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Honestly, the P90 is one of my favorite pickup sounds. Just wish there wasn't the hum. I know that they have all these "hum free" versions, but they are never quite the same. Then there's the staple top, which I have unfortunately not gotten a chance to really own. I have a Jazzmaster, and also like the sound of those pickups, but again, wish there wasn't so much hum. My favorite humbucker pickups are always the vintage style ones with lower output. Yes, they don't push the amps as hard, but they just have a type of snarl that the higher output pickups lack. I'm fine with SD '59s, Seth Lovers, or Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAFs. While I admit the high end PAF style pickups are enticing, I feel the law of diminishing returns is definitely in effect.

Well, one thing is that they do sound different than the Schallers they once were. It's hard to put that difference into words. The bridge pickup seems brighter. You can get a dental mirror for a few bucks if you don't want to pull the pickup. The truth is that it is faster to loosen the strings and look for the sticker on the back than it is to get a mirror and futz around with it and a flashlight. I recommend getting a fiberoptic scope. It comes in handy for all sorts of things. https://www.amazon.com/Endoscope-Borescope-Semi-Rigid-Smartphones-KEEMIKA/dp/B0F2PQTT1G/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.2da95b6c-f59a-4699-bc43-d0ff036c6388%3Aamzn1.sym.2da95b6c-f59a-4699-bc43-d0ff036c6388&cv_ct_cx=Fiber%2BOptic%2BEndoscope&keywords=Fiber%2BOptic%2BEndoscope&pd_rd_i=B0F2PQTT1G&pd_rd_r=ebd8a8ea-c575-4304-8839-bbacb633b3ed&pd_rd_w=t4eyH&pd_rd_wg=jWuCz&pf_rd_p=2da95b6c-f59a-4699-bc43-d0ff036c6388&pf_rd_r=YFHZAEV3BGXF2SCBWR0E&qid=1749560793&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-4-6024b2a3-78e4-4fed-8fed-e1613be3bcce-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

They are just saying that the goal of PAF was to sound like a PAF without the noise. There are many people, including the early pickup designers that feel the P90 is the best pickup that was ever made. And some of those early PAFs do sound quite a bit like an hot Balckguard Tele pickup.