The Creamery

[caption id=”attachment_945” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom Handwound Tele-90 Pickup - A P90 design in a Tele Bridge”][/caption]

A P90 design to fit a Tele Bridge Pickup

Fat, grittier tones from your Tele Bridge position whilst still keeping some of that classic Tele twang

Magnet: Custom Alnico 5
Poles: Steel Slug Screws
Polarity: South Up
Coil Wire: 44AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Cloth Pushback
Output: 10.4k
Baseplate: Copper Plated Steel

Telecaster Sized P90 Bridge Pickup

A P90 design in a standard Telecaster Bridge size. The Creamery Telecaster sized P90 pickup houses two unpolished custom Alnico 5 magnets, wider steel slug screws and a short, fat 44AWG coil. Huge, fat single-coil tones still with clarity, presence & a defined voice. Get the grit of a P90 in a standard Telecaster Bridge size. Great fat, rounded clean tones - turn up the gain and let the pickup scream.

The geometry of the standard Tele Bridge Pickup size as opposed to a standard P90 means there will always be a slight difference in tone between the two pickups as the coil will be slightly narower - Its for this reason I don’t call it a “true” P90 although I’ve voiced this pickup as a balance between the classic P90 tone with the unique twang of the Telecaster bridge.

A higher output, fat single-coil tone in a standard Tele Bridge sized pickup. The higher output balances with the narrower, lower strength magnets for a much rounder bridge tone.

For more details, you can visit my Creamery Custom Handwound Telecaster Pickups page here

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_860” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom Handwound Classic ‘57 P90 Pickups”][/caption]

P90s are great pickups. That fat, single coil tone can really drive an amp giving a gritty, snarly tone great for riffs. But what if you want something a little different from a P90 pickup? Maybe you’re after a higher output? Maybe you want a brighter tone? A fatter tone? More of a humbucker sound? Maybe you just want something different all together, something unique?

[caption id=”attachment_861” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Handwound Classic ‘53 P90 Pickup with Chrome Cover”][/caption]

Often I’m contacted by guitarists who do want something more form a P90 but just love the vintage look & shape of the Soapbar or Dog-ear P90 pickup. Its with this in mind that I’ve designed a number of custom pickups to fit the standard P90 size that require no modifications to your guitar at all. Sometimes, the new pickup can look pretty much like a P90 though underneath, its a whole different pickup. Have a look.

P90 Sized Humbucker Pickups from The Creamery

[caption id=”attachment_678” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery P90 Sized Humbucker Pickups”][/caption]

A true 12-pole humbucker in a P90 cover

No modifications required to your guitar. These new P90 sized Humbuckers even look like a P90.

Pole Magnets: Alnico 2 or 5
Coil Wire: 43AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Cloth Pushback or Braided
P90 sized Humbucker Bridge: 9.4k
P90 sized Humbucker Neck: 8.5k

A 12-pole humbucker pickup inside a P90 that requires no modifications to your guitar at all. My P90 sized Humbuckers even look like a P90 - Once installed, no-one will spot the difference until you plug in and play.

Great string definition & clarity due to the 12 pole magnets. More of a crunchy tone than the fat single coil voice of my classic P90, these new P90 sized Humbuckers give a rich, biting attack.

Available in both Soapbar or Dog-ear P90 size

[caption id=”attachment_864” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom P90 Dogear Sized Humbucker Pickup”][/caption]

All the depth of a humbucker with the sparkle and bloom of a doubled-up single coil. The two, thin 43awg coils help to keep the clarity at higher output while the tone has a sweetness by design of the pickup.

