phat cat pickup

[crawdad]

anyone here ever tried the seymour duncan phat cat pickup? it's supposed to be a p-90 that fits under a humbucker cover. i was thinking of putting it in the neck position of my 335.

[Realfi]

I'm also curious about this one & I was wondering if anyone has compared this pickup to the P-92 Fralins.

[lamenlovinit]

Well sorta. It's a P90 in a chrome cover that fits in a humbucker slot. Very nice sounding. My local guitar center had some on clearance last week. You might check there.

[r9player]

Doh what lousy memory I have .. Vintage Vibe HS-90s!! They rock, into a Korean el cheapo Goldtop, a total winner!
Clean, Clear, Full and Fat, great pick ups. Never got to compare though.

[rooster]

Just put in and removed a Phat Cat bridge from a buddy's new Chinese Ibanez guitar. I think that if you have a nice sounding instrument, they might be pretty good. But, they're not going to turn a $220 Ibanez from China into a nice guitar.

rooster.

[Mrgearguy]

I've got a pair in a Les Paul and they don't really sound like P90s to me. If I recall correctly, this was supposed to be a jazzmaster/P90 hybrid, but has since ben "marketed" as a P90 in a HB cover. Anybody remember those original press releases where they talked about the Jazzmaster connection?


Linky (http://www.seymourduncan.com/news/phat_cat.shtml)

[r9player]

LOL I soo messed up said I had Z-90s but ...
I have Vintage Vibe HS-90s and they take my Korean (not Chinese) Goldtop that was just a $200 guitar to boutique sounding levels.

[jenks9]

I put a set in my Gibson 135 a couple of years ago. I can't compare them to "real" P90's, but I can tell you I love this guitar now.

With the original PAF's, this guitar was muddy sounding. And being a hollow body, was extremely prone to feedback. The Phat Cats definately helped with the feedback problem and, to me, sound great. A little more power than a single, but less than a hum, and no "ice pick". I play this guitar on gigs all the time now.

Hope this helps.

[WordMan]

I have one; unfortunately, it is in a Parts-O-Tele, maple neck and of course Fender scale. Doesn't compare with my vintage LP Special or all-mahogany 54' Reissue Custom.

I will say that it feels like the Phat Cat has a different tone from the P-90's - the pickup itself, stripping out the influence of the other factors (like that can really be done..). I can't prove it, but it feels like the Phat Cat is a tad less balanced toward the high end vs. P-90's and has a bit more humbucker-like thickness, with a bit less corresponding string separation. Still more articulate than your average humbucker, but not as articulate as the P-90's I live with. Getting close to locking into a nice Open G Keef tone, though.

People seem to love Fralins - I have no experience with them...

[crawdad]

i'm not concerned with sounding exactly like a p-90. i'm concerned with getting rid of the humbucker in the neck. i've never liked humbuckers in that position.

didn't know that fralin made one as well...let me web it up and see.

[crawdad]

$130 vs. $80...hmmm??? is it worth it?

[bluegrif]

Read any of my posts on the subject and you'll see I'm a huge Phat Cat fan. I have them in most of my humbucker guitars. So far I've installed them in my Hamer Monaco Elite, Guild Bluesbird, and early 80s Japanese Epi Riviera. Huge improvement in all three. The only bucker guitar I'm leaving alone is my Gibson Flying V Custom. But I have another set of Phat Cats ready to go in the next one. I haven't tried the alternatives from Fralin or anyone else. I love Fralin Strat and Tele pickups, but I've been so happy with the Phat Cats I've felt no need to try any other bucker sized singles. Comparing them to actual P90s I'd say there are some really great P90s out there, but the Phat Cats are actually warmer and richer sounding than the average P90. Plus, thanks to the covers, they're quieter. And if you've played P90 guitars, you'll appreciate a little less noise.

[hour9]

I have one; unfortunately, it is in a Parts-O-Tele, maple neck and of course Fender scale. Doesn't compare with my vintage LP Special or all-mahogany 54' Reissue Custom.

I will say that it feels like the Phat Cat has a different tone from the P-90's - the pickup itself, stripping out the influence of the other factors (like that can really be done..). I can't prove it, but it feels like the Phat Cat is a tad less balanced toward the high end vs. P-90's and has a bit more humbucker-like thickness, with a bit less corresponding string separation. Still more articulate than your average humbucker, but not as articulate as the P-90's I live with. Getting close to locking into a nice Open G Keef tone, though.

