P-90 Revival

Bare Knuckle Pickups founder Tim Mills explains why so many of us are turning to this classic single coil

- Bare Knuckle

Originally produced by Gibson in 1946, P-90s were one of the first mass-produced single-coil guitar pickups and have remained in regular production to this day. Having been somewhat eclipsed by the PAF humbucker from the late 50s onwards, they have in recent years experienced a resurgence in popularity. We’re curious to hear why, so we catch up with Tim Mills at Bare Knuckle to get his take on the revival of the P-90.

“P-90s are characterised by a very wide, squat coil,” begins Tim. “They are traditionally wound with 42 [AWG] gauge plain enamel wire to around 10,000 turns. That’s the classic spec for an authentic vintage-style P-90. The early ones are typically Alnico III or, more commonly, Alnico II. The coils were nearly always unpotted and were propped up on wooden spacers – used to heighten or lower the coil – in a nickel tray.