Gretsch-style Pickups: The Filter’Tron vs. DynaSonics vs. P90s

Last Updated on February 9th, 2022

So much of That Great Gretsch Sound comes from the great Gretsch-style pickups. Yet as legendary as they are, they’re also often overlooked. DynaSonic and Filter’Tron pickups are perfect examples. These two pickups are responsible for thousands of legendary guitar tones. They’re the undisputed kings of rockabilly guitar. And their history runs parallel to better-known Gibson PAF humbuckers and Fender-style single coils. But P90s also share a similar, twangy history and a similar sound. So how do you differentiate them, and what can you expect from the different designs? We’re here to answer these questions and more.

We’ve all heard the pickup debates, “DynaSonic vs. Filter’Tron pickups,” or “Filter’Tron pickups vs. P90s.” Yet, while some players scrutinize every detail of their chime, attitude, and clarity, many get these pickups mixed up.

Though each one sounds different, they look different, are different sizes, and boast very different builds, this confusion is very common. Making things more complicated, hundreds of Gretsch-style pickup options are available today, ranging from different pickup housings and output levels to retrofit sizes and more.

Here we’ll dig into three of these popular twang machines. We’ll dissect the DeArmond DynaSonic, the Filter’Tron, and the Gibson P90. We’ll discuss each’s history, their unique construction and suggest a few modern versions of each.

 

dynasonic pickups

DynaSonic

DynaSonic single-coils are some of the first Gretsch pickups. Originally they were known as the Gretsch DeArmond Fidelitone, later adopting the more popular name DynaSonic. And as soon as you look at its mini humbucker-sized cover, you can tell it’s unique. But don’t let its size fool you.

The DynaSonic is in every way a proper single coil pickup. That means there is only one bobbin and one coil of copper wire. The pickup is wider because the DynaSonic places a thick Alnico 5 bar magnet to the side of the bobbin instead of using magnetic pole pieces like most single coils. That magnet magnetizes the steel spacer between itself and the bobbin then transfers it through a single row of adjustable pole pieces. Interestingly, the DynaSonic was the first pickup that featured this user-adjustable design.

Whether in the bridge position or the neck position, the sound of a DynaSonic pickup is big and glassy and completely their own sound. And it’s their classic bright tone that makes Gretsch guitars favorites for gorgeous cleans. But because they are vintage-style single coils, they can get noisy and unruly at higher gain levels. Then again, that’s also why many players think they’re such great pickups.

Seymour Duncan DynaSonic-style pickups

 

Humbucker Size Filter'Tron Pickups

Filter’Tron

As beloved as DynaSonic pickups are, they are noisy. So in the 1950s, Gretsch engineer Ray Butts set out to solve this. The fruit of his labor was the first humbucking pickup ever, the iconic Gretsch Filter’Tron. You read that right. The Filter’Tron actually preceded Gibson’s PAF. But Gibson beat Gretsch to the patent office, claiming their design to be first.

Filter’Trons were a success. Not only did they significantly reduce the DynaSonic-plaguing 60-cycle hum, but they featured added midrange heft and punch. Best of all, they still retained all of the top-end chime and detail that people expect from Gretsch-style pickups.

If you open Filter’Tron humbucker up, you’ll find they share a similar design concept to the Gibson-style design. There are two bobbins, each with its own coil of copper wire, screwed in pole pieces (though the Filter’Tron utilizes two rows of screws instead of screws and steel slugs), a bar magnet, and a metal housing. But the Filter’Tron’s compact dimensions, added screws, compression fit, and larger magnet give them more aggression, twang, and punch.

Their perfect mix of clarity and punch continues to make Filter’Tron humbucking pickups a go-to option for players worldwide. You’ll often see them used in genres as diverse as modern worship, rockabilly and surf, jazz, and even hard rock. But listen to Gretsch players like Brian Setzer dig into some lead guitar and you’ll immediately understand what the fuss is about.

Seymour Duncan Filter’Tron-style pickups

 

black p90 dog ear pickup

P90

Like DynaSonics were to Filter’Tron pickups, the Gibson P-90 pickups were the precursor to Gibson’s famous humbucker. Being such an early design, they were, at one point, the only electric guitar pickup Gibson had. That’s why you’ll find them and everything from vintage jazz boxes like the ES-295 to rugged rock machines like Les Paul Special and SG Junior solid body guitar. Fitting the P90 to all of these different guitar bodies required multiple mounting methods, which is where their famed dog-ear and soapbar mount originated.

In terms of construction, you can think of Gibson P90s as surprisingly close to Gibson humbuckers. In fact, Gibson humbuckers are essentially P90s that have been split down the middle and rewound onto two coils. The original versions of both had the same amount of copper wire and the same magnets. P90s just had it all on one bobbin.

It surprises many people that Gibson’s P90 single-coils often have a higher output than genuine PAF humbuckers. It’s at the core of the P90’s aggressive midrange bark and responsive dynamics. It’s also the reason these pickups are often extremely noisy and a bit unruly.

So why do we consider P90s Gretsch-style pickups? It’s all in the way they twang.

For players looking for a little extra muscle with their single-coil tones, it usually comes down to DynaSonics vs. Filter’Tron pickups or Filter’Tron pickups vs. P90s. And though P90s were always a Gibson thing, they have just as much of the added midrange heft and stringy top end that Gretsch fans crave.

 

Tech Tips:

Today there are a lot of direct replacement P90 designs which offer various sizes and ways to combat the noise. One of our favorite of these pickup types is our PhatCat which places the P90 design into a humbucker-sized housing. It’s a great way to get P90 tone out of an otherwise humbucker-equipped guitar. There are also pickups like our P-Rails which deliver authentic P90, standard single-coil, and humbucking tones all from the same pickup.

 

Seymour Duncan P90-style Pickups

 

Nothing will ever replace standard humbucker and single-coil pickup designs. But there’s a world of other pickups that have carved out their own place in electric guitar history. The Filter’Tron, DynaSonic, and Gibson P90 are perfect examples. Hopefully, this article gave you a better understanding of what makes each of these pickups so popular, how they differ from each other, and which ones are the best fit for your guitar.

If you have any other questions about our Psyclones, Dynos, P90s, or another Gretsch-style pickup upgrade, don’t hesitate to get in touch! Also, don’t forget to dig into the rest of the Seymour Duncan blog. There’s a ton of in-depth information on all of our different designs, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a whole lot more.

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