Alamo Music Center | Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s P-90 | Better than the Humbucker model?

The Gibson Les Paul is a legend. The growling tone that comes from its PAF style humbucking pickups is known the world over from historic recordings of our favorite rock heroes. However, the original Gibson Les Paul that is often associated with the lustrous Gold Top finish was originally equipped with P-90 pickups. The PAF style humbuckers debuted later as a means of combating 60 cycle hum that P-90 and other single coil pickups, like those found on Fender guitars, are prone too. Despite the quieter operation of humbuckers there is something that gets lost in the change. P-90 pickups have a certain character to them that is simply magical and now that Gibson offers the Standard 50s Gold Top with both options the situation was primed for a comparison. Despite the fact that the humbucker model is more ubiquitous could the P-90 tone be better? Let's find out!