Super Kenny Burrell makeover done

[MartyGrass]

I took the HRWs out because I have another archtop with an HRW. Fralin P-92s were installed with 8500 and 10,000 winds (the old Gibson P-90s had about 10,000 winds). I upgraded the switch to a Switchcraft since the harness was coming out and it only cost me $11. I also swapped a roller bridge for the ebony one so I could get a little bit more sustain but more importantly, increase the string spread a 16th". I saved all the original parts.

 

It sounds very different. The articulation is amazing with absolutely no humbucker mud. It sounds very much like my Super Eagle with Lollar P-90s only cleaner and no hum. The bridge pup can growl if driven a bit.

 

Traditionalists will say the screws don't look right with two rows, the bridge should be wood, and the gold toggle switch cap is over the top. I will disagree on all but the last point.

 

I'm happy with the sustain, easy of fingerpicking with the string separation and the overall tonal spectrum. This guitar does not sound like an amplified acoustic. It sounds very much like a 1950s Super 400 without the hum.

 

I urge folks to give the P-92s a try.

 

 

[FredZepp]

I like the way those pickups look... and it sounds like the tone is there also (of course that's the important thing )

 

That is a beautiful big Heritage..

[RhoadsScholar]

That is one sharp BLonde. I bet those pickups sound great....

[nicknickhall]

I think the pickups look just enough different to be striking, I like them. The guitar looks great and evidently it sounds great too. Bridge tailpiece and pickguard all complement each other perfectly. Bravo!

[koula901]

Very nice. Any chance of you uploading a sound clip? Fralin makes great sounding pickups.

[NoNameBand]

I Like it. I think it's gorgeous. I like the changes and would keep it as is.

[Keith7940236]

I was just thinking the other day about possibly switching out the humbuckers from my Eagle TDC. They do sound a little muddy to me. I would be really interested in hearing what your new P-92's sound like.

Keith

[MartyGrass]

P-90s excel in clarity. P-92s do the same nicely without the hum.

 

I can't tell you what the P-92s would sound like overdriven. For country, jazz and traditional blues, they're great.

 

Don't get me wrong. I like humbuckers, too.

[111518]

Beautiful guitar, and I think the P-92's are a cool choice. I can't speak to the physics of it, but for some reason I find appealing Lindy Fralin's use of split coil designs to get a single coil sound out of a noiseless pickup. After all, it has worked on P-basses for all these years. I have a couple of decisions about pickup changes to make when I get back to the states, and Fralin split blades and P-92's are strong candidates, even though I've never had a chance to hear either one.

 

Part of the whole pickup thing, it seems to me, is deciding whether what sounds good to a particular maker sounds good to you ... it really comes down to shared tastes. I have Fralin's in a bunch of my Fender stuff --he just takes the stock Fender sound and pushes it in the direction that I like to hear it go. I'm pretty confident that I would like what he does with noiseless stuff as well.

[DetroitBlues]

Those pickups remind me of the ones Fender used on the Tele custom's from the 80's.

[DetroitBlues]

I mean the 70's...

[MartyGrass]

Those pickups remind me of the ones Fender used on the Tele custom's from the 80's.

 

 

Yep. The concept of split coils is anything but new. It does cancel hum. What Fralin did was take the properties of the P-90 and split the coil. Fralin said it has the same magnet type, wraps and wire, so the sound is P-90.

 

I know purists will disagree, and they may be right. I can't tell the difference though.

[DetroitBlues]

A P-90 that maintains the tone with out the hum is priceless!

[skydog52]

Turned out very nice. Really is a stunning guitar.

In the end you are the one that has to be satisfied with the set-up and the tone you want.

Sounds like you came up with the right combination. Have fun!