For more details on the new P90 sized Humbuckers - Head to the main site here

The Handwound Sonic-Six P90 Pickup

[caption id=”attachment_869” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom Handwound Sonic-Six P90 Pickup”][/caption]

Magnets: Alnico 5
Poles: Individual Threaded Magnets
Coil Wire: 42AWG / 43AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Braided
Output: Bridge 7.5k, 8.4k or 12.0k
Output: Neck 7.1k, 7.5k, 9.2k

Available in both Dog-ear or Soapbar

The Sonic-Six P90 Pickup - More clarity, brighter tone

Available in three outputs, a brighter, low-output version of 7.5k Bridge & 7.1k Neck, a mid-output set of 8.4k Bridge & 7.5k Neck and a fatter, hotter 12.0k Bridge & 9.2k Neck. Similar in appearance and the exact same size as a standard P90, the Sonic-Six P90 pickup has individual threaded magnets to keep more tonal clarity & string definition. The lower & medium output version use specific 42AWG coil wire to give a fatter single coil but with more brightness and less warmth than a standard P90. The higher output version uses specific 43AWG coil wire to balance output whist still keeping clarity & that fat brightness and attacking single-coil tone.

I’ve spent a lot on these, changing the size of the Alnico 5 threaded magnets and bobbin size a number of times to get these right. If you’re after that bright, fat twang tone from a standard P90 size pickup then the Creamery Sonic-Six pickups may be the ones for you.

Available as a Soapbar style in Aged White (cream), black or chrome-plated covers or as a Dogear style in Aged White (Cream) or Black covers. Vintage braided wire.

You can find more details on my Handwound Sonic-Six P90 Pickups here on the main site

P90 Sized Wide Range Humbucker Pickups

[caption id=”attachment_872” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”The Creamery Mastersound Pickup to Wide Range Humbucker Upgrade”][/caption]

I’m currently working on a version of the classic Fender® Wide Range Humbucker design to fit a standard P90 Soapbar & Dog Ear pickup. At the request of the guitarist, I recently converted his old Maton Mastersound Pickups to Wide Range Humbucker Spec.

They’re very similar in size to a standard P90 and I managed to make a custom set of pickups for him that he loved. Here’s the blog entry on this Maton Mastersound conversion

With a little imagination, there’s much that can be done with the old classic P90 pickup if you are so inclined - alternatively, the P90 is a true design classic. With this in mind, have a look at my Classic ‘53 & Classic ‘57 P90 Pickups if its the more vintage tone you’re after - and try them without the baseplates, the tone is a little more open.

The Creamery - Custom Guitars, Handwound Pickups - Made in Manchester

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_789” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Converting a P90 Dogear pickup to P90 Soapbar”][/caption]

When you want to keep your P90 pickups but use them in another guitar.

This is a very simple switch, and great if you want to use your P90 pickups in a new guitar but need to change the covers and baseplates from a dogear style P90 to the alternative soapbar version. This can also work the other way around as well.

[caption id=”attachment_790” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Converting a P90 Dogear pickup to P90 Soapbar - Underneath”][/caption]

While essentially the same pickup, the Dogear style differs from the Soapbar version not only through the cover, but also the baseplate underneath. Whereas the Dogear pickup is attached to the body of the guitar through the two lugs “ears” either side of the pickup, the Soapbar is fixed to the guitar via two centre screws with foam pads and/or springs underneath the pickup for height adjustment.

[caption id=”attachment_791” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Classic Handwound ‘53 P90 Soapbar Pickup”][/caption]

As you can see from my Classic Handwound ‘53 P90 Soapbar Pickup above, the two centre holes are utilised to attach the pickup to the body of the guitar. If you look at the Dogear style in the firs picture, you’ll see the lugs “ears” which are used to screw the pickup down.

Removing the P90 baseplate

Its as simple as removing the fixing screws and noting where & whether the ground wire and braided hookup wires are soldered to the existing baseplate.

[caption id=”attachment_793” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery - Converting a P90 Dogear Pickup to a P90 Soapbar style - Removing the baseplate”][/caption]

Usually attached with a couple of screws plus a film of wax from the potting process, the baseplate can be easily removed with very little danger of damage to the pickup coil.

A word of caution though, many P90 pickups will have a ground wire from the coil and the braided hookup wire soldered to the existing baseplate. Take a note of this and simply replicate the process with the new Soapbar style baseplate.

The new Soapbar style baseplate attaches in the same manner, screwed directly to the centre section of the coil bobbin.

