Creating the Ultimate P90 Tele! - Thinline Telecaster Makeover!

The Fender JA-90 is one strange Tele - Yet it somehow manages to harness its quirky nature into a really cool guitar! Today I am going to address some of the weaknesses of this model and see if we can take it up to the next level!
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JBE P90:
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Enjoy!

[@craigwalters9064]

Well that's hilarious. I ordered one of these with mods on Reverb a few days back. Thought I would find a video to watch of the Barden soapbars. Came across this one. Started watching and thought "hey that's the same guitar"! Cross referenced the serial numbers and yes indeed, it is the very one. Can't wait to play it.

[@redlinedeath]

How do you like it? I'm looking to replace this same hardware and redo pots and wiring too! Mine is white. Going for all white with black accents! Let me know how you like it!

[@JAA802]

Heh, I guess he didn't "love this guitar" that much after all. What was his reverb seller page, or had it already changed hands?

[@Chavilbus]

Beautiful upgrade but the original P90 sounds better and warmer, the news are cleans but so cold for me !

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Hi! The SD are super bass heavy and can lack clarity in certain situations - but overall they do sound great! Although the pickups are not worlds apart the JBEs do tighten up the bass a lot which is much better for higher gain playing or any style where clarity is requiered :)

[@zwoelf160]

The stock Hardware looks better...

[@danieldebiaze9379]

To end the stoy: if you buy that sort of thinline guitars, its not to play Hard Rock or Metal ! Non sense !

[@itsmatty365]

@@danieldebiaze9379 you do realize this guitar is a signature model for Jim Adkins right.... as in Jimmy eat world...as in Rock band! SMH

[@louiscyfer6944]

@@DarrellBraunGuitar you would have been better off with the fralins. the ones you got are just humbuckers on a p90 size.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

This thing absolutely ROARS! I love it! Enjoy the vid :) Fender JA-90: imp.i114863.net/3Q9OK

[@parkerm.]

Hi Darrell

[@ronniejdio9411]

Thanks for this vid. Im not a fan of the fixer up trend but this guitar looks incredible w black hardware. Great job.

[@mikewhitfield2994]

Fender should take note and use chrome for the red, black for the natural because that looks awesome. The little hints of chrome remaining with the bushings combined with the pickup selector trim make a nice highlight. For tone, I thought the Duncans were way too hot, yet I find I still prefer their tone. Anyway, great project video, thanks.

[@LiesThatBind]

Hi Darrell, Unfortunately the links to the parts aren't functioning anymore and I have some questions concerning the parts used. Is the Bridge the 4MM or the 6MM version and if you wouldn't mind keeping the string trees would the non staggered machine heads do the trick ?

[@RC32Smiths01]

Now that Tele already looked amazing and vintage to me! Great redo of this cool looking and sounding model indeed!

[@amyhmc5496]

The guitar sounds great. I love the natural finish!

[@ansmfella]

Love that you've recognized both this guitar's remarkable design but also addressed its shortcomings! So appreciated that you've put the time and work into all the research and set up for us. Inestimable value for anyone seriously interested in this underestimated guitar

[@collinmcmahon2427]

Trying to think of the best way to describe my feelings right now....DANG!!!!! Absolutely sick, man! Totally loving this tele!

[@3kkoolguy]

Cant believe the difference in the clarity of the sound. Its like 2 totally different guitars. Brilliant.

[@MikeLee-lg5vq]

These kind of non-permanent mods are great because if you went to sell the guitar later, you could return it to stock and reuse the premium parts you bought instead of just eating the cost of them. Great video!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

That's true! I always make sure to keep the stock parts!

[@TheHutchMusic]

Great ideas there and now listening through your Celtic Classics album on Spotify. Great sounds and playing Darrell. :-)

[@donald-parker]

I think you kind of glossed over a huge head ache. When you unsolder the the original pickups you should attach some scrap wire to the old pickup leads before you pull the pickups out. And then cut that attachment and connect it to your new pickup wires so you have a way to pull the new pickup wires through the holes in the body and into the cavity where the pots are. Much easier than trying to push the new pickup wires or fish something through the holes after the old pickups are gone. But the new guitar looks beautiful. I would love one!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Great advice! Thankfully this guitar has a huge channel for wiring (similar to a Les Paul). For designs with tight wiring channels that is a really good idea :)

[@revenant235]

Having just neglected to do this very thing, good point and great suggestion! My Warmouth body has the Pencil thin bridge channel tunnel and I had a three wire Lollar pickup to install. Had to use forceps and it took multiple tries because the fabric wire covers kept catching the wood in the channel.

