Phat Cat Questions

A

ajeffcote

New member
I just put a Phat Cat in the neck position of my Carvin SH550 semi-hollow, wired with 500K pots. From everything I've been reading I was prepaing to swap the magnets to "sharpen" up the tone. It's been said to be especially dark sounding.
But mine is very bright, much brighter than I expected and a little brighter than I want. I bought it from someone on this forum, don't remember the name, and I wonder if the magnets have been swapped out already. There's a Seth Lover with a UOA5 in the bridge and the Cat pairs very well with it, as long as I roll the tone pot back.
Or is it the 500K pots making it bright? I can swap them to 250Ks and may a little farther down the road. But thought I'd put the question out for those in the know before I go messing around in it (the guitar) again.
If by chance the member that sold it to me would happen to see this, I would like to know if you did indeed change the magnets, and if so what's in it.
I haven't had a chance to turn the amps up, and i suspect it's going to sound great with some serious gain.
Also what seems to be the popular combinations to try in the Phat Cat? Thanks
 
Re: Phat Cat Questions

If you have a bright-sounding neck PC, either you have very bright wood in your guitar or the magnets have been changed. With the stock A2's, PCN's are usually very dark, even with 500K's. In my mahogany guitars there was almost no treble, all mids and lows. Not enough definition.

Since every other magnet is brighter than A2's, any mag swaps add treble. I initially tried one A5 (A5/A2) which was an improvement, but still pretty warm. At that point I realized the A2's had to go altogether, and I settled on these for the neck:

A5/A5 - the classic Gibson pairing. sharp high-end, and a good dose of bass

A5/A4 - similar to the above, but with a little less treble and more mids, for a fuller, richer sound

A5/A3 - bright, but with a little softer high-end than twin A5's, and not as bassy. In an SG it was chimey; I liked it better in an LP (I'm not into chime).
 
Re: Phat Cat Questions

It should be pretty obvious whether it has been previously opened.
 
Re: Phat Cat Questions

The next time I change strings I'll pull it and check the solder joints. Whatever the case, this Phat Cat sounds great in my guitar. So good that I may not put the Seth neck back in it. And it sounds killer! I can always open it and see what's in there, but why fix something that works? Guess I could put what I want in it and check against what I have now. What about a pair of UOA5s? Wonder if that's been tried before?
 
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