Soapbar
Originally made famous by the P-90, the soapbar format has evolved into a versatile housing for various coil configurations. This category includes traditional large-coil singles, noise-canceling "stacked" designs, and high-output humbuckers—all sharing the same distinct bolt-through mounting style. Whether you are restoring a vintage instrument or upgrading a modern guitar or bass, these pickups offer a unique tonal punch and a bold aesthetic.
List of products
Internal Configurations:
Classic P-90 Singles: Featuring a wide, flat coil that produces a powerful midrange and "growl" that sits perfectly between a standard single-coil and a humbucker.
Stacked Humbuckers: Designed for players who love the P-90 tone but need to eliminate 60-cycle hum. These use two coils stacked vertically to cancel noise while maintaining the soapbar's characteristic footprint.
Dual-Coil Humbuckers: True humbucking designs optimized for the soapbar shape. These offer maximum noise rejection and a fatter, warmer response, often used in bridge positions for extra "meat" in the signal.
Bass Soapbars: High-fidelity transducers commonly found on modern 4, 5, and 6-string basses. These often feature blade magnets or multi-pole designs to ensure consistent string-to-string balance across wider fretboards.
Technical Dimensions and Mounting:
Mounting Style: Unlike humbuckers that hang from a ring, Soapbar pickups are typically bolt-through designs, where mounting screws pass directly through the pickup body into the guitar’s wood.
Soapbar vs. Dogear: Ensure you are selecting the correct housing. While the internal coils are often identical, Soapbar models have internal mounting holes, whereas Dogear models feature external "flaps" for surface mounting (commonly found on hollow-body or junior-style guitars).
Dimensions: While "Soapbar" is a standard term, dimensions can vary slightly between manufacturers (e.g., Gibson-spec vs. import-spec). Always check the length and width measurements to ensure a drop-in fit for your specific routing.
Tonal Characteristics:
Due to the wider coil geometry inherent in this format, soapbar pickups generally exhibit a higher inductance than standard slim single-coils. This results in a thicker lower-midrange and a more aggressive "break-up" when pushing a tube amplifier, making them a favorite for blues, classic rock, and punk.
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