Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

[jonnymangia]

I've been continuing to do research on humbucker-sized P90's and I couldn't help but notice how many bad reviews the Phat Cat got on Harmony Central. One guy after another kept stating how they are lifeless, too smoothed out and far from a true P90 tone. The pickups that seem to get the most positive reviews are the Gibson P94's and the Kent Armstrong. I know this is SD's home court, but does anyone have a negative take on the Phat Cat as well. I want to make sure I make the right purchase here.

 

[theodie]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

I am the type of person that dosent care who makes it, if it sounds good it just sounds good! I am not biased in anyway to any company that makes pickups. Some Duncans I think dont sound good what so ever, Some are that good IMO. I feel the Phat Cats are that good IMO!

 

[Mephis]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

Granted I've never owned them... But the clips for the HB sized P-90's that Rio grande is putting out, sounds awesome.

They are a tad smoother than a real P-90 tho.

 

[jonnymangia]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

Granted I've never owned them... But the clips for the HB sized P-90's that Rio grande is putting out, sounds awesome.

They are a tad smoother than a real P-90 tho.

Do you mean the Bastard and Fat Bastard?

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

I've been continuing to do research on humbucker-sized P90's and I couldn't help but notice how many bad reviews the Phat Cat got on Harmony Central. One guy after another kept stating how they are lifeless, too smoothed out and far from a true P90 tone. The pickups that seem to get the most positive reviews are the Gibson P94's and the Kent Armstrong. I know this is SD's home court, but does anyone have a negative take on the Phat Cat as well. I want to make sure I make the right purchase here.

Good thing I don't give a damn about HC. HC is filled with a bunch of kids generally more interested in flaming people than anything else and who wouldn't know good sounding gear if it smacked them in the face. I can just about promise you that the people making the claims likely have never really heard a true P-90 and making judgements based on what they hear through a small practice amp with the gain maxed out.

I've never played a Phat Cat so I can't tell you what they sound like but I can tell with confidence to take anything you read on HC, good or bad, with an entire truck load of salt.

 

[Mephis]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

Do you mean the Bastard and Fat Bastard?

yea I'll edit this post with some clips off their site, give me a sec

http://www.riograndepickups.com/audio/TexasSiesta.mp3
clip 1 (neck and bridge)


http://www.riograndepickups.com/audio/JustDigIn.mp3
clip 2 (bridge only)

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

Non-boutique and non-entry level equip that´s not "standard" in some way tends to get a bad rap on HC IME because it´s too expensive or "far out" for the adolescent cookie monsters and not "ego-polishing" enough for the Doctor with a hobby crowd.... the people on HC IMO often forget that there´s a large class of working musicians between the 100$ guitars and the 5k guitars... but we´re too busy working to be posting all the time

 

[Mephis]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

You can usually tell if an HC review is bull****.

Alot of reviews I see looks like some 80 year old acoustic player is trying an electric guitar for the 1st time...


Or a 10 year old with a first act guitar installed an EMG and thinks it sounds good through his estabahn amp.

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

the people on HC IMO often forget that there´s a large class of working musicians between the 100$ guitars and the 5k guitars... but we´re too busy working to be posting all the time

...says mr. 7,794 posts guy...

 

[lp_man]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

You can usually tell if an HC review is bull****.

Alot of reviews I see looks like some 80 year old acoustic player is trying an electric guitar for the 1st time...


Or a 10 year old with a first act guitar installed an EMG and thinks it sounds good through his estabahn amp.

+1 Personally, I take them with a pinch of salt, not the most reliable place on the net.

You are right though, those sound awesome

 

[BachToRock]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

I love the Phat Cats, they are very smooooth sounding and I bet if you changed the magnets to Alnico 5 they would sound truer to a Vintage P-90 as the wire and wind is true to vintage.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

...says mr. 7,794 posts guy...

VPN connection to my home PC with my cell phone (RAZR V3 running Linux as an OS), I do half my posting walking down the street

 

[neosadist]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

VPN connection to my home PC with my cell phone (RAZR V3 running Linux as an OS), I do half my posting walking down the street

Niiiiiiiice
I love Linux as an OS. I'm a Slackware user myself....
But yeah, HC can be good and bad. All reviews should be taken with a grain of salt anyways. But seems like MF has higher quality, more relevant posts....

 

[Mephis]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

I actually use HC reviews alot to judge how durable or reliable gear is.

Most those people will end up breaking something that Isn't made well within the day they bought it.

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

take anything you read on HC, good or bad, with an entire truck load of salt.

EXACTLY!

 

[Guest]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

VPN connection to my home PC with my cell phone (RAZR V3 running Linux as an OS), I do half my posting walking down the street

I'm so outdated I didn't even understand half of what you said...

 

[jonnymangia]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

I love the Phat Cats, they are very smooooth sounding and I bet if you changed the magnets to Alnico 5 they would sound truer to a Vintage P-90 as the wire and wind is true to vintage.

How do I go about changing magnets? And I did love the Rio Grande sound clips, but I'm thinking the Fat Bastard may be toooo hot. I want a vintage bridge pup so I can lock in those "Live at Leeds" and Leslie West Mountain tones.

 

[gripweed]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

It was always my impression that the original P-90's had a2 magnets. Like the humbuckers there were some years where the magnets were just about anything -- a3,a4 or a5. Most players are probably familiar with the a5 P-90's (and my guess is that when they went to a5 with the humbuckers they also did with P-90's), and that is why they don't like the Phat Cats. I'd bet that Seymour is emulating the early P-90's

 

[DracoAran]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

Oh man, Harmony Central.

There are 3 crowds.


The great majority are Turd Polishing Fanboys, with their <$200 guitar collection reaching the double digits. Always "amazing". Anything made in asia gives USA stuff a run for its money. Specially when it's all going straight into an Ibanez 1x10" SS combo which has this spectacular clean tone, and gets pushed with a Zoom pedal. Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, EMG, Rio Grande....all non sense. Give them Mighty Mite, Kent Armstrong, GFS.

Then we have the Cork Sniffing Boutique fanboys. If it costs less than $4000, and it's mass produced, it's garbage. Including USA made pickups. They have to be obscure, people.

And then there's the rest. People who are too irritated with the non sense, to bother trying to partake in the discussion.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Phat Cats - Pretty Bad reviews on HC

but I can tell with confidence to take anything you read on HC, good or bad, with an entire truck load of salt.

That goes without saying ANYWHERE on the net. Even here..where there def is a bias as well (though not annoyingly so)

I agree HC reviews are for the most part crap, but when it comes to tone, everyone is different. There are some Duncans I think sound absolutely horrid, but get great reviews/recommendations here all the time :shrug: