90 as I'm unable to swap in either a traditional dogear or soapbar without making undesirable structural and aesthetic changes, plus I'm not keen on compromising the tone that would be inherent in substituting a P90 design clothed in single coil or humbucker housing.

Ideally I'd like my first P90 guitar to be either a Les Paul Jr or Epiphone Casino. Either instrument would fill the Gibson shaped hole in my collection, whilst also satisfying my love of The Beatles and John Lennon in particular.

I suspect the more realistic option will be something less expensive and much more Fender flavoured. Thankfully I've already had very good luck with the humbucker version of this Squier Vintage Modified model:

Since I have no real need for another guitar, so far I've restrained myself when one of these pops up at a reasonably fair price. I'm unwilling to pay the kind of prices I most commonly see these models advertised for.

On the other hand, if I was really determined to acquire a P90 equipped addition to the collection, I'd at least feel comfortable paying the price for one of these inexpensive Squiers since I've already had a positive experience with the humbucker model. Plus I'd have the added bonus of expecting to be able to move it on at little to no loss, if either I didn't get on with it or alternatively enjoyed the P90 thing so much, that I was immediately keen to upgrade!

Obviously I don't really know anything about the actual guitar the original poster is looking to modify. All I see is the nice existing look that I'd be wary of spoiling, but if it's actually as trashy as has been indicated - then maybes there's really no good reason not to make whatever changes are necessary to swap out pickups?

However from what I see, I'd be tempted to leave the existing pickup alone, then add the P90 in the neck position. I appreciate that involves the extra hassle of adding in some kind of switching, but there's always the less invasive option of swapping out a pot for a double stacked type, then wiring up one element as a blend control. That extra functionality might make the modification even more interesting!

 

[radtz]

It seems like you already have a guitar that you like - still nearly in stock form - but enhanced by non-intrusive improvements and upgrades you've already added.

You still have interesting original features, notably a pickup in single coil clothing that's built like a P90:



If I was in your position, I'd be strongly inclined to keep the vintage Richmond as-is. It's a lovely looking guitar you can't buy today, but if that alone is not enough reason to keep it looking that way - you can also never tell when an influential guitarist might suddenly raise the profile of that particular model.

I can understand the urge to scratch a proverbial itch, by way of adding a new flavour to your guitar collection. I managed to spend decades playing and owning various instruments, without ever paying the attention duly deserved by P90 pickups.

I only became interested in P90s relatively recently, when I began paying much more attention to pickup design in general, and classic configurations in particular. However as someone who only owns a few carefully curated electric guitars that range dramatically in value, I'm not yet in a position to explore the P90 as I'm unable to swap in either a traditional dogear or soapbar without making undesirable structural and aesthetic changes, plus I'm not keen on compromising the tone that would be inherent in substituting a P90 design clothed in single coil or humbucker housing.

Ideally I'd like my first P90 guitar to be either a Les Paul Jr or Epiphone Casino. Either instrument would fill the Gibson shaped hole in my collection, whilst also satisfying my love of The Beatles and John Lennon in particular.

I suspect the more realistic option will be something less expensive and much more Fender flavoured. Thankfully I've already had very good luck with the humbucker version of this Squier Vintage Modified model:

Since I have no real need for another guitar, so far I've restrained myself when one of these pops up at a reasonably fair price. I'm unwilling to pay the kind of prices I most commonly see these models advertised for.

On the other hand, if I was really determined to acquire a P90 equipped addition to the collection, I'd at least feel comfortable paying the price for one of these inexpensive Squiers since I've already had a positive experience with the humbucker model. Plus I'd have the added bonus of expecting to be able to move it on at little to no loss, if either I didn't get on with it or alternatively enjoyed the P90 thing so much, that I was immediately keen to upgrade!

Obviously I don't really know anything about the actual guitar the original poster is looking to modify. All I see is the nice existing look that I'd be wary of spoiling, but if it's actually as trashy as has been indicated - then maybes there's really no good reason not to make whatever changes are necessary to swap out pickups?

However from what I see, I'd be tempted to leave the existing pickup alone, then add the P90 in the neck position. I appreciate that involves the extra hassle of adding in some kind of switching, but there's always the less invasive option of swapping out a pot for a double stacked type, then wiring up one element as a blend control. That extra functionality might make the modification even more interesting!

I was looking this cheap plywood guitar and thinking that, I have several guitars with single coil middle pick-ups and and nothing with p90s. In the end I decided to try dropping in a single coil sized P90 so it wouldn't change the look. Little did I know the existing "single coil" was a single coil sized P90 in the first place. Since the existing pick-up is pretty rusty on the inside, I'm going to drop in the newer one I just bought.