[@GuitarBassCigar]

It looks really good with those changes! As for the pups, I have to say the original SDs were definitely hotter and had a bigger sound, but, I'd have to go with the JBEs if for no other reason than they are dead quiet (they do sound really good, of course). That is a pretty cool guitar overall.

[@MisterGuitarItalia]

I've never had any tuning issues with this guitar... in fact, both the tuning pegs and bridge are spectacularly solid.

[@MisterTee]

The real P90 pickups are better sounding.

[@stevenvandemsky7290]

They hum, so they are worthless

[@TomJarane]

The real ones sounded the best.

[@MisterTee]

Steven van Demsky Turn the gain down and learn to use your volume controls. Guys like Phil X and Jared James Nichols and others before them have been making P90’s work for decades

[@valbastiancontraio2795]

I agree

[@jonathanr6143]

Steven van Demsky Jim adkins, billie joe armstrong Johnny thunders and many others would argue with the useless comment

[@awo1fman]

I wasn't sure when you were describing the black hardware, but you absolutely nailed the aesthetics! I think it sounds great, too. Killer mods!

[@thehound2161]

Killer guitar before and after. Nice vid.

[@stephanematis]

Darrel, the bridge's part number seen in the video was PS-8843-BN, the US spec Black Nickel. My guess is that the RESOMAX NV2 6MM TUNE-O-MATIC (STRING SAVER EQUIPPED) would have been the correct Import spec choice. In your choice of colour it would have been : PS-8863-BN So this guitar is entirely Import spec parts, proven by the fact the Ratio Tuners did not require the Fender 2 pin adapter (PRT-952-201-C0), which sadly is not in the box with the Tuners, and what actually lead me to re-check this video to understand why my Fender Mexico neck didn't line up with the Ratio Tuners. So for anyone else, if you are going to use parts for this Indonesian made Fender, when choosing, pick the Import spec parts. And you can skip the tuner adepter, this is Squire spec 2 pin tuner hole.

[@chrisholtmeier8352]

I'm trying to figure out what specs I need for Tuners and what options are available. Do you know what I should be looking for? Thanks!

[@dadprice1]

Nice mod, big difference and big improvement. Well done.

[@DBSG1976]

I don't have enough experience with P90s, but the Noiseless seem closer to actual P90s as opposed to single coil Noiseless versus vintage, I could be wrong. Overall, very nice upgrade to a nice second hand find...

[@rivingtonpike7899]

I love your channel and I’m a big fan of that particular tele. I think the best mod you did was the tuning pegs, they look a lot better. I’m not convinced by the pick up change or the new bridge/tailpiece hardware, but I appreciate you showing us what you’ve done. Many thanks.

[@kylejames538]

Great selection of parts!!! I really dig this guitar factory as in but you did indeed take it to the “next level” lol. Love these style vids

[@revenant235]

Big D, thanks for all the how to videos, which gave me the courage to do my own build. Just finished a Tele Warmouth body and neck, Lollar Special pups, Hipshot tuners, and some stock hardware from a used Tele body. Took a while for all the parts to arrive, and two weekends taking my time with assembly. Just strung it up, having some lunch watching this, next I go plug it in for the first time.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Good luck! 🎸😎

[@revenant235]

Thanks! I only have a small practice amp to run it through right now, but all the copper tape shielding seems to have paid off, hum is negligible on neck and bridge settings, and the Obsidian Wire four way switch was a breeze to connect with no soldering. Thanks again for all you do.

[@hobbyknight9962]

Thanks for the videos and what you do Darrell.

