P90 Comparison - stock Tokai vs. Lindy Fralin

[uribengal]

Hi, Thanks for getting back to me. Does your Tokai have a maple or mahogany top?

All the best.

[Bluefinger]

@uribengal maple ... It's a 56 reissue more or less.

[uribengal]

Hello,

Fine playing, nice looking guitar. Why did you prefer this Tokai to your Gibson? Thanks.

[Bluefinger]

@uribengal thanks ... The tokai sounded mich more lively and fuller than the Gibson. It had more sustain and resonated better. It was a no brauner to keep the tokai. The finish was thinner on the gibby tho.

[totalcontrolguitar]

Great clean sound. Both sound great. Check out osme of my Tokai and Gibson demos. Cheers.

[TheRoughmen]

Beautiful playing, I'm envy. I read a forum where you discussed stock pickups in your Tokai LS160S and tried to replace them with Fralins. As I remember it is Gotohs as the stocks. Do you know what is the model of Gotohs?

[Bluefinger]

@TheRoughmen Actually I don't know which exact model they are and if they are sold separately at all. These are the ones that are installed on the higher end Tokais. They call them "LP-OLD MK1" but I don't know if that's the Gotoh model name or an internal Tokai description. Sorry for not being more helpful ...

[anointed01]

The Tokai PU sound like they have the flu. The sound of the LF`s is pristine and well defined. Thanks for sharing

[Bluefinger]

@anointed01 It's funny that most seem to like the Fralins ... This video seems to make even less sense than I thought. In real life the Fralins sound really thin and weak compared to the Gotoh/Tokais ...

[TheRoughmen]

Fralins exactly sound thinner and weaker in your video. I think, if you changed titles vice versa, many people would say that Fralins are fatter and more organic etc. Because they are Fralins(Lollars, Duncans etc) and everybody is talking about that they are perfect. Today P90 is the brand for the people who tired of humbuckers' and singles' sound, but most of them(includes me) just don't know how P90 have to sound like.

[flooflox]

The Fralins seem to have more "life" or "bounce". Very enjoyable playing BTW.

[yinyangthang]

Fralins.

[Kingddd333]

lindys sound more treble slightly and a lil more clear... both sound great

[olsen4545]

Hey man do you need a guitar player in your band?

[DeathZeroTolerance]

Great playing. I can't hear the difference over youtube in the neck PUs, but i'm sure it sounds sweet in person.

I ebayed a MIJ Tokai SG, and I was blwon away by the sound of the neck pickup. Tokai makes a damn good guitar.

[alvaritooooooooo]

Nice playing and nice guitar! Wich are your main influences? Thanks

[Bluefinger]

@alvaritooooooooo thank! Well, I listen to a lot of stuff ... my main influences are probably T-Bone Walker, Robert Lockwood, Eddie Taylor, Junior Watson, Rusty Zinn, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rodgers, Alex Schultz, DUke Robillard, Pee Wee Crayton, ... and a million more :)

take care!

[sonrisingpk]

Every time someone reviews old vs new pickups (dimarzio, fralin SD.....;) result turns out the same...This "improved" pickups turn out to be brighter, volume increased and more clear, yet they lack with character and mojo factor.

Most of people judge the difference mostly after hearing just a volume boost...

Hand wound or vintage only works for me!

[scantinplax]

I hear a lot of great influences in your playing, it's very good! I'm looking for a guitar like this (not easy to find in Europe) as new Gibsons are quite sloppy in craftsmanship even in the high-end models (I have several of them and binding and fretting are disappointing to me, I don't feel like fixing anything on a guitar I've just bought!). By the way, your stock pickups sound much better to my ears, I would never change them (some no-name pickups sound just great).

[Bluefinger]

@scantinplax Hi ... thanks for the nice words. I agree, the stock pickups do sound mighty fine. After I bought this guitar, I sold my Gibson Gustom shop Les Paul. Although I wanted to like the Gibson better, which costs three times as much as this one, the Tokai turned out to be the better guitar and I am still happy with my choice. I bought mine through eBay, directly from Japan. They appear from time to time.

all the best

BF

[jgk381]

@scantinplax check out rondomusic's Agile goldtop p90 copy's. They sell for as low as $225 and the stock pups sound great, as does the whole guitar. Very close in sound to the tokai's.