Once the baseplate is attached, the new cover can be positioned over the coil and with a quick wax-potting to keep everything in place, the pickup is ready to be installed.

Converting a Dogear style P90 to a Soapbar can be a very simple way to re-use loved pickups even though you may want to change your guitar. The switch is just as simple the other way around. Of course, make sure the new cover has the same pole spacing as your existing pickups. A simple check with the ruler can confirm this.

——————————————————————————————-

You can find more details of my handwound P90 pickups here, and for details of my custom pickup upgrades, repairs & rewinds, just head to the main site here

Original Article

Upgrading the stock Casino pickups for a more vintage tone

[caption id=”attachment_777” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery - Upgrading Stock Epiphone Casino Pickups”][/caption]

I recently ran one of my regular competitions to wind a set of handwound pickups and the winner, Mike, asked whether he could have his Epiphone Casino pickups rewound/upgraded for a more vintage tone - “No problem”, I said.

The stock pickups had a very high output, 12.1k in the Bridge & 11.6k in the Neck, an unsubtle set especially for a Hollow Body guitar. Mike wanted to tone them down with a rewind and new magnets.

[caption id=”attachment_778” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Upgrading Stock Epiphone Casino Pickups - What’s inside”][/caption]

The first task was to remove the covers and see what’s inside. The Epiphone Casino has custom bobbins with a string spacing narrower than a standard P90. The option was to either make new bobbins to match the cover pole spacing or simply use the existing ones. Mike had no issue with me utilising the existing bobbins so the challenge now was to remove the existing overwound coil wire in such a way as to not nick the sides. Any cuts or scratches to the very thin top & bottom layers of the bobbins could catch on the new coil wire when winding, snapping or pulling it leaving a few thousand turns of coil useless.

[caption id=”attachment_779” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Upgrading Stock Epiphone Casino Pickups - Rewinding the coils”][/caption]

Whereas the stock Casino Pickups had a high output, probably due to the thinner 43AWG used (perhaps by mistake), Mike wanted a more vintage tone with a lower output set. I re-wound the coils to a more manageable 7.9k in the Bridge & 7.2k in the Neck which when coupled with my custom made Alnico 5 magnets, would give Mike the brighter P90 tone he was after.

[caption id=”attachment_780” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Upgrading Stock Epiphone Casino Pickups - New Coils, New Magnets”][/caption]

With the new coils wound, the new magnets in place attracted to the pole screws underneath, the pickups were ready to be rebuilt and wax-potted. To stop any unwanted microphonics, I always securely fix the magnets to the underside of the bobbins and wax pot the pickups with a mix of 70/30 ratio paraffin & beeswax. Beeswax isn’t always used in wax-potting - I recommend it though as it makes the wax less brittle and therefore less susceptible to cracking which could, in some instances, damage the delicate 42AWG coil wire.

[caption id=”attachment_781” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Upgrading Stock Epiphone Casino Pickups for a more vintage tone”][/caption]

After cleaning off the waxy residue and a quick polish & test with the multimeter, the pickups were ready to be hooked-up to my test guitar just to make sure they were ready to send back to Mike. He received them, wired them back into his Casino guitar and sent me an email back:

Great stuff. Thanks so much!! They’re a massive improvement! I’m not generally a P90 guy, but they sound fantastic. That syrupy Another Brick in the Wall solo tone is just right there.. :D

- Mike Riddle

——————————————————————————————

You can see my custom handwound P90 Pickup range here - and if you have pickups in need of a pickup rewind or repair, just contact me through the site.

Original Article

P90 Sized Humbucker Pickups from The Creamery

[caption id=”attachment_678” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery P90 Sized Humbucker Pickups”][/caption]

A true 12-pole humbucker in a P90 cover

No modifications required to your guitar. These new P90 sized Humbuckers even look like a P90.

Pole Magnets: Alnico 2 or 5
Coil Wire: 43AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Cloth Pushback or Braided
P90 sized Humbucker Bridge: 9.4k
P90 sized Humbucker Neck: 8.5k

A 12-pole humbucker pickup inside a P90 that requires no modifications to your guitar at all. My P90 sized Humbuckers even look like a P90 - Once installed, no-one will spot the difference until you plug in and play.

