Posted on September 23, 2024October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Blue 90

Single – Blue 90 NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Pair – Blue 90 NZ$379 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$329.57

Alnico V, Neck- 6.5 KOhms, Alnico V, Bridge 7.46 KOhms

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The Blue 90 is a dynamic, clear, balanced P90 pickup set. It has a little less low end push than a traditional P90 but with clearer highs. They’re designed for the player wanting a clean sounding P90 tone but with the ability to push an amp when asked. Ideal for clean tones, jazz, funk and blues.

Blue 90 Tone

The phrase ‘fat single coil’ is really the essence of this pickup set. They have a full, chiming tone but with the dynamics of a true single coil pickup. They have that distinctive P90 tone but with more clarity. If you ask them they will push your amp into overdrive but less than my Sassy P90 set. They have the magnetic and coil geometry of a P90 but the under wound coil gives a clearer, more dynamic tone.

Blue 90 P90 pickup soapbar style in cream, MrGlyns Pickups

The Concept

I had been thinking for a while about making another P90 set. Something a little less powerful than the Sassy P90 pickup but with more sparkle than the smooth Cool 90 pickup.

I had experimented a little with under winding the Sassy and really liked the results. I liked the dynamics and how well it worked with modulation effects and delays giving a well balanced platform for these effects to shine. With my prototypes I had reduced the lower mid range ‘clonk’ that traditional P90’s have. It seemed like a pickup with a definite place in then World..

It felt to me like a very useful set of tones and I needed to investigate more. Like with many designs I hadn’t done much about it other than making a prototype, playing around with it, taking it to a gig to hear it next to a drummer and leaving it at that. I always liked this design, I just didn’t get around to putting them up for sale.

The Blue 90 story

Then in September 2024 I received a phone call from guitarist Nick Granville.

Nick has a few of my pickups in various guitars and I have huge admiration for his playing. He knows guitars and he knows tone.

The reason he called was that he had a problem with a P90 loaded guitar (not my P90’s). He wanted a cleaner P90 tone.

Like many pro players he’s very good at describing sound and his requirements. I felt my Sassy P90 set might be a bit grunty for him so after a little think I decided my new P90 idea might suit his needs.

For me this is a great situation where I get to borrow the ears of a top pro player to test out a new pickup. Although I had done a lot of testing myself already I knew that if Nick liked these pickups it would push it over the line and I’d have a new model. I always have prototypes on the go, sometimes it just needs a nudge.

I wound a set, sent them to him and a few days later got a message which read:

“They really do sound good. Have a nice sparkle but still sound like P90’s, and enough push to get it driving enough and vintage in vibe. I like them a lot.”

So that was it, a new pickup set was born. I’m very pleased to welcome this new P90 set to my website.

Available in dogear or Soapbar, black or cream. If you’re ordering Dogear (or even if you aren’t) I’m happy to send you a 3D printing file for height shims.

This link will take you to all my P90 demos.

updated 5 May 2025

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updated 3 April 2023

Posted on October 21, 2022October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Cool 90

Single – Cool 90 P90 NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Pair – Cool 90 P90 NZ$379 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$329.57

Neck- 6.4 KOhms, 5.45H, Alnico II. Bridge 7.25 KOhms, 6.42H, Alnico II

Buy Cool 90 set

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The Cool 90 is a P90 pickup available in both Dogear and Soapbar. Designed with Jazz and Blues players in mind it produces a clear, full, well balanced tone. Never harsh, always full and musical.

The bridge pickup has an organic sound with a lower mid push ideally suited to dynamic lead lines and tight rhythm playing.

The neck pickup is clear and chiming with enough clarity to always be heard in the mix. It has that lovely woody tone especially in an archtop.

Cool 90 P90 pickup by MrGlyns Pickups, New Zealand

For ‘full fat’ P90 tones have a look at our “Sassy” P90 pickup set.

Demos

Thanks to Brett Kingman over in Melbourne for this great demo.

Brett has played a few of my pickups and in May ’25 got in touch looking for a dogear P90 for his Tokai Les Paul Junior.