[Bluefinger]

@jgk381 The Agile guitars are a bit different in construction (solid mahagony body without maple top, maple neck instead of mahagony, ...) so I assume the respond quite a bit differently. The pickups are both 8.3k according to the manufacturer's homepage so expect them to be a bit unbalanced in terms of volume (bridge pickup needs to be hotter for balanced output). That all doesn't mean that it's not a great guitar, especially for the price. It's just something that one should be aware of.

[jgk381]

@Bluefinger I believe the agile's have maple tops, but good points. I wasn't trying to say they are as good as the Tokai's, but just offer a less expensive alternative for someone else that sounds close. I mainly brought it up in repsonse to his comment that some no name pickups just sound great, as I feel the stock agile p-90's on the goldtop are one of those. Great playing btw :-)

[Bluefinger]

@jgk381 ok, I figured they were solid mahagony because tof the description on their website ("Single cutaway solid Mahogany arch top body") ... they don't mention any maple tops.

I cannot judge these guitars because I have never laid a hand on one. I'm sure they are great tho. In the end you'll always sound the way you play anyway :)

[jgk381]

@Bluefinger ahh, your right. I think I was confusing it w/ the flame top LP copies that have the p90's as well. Those are the ones that have a 1/16" maple top. I was deciding between the two when I got my goldtop last year..been a while since I looked at the specs. To my ears, all the goldtops w/ p90's (gibsons, epi, and all the copies) all have that same goldtop sound overall, some just better quality than others and little differences in tone. But l agree its all in the player.

[peyoteblues]

Have you heard the Kinman hum-cancelling p90's? Proper single coils but with no noise.  They are fantastic

[Bluefinger]

@peyoteblues no, I haven't. I never had a problem with hum so I haven't even considered them. To be honest, I like the Gotohs so much, I don't think I'll replace them with anything.

[WalksWithTurkeys]

Nice jazzy playing. I cannot tell the pickups apart. The poor sound quality (recording and my PC sound card) does not help.

[Bluefinger]

@WalksWithTurkeys

The recording device was a cheap compact camera which was all I had at that time. With a decent sound card and speakers the difference gets more obvious but I agree that it still is poor. The amp's volume was also running on "1". It was just a quick and dirty video for someone who also considered replacing the pickups in his Tokai. I did not expect this much feedback back then, otherwise I would have put more attention to a couple of things.

[songnow]

@Bluefinger I def. hear the difference but the stock pickups hold their own. By any chance did you change the caps in the guitar? Cheers, nice playing...

[Bluefinger]

@songnow No, I did not change the caps since I wanted to show the difference between the pickups. I prefer the stronger stock pickups myself as well which is why I put them back in a couple of days later. The Fralins are now installed in a '93 ES-135 and I like them better in this guitar than in the Tokai. all the best, thanks for listening ...

[cjt42o]

The fralins are brighter by far, even with shitty recording i can hear it

Chris

[pinholedstars]

waaay clearer.

[lm94facepalm]

cool moustache.... =D (p.s. nice guitar, i like the sort of sound you get from P90s, and good playin')

[ilovemywah]

hi all......i've tried most highend p90's inc lollar, bareknuckle and the stock p90's on my Historic/VOS les paul special & junior, and found the lindy's to be far better than the rest, i was surprised at how thin the Lollar's sounded, the B/nuckle's were better but still not right, i use lindy's 5% overwinds and can't EVER see me using anything else!! most p90's sound good with a clean tone but it's when the amps cranked they show their true colour, and the fralin's bloom like no other!! true.

[rayq78]

i like the darker sound of the tokai Pups... but for sometime...i like the Lindy for its bright tone... both are nice... =)  nice playing ..

[Subsharp]

Tokai pickups.

[kevland1]

Thanks for posting this!