[@HydraHead9]

Thanks Dazza, great content as always :D

[@David__]

Nice modifications Darrell! I really like the clean tone with both pickups :)

[@waynecribb4922]

You just made my guitar !! Awesome sound but the look is off the chart. Stunning! A guitar you can just enjoy looking at.

[@Terry3Gs]

Nice job on the upgrades Darrell !! Looks & sounds awesome !! :)

[@Xpyburnt_ndz]

Really liking the new set up Darrell!!! Sounds a LOT smoother to me! 😎

[@MarcCoteMusic]

I liked the look of this guitar when you first showed it, but it looks absolutely killer now! As far as the pickups are concerned, they don't really sound much alike, but in fact I prefer the noiseless, especially for the driven tones. The sound seems tighter and better defined. Nice mod, even if expensive.

[@kevinmorris7722]

Beautiful. Nice job. The new pickups sound a touch cleaner and super quiet. The black works well.

[@nicklancaster3190]

The JBE, from what I could hear, has a more balanced output, which gives it a bit more gainy sound along with the clarity over the SDs. Both sounded good to me. You could wire up a master bass contour and master tone, and that would give you some more range to your sound.

[@rayschoch5882]

Excellent, Darrell!! I'm a big fan of the "Natural & Black" aesthetic, so the Tele looks great once the mods are done. I especially like the new tuning machines. As a non-professional, the new pickups sound more “crisp” to my ears. I use that word advisedly - don't know if "brighter" really works, but for me, "crisp" is a good descriptor. So… looks great, sounds great - as mods go, this one's a winner.

[@shauncarter924]

Good work DB, as always. Do you have a Wall full of Strats and Wall full of Les Pauls to go along with your Wall full of Tele’s? Hahaha. You’re a lucky man, amigo.

[@pakotello525]

graphtech is an awesome upgrade makes a huge difference

[@waynejohnson3214]

Sorry, but the P90s were just way raunchier, in a good way.

[@JohannesLabusch]

Yeah. Never get rid of P90s.

[@Mwandiambira]

Completely agree

[@oldmanzen6682]

I would call that a very productive afternoon's worth of work. Looks significantly better and those pickups sound fantastic. You may have sold me on them, in fact.

[@Kissingspell]

You're a smart guy! That why i like your channel!!! 👍

[@mrlionel1965]

It definitely has more balls with the new PUs. What a monster sounding Tele. Love it and the channel.

[@skywing5051]

I'm dearly excited

[@sebastianleitonmaldonado7889]

For me it sounds 100 times better with the new pickups ! Congrats

[@bryndonwhalen893]

You’re the reason I love telecasters

[@jasong546]

You are brave to tackle removing the bushings Darrell, I would have slipped and gouged out the top lol great video man!

[@jasong546]

I can really see why some folks like the stock pups, and some like the new ones for sure. I think both sounded really great. 🎼

[@jenkinsmichael3006]

Sounds great love the jbe pickups

[@fluroflash2803]

Great vid. Love the new pups

[@neil2550]

Just picked up one yesterday,sounds awesome,really nice lines in the timber ,sounds terrific,,,I'm leaving mine as is ATM

[@fossilmatic]

Smart way of getting those bushings out.

[@dansands6363]

Damn that thing sounds killer, congrats!

[@bobbya8622]

Sounds great and looks great. That was a great job and I would like to build one too.

[@babyfactory587]

Accidentally learned how to get that tune o magic bridge out of a body! wow thanks a lot. Been wondering how to do that for a while.

[@cymbalsplus]

Love your work Darrell

[@ivanwesley8182]

I liked it before, I love it now. Good call and congrats on owning such a sweet guitar

[@Traski]

You could check the Stacked P90's at some point, they're amazing pickups. Only downside is that you might need to deepen the pickup pocket a bit, but it's totally worth it, if you like P90 pickups, having no hum and also tonal options.

[@glenngardin3561]

I see that you just might be a bit of a tele lover, Darrell! Keep up the great work!

[@natlparkdude]

I like the sound before and after, so the elimination of the hum seems worth it to me. Love the new look. And the new bridge and tuners should help it stay in tune. Nice upgrades!

