The Les Paul Junior

The p90 pickup was first produced in 1946 after production resumed (after World War II).  The p90 is often referred to as the soap bar, dog ear or humbucker casing pickups (as these are the major variations of the casing to p90 pickups) and was the standard for the Les Paul model guitars.  The p90 is known for having a very thick sounding town and has defined Gibson Guitars for many years.  The age old dispute between Fender vs. Gibson ends here.  There isn't a better sounding guitar, but they are uniquely defined by their tone.  Their tone is mainly characterized by the pickup and the p90 and the variations of this pickup are what has made this guitar a timeless instrument.

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Pickguard for Gibson Les Paul Junior Jr Black 1 ply nb

US $19.95

19d 2h 42m

GIBSON LES PAUL NASHVILLE JR JUNIOR WEEK 41 2007

12 Bids

US $660.00

7h 19m

Gibson Les Paul Junior Billy Joe Armstrong LP Jr 2006

14 Bids

US $540.00

8h 52m

GIBSON LES PAUL NICKEL KNOB POINTERS JUNIOR VINTAGE

0 Bid

US $4.99

8h 52m

The p90 is a single coil pickup.  This gives the sound a brighter and more transparent tone than a humbucker.  If you were to compare this pickup to a fender pickup, you would hear less crispyness or snap to it.  While it does have some single coil twang, it maintains large amounts of midrange and even a bit more low end than Fender guitars.  The most popular guitars that use p90's are the Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul and the Epiphone Casino.  P90 pickups from the vintage era are all hand-wound, so there is a bit of variation between each pickup cosmetically.

There was also the H90 which is a stacked version of the p90 that apparently doesn't lose some of the classic p90 sound.  One of the issues with the p100 which is another popular variation of this pickup is that it apparently loses a lot of the classic sound (according to it's players).  The H90 is supposed to be rid of that issue and is the standard release for the Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior guitar.  The H90 also has slightly higher output than the single coil editions.

Just for fun here is a list of some of the more notable players that used a p90 pickup Gibson Guitar:

John Fogerty

David Gilmour

George Harrison

Tony Lommi

Mick Jones

Robby Krieger of The Doors

Bob Marley

Paul McCartney (Ephiphone Casino)

Wes Montgomery

Mike Oldfield

Les Paul

Muddy Waters

Richard Thompson

Pete Townsend

Leslie West

Neil Young

Frank Zappa

Billie Joe Armstrong

George Thorogood

Whatever your story is, I am sure you will find the tone that suits you best.  I think the most notable difference between a Fender and a Gibson is that the Gibson appears to have more body and fullness than a Fender.  Although there is a lot to be said about the feel of a Fender Strat, and the how clearly the tones cut through a mix, there is no doubt more body to a Gibson Guitar.

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1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior Jr Vintage Guitar Sunburst

US $6,899.00

26d 1h 9m

Gibson 1980 Les Paul Special Junior P90 Pickups Vintage

US $1,199.99

25d 2h 39m

Gibson Les Paul Junior Vintage Pickguard New

US $17.99

20d 6h 52m

1955 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Junior Jr 100 original

US $8,995.00

8d 3h 10m

There are a lot of different things to keep in mind when you finally get your hands on a Les Paul Jr.  The first thing is obviously going to be the case.  If you are a regular gigging musician having a gig-bag with backpack straps might be the best option.  This is particularly useful when you have to carry a hard-case acoustic with you while also carrying an electric guitar because you can get your axes into the venue in one trip!  A hard case is definitely a better way to go, but you are going to have shill out a little more money.

The next thing to consider, is some kind of a kit to take care of your guitar when you restring it.  Let's face it, there is no value in having someone else restring and care for your Les Paul all of the time.  So it's best to invest in a small kit to take care of your equipment.  One of the best things to do is go online or to a local guitar shop and see if they have some kind of all inclusive kit to get this done.  You'll find things like a scraper tool for the grime under the strings, possibly a "spinner" for your tuner and some furniture polish like material that is intended for preserving the finish on the guitar.  Something that must be done in order to keep the smooth fretboard feeling on your guitar is to remove the strings completely and spray it down with furniture polish.  Next take a guitar pick or thing plastic material and scrape off the grime completely and clean any excess with a paper towel or moist towelette.

This is going to ensure that the fretboard is clean and it will actually make your strings last a bit longer, as they are not going to have any toxins or dirt in the wind.  It is best to change your strings at least once a month.  When you do this you are going to want to remove only half of the strings at a time.  This is not an entirely common method but it really helps to keep your truss rod in adjustment (for your action).  You do this to keep constant tension on the neck.  If you are always removing and adding tension you'll find that the guitar gets loose and the action becomes to far from the fretboard creating a poor playing guitar, especially for beginners and people with not so strong of hands.

One feature that can and possibly should be upgraded on a lot of Les Paul guitars is the tuners themselves.  They have a rather low-end ratio to them and seem to fall out of tune quite a bit when first putting on fresh strings.  You can get something like a "grover" tuner that has a much nicer ratio keeping the guitar in tune for longer, while giving you a lot of precision in the process.

Lastly, if you are not one to change your strings frequently or are someone who sweats a lot when they play, it is best to invest in some coated strings for your guitar.  The leading brand for coated strings are Elixirs.  There are many brands that would work, but Elixir was the first major coated string on the market.  They are known to last almost three times longer than a traditional string because they offer the metal wound strings a coating that keeps out sweat, which keeps out rust.  Coated strings are probably one of the best things a regular gigging guitarist can invest in.  They cost nearly twice as much as a regular string though, so you might see the obvious dilemma.  Elixir Polyweb strings are so bright when you first put them on, that they actually have a break-in period.  They will typically sound their best after several hours of play, due to the extra brightness that is added from the Polyweb coating.

Whatever you do, take care of your Les Paul guitar.  There are many guitar shops that will buy them back for the price you bought it for, as well as a huge online community of people who will buy, sell and trade their guitars.  You will want to keep your guitar in pristine shape, so one day you can get some of your investment back and perhaps invest it in another guitar or Les Paul Jr. of your liking.