unique pop path forward- phat cat with mag change vs. Prails vs. fralin vs. zhangs

[doctadre]

Hey all,

I've done a but of research on this and couldn't quite find a definite answer, so here goes. Basically trying to decide what to put in my PVX kit guitar ( prs style kit with tune o matic). I used to own a set of prails and have triple shots, but ended up selling prails. Not sure why exactly at that time.

Recently trying phat cats, as I love the p90 tone I got from the prails. It had a sparkly, toneful harmonic that I loved. However, the phat cats are good but not as much high end articulation that the prails has, most likely due to the magnet differences.

I've done research and saw how mag swaps in prails can be amazing on the tone.

I'm at a dilemma. Do I sell the phat cats, get prails and triple shots in this guitar, and have very, or try a may swap in phat cats? Or, do I try a more boutique p90 in humbucker like fralins?

Finally, I do have a set of zhangbuckers that don't have a home yet, amdy fallback could always be those tho they are humbuckers and not p90s.

Any thoughts? I use a message Mark 5 25 amp, usually high gain rocker with some clean work, and love that green day tone. It's brash and rude but very musical.

Thanks,

Dre

 

[Nagisa]

Re: unique pop path forward- phat cat with mag change vs. Prails vs. fralin vs. zhang

Sounds like you really want prails.

 

[doctadre]

Re: unique pop path forward- phat cat with mag change vs. Prails vs. fralin vs. zhang

Thanks, yes I think I did, but since I had already had them before and let them go, I wonder if I truly loved them. Either way, I just got another pair. So once they come in, I'll hook them up with the triple shots and see how they do in this guitar. I guess I was just wondering if the phat cats with different magnets would be better than the Prails p90, but didn't want to go through the trouble of magnet swapping.

Dre

 

[blueman335]

Re: unique pop path forward- phat cat with mag change vs. Prails vs. fralin vs. zhang

I haven't owned P-rails, as the combined coils in HB mode are too hot for me, but I've had a lot of experience with Phat Cats. For me the stock magnets are too dark in LP's & SG's, not enough high end, and probably would be better balanced EQ-wise in brighter woods. Odd though, because most potential Phat Cat owners probably have some sort of Gibson-design guitar, and want to get classic P-90 tones without having to do woodworking to change the PU cavities. PC's sound nothing like P-90's to my ears because of the A2's; they lack the clear, crisp high end, and firm piano-like low end of classic P-90's. To get some treble and clarity into my neck PC, I tried a variety of magnets pairs, starting with A3/A2, A4/A2, A5/A2, and finally giving up on the A2's altogether and going with an A5/A4 pair, which gave a nice clear sound, with a little more midrange and a little less low end than twin A5's (although twin A5's, like almost all true P-90's have, also sound very good). Forum PU maker Zhang said that the neck PC is wound too hot for an A2, and took about 1,000 turns off of his to brighten it.

The bridge PC to me sounded weak in comparison, and was overpowered by the neck PC. So to beef that up, I settled on an A8/A4 bridge pair, which gave fuller mids, more output, along with warmth. That made the two PC's a better match in output and EQ.

Unlike every other P-90 type pickup I've seen, the coil isn't screwed to the baseplate. Instead the cover holds the whole thing together. To swap magnets, you have to cut the solder blobs, and carefully lift one end of the cover up. One end comes up easily but the other has a wire attached, and lifting the wrong end can snap the wire (I know from experience). It's easily re-soldered though. I always swap one magnet at a time with P-90's to keep from getting confused. I orient by sliding the old mag out halfway, holding the new mag up to it so the ends repel and sides attract, and then sliding the old mag out all the way. With P-90 magnets, they're lying side-by-side, repelling each other.

Whether P-90's or Phat Cats, I encourage anyone to try different magnets in theirs if the tones aren't quite what they want. With true P-90's, a common thing I've heard is that if the neck P-90's EQ is dialed in, the bridge is bright and thin. Likewise, if the bridge is dialed in, the neck is dark and thick. Swapping a magnet or two can change that. With HB's, the magnet-to-coil ratio is 1/2 magnet per coil. In P-90's, it's 2 magnets per coil. Four times the magnetic influence. In addition, being able to use two different magnets in the same pickup gives a lot more magnet combinations and therefore a lot more EQ options than with a HB.