P-rails

Anyone got any experience with the Seymour Duncan P-rails? I'm thinking of putting a set in my Ibanez and removing one of the pots and fitting a jaguar control plate that has the 3 sliding switches in its place to control them because it seems like a fun project for me to do rather than go for normal push pull pots. What you guys reckon? Think I'll only need two of the switches though so the third I'll find something to do with, maybe just a kill switch for the sake of it or just not wire that switch at all

Never heard of it until just now. The only 2 brands of pickups that have won my attention are Bartolini and EMG. I only go active.

you"re a bassist

Active pick ups are great and all but they just haven't got the dynamics I'm looking for typically. Have used EMG 81/85 set in my ibanez, hated them just too high out put and didn't respond to my picking dynamics very well, distorted they are one hell of a pick up set though! I may try the 66 I think it is? I just find that a passive can do everything a active can do and typically better but that's just me, I have friends who swear by them but they just lack something for me.

I'm a passive guy anyway and these P-rails seem like a cook thing to try. In planet games where I live, its a game store but they sell everything, they have a second hand strat which has a prewired EMG pickgaurd in it for £70 a damn steal! May have to snatch it up!

I haven't tried P-rails but I am going to say that P90s under a humbucker cover never sound right. The coil's the wrong dimensions and the poles don't line up under the right harmonics. The layout of the P90 part of the P-rail looks like the poles are close to the right place, so that would help in P90 mode I guess.... bobbin's still all wrong. Honestly, a good, low output humbucker built to seth Lover's oriinal specs will have a good amount of P90 character and no hum. late 60s and early 70s Gibson buckers sound pretty damn p90ish with a slightly smoother top end. Thy definitely have the clarity and cut the humbucker sized 90s lack. Until I got into the weak humbuckers I was all about P90s even though they are noisey, but I changed my tune after joining club SG... now I find myself chasing the elusive and inconsistent PAF tones and some hotrod PAF sounds, but I used to be all about P90 and the old bucker udner 8kohms DCR are very much in that ballpark. Clear, punchy, but with a really good top end tat drives an amp.

Speaking of Seth Lover, how do you rate the Seymour Duncan SH-55 Seth Lover pick ups? I'm tempted by those for my Epi or the JB and 59n set.

I'm a sucker for PAF pick ups, never used a P90 but I like how the sound, I'm thinking of getting a semi hollow Tele style guitar with 2 P90s

now would you know if you like p90s if you haven't used them, LOL... you crazy kids!

I have used the 59s which are the same as SD seths with alnico 5 bars instead of alnico 2. They are solid. I am not a huge fan of the JB for myself, but other people make them sound great. My favorite combo right now for a vintage neck and hot bridge is a 59/cutom hybrid with a pearly gates neck or a burstbucker pro or a 1, I haven't tried my 59 neck with the custom hybrid, but I imagine it'll have similarly good results. The BBpro shares magnet type with the 59 and mismatched coils with the pearly.... all are low output even for a neck. I have tried the classic JB and Jazz combo and its not for me. Other people make it sound good though.

I also did a magnet swap between a custom hybrid and pearly for my washburn. Really great results with a low wind A5 pickup at the neck and hot A2 pickup at bridge in that guitar. The A2 bar in the 59/custom hybrid makes it even more P90/single-coily... the p-rail is a similar idea electrically but the physical implementation abandons all Gibson tradition in favor of a pickup that can really act as 2 independent and different pickups. I just question if it'll deliver on its promise of P90, bucker and rail tones all in 1 PAF slot. Sounds like a gimmick.

I like how they sound, just never ever used one myself so thinking of getting one, even just a humbucker sized one in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge to get a taste of things. No one I know use them, only time I've heard them in person is helping a band set up and the guys Gibson les Paul gold top had them

you"re a bassist

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/53719069.jpg

I'm so sorry, I tried to resist, but I had to.

most bassists serve the song best if they play standing up so it won't help them know their role better to sit down, but metaphorically? you got it

Jack of all trades master of none. I think it's basically just a single pickup that contains a middle of the road single coil, middle of the road humbucker, and a middle of the road p90. How does the switching work anyway? Is it a separate toggle?