You are currently viewing 15 Guitars With P90 and Humbucker – Perfect Combo?

Last Updated on March 2, 2024 by Teemu Suomala

P90 and Humbucker. I prefer that combo over normal single-coil and humbucker. Hands down. I would want the humbucker to the bridge and the P90 to the neck on my dream guitar. This way the neck P90 offers really sparkling but soft cleans, and with bridge humbucker, you can dial-in in-your-face distorted tones for rock riffs…

But I’m getting ahead of myself. All I said is true though, P90 and humbucker is one of my favorite pickup combinations. Really versatile, thick & warm sound, and all this works really great with rock music. What else can I ask? Pretty much nothing. And because I’m a fanboy of this pickup configuration, I was happy to craft this article gathering together the cream of the crop guitars with P90 and humbucker. I also reveal the 3 best ones.

If you have any questions, just check the FAQ section or leave a comment.

Let’s get started!

photo reveals owner of guitaristnextdoor.com

Author: Teemu Suomala

I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I love guitars and have played dozens and dozens of different guitars through different amps and pedals over the years, and also, building a website interested me, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website.

I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have also been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as SongsterrMusicnotesGuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar.

I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog (I guess that went the right way…).


P90 and Humbucker

displays P90 pickup
The P90 is a single-coil pickup with more copper wounds around the coil. That’s why they are larger in size than normal single coils.
Open coil humbuckers on the left and covered humbuckers on right.

What Are P90 Pickups – And What Are They Good For?

15 Guitars With P90 and Humbucker

Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom is a reasonably priced hollowbody electric guitar with versatile P90 and humbucker combo, TUSQ nut, TOM bridge with Bigsby tailpiece, and stunning looks. My favorite Hollowbody with P90 and humbucker pickups.

Price Range Icon Meanings:

$= $399-599

$$= $600-899

$$$= $900-1199

$$$$= $1200-1799

$$$$$= $1800-

*Consider all links in this post to be affiliate links. If you purchase, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission. It helps us to keep the lights on, thanks! 🙂

ModelPickupBody StylePrice RangeCheck Current Price (affiliate links)
Gretsch G2215-P90 Streamliner Junior Jet Club – Best BudgetP-90 Soap Bar Single-coil & Broad’Tron BT-25 HumbuckerSingle-cut$Sweetwater* – Thomann*
Harley Benton HP-42 Signature TT RoastedRoswell P90s Alnico-5 single coils (neck) & Roswell HAF-B Alnico-5 humbucker (bridge)Modern Stratocaster$Thomann
G&L Tribute FalloutCort P-90 Single-coil & Cort HumbuckerMustang styled Double-cut$SweetwaterThomann
Yamaha PAC611HFM Pacifica HardtailSeymour Duncan SP90-1n Single-coil & Seymour Duncan TB-14 HumbuckerModern Stratocaster$$SweetwaterThomann
Yamaha PAC611VFM Pacifica Synchronized Bridge – Best OverallSeymour Duncan SP90-1n Single-coil & Seymour Duncan TB-14 HumbuckerModern Stratocaster$$SweetwaterThomann
Reverend Double Agent OGReverend HA5 humbucker (bridge) & Reverend 9A5 P90 (neck)Double Agent$$$SweetwaterThomann
ESP LTD Phoenix-1000 QM – Best PremiumSeymour Duncan Phat Cat Nickel P90 (has humbucker cover) & Seymour Duncan Custom Nickel HumbuckerPhoenix$$$SweetwaterThomann
Reverend Six Gun HPP2 x 9A5 P90 Single-coils & HA5 HumbuckerSix Gun$$$Sweetwater
Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom – Best HollowbodyGodin Kingpin P-90 Single-coil & Seymour Duncan ’59 SH-1b HumbuckerHollowbody$$$$SweetwaterThomann
G&L Fullerton Deluxe FalloutG&L P-90 Single-coil & G&L AW4470Z Alnico V HumbuckerMustang styled Double-cut$$$$Sweetwater
Friedman Vintage T-AMBS90HTFriedman Classic Humbucker &
Friedman P90
Telecaster$$$$$Thomann
Duesenberg Double Cat CatalinaDuesenberg DP90 Domino single coil & 1 x Grand vintage humbuckerDouble Cat$$$$$Thomann
Duesenberg Starplayer TV1 Duesenberg DP90 Domino single coil & 1 Grand Vintage humbuckerSemi-Hollowbody$$$$$Guitar CenterThomann
Duesenberg Starplayer TV Ice Pearl1 Duesenberg GrandVintage humbucker (bridge) & 1 Duesenberg Domino P90 (neck)Semi-Hollowbody$$$$$Thomann
Fender Custom Shop ’63 Telecaster Custom Journeyman Relic – True Premium GuitarSeymour Duncan SH55 Humbucker & Seymour Duncan SP90-1 P 90 Single-coilTelecaster$$$$$SweetwaterThomann

