What's the deal with P13s?

[Mark Hammer]

I was unaware of Gibson P13 pickups before today. Can't seem to find any technical info on them. If anyone knows more, I'm curious. For instance is it essentially a P90 but with more slender magnets? Are the magnets alnico or ceramic? What sort of DCR is the coil?

[Chuck H]

All I was able to find (not much) inferred these bits of info...

Predecessor to the P90
There were several versions. Some with the raised center plate and some without, some without exposed poles and still others spaced for lap steel guitars.
Later versions have about the same output as P90's. Earlier versions are a little lower and sound more open and jangly as a result.
Harmony bought all leftovers and continued to order this pickup from Gibson for years after Gibson changed over to P90's.

That's it. But it makes me wonder if Gibson was REALLY making P13's special for Harmony or just making P90's and sticking them under a different cover.?. I mean, the mentality at the time was pretty loose in these regards and why make two different model pickups just to sell one wholesale? If this is the case... I wonder how many old Harmony guitars actually have Gibson P90's under the hood Which might explain some of their cult popularity for a cheaper guitar brand.

[Mark Hammer]

Curtis Novak makes a P13 replacement, and provides lots of pictures, but I have no idea if this is a reproduction or a "tribute" that changes a few things. From his pictures, it looks vaguely P90-like but with narrower bar magnets on each side of the center keeper bar. The person who sparked my interest told me his simply had a bar magnet oriented vertically within a bobbin, like the old Melody-Maker pickups, but with a wider and flatter coil.

[soundmasterg]

Dave Stephens did a lot of research into all of the old Gibson pickups including the P13, though not sure if he contributes much here anymore. You can email him if you want to know more about them and I'm sure he would share.