Seymour Duncan Phat Cats - Good Tone?

[castpolymer]

I have another project involving turning a Epi LP into a Surf Green Twang Machine ( LP purists beware ). I want a brighter tone and the humbuckers are just not going to cut it. Anyone have the SD Phat Cats? Opinions? I realize I need professional help, but I can't stop modding things.

 

[eggman]

Castpolymer,

Had I a second ES-335, a set of these would likely be in it. I'm sorry that I cannot be more help; I'm intrigued by these P/Us as well.

Eggman

 

[Telenator]

They'll sound absolutely terrific in some guitars and just plain horrible in others. But the real question is, "Do I feel lucky?" Well'? Do ya? Punk!

 

[TelZilla]

I have one in the neck of my tele (Fralin blues in the bridge)- I dig it. Kinda noisy though...

 

[Graeme]

I have them in an Ibanez 335 copy. I really like the neck tone - pokey mids, no boomy bass and well balanced highs. I find the bridge a bit boxy and thin & will probably go back to a regular humbucker there. They're single coils, so not hum-cancelling, although both pickups on together ARE hum cancelling.

 

[TNO]

I like the GFS Mean 90s a lot more and they're cheaper.

 

[Psyclone]

I just put a Phat Cat in the neck positon of my LP and really like it a lot.

And I mean a lot.

 

[scubadoo]

I have a Seymour Duncan P-Rails at the bridge of my Schecter. Single-coil, P90 and humbucking sounds all from one pickup. I love it! I also have the Dimarzio virtual P90 (although that is P90 sized) which is hum free and can also be split to a single coil.

Wouls love to try the Phat Cat though

 

[Fourth Feline]

I have a Seymour Duncan P-Rails at the bridge of my Schecter. Single-coil, P90 and humbucking sounds all from one pickup. I love it! I also have the Dimarzio virtual P90 (although that is P90 sized) which is hum free and can also be split to a single coil.

Wouls love to try the Phat Cat though

If you are in the U.K. ( or outside and feeling adventurous ) try the excellent 'Bare Knuckle Pickups' Mississippi Queens, a humbucker sized P91/P92 hybrid that sounds divine ! The enclosed nickel casing creates a Faraday cage to ward off hum, and they are big, sweet, fat and clear. The bridge pickup is Alnico V and the neck a perfectly balanced Alnico IV.

I have a set in my Tanglewood 335 copy, and they nail those juicy Larry Carlton tones. I play mostly clean - and they really shine without the need for effects.

If you want lower gain and almost acoustic quality in an Art Deco design humbucker size P90 ( Jazz purists please note ) - ask for the Alnico III 'Manhattans'.

 

[aberrant]

I think the Phat Cat are smokin'!

 

[okies]

I had no luck at all with them, pulled the same day they were installed, put a set of Tonerider P90s in and they were worlds better in my guitar.

 

[DavidP]

Anyone A/B'd the Phat Cat & Mean 90??

I had the PC in my tele neck (SD Broadcaster in bridge) and found it muddy, even with a 500K volume pot and TBX tone. Got a Dream 90 in there right now which is clearer and better matched to the bridge pup. Mean 90 is touted as more bottom end but I'm wondering about high end loss, so haven't done that yet. Folks over at the SD forum suggest swapping out one of the PC A2 magnets for an A5 to clear it up. Anyone tried this (both the swap and the end result)??

 

[mcriff]

I just did that magnet swap on a pair of Phat Cats, but with an A4- A2 combination, rather than A5 - A2. I think it's a defnite improvement, gave them more chime (in a Filtertronish kind of way). In the middle by blending the volumes (Gibson-style setup) they still give some nice PAF-ish vibes, but with clarity on the wound strings. Neck alone sounds like a Strat-PAF neck hybrid, bridge like a P90-Filtertron hybrid. So -- still not pure P90 tones with the magnet swap, but a great un-bucker set-up in its own way.
(BTW, the guitar is all-mahogany, neck-thru, 24 frets. I may try the A5 combo one of these days, but I'm in no hurry.)

 

[J. Hayes]

I was looking for a Scotty Moore sound..........

as I was gigging with an Elvis impersonator so I bought an Ibanez Artcore gold thick body archtop with humbuckers. I replaced the humbuckers with Phat Cats and added a Bigsby tremolo plus vintage style Gibson tuning machines and it really does the job. I usually play it through an old MusicMan HD-212 One Fifty which is like a Twin Reverb with just an old analog delay pedal and the sound is 50's heaven. I love the Phat Cats. I have an Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe archtop with P-90s and also a Casino with them and IMHO the Phat Cats do a better job of recreating that great rockabilly sound. Think Elvis' "Mystery Train" and that's the exact tone I get with my rig. Also, for blues tone they're great!.........JH in Va.

 

[OaklandA]

Tremendous pickups and, as mentioned earlier, you do have the versatility of changing the magnets which is stupid easy to do. You can basically dial in the tone you want.

Yes, they are more expensive than the GFS Dream 90's and Mean 90's, but in my humble opinion they are worth the extra dough. The Dream 90's really don't sound much like P90's....more like a Fender single coil, and the Mean 90 is pure mud in the neck, ok in the bridge. You cannot swap out the magnets in the GFS pups either. If you are on a super tight budget or don't see the sense in paying the Phat Cat price they'll do.

Vintage Vibe also makes their version which I've heard is really good. Pete actually sends extra magnets with his! Harmonic Design also makes the Z-90 at $100 a throw which are pretty highly regarded.

Bottom line, you'll probably really like the Phat Cats if that's the direction you're going.