maximising output/low end from bridge P90 through setup and tweaks

bbill335

My firebird has just ~0.5k difference between the neck and bridge P90s. Looking at most winders around at the mo, they wind the bridge unit ~2k hotter than the neck, presumably to make balancing the two easier. I'm dealing with ~8.2k neck and ~8.5-8.7k bridge.

I have the neck absolutely as low as it will go and the bridge almost touching the strings and they are *juuuuust about* balanced. My preference would be for the bridge to be noticeably but not significantly louder than the neck (that's how i set my other guitars), and the tone is generally lacking in "fatness" and grunt. 

Are there any tweaks I can make to get a bit more "OOMPH" from this p90? if it were a strat pickup, I'd be thinking about a baseplate, is there an analogous mod for p90s? 

fwiw, i'm not a hot-n-heavy pickup devotee at all, in fact i am pretty ambivalent about bridge pickups generally. i think good bridge pickups all sound more or less the same, especially with distortion. i have always got on fine with tele/HB/strat[with a tone control] bridge pups but i just need more from this one, if i can get it.

Funkfingers

Presumably, your pickups currently have two Alnico 5 bar magnets each.

It is possible to widen the output difference between the two pickups by magnet swaps. 

Consider Alnico 2, Alni 3 or Alnico 4 for the neck/Rhythm position pickup. 

The bridge/Treble position pickup could be made louder with an Alnico 8 magnet or grainer with Un-Oriented Alnico 5.

Opinions vary on the wisdom of combining vintage output coils with stronger than vintage magnets.

I dare say that some of this forum’s tamed pickup makers will have something to say on this topic.

bbill335

Funkfingers said:

Presumably, your pickups currently have two Alnico 5 bar magnets each.

I think so, unless they were still using A2 in 1965? Taking the pickups apart and messing with the magnets is ok with me, as I had to mess about with them to sort out a phase issue!

Funkfingers said:

I dare say that some of this forum’s tamed pickup makers will have something to say on this topic.

Here's hoping!

bbill335

I'm thinking changing from 50s wiring to 60s wiring might help ?

stimpsonslostson

bbill335 said:

I'm thinking changing from 50s wiring to 60s wiring might help ?

It might, but it won’t be as versatile. I love the way 50s wiring can give you an almost acoustic tone by rolling off both pots.