Here is what he said about it:

“I love my little Tokai Junior. It was relic’d by my friends Joel and Colin at Nepean Music and they fitted a Dimarzio Phantom in it.

That’s not a bad pickup but I really wanted a lower output affair – more of what a traditional P90 offers.

I had this conversation with another friend, Glyn Evans of Mr Glyn’s Pickups, who are located in the smaller paddock across the creek (New Zealand) and he said I should give his Cool 90 a shot. I did and I’m really impressed!

He even shipped it with a selection of 3D-printed height spacers so I could nail the nominal pickup height. Nice touch, Glyn! So, here it is – This one’s a keeper.”

Here’s a demo of the Cool 90 sent to me by one of my customers. Go check out his band – The Bull Kelp Surfers

Why Alnico II?

I use rough cast alnico II magnets in my Cool 90 set for its smooth, well balanced tone. My other P 90 pickups use the more conventional alnico V giving them greater attack and power but I didn’t want that with this pickup. Alnico II has a very balanced tonal range, the lows aren’t to boomy, mids are present but not too far forward and the highs are smooth. It is a magnet with less power than the alnico V so suited for less aggressive playing.

The Cool 90 Story

Like many of my pickups the this one started with a repair job. A customer sent be a faulty Gibson P90 out of a 1955 Les Paul Junior. Naturally, I took measurements and completely analyzed every detail of it. Unlike the information in the books (and internet) it had less windings and Alnico II magnets instead of Alnico V.

And what a great sounding pickup it was.

I decided to make my own version of it to compliment the ‘Sassy” P90 pickup I was already making. The Sassy has the classic “full fat” P90 tone, plenty of growl and cut through.

The idea was to make a lower powered version for the cleaner player. Still keeping the classic P90 character but with less grunt.

I experimented and tested and eventually came up with this design.

Cool 90 P90 soapbar Alnico 2 by MrGlyns Pickups

updated 13 October 2025

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Sassy traditional P90 pickup by Mr Glyns Pickups — Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

Les Paul Jnr P90 1955 repair — Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

I also make a humbucker size P90 set – the “Black Sand” if you need some P90 goodness in your humbucker guitar, here’s a link to them: https://mrglynspickups.com/2020/03/29/black-sand-humbucker-sized-p90-neck/

For a full range of demo videos of Mr Glyn’s pickups go to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/MrGlynsPickups/featured

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Posted on September 10, 2022February 15, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

When I was contacted about repairing a Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955 I was naturally very keen.

P90’s are very interesting pickups. They have a single wide flat coil usually of around 10,000 turns of AWG 42 wire but the really fascinating aspect is the magnets. They have 2 bar magnets underneath the pickup (a PAF just has one) causing a much wider magnetic field than other single coil pickups.

To put it simply – P90’s hear more string than other pickups. Hearing more string gives a fuller, fatter sound and that distinctive woody P90 tone. Not everyone likes them but those of us that do absolutely love them.

I make my own version of the P90 called the ‘Sassy’. It’s a full fat version of the P90 with alnico 5 magnets with all the warmth and plenty of grunt that you find in the old Gibsons.

So I’m always interested to have a good look at a genuine vintage pickup especially from a Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955. I’m a big fan of the Juniors.

Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

The pickup was sent to me because it wasn’t working and both the customer and myself suspected it might need a re-wind but I never jump to conclusions. It could be just a dry joint on one of the hookup wires – always worth checking.

As you can see the hook up wires look a bit scruffy so I re-solder and test, remove the wires and test, remove the tape and test – still nothing. The next step is to start removing a few layers of the winding wire just in case there’s a break. There was no obvious break. The problem was deeper inside the pickup – this one is a re-wind.

Now, I talked about magnets earlier, take a look at these two. Firstly they’re wonky. Some amazing Gibson vintage tonal secret or just being a bit sloppy in the factory? Probably the latter.

But for me the most interesting part is they’re rough cast alnico 2. For this era I was expecting Alnico 5.

Alnico 2 have a smoother, purer sound than the more powerful rougher sounding alnico 5’s.

So after I re-wound this lovely old pickup I started experimenting. I started winding P90’s with Alnico 2 magnets and from that was born a new pickup set in my range – the “Cool 90″.