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Why?

– Excellent Customer Service (4.7/5 Trustpilot Score)

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3 Best Guitars With P90 and Humbucker – My Favorites

Best Budget – Gretsch G2215-P90 Streamliner Junior Jet Club

What I like

  • Offers nice blues, classic rock, and rock sounds
  • Thin U neck shape is easy to handle
  • Really versatile
  • Stays in tune well
  • Affordable

What I don’t like

  • Synthetic Bone is not the best option, but for this price it’s ok

Who is it for?

If you are after a budget guitar with P90 and humbucker, you like crunchy classic rock tones, and a Thin U neck fits you well, Gretsch G2215-P90 Streamliner Junior Jet Club is a great choice. It offers really high value for the money, is fun to play, and sounds good. The synthetic bone nut is definitely not my favorite nut material, but I can tolerate it for this price.

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Best Overall – Yamaha PAC611VFM Pacifica Synchronized Bridge

What I like

What I don’t like

  • Some rare quality control issues

Who is it for?

If you are after a value-packed guitar with premium-level hardware and pickups, Yamaha PAC611VFM Pacifica is a great choice. It’s got hardware and pickups of a guitar costing well over $1k and the quality of the guitar itself is usually spot-on. This is an excellent high-value guitar.

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Best Premium – ESP LTD Phoenix-1000 QM

What I like

  • Seymor Duncan pickups offer mean, but still versatile sound
  • LTD Locking tuners hold the tune
  • Thin U neck is smooth to shred (my ESP LTD MH-400 has the same shape, it’s great)
  • Premium quality finish and feel

What I don’t like

  • Molded Plastic nut feels cheap for this price

Who is it for?

If you are after a premium-level instrument with a mean sound, versatility, and cool looks, ESP LTD Phoenix-1000 QM is a great option. The molded plastic nut is a bummer since it can decrease sustain and value (at least psychological). But if you replace that with Tusq or real bone nut, you got a real premium instrument in your hands. And even with the plastic nut, this is an excellent instrument.

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FAQ

Who Should Buy A Guitar With P90 and Humbucker?

If you are after humbucker tones, and also want some of that single-coil brightness, just an ounce of it, the guitar with P90 and humbucker is a great choice.

Pros and Cons of P90 & Humbucker Pickup Configuration

Pros

  • Versatile
  • P90 offers great middle-ground sound between humbucker and normal single-coil
  • The sound you can get with P90 pups is not overly spanky and bright (in most cases)
  • You got thick & warm humbucker tones in your arsenal

Cons

  • You have to do some searching to find one (great that you have this article)
  • Some manufacturers don’t usually use this configuration

What Music Guitar With P90 and Humbucker Can Handle?

In general, P90 and humbucker configuration is great for the following music:

So this pickup configuration is really versatile, with these pups, your axe can handle pretty much everything.


Conclusion

Balanced middle-ground sound of a P90 and meaty tone of the humbucker. Match made in heaven. This article included some of my absolute favorite guitars. True stallions with great sound and comfortable playability. Excellent guitars.

I hope this article helped you out, and maybe you even decided to get one of the guitars featured. If you have any questions, leave a comment, I and the GND team are here for you.

Now go, my son, and Rock!

Teemu Suomala

I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I also noticed that most guitar websites don’t do a really good job, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website. I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as Songsterr, Musicnotes, GuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar. I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog(I guess that went the right way…). Expertise: guitar learning techniques, electric guitars, and guitar amplifiers. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or just email me.
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Karolyn Henke

Hi guitaristnextdoor.com webmaster, Nice post!