[texatexa]

Tokai: much warmer, Lindy: more aggressive. I'd like to hear the second one in a rock setting, I think it's a more driving, edgy PU. The Tokai is great for jazzy licks.

Nice playing !

[EuropeFactor]

I thought they sounded fairly similar. Very nice playing

[duankoboi]

both are nice pickup :D

[ericohman]

Nice demo! I preferred the Fralin neck PU and the Tokai bridge

[MyBluesGuitar]

Nice playing and axe....

Fralin or Stock ?

It depends on ones ears, preferences and the kind of music you want to play.

I prefer the sound of the stock PU´s. The Fralins are too crisp to my taste. All most like a Rockabilly sound..

I am considering buying the same guitar and had my doubts regarding the P90 but not anymore. Thanks for posting.

[SciFiBlues]

Even playing this through my crappy laptop speakers I can hear the difference. the Fralin pickups are definitely cleaner and crisper sounding. The stock pickups are a bit muddy by comparison but not altogether awful either. I'd go for the Fralins though if it were my axe.

[wildpinkhorse]

Fralins sound great. Nice playing

[spentonmediocrity]

The Fralins have a wider response,more clarity/definition,more harmonic content...that's the way to go because you get the added clarity and you can always roll down the tone down for warmer sounds.

[MeltedProphet71]

The Fralins have a much greater dynamic range than the stock pups. The neck in particular is much more open and less muddy than the stock pup. Definitely a nice upgrade.

[methanandamide]

I guess I am not very experienced, as my ears didn't detect much of a difference besides the fralins having a slight top end boost, with the tokai pu's sounding slightly warmer. Both are good pu's and it is probably down to the individual guitarist's taste as to what they prefer (I tend to like fralins for their tighter response and greater ease of performing pinch harmonics, especially with distortion.) That being said, you are a fantastic guitarist good job at showcasing these pickups!

[Bluefinger]

Thanks for the kind words!

That's exactly my point. It is not my intention to prove that one is better than the other. I know some Tokai players think about swappung PUs and I just want to show what they can expect from one of the popular options. All the best ...

[moo99]

There is a huge difference between the bridge pickup. I love the sound, it comes alive with the Fralin in the bridge. With the Neck pickup, the change is more subtle.

[freeilluminati]

Lindy Fralin rocks...amazing pick ups....

[Boingusboingus]

I don't think they sound much different. I sort of prefer the Tokais. Nice playing though!

[EasyBreather000]

I've just joined so this is my first comment :

Very well played ! What are your influences please ? And how long have you been playing ? Really nice sound - what amp are you using here ?

Thanks, keep it going !

[Bluefinger]

Hi!

Thanks for the nice words. I have been playing 25+ years. I have many influences ... T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood, Rusty Zinn, Junior Watson, Alex Schultz, Igor Prado, Otis Rush ... way too many to list them all. The amp I am using in this vid is a self built Tweed Super amp. It's only running on "1" and placed behind the camera ... check out my other videos if you want to hear it cranked. I lreally love those old tweed circuits, they are killer!

take care ...

[SkydogBR]

@Bluefinger Nice you mentioned Igor. I believe he's fairly known in Europe, isn't he? He kind of focused on jump blues on the few past years, but he's a very good player overall. If you want to, check Marcos Ottaviano and Otavio Rocha, two other great brazilian players.

BTW, nice chops and tone, my friend. And congrats for the beautiful guitar. P90s are the tone heaven.

[mtmcb]

No comparison...Lindys win, hands down. More chime and clarity in the neck. Slightly more chime, much more clarity and string distinction, along with a littly "bite" in the bridge. Sounds like you took a folded blanket off the amp's speaker each time. It sounds that much better.

I'm looking for P90s to put in my guitar and I'm hoping to find a better deal than the Fralins...but I'm not so sure,now. At least I know I don't want Tokais or Gotohs.

[edmatper]

The neck LF sounds large and with a more opened tone than the stock Tokai (but some may like it sounding a bit darker). I'm not convinced neither by the Tokai nor the LF bridge, sounds too "quack quack" to me.

