Phat Cats in SG?

FAC

FAC

New member
Folks,

I'm a fan of the SG Classic, with P90s (think Townshend, etc.). My SG, however, has humbuckers (whatever the stock ones are...this was purchased about 2 years ago, new). I LOVE the way the guitar plays, but I would prefer P90s.

1. Has anyone tried Phat Cats in an SG? Do they come close to sounding like a P90-loaded SG?

2. Assuming I could get the correct pick guard made, do P90s fit in the rout occupied by a humbucker? Is it possible to convert without additional routing? Anyone done this?

3. Convince me that I should stick with humbuckers because...(I do have a Les Paul with Zhangbuckers, so I feel like I have humbuckers covered...but fire away).

Opinions welcomed.

Thanks!

p.s. the image is not backwards...
 
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Re: Phat Cats in SG?

of course it's backwards!;)

honestly, if you want the p-90 tone the best thing to do would be to go with a set of phat cats and either swap the magnets out for a full a5 set, or to a5/a4 magnets in each one. a5 would be more of the nasally, slightly scooped, classic gibson sound, whereas the a5/a4 setup will be a bit smoother and meatier in the mids.
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

The Phat cats sound a little more punchy in the bass/low mids. It would be a good SG pickup I think, but only you know what you want. Magnet swaps can be done if you don't like the tonal balance, but I would give the stock pickup a go first.

This one is backward (and incomplete) too!!
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

I just picked up the extended 'Live at Leeds' CD myself; man those are great tones Townsend had. Why stick with HB's when you can have that? Unless you want to do some woodwork, you'll need to go with HB-sized P-90's; there's a lot to choose from.

I've got some Phat Cats in SG's. First thing is the stock A2's have to go. The necks are way too dark, and the bridges are weak and thin (to quote Zhang). Just not the right magnet for a P-90. But with replacement magnets, you can dial in the tones you want, much more than you can with an HB. I also have a soap bar P-90 SG, that I swapped mags in too. No matter what P-90's you get, you may want to swap a mag or two.

For the bridge I like these pairs:
-A8/A5 - More mids than A5/A5
-A8/A4 - A little warmer
-RC A4/RC A4 - A little warmer still
-UOA5/UOA5 - The warmest of all, but still has some bite to it

In the neck:
- A5/A5 - Gibson style
- A5/A4 - A little fuller sounding
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

+10 to what's been said.

P-90's are the way to go in your SG. That is such a great rock sound you gotta love it. Phat Cats will drop right in and give you the tone that you've been wanting all your life, with some mag swapping as Blueman has listed. If you like a more mellow mids kinda sound, you can get it. If you like a more biting trebly sound, you can get it. If you like it full and powerful, you can get it. So many possibilities with a P-90 and mag swaps (2 mags per coil gives you so many options for presice tone manipulation).
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

Given that there is so much consensus that the mags need swapping it seems that using the Phat Cats is only worth it if you can get them used and for a good price. Otherwise there appear to be other options BK MQ, Fralins P92, even Gibson P94s.

I've considered swapping pups in my SG to P90s but I like the stockset with an A5 neck and A8 bridge so much I'm having a hard time justifying it.
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

brunogio said:
Given that there is so much consensus that the mags need swapping it seems that using the Phat Cats is only worth it if you can get them used and for a good price. Otherwise there appear to be other options BK MQ, Fralins P92, even Gibson P94s.
Click to expand...

I worry that the staggered pole arrangement with the Fralin P92's would lead to an uneven sound, given that the bridge pickup is so close to the bridge in an SG...has anyone tried one in an SG? I don't know this for sure...I'm just thinking out loud.
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

It's a killer combo I tell ya...SGs and P90s. I try not to buy into trends in gear (and yes, P90s are a current trend among tons of guitar players these days) but the moment you hear a SG Classic into a Marshall/Orange/etc and crank that low E5 then launch into some sort of AC/DC derivative riff and you just can't help but say "Holy devil's music Batman! This is rawwwwwking!"
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

tc said:
It's a killer combo I tell ya...SGs and P90s. I try not to buy into trends in gear (and yes, P90s are a current trend among tons of guitar players these days) but the moment you hear a SG Classic into a Marshall/Orange/etc and crank that low E5 then launch into some sort of AC/DC derivative riff and you just can't help but say "Holy devil's music Batman! This is rawwwwwking!"
Click to expand...

Are P90s really a trend at this point (not that it would be a bad thing)? Judging from the few guitars I see with them, and the little discussion they get here (versus Fender-style single coils and Humbuckers), I'm not sure I see a trend.
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

Yeah it's a trend alright. On the Gear Page, SD, etc. Just like swapping mags here on SD and before those two, in this forum, two big trends were the SD Jazz pickup set and hybrid pickups.