The beauty of this is, I can always switch it back to "original", except that I already had to replace the shot cheap tuners with vintage style new ones. It a good thing I can't paint (lawd knows I try), or I would have repainted the body.

When all is said and done, I will have simply replaced the existing rusty pu with a new one.

I really enjoed the P90 info and suggestions from everyone

 

[Scuba_1978]

My theory on P-90s is that it is such a robust design that it's hard to find a bad sounding one. Even the stock P-90s on the $99 SX I once had sounded good. You can find ones with different tonal characteristics, and some are certainly noisier than others, but I've played countless P-90s, and can't remember ever playing one that sounded really bad.

My sx strat P90's sound pretty nice through a 6 watt tube amp. There is a single P90 LP copy on the rondomusic website right now for $99.

Rather than hassle with all the mods, why not just buy a cheap guitar with P90's?

Edit to add....I have had 3 guitars from rondo, and all 3 have been excellent values, needing just a little tweak of the setup and polish of the frets to be quite good players. My SX strat is beautiful, and I bought 2 extra loaded pickguards so I can play around with different pickups when the mood strikes, but the P90's just sound great.

 

[radtz]

My sx strat P90's sound pretty nice through a 6 watt tube amp. There is a single P90 LP copy on the rondomusic website right now for $99.

Rather than hassle with all the mods, why not just buy a cheap guitar with P90's?

Edit to add....I have had 3 guitars from rondo, and all 3 have been excellent values, needing just a little tweak of the setup and polish of the frets to be quite good players. My SX strat is beautiful, and I bought 2 extra loaded pickguards so I can play around with different pickups when the mood strikes, but the P90's just sound great.

i hear you on the cheap guitars. I have a thread on the $100 Donner Strat I bought. In his case I just wanted to tweak another $100 guitar, it just happens to be 50 years old. All I'm doing now is soldering in a $12 pickup to replace the rusty one. I tend to play around with all of my <$1000 guitars. I call it a guitar refresh. At some point I'll probably buy new P90 guitar at some point.

 

[stratisfied]

Guitar Madness on eBay sells Strat-sized, P90 voiced pickups. I wouldn’t spend more than that and I wouldn’t carve it up for a full sized P90.

 

[GearGeek01]

I had this thought...

- they mike P-90s that fit in a humbucker hole
- they make humbuckers that fit in single coil holes (called "staked" pickups, coil on top of coil instead of side by side))

- seems like they'd make a P-90 (output, etc) that fit in a single coil hole (like you have on your guitar)... I don't know of any off-hand, but maybe somebody out there does...

Might be worth an email to like Guitar Fetish who sells cheaper pups, to see what they might have that would mimic a P-90 in a single coil hole... depends on if the holes drilled in your pick guard are the same distance apart as standard Strat type mounting screws...

Maybe... compare output and DC resistance between some of the online makers (who are too expensive for your build)... surely there is a very close almost same thing from one of them... once you determine what the output/specs are for a decent P-90. try to match that to a cheap Strat pup... and no other modification of the pick guard, routing, etc...

 

[GearGeek01]

Here's a review on another model of Richmond guitars... I didn't read the whole thing, but maybe clue to more info about yours... they have a website link listed, but it is foobar and goes not to that company anymore (might be out of business?)

The website they listed says "richmondguitarscanada" (non working URL)... so possibly a bit of looking over the border to those folks in Canada, maybe they know something guitars made in their country?

From this Google search, it appears Richmond guitars are affiliated with Godin...

Google Search

A Godin/Richmond guitar at Nashville Used Music

Home | Nashville Used and New Music | Nashville TN 37211

Check out our extensive selection of used, new, and vintage music equipment!

shop.nashvilleusedmusic.com

That is, if the "Richmond" in "Godin/Richmond" is the same "Richmond"... sort of smells like Godin bought out Richmond, or Richmond was at least at one time one of their lower priced brands

Maybe there is a PDF out there of a Richmond guitar catalog...

 

[GearGeek01]

Could you post a good clear picture of the headstock that has the Richmond logo... unless they changed their logo design over the years, your Richmond logo looks different from the "Godin/Richmond" logo that just says "Richmond" on the one I posted above

The body shapes are very similar, except the white guitar has routing along the edges and a different pick guard.

Very similar to an Epiphone Wilshire...

Wilshire P-90 | Epiphone

From its first appearance in 1959 the Wilshire™ has been one of Epiphone's most successful original solid body electric guitar designs. The Wilshire P-90 brings back many of the features of the earliest Wilshire models including the symmetrical double-cutaway mahogany body with dual PRO P-90...

www.epiphone.com

Headstock from the Godin/Richmond I posted above:

Your guitar, blurry and cropped from your picture above...

 

[GearGeek01]

Godin/Richmond have a Facebook page, maybe you can send them a message with a picture of your guitar and see if it rigns any bells...