[Kenkkuri]

I think The sound is most about feeling. Your sound is world class. Great sound.

[tkojams]

I like the Tokai in the bridge pos. and the Lindy Fralin in the neck pos.

[humbuck59]

very nice playing man.. if it was my guitar i would go for the Tokai's... to me that is what a P90 should sound like.. just my opinion

[CrazyDiamond1968]

if you turned up the Presence on your amp by one notch, the Tokai pickups would sound the same as the Fralins. Both pickups sound great.

[Bluefinger]

Turning up the presence would not make them sound the same. They are very different in many ways but I think the camera mic does not reproduce that propperly. The Fralins are clearer, brighter and have more twang to them. The Tokai/Gotohs have more output and punch, compress more and are fatter. None of these two sets is better IMHO. If you are looking for clarity then go for the Fralins, if you want old fashioned 40s and 50s Chicago and jump blues tone, the Tokais are a great choice.

[CrazyDiamond1968]

Fair enough, makes sense. Very sweet playing, enjoyed listening.

[Bluefinger]

Thanks ;o)

[snorrevonflake]

@Bluefinger thats how i would have described the Lollar 50s winds, much cleaner, brighter, twangy, not for the old Blues Tone (allthough Lollar describes them as "early Freddie King tone"), for the moment i have settled with Seymour Duncan Antiquities i got for a good price on ebay and i think they are great, definitely do all the early T-Bone Walker tones.

[comeonmakemyday]

The Lindy's are definitely better sounding pickups. Thru my studio speakers, they are clearer and crisper than the stock ones. I have the same guitar and I'm going to switch to the Lindy's. They sparkle. BTW, you've got great chops. Enjoyed it all. Thanks.

[RichieWheelie]

Lindy's sound more defined to me.

[tonestar100]

As much as I love Fralin pickups, (I have 5% underwind Vintage Hots in my Strat) I honestly have to say the Tokais, both bridge and neck sounded, to my ears, fatter, warmer, more character, more vintage and just flat out more toneful. I felt you're playing was more inspired playing the Tokais as well. I'm just curious whether you switched them back. You're playing is great as well. I dig West Coast jump.

[Bluefinger]

Thanks for the comment!

My impressions were the same so I switched back to the stockers. I wouldn't go as far as they would make me play better ... It was just some uninspired noodling all together and some licks may have come across better for no special reason. Anyway ... I put the Fralins into an ES-135 which is a darker sounding guitar than the Tokai and they are doing really great in there.

[phishfacemountian]

nice playing

[Flyin2hawain]

The Lindy's sounded fantastic to my ears, bright, chunky and articulate. The stock sounded nice, although a bit muddy with less high end and mids.

[roadsong66]

Tasty playing

[superreverbking]

very similar neck tone. the fralin bridge kills the tokai though

[Fr3derick]

Awesome!!!

Grandma mary

[AngelParada1]

The stocks sounds better to me, and more vintage. It makes you play better too.

[feelee15]

the lindy's sound way more articulate and clear

[clehneis]

exactly

[misterdecibel]

What amp are you using?

[Bluefinger]

It's a Tweed Super, volume on 1, placed behind the camera.

[elvisaggy]

Stock sounded much better. Trust me.

[retroguy90]

not a matter of "trust" but taste.

[brwilli6]

nice playing too.

[motus]

I prefer the fralin, brighter and sweeter sounding, nice playing

[jstuka1234]

what model of fralins did you install?

I think the Fralins are a little brighter

or have an extra edge,

BTW, nice playing and thanks so much for the post & time!

[Bluefinger]

Hi,

They are the standard versions with stock wound bridge and -10% neck. Output is 6.7k/7.6k (Tokais are 8.3k/8.6k). The Fralins are clearer, brighter and more defined. The Tokais are fatter, darker and push the amp harder. Both are mighty fine sets, it just depends on what you expect from your pickups.

[jstuka1234]

so, it's nice to know that you return to the old stock PU. Have a great one and thank you!