DaveWW
Well-known member
Nice, thanks for that. I agree with other comments ref. the recording but to me the Fralins sound a bit richer with more harmonic overtones.
Dave
Dave
Tokai P90 pickups
- Thread starter Bluefinger
- Start date
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A
Anonymous
Guest
Nice playing Bluefinger. 
Has anyone tried Vintage Vibe pickups?
http://www.vintagevibeguitars.com/windows/soapP90Win.html
Has anyone tried Vintage Vibe pickups?
http://www.vintagevibeguitars.com/windows/soapP90Win.html
AlanN
Well-known member
Bluefinger said:AlanN said:
They are Fralins not Lollars
Yes, the difference between the two bridge pickups is bigger ... and yes, the camera swallows a great deal of the tone. Still I consider both sets to be quality P90s so there is no night and day difference to expect. We will have a rehearsal tonight so maybe tomorrow I can share more of my impressions.
Hah, whoops!
I can imagine the Tokai pickups - especially the bridge - being pretty muddy at volume, especially in a band context. The Fralins not Lollars will cut through much more keenly.
Bluefinger
Well-known member
OK, I wrote another response yesterday but it seems like I hit te wrong button so here I go again:
We had a rehearsal yesterday and I was able to try the pickups through my cranked Pro Junior. The differences became more apparent there.
The Fralins don't push the amp as hard as the Gotohs do. They have a tighter less pronounced bass and a clearer more defined top end. They have more of that bell like ringing sound. They are very musical and the string to string definition when playing chords is good. The Gotohs OTOH really drive the amp and have those big punchy mids. I have to disagree with what other posters have said before ... the stock Gotohs sound a lot fatter than the Fralins. We currently play in a drums/bass/guitar/harmonica lineup. I need to make a lot of room and I think for now the Gotohs will go back into the guitar. They do that old fashioned jump blues thing better than the Fralins. The only thing where I liked the Fralins better than the stock PUs was when I played slide. The better definition of the neck pickup worked really well. That's good news because I have a Gibson ES-135 with P-100s. I don't like those PUs at all so the Fralins will go into that guitar and I think that I will love them in there.
That doesn't mean that the Gotohs are the better pickups. Both sets are excellent and it really depends on what tone you are after. If you want a bright clear P-90 without any harshness that cuts better then go for the Fralins. You will hardly find a better one. I really have to disagree with those who said that any aftermarket pickup will definitely give a big improvement over the stockers. The Gotohs are great pickups, just different. And no ... the Fralins are not fatter, the Gotohs are!
So maybe this helps someone to make a decision ...
I might contact Dave Stephens sometime in the future to wind me some big fat amp pushers but for now I'll happily stick with the Gotohs.
We had a rehearsal yesterday and I was able to try the pickups through my cranked Pro Junior. The differences became more apparent there.
The Fralins don't push the amp as hard as the Gotohs do. They have a tighter less pronounced bass and a clearer more defined top end. They have more of that bell like ringing sound. They are very musical and the string to string definition when playing chords is good. The Gotohs OTOH really drive the amp and have those big punchy mids. I have to disagree with what other posters have said before ... the stock Gotohs sound a lot fatter than the Fralins. We currently play in a drums/bass/guitar/harmonica lineup. I need to make a lot of room and I think for now the Gotohs will go back into the guitar. They do that old fashioned jump blues thing better than the Fralins. The only thing where I liked the Fralins better than the stock PUs was when I played slide. The better definition of the neck pickup worked really well. That's good news because I have a Gibson ES-135 with P-100s. I don't like those PUs at all so the Fralins will go into that guitar and I think that I will love them in there.
That doesn't mean that the Gotohs are the better pickups. Both sets are excellent and it really depends on what tone you are after. If you want a bright clear P-90 without any harshness that cuts better then go for the Fralins. You will hardly find a better one. I really have to disagree with those who said that any aftermarket pickup will definitely give a big improvement over the stockers. The Gotohs are great pickups, just different. And no ... the Fralins are not fatter, the Gotohs are!