Other trends I've noticed that have gained a lot of speed, specially in the Gear Page the last couple of years are Teles over Strats, Dumble inspired tone chasing, ES-335s as do it all guitars, and "the holy grail-this-will-kill-every-other-piece-of-gear-I've-ever-owned-until-I-find-the-next-holy-grail mentality" that makes people keep buying the next best boutique piece.

The thing is, a lot of people don't notice them as trends because most of this gear is based on 50-60 year old stuff. Doesn't stop it from being fashion-like though...I mean you see kids my age wearing Ray-Ban Wayfarers and Clubmasters and those are old and pretty much a trend. And trends don't have to be big. Even if it's relatively rare, like dry denim, if people are jumping on the bandwagon it is a trend.
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

P-90's are making a resurgence. The fact that there are so many brands of HB-sized P-90's made now tells you that. Thousands of guys with HB's retro-fitting P-90's! And there are more models of guitars with factory P-90's, not enough, but many more than 10 or 20 years ago. HB's are great, but every guitar doesn't need them, and some of us don't like the thin tones of Fender single coils. P-90's are a middle ground, and because they have twin magnets, have more versatility than either of the other two popular PU's. You can pair up any two magnets you want in a P-90 and really fine-tune your tones. It's an old design that has a lot of life left in it. Get onboard baby.
 
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Re: Phat Cats in SG?

tc said:
Yeah it's a trend alright. On the Gear Page, SD, etc. Just like swapping mags here on SD and before those two, in this forum, two big trends were the SD Jazz pickup set and hybrid pickups.

Other trends I've noticed that have gained a lot of speed, specially in the Gear Page the last couple of years are Teles over Strats, Dumble inspired tone chasing, ES-335s as do it all guitars, and "the holy grail-this-will-kill-every-other-piece-of-gear-I've-ever-owned-until-I-find-the-next-holy-grail mentality" that makes people keep buying the next best boutique piece.

The thing is, a lot of people don't notice them as trends because most of this gear is based on 50-60 year old stuff. Doesn't stop it from being fashion-like though...I mean you see kids my age wearing Ray-Ban Wayfarers and Clubmasters and those are old and pretty much a trend. And trends don't have to be big. Even if it's relatively rare, like dry denim, if people are jumping on the bandwagon it is a trend.
Click to expand...

blueman335 said:
P-90's are making a resurgence. The fact that there are so many brands of HB-sized P-90's made now tells you that. Thousands of guys with HB's retro-fitting P-90's! And there are more models of guitars with factory P-90's, not enough, but many more than 10 or 20 years ago. HB's are great, but every guitar doesn't need them, and some of us don't like the thin tones of Femder single coils. P-90's are a middle ground, and because they have twin magnets, have more versatility than either of the other two popular PU's. You can pair up any two magnet you want in a P-90 and really fine-tune your tones. It's an old design that has a lot of life left in it. Get onboard baby.
Click to expand...

Cool. The world needs more P90s, as far as I am concerned. TC: love the quote about space by Di Meola!
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

FAC said:
The world needs more P90s, as far as I am concerned.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Another great idea is a P-90 neck and a HB bridge. I have that in a few guitars. You get a clearer, more open neck, and a full-sounding bridge. Makes for a versatile guitar.
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

And I actually have it just the opposite...with the P-90 in the bridge for those great biting raunchy leads, and a hummer (Pearly Gates) in the neck so I can get those lush creamy leads. Of course, the PG is mounted in a Triple Shot to give me utmost versatility. I'm a big fan of Classic rock, like the Doobies, and love that I can dupe just about any sound I want with this set-up.

I don't agree that the P-90 "craze" is a trend if that means that it is just a short-lived popular phase musicians are going through. I do believe, however, that any sound or music is a personal taste and tastes do change with time.

That being said, I think that since musicians are constantly searching for sounds that they love, they are re-examining the sound of P-90's and finding that it is a really great sound, not just a trend. P-90's were a great sound in the past, but there was a lot of innovation going on in music in the 50's and 60's and humbuckers were very interesting and filled a lot of need in the tone department. But musicians are never satisfied...Look at the thousands of different humbuckers available and we're still coming up with new ones all the time or tweaking the old ones with mag swaps, coil splitting, out of phase, parallel, series, etc.

I don't think humbuckers will ever go out of "style", nor will single coils. They are totally different sounds and fill a lot of needs of musicians. They are NOT trends/phases. But musicians are also recognizing the very unique and wonderful tonal offerings of the P-90 and it is coming back to be a permanent member of "the big three" (hey if it works for the auto industry it can work for music as well).
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

No! They're all going out of style! They will be replaced with four-and-a-half coil pickups!!! Because one will be seen in a popular movie or on gossip girl or something!!!
 
Re: Phat Cats in SG?

Warren Haynes uses an SG with a pair of Phat Cat's in open tuning on the song "Like Flies" on the High and Mighty album. Sounds frickin' great!
 
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