I need something with P90's

[Bill Dennis]

I need an instrument with classic P90 snarl. I have been looking at the Phat Cat, P-Rail and others as I have humbucker instruments that could be converted. I am just not sold that the "p90 in humbucker size" really does the P90 thing well. Alternatively for just a few hundred more, something like an Epi Double cut special is the whole enchilada with correct bridge, scale length etc..

Are the Phat Cats et al really capable or is it a compromise? God knows I need another guitar like I need a hole in the head but if I am going to pony up, I want to do it once and get what I need and not sorta / kinda get there and not be happy with it.

So what's the real story on these pickups?

 

[Chistopher]

Phat Cat is a P90, just shaped like a humbucker and with A2 magnets instead of the traditional A5s. Two magnets per pickup.

Bluesbucker is the DMZ humbucker sized P90. It sounds close enough to a P90 for my purposes. Very interesting architecture on it

 

[justFred]

The P-Rail has A5 mag and is the best P90 sound I have found.

 

[Bill Dennis]

The P-Rail has A5 mag and is the best P90 sound I have found.

I just wish they could do that without the rail I will never use

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I liked the Phat Cat in the neck better than the P Rails in the neck. But it depends on what you want, really. The Phat Cat feels smoother and also more controlled in the low-end. The P Rails is edgier.

I have very little experience with actual P90's, but I find the Phat Cat to be a really nice neck pickup that matches well with a variety of bridge humbuckers.

Haven't tried either in the bridge.

 

[justFred]

I just wish they could do that without the rail I will never use

If you set it up for wiring a p-rail pickup with coils in parallel it sounds really good.

 

[Bill Dennis]

I want edgy. Think Mississippi Queen or George Thorogood

 

[Mincer]

Both the Phat Cat and the P-Rails get wonderful P90 sounds.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I want edgy. Think Mississippi Queen or George Thorogood

Out of the two, I'd definitely say the P Rails are edgier. The Phat Cats are more polite.

 

[jeremy]

a2 in the phat cat vs a5 in the prails. a buddy of mine has a lp junior type guitar that has a bucker rout. he swapped two a5 bars into a phat cat and loves it. it sounds great! i like the a2 phat cat bridge, but dont love the neck. found it hard to get good balance between the neck and bridge

 

[Bill Dennis]

It sounds like most of you think the pickups are capable. I need to do more home work on the P Rail.. The examples of the Phat Cats I have heard so far sound more humbucker than P 90 to me. I just have not heard the bright snarl I would expect from a great P90

 

[jeremy]

the p90 is my favorite sound of the prail. its a duncan vintage p90

 

[Sam SG]

If you get a P90 axe. Check out the Gibson LP Jr( or the 2 p90 special) DC Tribute guitars. They play very nice and have real Gibson P90s.
I also have an Epi SG classic with P90s they sound nice but not as legit as the Gibson P90. I think I remember hearing tge Epi P90s use thinner winding wire.

 

[Mincer]

the p90 is my favorite sound of the prail. its a duncan vintage p90

Same here.

 

[Bill Dennis]

If you get a P90 axe. Check out the Gibson LP Jr( or the 2 p90 special) DC Tribute guitars. They play very nice and have real Gibson P90s.
I also have an Epi SG classic with P90s they sound nice but not as legit as the Gibson P90. I think I remember hearing tge Epi P90s use thinner winding wire.

Probably going to build a pickguard and load up a strat to with PRails. Safer and cheaper option. I don't need another guitar. The Epiphone necks vary a lot. I have been looking for a unique setup for strat #3.

Now I need to decide on a wiring design. Leaning toward something like an hsh but just prail in position 1 And 5 and use the rail side and a center pickup for 2/3/4 to get traditional 2/4. Sounds. Not sure I have seen a schematic for that

 

[Rex_Rocker]

the p90 is my favorite sound of the prail. its a duncan vintage p90

Same.

To be honest, I didn't particularly like any of the other sounds, but I didn't try parallel.

 

[Mincer]

Parallel might be 2nd best. I could do without the others, but some people like them.

 

[Juanhanglo]

I started my p90 journey withva set of tonerider rebel 90s in my as73.

I didnt know how close they were, as it was my first time ever playing a p90 anything.

Well, I liked the "big single coil" sound enough that I bought a guitar with actual p90s.

A Revstar rs502t.

The rebel 90s did not deliver the same tones.

Not bad, just not the same.

There is one guy, maybe bg pickups, that makes a humbucker sized p90 that is super close, if not dead on. I think he machines a p90 bobbin to not or something.
My memory isnt as good as it once once, sorry to say.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The thing is, though, that there is no one P90 sound. The vintage ones are like PAFs where there's like TONS of variation. And even with modern ones, there's different winds with different magnet combinations, etc.

So yeah, I'm sure those humbucker-sized P90's don't sound exactly the same as P90-sized P90's. But '59's don't sound like JB's either, but that doesn't stop either from being full-on actual humbuckers.

I know it's not exactly the same thing because the geomery of those humbucker-sized P90 is not the exact same as "real" P90's, but my point is more that even within "real" P90's, there's tons of models that sound different, but are all as P90 as they can be.