A good bridge HB to match the Phat Cat neck?

[Tony_H]

Hi bros,
I want to install a Phat Cat in the neck position of my guitar and am looking for a bridge-position HB to go with it.

The guitar is an all-mahogany Strat-style Schecter (probably a parts guitar - I posted about it last fall) with an ebony fretboard and a FR-style trem. The pickups on it are a generic bridge HB, a Fender Elite Strat single-coil inthe middle, and a Sky Pickups S-90 in the neck slot.

Now I like the Sky pup, it sounds very fat and round, but I'm going to remove it and use it on another guitar as part of a matched set with a S-90HR (hot, reverse-wound). I figured the Phat Cat would be more than a good replacement

The S-90 sounds a tad too bassy compared to the bridge pup, which is kind of trebly and buzzy. Yeah, I know, bridge pups are inherently trebly and neck pups are bassy, but here the difference is too obvious.

I'm going to do the chisel work and replace the S-90 with the Phat Cat, and I believe the Phat Cat deserves a better match than the original pup (which nevertheless is a fine pickup in its own right). So I would appreciate any suggestions as to what full-size bridge humbucker would go well with it. I need something with good bass, and not necessarily a lot of mids since the mahogany is very midrangey. I lust for some bass and low-mid growl, and of course some edge to cut through.

I've been to the Vault to check some opinions on the Phat Cat but didn't really find what I was looking for.

To give you an idea, I love the Duncan Custom bridge/ Pearly Gates neck combo. The tonal differences between the two pups are distinct, yet they are a fairly balanced set to me. Sooo ... what sort of HB do you think would work with a Phat Cat neck?

Thanks
Tony

 

[Kelsey]

Re: A good bridge HB to match the Phat Cat neck?

When I posed this question to Billy Gill at SD for an alder/maple Strat, he suggested a Custom Custom trembucker. I assume you realize that the Phat Cat is HB-size, so it will be different from a P90 rout in both length and width. Although I love the Phat Cat neck pickup, I would be inclined to save the work and go with the vintage P90 neck pickup instead. I think a 59 trembucker might mate well with that as well, but I'm sure someone else will be along shortly.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: A good bridge HB to match the Phat Cat neck?

Custom Custom is a mid-heavy pickup when it comes to bridge pups. With an ebony fretboard (bright), it ought to sound killer in that guitar. I'm not sure about output, it might be a little hotter than a Phat Cat, although both use A2 mags.

 

[Stratcat]

Re: A good bridge HB to match the Phat Cat neck?

Another vote for the CC,
It will sound awesome in that axe. :smoker:

 

[Tony_H]

Re: A good bridge HB to match the Phat Cat neck?

When I posed this question to Billy Gill at SD for an alder/maple Strat, he suggested a Custom Custom trembucker. I assume you realize that the Phat Cat is HB-size, so it will be different from a P90 rout in both length and width. Although I love the Phat Cat neck pickup, I would be inclined to save the work and go with the vintage P90 neck pickup instead. I think a 59 trembucker might mate well with that as well, but I'm sure someone else will be along shortly.

Yes, the Custom Custom was my first thought.
As for the different rout sizes, yes I know about that. Another way to go is get a generic P-90 clone to go with the original generic bridge HB. I had an Epi LP DC and the original Epi pups sounded skinnier (and, well, were noisier) than the Sky. I know because I got those Sky pups specifically for that guitar. I got that guitar quite cheap so why not upgrade it with even cheaper parts and save the Phat Cat for another project...