People seem to love Fralins - I have no experience with them...

+1 This is an accurate description. I have a pair of Phat Cats that I've just removed from a Les Paul that I'm getting ready to sell. I'd also add that they are definitely hot. They have a lot more output than I expected. They have a raw, higher mid-bright tone to them. Not in a bad way though.

[wade.o.matic]

I put them (Phat Cats) in a Les Paul Classic. I would agree that they're not exactly like a P-90. Close, but I would say better.. depending on what you're going for. Warmer, richer - yes - maybe I would describe it as "glassier" - a slight bell-like overtone and a really nice "chiffy" attack (my own term). Great for indie and ambient tone. I love them.... seriously, they are nice. A friend was discouraged with the sound of his 56 reissue gold top LP after A-B'ing these.

[oscar100]

what about p92s?

[wade.o.matic]

No experience with Fralin P-92's. These are different animals no doubt since they are actually split coil humbuckers. I did, however, compare a Lindy Fralin p-90 "soap bar" equipped Les Paul to a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P-90 equipped Les Paul (A-B with the same amp). The Lindy Fralins sounded so very similar to the Duncans that it was difficult to distinguish them apart - both very crisp and edgy on the attack with beautiful rich overtones. Unfortunately the Fralin equiped Les Paul had 11's and the Phat Cat equipped had 10's. The Fralins MAY have sounded slighthtly warmer and smoother, but it likely was just the strings. Too close to call. Both excellent pickups. Possibly two of the best sounding Les Pauls I have ever played. And both were amazing transformations from their stock Gibson pickup configurations. And they were bright enough to use in the same rig with fenders, rickenbackers, or other single coil equipped guitars without major amp/stomp box adjustment.

[AaeCee]

what about p92s?Can't compare them to Phat Cats, but I had P-92s in a guitar once. IMO, they're hardly P-90s, but are maybe a step in that direction vs. humbuckers.

[1973Marshall]

I have one; unfortunately, it is in a Parts-O-Tele, maple neck and of course Fender scale. Doesn't compare with my vintage LP Special or all-mahogany 54' Reissue Custom.

I will say that it feels like the Phat Cat has a different tone from the P-90's - the pickup itself, stripping out the influence of the other factors (like that can really be done..). I can't prove it, but it feels like the Phat Cat is a tad less balanced toward the high end vs. P-90's and has a bit more humbucker-like thickness, with a bit less corresponding string separation. Still more articulate than your average humbucker, but not as articulate as the P-90's I live with. Getting close to locking into a nice Open G Keef tone, though.

People seem to love Fralins - I have no experience with them...



I would agree with this assessment, though I would say, it plays really smooth and "fast"/easy. It's a feel thing. It's almost HB smooth, but has a nice P90-ish bite. I don't have a ton of experience with P90s as if to say I am an expert, and I am not part of the recent P90 hype machine, but these sound really good.

Oh, I put it in a cheap Epi, and it brought out a lot of harmonics, so it can be rich sounding in a decently crappy piece of kit.

PS my friend on the Duncan forum got GREAT tones, but overwinding the bridge slightly, and underwinding the neck slightly. On his LP, instant jazz, acoustic-y smooth tones, smokey blues, and pretty rock tones.

[vdoochild7]

GFS Mean 90's or Fralin P92's are the best humucker-sized p90's I've tried.

[7String Thing]

i love mine. i have one in the neck position of my PRS 24. Its sweet as hell and sounds great!

[oscar100]

any clips of p92s anywhere?

[supergenius365]

P-90's were made for Hamer to have a P90 in a humbucker spot FWIW.

I put a pair in a cheap Les Paul DC copy and now have a set in a 90's Epi Sheraton II. I think they are really nice sounding pickups. Never played a real P90, but they have the sound of a single coil, like my Strat, which I find easier to play and control vs. a humbucker.

[Brett Valentine]

Put them in a used Hamer SATF (import). Really like the tone. The neck is warm with a nice, crisp top end.

The bridge is pretty full sounding with warm mids and a slightly subdued but still tight top end.

I raised the bridge p/u very close to the strings and the neck p/u almost flat with the bezel and that allowed the bridge p/u to have enough power to boost leads a bit.

Not quite as "snarly" as some Gibsons I've tried, a little more refined? Still can get rude, but sort of like a crisp, uncompressed bucker with single coil response.

Now my favorite guitar, has a voice of its own. Sounds great through a loud, clean Fender.