[@DMSProduktions]

Nice! New p/ups still sound 'hum buckerish', but only slightly so. Defintely clearer, and more articulate. For P90's those Duncans sounded a bit muffled! (Which shouldn't happen really!)

[@billspruce8368]

Yes... nice look for sure!

[@MustafaBaabad]

Good work and the result is amazing. Cheers from Indonesia.

[@clockwork914]

The new pickups kick ass❗️

[@kjv444]

Love your mod videos. I love the black hardware.

[@droliver]

That was a very interesting mod of a very interesting one off tele guitar by Fender, whom I think only offers rail style pickups in its Richie Kotzen signature model.

[@50Something]

Sounds awesone!

[@chrisholtmeier8352]

Super helpful Darrell. Thank you. I am considering similar mods so it was helpful to see you do them. I'm still not quite sure what the specs are for the tuners. I have replaced tuners on my Gibson guitars but am not as familiar with these. Also researching all of the P90 options. Thank you!

[@joshkap76]

I noticed you installed locking tuning machines on this guitar and I was wondering for personal preference is it safe to install locking tuners on an acoustic guitar

[@njsmwalker]

That sunburst tele over your left shoulder looks like it has a GFS dream 90 in the neck...(which I have just put in my modified squier strat) would love to see a comparison of the various “P90s” out there from cheap to expensive. Lots of opinions out there vs original P90s but you are the best at doing honest and objective comparisons. 👍🏻

[@BraydenM014]

Awesome video. Love the channel. And I really like the mods you did to this guitar. The hardware make this look a thousand times better. Though p90s are amazing pickups, like a mix between single coils and hummies. But all I can think about when I hear those chords is my first electric guitar. It's an Epiphone LP special 2 with a stock Dean bridge hummy in it. And I play all styles, blues, country, metal, rock, Aussie pub rock, etc. And it sounds extremely cheap. Which is why I'm changing to a Super D from DiMarzio. But I always stop what I'm doing to watch your videos, they put me in a good mood and encourage me to play differently.

[@toenineUTUBE]

awwwesome mod video. Thanks! The link to the graphtech bridge doesn't work.... getting my JA-90 in a few days... wanna be sure I get the right graphtech bridge components... which ones do I need? thanks again.

[@kennyroadknight1771]

Darrel that was so good hard to choose I’m p90 biased. Learning lead after years of acoustic picking. Any tabs would be so helpful live your style of rock snd roll now going to listen to your blues playing. Wicked.👌🎸

[@jcorn91]

Sounds like a beast!

[@ptrisonic]

Very Good! Thanks, Darrell. Cheers, Pete.

[@josephgrant757]

The Noiseless pickups were a tad bit warmer but they still did the job, still a big fan of P90’s hard to beat bright chimey tone. Good video DB

[@GuitarversumSandraSherman]

Those JBE pickups have brutal mids. But the noise of the SDs is unacceptable for someone like me, who hates single coil noise. I guess a little scoop on the mids with an EQ would solve the hot mids problem for me. Maybe I get that first and mod it your way. The black hardware is awesome.

[@sjazzp]

Great video Darrell! I have that guitar and I magree with you that the first thing that must go are the machine heads. I wish you could show the head on the back and how the old tuners looked like, I have to find something similar to what you used in Australia . The link to Graphtech takes to their home page, I’m wondering what model you used here, thanks.

[@Lazy_eye_blobFish]

Hi Mr. Darrell, I hope you are having a blessed night.🧡😊🧡

[@parkerm.]

Darrell*

[@billamj]

Love it! The sound was better than the S-Ds imho. Now to just find the time, money and parts to do it for myself!

[@hearpalhere]

Cool project Darrell. I'm not even usually a fan of black hardware but this looked great! I will say that I think the P90's sounded better too (to my ears anyway) but I can understand the annoyance with the hum. The new pickups did sound good too and I think you'll be able to get some really great use out of them.

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

Yeah man that's a beauty of a guitar 😆

[@MatthewFant]

Wow. So I have the les Paul special p90, and find myself wondering if these would supercharge that axe. Not that that it was bad before. Awesome work as always brother.

[@PointlessExistence.]

I enjoyed so much the makeover! I love black hardwares

[@powerage77]

Good work!