So maybe this helps someone to make a decision ...
I might contact Dave Stephens sometime in the future to wind me some big fat amp pushers but for now I'll happily stick with the Gotohs.
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Anonymous
Guest
Very helpful, thanks. Intersting though, as the most common comment about Tokai (in fact most Japanese) pickups is that they are a little thin & bright.
Mind you, the LS145S/LS160S pickups are different to & better than the ones in the LS85S.
Mind you, the LS145S/LS160S pickups are different to & better than the ones in the LS85S.
Bluefinger
Well-known member
stratman323 said:
This might be true for the cheaper ones but not for these. They aren't the fattest thing since Pavarotti but they are definitely not on the thin end.
DaveWW
Well-known member
Off Topic, a bit, but I've just replaced the Tokai Mk2 PAFS in my LS125 with Fralins and I definitely prefer the Fralins PAFs. The main difference to me was that the MkIIs sounded a bit darker and more modern somehow. I'll probably be selling the MkIIs now if anyones interested.
Dave
Dave
Bluefinger said:
I'm 100% with you, I didn't get tired of the stock PU on my LS160S
and they fit my needs for now (and probably for the future).
By the way, a curious fact about Junior Watson is his unique arch-top-cheapo-through-reverb-tank style.... :wink:
marcusnieman
Well-known member
Bluefinger said:
I was speaking specifically to the guitar I put them in - an SG Special. Body wood and composition have a lot to do with the flavor of a pickup. You can put the same pickup (stock Gotoh for instance) in a Les Paul, a hollow body, a Junior, etc and it will sound different in each.
I have stock Gotoh P90's in my goldtops that sound just fine. They sounded like feeble crap in the SG and yes, the Fralins are a hell of a lot fatter and crunchy than the Gotoh's in the SG.
To each his own - perhaps my statement was too broad and I should have been more specific to the guitar in discussion.
Yes, that's right. There are many factors in a guitar causal for the Tone. Maybe the connecting cable to the amp was "too good". But i remember the Fralins also as lot fatter and crunchy. I think, the distance of height to the strings was not the best one for the Fralins. Bluefinger should search for the sweet spot again.
I wrote some words about my Kloppmann P90's on Harmony Central.
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Guitar+Pickup/product/Kloppmann+Electrics/SB52+P90/10/1
I wrote some words about my Kloppmann P90's on Harmony Central.
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Guitar+Pickup/product/Kloppmann+Electrics/SB52+P90/10/1
A
Anonymous
Guest
jprr773 said:
Arch-top cheapo? I'm sure he was playing a 50s LP Goldtop last time I saw him, & they weren't cheap last time I checked!
Does anyone know what magnets are in the Tokai P90s, particularly the ones in the LS85S/LS95S? Ceramic? Alnico?
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Anonymous
Guest
goldie said:
I think you'll find your guitar is an LS85S, not LS85Q.
By the way, who is Blind Owl Wilson?
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Anonymous
Guest
Ah Canned Heat, I can never keep up with who was who in that band. One of those bands that still exists even though only one person remains from the original line up. Like The Animals.
Is Junior playing with them now?
Is Junior playing with them now?
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Anonymous
Guest
jprr773 said:
Alnico II or Alnico V?
How do you use Google translator?
stratman323 said:
Alnico IV or V. (maybe if you measure the PUs output,
according to Bluefinger stock PU will rate around 8.3k/8.6k, so I would say Alnico V)
To translate:
Go to http://translate.google.com/translate_t#
paste this URL :
http://www.gotoh-pickups.co.jp/cgi-bin/goto/sitemaker.cgi?mode=page&page=page1&category=3
choose language : Japanese / English
..and so on...
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Anonymous
Guest
Mine measure 6.17k & 6.08k, but my GT is an LS85S, Bluefinger has an LS160S, which has better pickups, amongst other things. I've just grabbed a set of Bare Knuckle P91s, so we'll see how they sound in a few days.