Richmond Guitars Canada (Official)

Richmond Guitars Canada (Official). 2,229 likes. The OFFICIAL Godin Richmond Series Facebook page. Canadian Made Guitars!

www.facebook.com

Not knowing anything about this brand... I am assuming it was a company before Godin bought them out...

---------------------------------------

I found a review on this Godin/Richmond thing... this one started in 2008, but I have a hunch your guitar was made before all that...

Richmond Guitars Canada Unveiled

Montreal, Canada (March 25, 2008) - Check it out -- there''s a new brand of guitars on the scene: Richmond Guitars Canada. These retro beauties are brought to you by the folks

www.premierguitar.com

---------------------------------------

Here is a Richmond bass, same headstock logo as yours... says mde in Japan in the ad,perhaps 1960s?

Richmond guitars Japan

Richmond brand guitars made in Japan and later models from Korea. Apparently from 1960s. Thanks to Drew Milne who provided the following example of an instrument with maple fret board Feb 2025. The label states RB - Richmond Supplied by Richard Brown Distribution Long Buckby, Northants - (ie...

jedistar.com

Same headstock logo as yours...

---------------------------------------

This next URL tends to lead the information that Godin/Richmond is a totally different company... this says it is their "first logo"... so no logo changes probably mean Godin/Richmond is not you

Richmond guitars Canada

Richmond guitars were made in Richmond, Quebec Canada. A brand of Godin. "The Richmond line was introduced in 2008. All Richmond guitars are built and assembled in Quebec, Canada. Dating Richmond guitars The first two digits of the 8 digit serial number (which is engraved behind the headstock)...

jedistar.com

ps... "weeeeeeeee"

 

[Boreas]

Late to the discussion here, but I recently installed a set of Wilkinson soapbars in a Thinline - style body. IIRC, they were about $50 each. I was surprised at how good they sound. I don't know who builds them, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again. They also come in dogears.

 

[radtz]

Godin/Richmond have a Facebook page, maybe you can send them a message with a picture of your guitar and see if it rigns any bells...

Richmond Guitars Canada (Official)

Richmond Guitars Canada (Official). 2,229 likes. The OFFICIAL Godin Richmond Series Facebook page. Canadian Made Guitars!

www.facebook.com

Not knowing anything about this brand... I am assuming it was a company before Godin bought them out...

---------------------------------------

I found a review on this Godin/Richmond thing... this one started in 2008, but I have a hunch your guitar was made before all that...

Richmond Guitars Canada Unveiled

Montreal, Canada (March 25, 2008) - Check it out -- there''s a new brand of guitars on the scene: Richmond Guitars Canada. These retro beauties are brought to you by the folks

www.premierguitar.com

---------------------------------------

Here is a Richmond bass, same headstock logo as yours... says mde in Japan in the ad,perhaps 1960s?

Richmond guitars Japan

Richmond brand guitars made in Japan and later models from Korea. Apparently from 1960s. Thanks to Drew Milne who provided the following example of an instrument with maple fret board Feb 2025. The label states RB - Richmond Supplied by Richard Brown Distribution Long Buckby, Northants - (ie...

jedistar.com

Same headstock logo as yours...
View attachment 1114126

---------------------------------------

This next URL tends to lead the information that Godin/Richmond is a totally different company... this says it is their "first logo"... so no logo changes probably mean Godin/Richmond is not you

Richmond guitars Canada

Richmond guitars were made in Richmond, Quebec Canada. A brand of Godin. "The Richmond line was introduced in 2008. All Richmond guitars are built and assembled in Quebec, Canada. Dating Richmond guitars The first two digits of the 8 digit serial number (which is engraved behind the headstock)...

jedistar.com

ps... "weeeeeeeee"

Your research looks just like mine. I went down that US/Canadian wormhole already. It seems to be an Japanese import (or possibly Korean) from the 70s. I've seen a few similar Richmonds for sale, but the sellers have no info either. There are a few on Reverb:

Richmond 1970s Natural Acoustic Guitar | Reverb

Full size acoustic guitar. New generic tuners, strings, and pins. Bridge is not lifting but the actions a little high. Top is in great condition. A dent on the back. A few scratches on the rest of the body. Sounds nice but could use a proper adjustment. See all photos ^

reverb.com

 

[BlueShadows]

This guitar has a pair of Bootstrap P-90s, I am very pleased with them. View attachment 1108988

Not to highjack this thread a month late, but can I ask you about this build? It looks like a Warmoth mahogany body? I am considering a silly build...Warmoth thinline tele, mahogany body with just a single p90 in the neck...which Bootstraps did you get? Looks like they have a few options and would be curious about how yours sound in such a similar style guitar.