Great string definition & clarity due to the 12 pole magnets. More of a crunchy tone than the fat single coil voice of my classic P90, these new P90 sized Humbuckers give a rich, biting attack.

All the depth of a humbucker with the sparkle and bloom of a doubled-up single coil. The two, thin 43awg coils help to keep the clarity at higher output while the tone has a sweetness by design of the pickup.

For more details on the new P90 sized Humbuckers - Head to the main site here

Original Article

Humbucker sized P90s from The Creamery

[caption id=”attachment_667” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Humbucker Sized P90 Scatterwound Pickups”][/caption]

Magnets: Alnico 2, 4 or 5
Coil Wire: 43AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Braided Pushback
Humbucker sized P90 Bridge Output: 9.2k
Humbucker sized P90 Neck Output: 8.3k

Get the P90 tone in a Humbucker Size with my new Humbucker sized P90s - No modifications needed

A P90 pickup in a standard Humbucker size. The Creamery Humbucker sized P90 pickup houses two unpolished Alnico 2, 4 or 5 magnets and a fat coil wound around a standard P90 bobbin, hand shaped to fit a standard Humbucker cover & mounting ring. Huge, fat single-coil tones still with clarity, presence & a defined voice. Get the grit of a P90 in a standard humbucker size. Great fat, rounded clean tones - turn up the gain and let the pickup scream.

The geometry of the standard Humbucker size as opposed to a standard P90 means there will always be a slight difference in tone between the two pickups though I’ve voiced this pickup to sound very close indeed. A real higher output, fat single-coil tone.

[caption id=”attachment_674” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Humbucker Sized P90 Pickups - Covers”][/caption]

Humbucker Sized P90 Pickups - Audio Demos

Played on an Epiphone Les Paul Custom fitted with 500k Pots and 0.022 Caps - The tone will be slightly warmer with 0.033 or 0.07 Capacitors.

• Humbucker-sized-P90-Bridge-1.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Bridge-2.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Bridge-3.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Bridge-4.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Middle-1.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Middle-2.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Middle-3.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Middle-4.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Neck-1.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Neck-2.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Neck-3.mp3
• Humbucker-sized-P90-Neck-4.mp3

Vintage Braided wire - Available in Chrome, White or Black covers - You can buy Creamery Humbucker sized P90 Pickups here or as a discounted set here

Original Article

UPDATE: Above is the final version. Below is a previous draft.

Here’s the rough first mock-up of the new pickup packaging. When you buy a single pickup it will come in the new ‘cigarette pack’ style box. Maybe I should have vending machines in your local guitar shop - just swipe your card and take a pack.

I’m on course now for the site to launch at the end of May - Everything is in place, just testing the online shop and hoping to record some demo videos.

Original Article

Not the best looking guitar in town due to the three pickup configuration and cream P90 covers (which I’m changing to black) but the sounds you can coax from this guitar are just sweet. The heavier gauge strings, coupled with a one piece heavy mahogany body, rosewood fingerboard and fatter sounding P90 pickups rather than tele/strat types give this guitar a real warmth. The P90 pickups really drive the amp. In the bridge position there’s the classic sound, more broadcaster than tele due to the overwound 5 but it is in positions 2-5 that this guitar really pushes the traditional tele sound. With typical strat style switching there’s a great array of sounds without resorting to push/pull pots. Roll back the tone for sweeter highs, keep it on 10 and there’s the snap and bite. Position 4 is wound out of phase to offer a variety of tones.

Mahogany body with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. Overwound Alnico 5 in the bridge, Classic P90 in the middle and Hot P90 in the neck - there’s a real sweet sustain to this one.

