Re: Phat Cats
P-90's aren't particularly popular with high gain players. They have a small but strong following in less distorted genres like blues, jazz, and classic rock. The thing with PC's is that they don't sound like P-90's, so they're in a niche of their own. I don't know if that was intentional or not. For me, a neck Phat Cat in an Epi LP & SG sounded like they were in a closet with the door closed. No treble. I think they'd sound better in bright woods, like Strats. In comparison, the bridge PC sounded weak, overpowered by the neck. Zhang, one of the forum pickup winders, solved that by taking 1,000 turns off his neck Phat Cat, which reduced output and added treble. That's not an option for most of us, so I swapped out magnets in mine. I love A2's in humbuckers, but they're just not a magnet I think works in a big single coil.
Most people getting Phat Cats are probably putting them in Gibson-design guitars, wanting that great P-90 sound in their HB guitars. P-90's shine with A5's, which give them clarity, a crisp high end, and a firm piano-like low end. You don't get those qualities with A2's. Phat Cats were an early HB-size single coil, and it doesn't seem like they were clear on what they were going for. Since PC's came out, a number of other PU makers have introduced their versions to catch the growing interest in P-90's, but have pretty much stayed with A5's so they sound like real P-90's. PC's are the only pickup I know of that doesn't have the baseplate screwed to the coil.. PC's have the cover holding the entire PU together. Strange. Plus they don't have an additional ground wire (3rd wire). The other HB-sized single coils I've seen haven't followed Duncan down that path either.
Phat Cats have a lot of potential with a couple design changes. They could also be offered in a few magnet configurations: A5's for a real P-90 sound, and a couple others. I've experimented with a variety of magnet combinations in my Phat Cats and P-90's, preferring an A5/A4 in the neck for a little less low end and a bit more mids, and an A8/A4 in the bridge to add output, warmth, and mids. To me, it almost looks as if Duncan hit on a good idea with PC's, a diamond in the rough, and then walked away from it instead of developing it further. That let competitors come in and take the bulk of the HB-size single coil market.
