What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

andrizzle

andrizzle

New member
The title says it all really, but I recently put a set of Hot P90's in my Gibson 135 an as desperately as I want to love them, they're just not doing it for me. They're really muddy in this guitar and really noisy! I absolutely LOVE the sound of Phat Cats and I'd really like to get that sound from this guitar. Is there a SD p90 that gets close to that sound? If there's nothing stock, I am seriously considering going the Custom Shop. But I'd sure like to save some money if possible.

Thanks in advance!
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

Custom Shop might be the only real answer here...unless you're willing to route the guitar!

However you might try a set of vintage P-90's with alnico II magnets...
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

Phat Cats have A2's, which make the neck PU much darker and muddier (common complaint here) than typical P-90's with A5's. The A2's in turn make the bridge weak and thin. Not really the right magnets for those PU's (I have 9 Phat Cats and took out all the A2's and gave them away to forum members). However, if you're intent on getting 'that Phat Cat sound', put a couple A2's in any P-90.
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

Thanks for your input guys. I think I'm going to try out the Vintage set before I go Custom Shop... I know it's not for everyone, but I really love my phat cat set.

Also... is there a reason I might be getting extra noise out of these current P90's (SD Hot Soapbars)? I am accustomed to 60 cycle hum because all of my guitars have single coils in them, but these are just super noisy. I chalked that up to just because they're "hot" p90's, but I could be wrong. When I replaced them (which is a huge PITA btw) all I did was unsolder the terrible P100's and resolder these in place. Did I miss something that I needed to ground when going from humbuckers to p90's?! That may seem like a weird question, but it's pretty excessive noise.
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

Plastic covers allow more noise than metal ones, less shielding.
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

P90s are naturally noisey. More noisey than Fender singles. The Phat Cat is much less noisey than the typical P90.
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

You've got two problems with the Hot P-90:

1. It has high output which can make it sound "muddy",

2. It has more bass and mids due to the extra winding which can make it sound muddy.

A vintage P-90 has less output, less bass, less mids and more treble. All of these will make it more clear (less muddy) sounding. The tone can be tweaked with mag swapping.
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

You could always line the plastic cover with copper shielding tape, a friend of mine did this with a soapbar set, mind you, it won't take all the noise out, but it does knock it back some
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

925SS said:
You could always line the plastic cover with copper shielding tape, a friend of mine did this with a soapbar set, mind you, it won't take all the noise out, but it does knock it back some
Click to expand...

I use a piece of aluminum foil inside plastic PU covers, and punch out holes for the pole pieces.
 
Re: What P90 is closest to the sound of a Phat Cat?

You have to know where to Stand , and don't move from there.... Get your Sweet Spot on stage..... Lol !
 
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