(This will be the last tele style for a while, up next there’ll be a Jazzmaster, a Gibson Explorer and a Les Paul Jnr style)

Original Article

Model Name: Dirty Northern Town
Model Number: 003
Built: Sep 2009
Body: 1 piece mahogany
Neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Rosewood
No. of Frets: 21
Pickups: Single Gibson P90 Neck pickup in the bridge position
Magnet: Alnico 5
Controls: 2 x Volume, 2 x Tone
Pickup Switching: 3 way
Position 1: Bridge Pickup straight to jack
Position 2: Bridge Pickup with 0.047uf cap & tone control
Position 3: Bridge Pickup with .00047uf cap
Bridge: Custom cut Wilkinson steel stamped ashtray bridge with brass compensated saddles
Machine Heads: Grover Kidney Bean
Hardware: Chrome
Scratchplate: Flexible charcoal Polyethylene
Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut: 1.625” (41.3 mm)
Unique Features: Complete one-off, custom cut bridge, single P90
Strings: Fender Pure Nickel Wound Original 150s
String Gauges: Regular - 10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46

Named after a comment I overheard whilst climbing off the train at Manchester Piccadilly station, as a group of guys climbed on, eager to get back home south.

A tele take on the Les Paul Junior. Whilst waiting for a batch of parts to arrive so I could wind the single P90 needed, the guitar was wired up with an old Gibson P90 I had lying around. Eager to hear a P90 in the bridge position the old Gibson pickup was only ever meant to be temporary measure, especially as this was a neck pickup, the pole spacing too narrow for the wider telecaster bridge.

So the guitar was strung whilst waiting for the P90 magnets to arrive – plugged in and played. I never got round to replacing the pickup, it just sounded right. The weaker neck pickup really breaks up when pushed. The bite and snarl warmed up through the mahogany wood.

Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, one-piece mahogany body, custom cut stamped steel telecaster bridge, glove fit P90 rout and custom scratchplate and a single Gibson P90 wired to The Creamery’s own twist on the original Fender electronics with a .0047uf cap where the resistor should sit – this is essentially the same as the ‘Eldred Mod’ giving the out-of-phase or cocked-wah sound in the front position – a guitar to be played loud.

Original Article

Just got the promo cards back from the printers. It’s all coming together.

Recorded most of the soundfiles for both guitars & pickups. Just got to finish off the final versions of the Fuzz and tremolo pedals, record the tones and get them on the site. Completion of the online store is the priority then its time to roll up my sleeves and get back to work - those pickups don’t wind themselves.

Original Article

Named after a comment I overheard whilst climbing off the train at Manchester Piccadilly station, as a group of guys climbed on, eager to get back home south.

A tele take on the Les Paul Junior. Whilst waiting for a batch of parts to arrive so I could wind the single P90 needed, the guitar was wired up with an old Gibson P90 I had lying around. Eager to hear a P90 in the bridge position the old Gibson pickup was only ever meant to be temporary measure, especially as this was a neck pickup, the pole spacing too narrow for the wider telecaster bridge.

So the guitar was strung whilst waiting for the P90 magnets to arrive - plugged in and played. I never got round to replacing the pickup, it just sounded right. The weaker neck pickup really breaks up when pushed. The bite and snarl warmed up through the mahogany wood.

Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, one-piece mahogany body, custom cut stamped steel telecaster bridge, glove fit P90 rout and custom scratchplate and a single Gibson P90 wired to The Creamery’s own twist on the original Fender electronics with a .0047uf cap where the resistor should sit - this is essentially the same as the ‘Eldred Mod’ giving the out-of-phase or cocked-wah sound in the front position - a guitar to be played loud.

Original Article

Pics of some of the new guitar pickup range - Humbucker, P90, Tele bridge & neck etc etc http://ping.fm/Rk9xz

How long exactly does it take things to arrive from Japan?! Still waiting on the dogear @ P90 pickup parts

New pic of the pickup range. Humbucker, P90 and Tele bridge & neck all with vintage wires - http://ping.fm/w4t0s

A couple of Humbuckers, Telecaster Bridge & Neck pickups and a P90 before potting. Vintage cloth pushback leads for the single coils and braided pushback for the Humbuckers. I’m having the pickups professionally shot for the site but here’s a quick pic of just some of the range prior to going live.

Original Article