DiMarzio Vintage P90 HSP90

When looking at the Vintage P90 HSP90, let’s get this out of the way: the P90 is chaos in a coil. It’s the brawler that throws the first punch and still wants to talk trash after the bell. But for decades, players drooled over its snarl only to realize their modern, humbucker-routed guitars weren’t having it. Routing a Les Paul? Might as well carve a mustache into the Mona Lisa. And then the answer: the humbucker-sized P90. Or HSP90. A Frankenstein of form and fury, built to deliver vintage bite without the surgery.

This design isn’t new, but it’s having a moment. Between boutique builders and mainstream pickup giants, everyone’s throwing their hat in the ring. Why? Because tone nerds – like you, me, and that guy reading over your shoulder – want vintage grind without giving up the convenience of drop-in installation. That’s where DiMarzio steps in. They’ve cooked up a P90 that doesn’t just pretend – it feels like the real thing. No awkward mids. Forget the fake bass thump. and no “hot lipstick single coil with a complex” syndrome. Just old-school attitude in humbucker clothes.

DiMarzio’s Vintage P90 in a full-size humbucker cover answers the call. You get the vibe and the voicing of a real P90, with zero fear of committing tone treason. It’s lean, mean, and fits like it belongs. And let’s be real – Gibson should’ve done this back in the ‘70s when they were tossing mini-hums into everything like toppings on a bad pizza. But hey, better late than never.

Installation: No Lightsaber Required

Let’s talk logistics. If you know which end of the soldering iron gets hot, you’re good. This thing drops into a standard humbucker cavity like it was born there. No routing and no spacing shims. And no profanity. Single-conductor makes it a snap. Plug it in, solder the leads, screw it down and boom. Your guitar now speaks fluent snarl.

The baseplate is standard humbucker spec, so it slots into mounting rings and pickguards without a fuss. The full-size cover is clean and tight, not some weird plastic shell masking tone crimes. And unlike some “P90-shaped” imposters, this isn’t just a repackaged single coil stuffed into a coffin. It’s legit.

Tone Check: Snarl, Bark, Bite

This isn’t a pickup that waits for permission. It jumps into the mix, smashes your clean channel with upper-mid sass, and dares you to turn it down. But don’t be fooled by the aggression. The Vintage P90 balances grit and clarity like a pro. It’s raw, but not sloppy. Articulate, but not sterile. It walks the line between garage rock filth and boutique jazz voicing, and it owns it.

The mids are the star here – punchy, slightly nasal, and loaded with character. Palm mutes hit like a blaster shot. Open chords ring out with that chewy, snarling bloom that real P90 fans crave. Unlike some overwound soapbars that compress into mush, this one breathes. It’s dynamic. Back off the pick attack and it cleans up with a woody, percussive cluck. Dig in and it’s like shoving a mic in front of a cranked tweed amp. No fizz. No fuzz blur. Just tone with teeth.

In the bridge position it delivers honky, forward mids that slice through a mix without peaking your ears into oblivion. Yet in the neck position it gets warm and vocal, with that rounded, jazzy edge that stays articulate under gain. Throw a fuzz in front of it? Glorious chaos. Dial in a little slapback delay and it’s pure rockabilly menace. This is the kind of pickup that makes your amp work harder—in the best possible way.

Specs

Demo

While there are no officially sanctioned audio or video samples at this time, this is where it will be once some are available!

Final Thoughts: Vintage With a Vengeance

Here’s the bottom line: if your heart screams “P90,” but your guitar only speaks humbucker, this is the diplomat you need. The DiMarzio Vintage P90 doesn’t compromise tone to fit the format. It just bends reality. And let’s be honest, who among us isn’t chasing vintage tone while pretending to need “modern versatility”?

This pickup punches far above its weight class. It holds up under volume swells, takes pedals like a champ, and never muddies the waters – even when you throw it at high-gain amps or vintage tube circuits. It brings everything that’s good about a classic P90 – attack, attitude, tonal depth – and removes the crap no one wants, like hum, squeal, or weird mounting issues. It’s like if your favorite punk band hired a session player and didn’t tell anyone.

If you’re hunting for something that makes your clean channel mean, and your gain channel scream without turning into a fizzy mess, this P90’s for you. Vintage tone. Modern fit. Just pure tone menace wrapped in a humbucker suit, ready to burn down your blues jam or punch holes in a punk mix.

For reference, this DiMarzio Vintage P90 HSP90 pickup set evaluation was conducted with the following: Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller. ADA MP-1 Tube Pre-Amp loaded with Tube Amp Doctor ECC83 Premium Selected tubes, using the ADA MC-1 MIDI Controller. Fryette LX II Stereo Tube Power Amplifier. Physical cabs use are Marshall 1960B, Mojotone British, and Peavey 6505 cabs loaded with Celestion Classic Series Vintage 30s and Classic Series G12M Greenbacks.

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