[@BenKrisfield]

wow, great upgrade! thanks.

[@benzakonium]

I was squirming the whole time you were removing the bushings... was just expecting to see wrench shaped divots in the wood. Amazed the packing foam was enough to stop that.

[@robertturtle]

All good, I am thinking about getting the same guitar, but I'd keep the pickups or go with something different than the ones u installed

[@sethsparico1191]

Love the Maylene and the sons of disaster riff

[@REBELSCL]

I found a JA90 cheap and will use this as a guide to improve it... Thanks much!

[@laurentsubra7540]

looking for one. what did you get it for?

[@REBELSCL]

@@laurentsubra7540 The site where I found it cheap was actually a rippoff. I didn't get it

[@johnperovsek9009]

When you had the tailpiece bushings out, did you notice a ground wire?

[@evanwilliams8908]

There's no such thing as a noiseless pickup that sounds as good as a regular single coil. You lose all sorts of high end frequencies like every other humbucker and there's no way to just EQ those frequencies back in if they aren't there to begin with and have it sound natural. You end up in the situation with humbuckers that need a treble booster and you still can never get quite the right sound. Obviously your favourite tones are subjective, but my point is you can't cancel hum without compromise.

[@nguquaxanguyen5224]

closest thing for me is the zexcoil. but there's still compromise in term of response.

[@jackiejtheg]

Completely agree! Except I am trying rails on my custom tele bridge. We shall see

[@leosmith848]

Its worse than that - the humbuckers reject harmonics that are multiples of the pole distance on the string. So its a really weird loss of some harmonics, but not others. I think I love P90s for all their drawbacks. A great halfway house between Strat style single coils and the humbucker. To me a humbucker is a one sound pickup - into a Marshall, turn it up to 11, and off you go, but that's all it does

[@tshiota]

Wow! What an awesome video!

[@Brauma54]

I’ve seen you do a lot of builds. This one just seems somewhat special. Would you dare say this one might be your favorite guitar? It sure would be for me.

[@grungeman86]

Amazing sound and looks, although I felt like the seymour duncans were more P90ish actually. The new ones are very bright, but killer nonetheless! Great job!

[@jcoulter43]

I am a diehard Seymour Duncan fan and have many variations in my guitars. I'd have to say I still liked the tone of the SD's the best, but the JBE's sounded very good. I'd love to hear your take on the Seymour Duncan Antiquity HB set sometime. I have a new Explorer with that Alnico II set in it and it sounds spectacular. Your blue LP would be a great mod candidate 😁🎸👍Great video as always. God bless and rock on!

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

What about the Opti-Pick pickup system plus electronics to allow you to use metal or nylon strings and also to control a synthesizer from the guitar.

[@draganm7823]

Enjoyed the video as usual! Guitar definately looks better with the new hardware and sounds cleaner but I prefer the sound of the original P90's... maybe lol.

[@sunnys3325]

Man it sounds fatter. Thats quite a loaded and unique Tele man.👌👌

[@suegates5]

🚩 Darrell, your Killin Me with the Tell videos. WANT So Bad.. it Hurts. Not sure I can get thru this video, but will save, cause "It's You"! Love to ask you questions!

[@MrToots1e]

These locking tuners worked fine on my JA 90 Hipshot 6 In-Line Closed Grip-Lock Staggered Tuner Upgrade Kit in Chrome

[@mougabo]

im trying to figure out which exact resomax harmonic bridge system pieces you got, there are several options on their website and I can tell which ones would actually work on this guitar , help please! is that the 4mm or the 6mm auto-block bridge piece?

[@jefffree6990]

+1 on the Seymour Duncan P-90s. much creamier on the lead. Does the hum mitigate when using both neck+bridge?

[@f1rebreather123]

You know, my mom always told me telecasters sucked but I would take one like that any day. Looks good and sounds great to match.

[@ShaneOpeno]

Your mom told you wrong. "At the end of civilization, there will only be cockroaches and Telecasters. And they will be in tune.". - Greg Koch

[@cleanmike7312]

If I were choosing between buying one of these or a Schecter pt special, which would you recommend?