There’s always more to learn ant this Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955 has taught me a few things.

It’s cleaner than the Sassy, less grunty but still full and fat sounding.

Ideas can come from anywhere. It reminds me of the quote from Picasso – “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working”

Here’s the ‘Sassy” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcspPYHKE_c

Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

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updated 3 April 2023

Posted on November 6, 2021June 28, 2024 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

P90 skateboard lap steel

Been having some fun making a pickup demo using a P90 skateboard lap steel.

It’s a fun instrument and pretty easy to make. Skateboards are surprisingly resonant.

P90 skateboard lap steel

The Mr Glyn’s “Sassy” P90 is a pickup set influenced by the Gibson P90’s of the late 50’s. The “Sassy” have a distinctive woody aggressive tone, full of character. The highs are smooth yet punchy, there’s a chiming bottom end and a very obvious mid range that pushes through the mix. If you tickle the strings they’re clean and clear but dig in and there’s no shortage of power to drive the front end of your amp.

I’ve grown to love P90’s over the years, it’s the sound of those early Gibson Les Paul Juniors. It’s a pickup that needs no extras, just straight into a good amp. They’re happy to power pedals but there’s a fullness and balance that seems to need nothing else.

I wanted the “Sassy” P90 set to live up to its name and have the dynamic range that I love about P90’s. The wide flat coil of a P90 gives a richer, less percussive tone than other single coil pickups and this is where the full tone comes from. I’ve sat both neck and bridge pickups on top of a pair of Alnico V magnets to give the power this pickup needs and help add that bit of grit when played hard.

I’ve made the neck pickup smooth and fat but with clarity and chime enough for jazz. The bridge pickup has the dynamics, pushy mids and aggressive highs when pushed but cleans up when you ask it to.

This is a pickup set that would be happy in almost any situation, blues, rock, punk, reggae… If it’s a full bodied, dynamic P90 you’re after look no further.

The Sassy is available in Dogear and Soapbar. https://mrglynspickups.com/mr-glyns-pickup-store/sassy-p90-set/

I’ve named this set the “Sassy” P90 set to reflect these pickup’s attitude, they’re bold, spicy, disrespectful and a bit cheeky. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJtZkIbaCZU

P90 skateboard lap steel

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Posted on June 19, 2021October 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Sassy P90

Single – Sassy P90 NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Pair – Sassy P90 NZ$379 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$329.57

Alnico V, Neck- 6.7 KOhms, 4.42H, Alnico V, Bridge 7.55 KOhms, 5.23H

Buy Sassy set

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The Sassy is a full fat P90 set designed for that traditional P90 tone. Suitable for styles from blues to rock. Full and dynamic, aggressive but controllable. It has a touch sensitivity that makes this set a lot of fun to play with.

Sassy Demo

Description

I’ve grown to love P90’s over the years, it’s the sound of those early Gibson Les Paul Juniors. It’s a guitar pickup that needs no extras, just straight into a good amp. They’re happy to power pedals but there’s a fullness and balance that seems to need nothing else.

I think the Sassy is best served through ’50’s wiring – it really gives you the dynamic, touch sensitive range that made this style of pickup famous.

Philosophy behind the Sassy

Here’s a short video explaining my thinking behind the Sassy P90 pickup set.

The Sassy P90 story

I wanted the Sassy P90 set to live up to its name and have the dynamic range that I love about P90’s. The wide flat coil of a P90 gives a richer, less percussive tone than other single coil pickups and this is where the full tone comes from. I mounted both neck and bridge pickups on top of a pair of Alnico V magnets. This gives the power this pickup needs and helps add that bit of grit when played hard.

I’ve made the neck pickup smooth and fat but with clarity and chime enough for jazz. The bridge pickup has the dynamic, pushy mids and aggressive highs when pushed. But it cleans up when you ask it to in true p90 style.

This is a pickup set that would be happy in almost any situation, blues, rock, punk, reggae… If it’s a full bodied, dynamic P90 you’re after look no further. I have extensively gigged with a Sassy P90 loaded guitar and loved the woody mids and high end clarity. Back the volume off a tad and there’s a single coil chime, crank it and you have full fat lead tones.