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

buy Blue 90 set

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Enjoy this? You may also like…

Cool 90 P90 dogear Alnico 2 by MrGlyns Pickups — Cool 90 – low powered P90

Black Sand Humbucker size P90 — Cool 90 – low powered P90

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updated 3 April 2023

Posted on June 15, 2023June 30, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Adjusting P90 Pickups: Tips and Free Resources

Setting P90 Pickup Height is an essential part of your tone. More than any other pickup they really do like being up close to the strings. In this blog post I’m going to give you some measurements and info on how to measure pickup height. And there’s help for you dogear P90 players too. I’m going to give you some free dogear P90 height spacers.

How to measure P90 Pickup Height

The pickup height is measured from the top of the pickup pole (or cover) to the underside of the string. Make sure you are fretting the highest fret while you do this. Not easy to describe in words so here’s Roboguy demonstrating to clarify:

How to adjust guitar pickup height — Measuring Pickup Height

Here is the P90 Pickup Height I suggest. I’d like to emphasize these are not set in stone, just a guide.

P 90’s like to be close to the strings. If you prefer the sound of them further away that’s fine. Its up to you and your ears. The closer a pickup is to the strings the louder it is. More importantly, the more dynamic and touch sensitive it is. So with the pickup further away, your sound is more compressed and less dynamic. There is no right or wrong here. Especially for lead playing a P90 close to the strings gives a great sensitivity.

There’s also the matter of sustain. If the pickup is too close the magnetic field it produces can inhibit the vibration of the strings. This can reduce sustain. So it really is all about finding that sweet spot for you and your sound.

So start with this measurement and then find your sweet spot. I think the other important factor is that when you find what works for you, stop fiddling. It’s all about playing guitar . It’s easy to spend all your practice time adjusting things instead of playing . I’m as guilty as anyone of this.

P90 pickup height measurements — P90 Height Measurement

What about dogear P90’s?

Now, that’s all well and good for a soapbar P90 or humbucker size P90’s. What if you have a Les Paul Junior or an SG Junior with dogear P90’s it’s not as easy. How do you adjust that P90 pickup height? Dogears aren’t height adjustable but don’t worry I have a plan.

As you can see below I’ve drawn some height adjustment shims for 3D printing. They have a few different heights and the taller ones are angled at 3 degrees to match Gibson neck angles. That way your pickups are kept parallel to the strings. A set of these should be all you need for a 2 pickup guitar. So this set should have you covered.

We don’t all have 3D printers but here in New Zealand larger libraries have 3D printers. There are many businesses offering printing services. So it should be pretty easy to get things printed out. And, of course, having a mate with a printer is ideal. It’s very easy to get done and it’ a way I can help you out without the delivery costs. I’ve sent this file to players all over the World for all brands of Dogear P90’s.

In Conclusion

P 90’s like to be close to the strings
Use the height guide only as a starting point.
Experiment and listen – its your sound
Correct P90 pickup height makes a huge difference

Dogear P90 height shims for free

If you want the file just get in touch with me and I’ll send it to you, no charge. You don’t have to buy my pickups (though that would be nice), I’m just happy to help out. simply email me at mrglynspickups@gmail.com

P90 Pickup Height

For pickup demos head to YouTube

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Humbucker side P90 by Mr Glyns Pickups — Black Sand – humbucker size P90

P90 by Mr Glyns Pickups — Black Sand – humbucker size P90

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updated 15 August 2024

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

Buy Cool 90 set

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Enjoy this? You may also like…

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 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

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 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.