Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

[JB6464]

Looking to do some John Myer and Joe Bonamassa kind of rock / blues and wondering if I can get close with a set of Phatcat P90's in my custom tele deluxe guitar that has a dual humbucker setup already .
I know it will never do the real single coil quack of a strat but hopefully I can will get close . every humbucker I've tried just does'nt get close enough .
Do you think it's worth the money to buy a set and try it or waste of time with a P90 type pickup ?

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

Depends, will the rest of your setup do JM and JB tones? Most of their sound is in their play style and amp.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

They absoluely do get down, bluesy, and single coily. Not exactly like single coils duh but I like them better than true scs.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

I don't think they hit the amp the same as a traditional single coil at all. They do their own thing, and don't replicate the traditional single coil thing, even though they are a single coil pickup.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

amps play a big part in their tones. jm has been a vintagy strat guy for the most part but now is all prs, all the time. main three guitars seem to be a silver sky (strat), mccarty 594, and super eagle. jb has been using an amazing collection of the best actual vintage guitars for a while now. its a guitar collectors wet dream at every show these days. he was a strat guy in the beginning, then turned all gibson due to some srv backlash.

i like the phat cat bridge a lot and the neck can be good too but its not going to do what you want. what are you trying to achieve?

phat cats are true single coils, just like a p90

 

[JB6464]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

Depends, will the rest of your setup do JM and JB tones? Most of their sound is in their play style and amp.

With my Soldano , Marshall amps I can do the JB stuff with ease , JM stuff I really work on dialing it in to get there .
What I really like about the JM tones is his neck single coil low output pickup when he cuts loose on a real solo .

 

[jeremy]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

thats fendery territory, unless you have a dumble layin around

 

[JB6464]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

amps play a big part in their tones. jm has been a vintagy strat guy for the most part but now is all prs, all the time. main three guitars seem to be a silver sky (strat), mccarty 594, and super eagle. jb has been using an amazing collection of the best actual vintage guitars for a while now. its a guitar collectors wet dream at every show these days. he was a strat guy in the beginning, then turned all gibson due to some srv backlash.

i like the phat cat bridge a lot and the neck can be good too but its not going to do what you want. what are you trying to achieve?

phat cats are true single coils, just like a p90

What I would like to have is a nice single coil neck pickup sound but my tele is already routed with humbuckers , that tone you hear when you do a bluesy solo in the neck position and it just so smooth but cuts like no humbucker will ever do .
I'm looking for a strat to buy soon but for now I was just wondering if I could pull some of those tones off with a pickup change .

 

[JB6464]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

thats fendery territory, unless you have a dumble layin around

How about a JTM45 dialed in real good , it's basically a Fender Bassman .
Not sure if my EV's would be the right speaker though .

 

[jeremy]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

should have said black face fendery, i love my tweeds but quite a different animal compared to a dumble clean tone

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

P-Rails. The rail coil is nice and Fendery.

 

[Juanhanglo]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

I have heard that the gfs dream 90 is pretty much a fat strat pickup in a HBP90s size.

Perhaps that will work?

 

[JB6464]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

If you're into Joe B, getting his most often heard sounds is a lot easier with a humbucker. Antiquitys. Seth Lovers perhaps. Or the signature set that Duncan put together for Joe B. But you have to have Joe's touch, technique and knowledge to sound like him. Part of that knowledge comes from studying the roots of his tone. And that, IMO, is Eric Clapton when he was with the Bluesbreakers and Cream using paf style humbuckers.

Joe B has studied that style and practiced it for thousands of hours. Like Eddie Van Halen, he probably knows how to play most of those old Clapton solos from the 60's note for note.

I should of mentioned the earlier stuff from Joe when he played mostly strats , I've lost intrest in his newer stuff since he fired Eric Czar and changed his game to Gibsons and new band .

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

I should of mentioned the earlier stuff from Joe when he played mostly strats , I've lost intrest in his newer stuff since he fired Eric Czar and changed his game to Gibsons and new band .

Can you order a new pickguard for your Tele routed for a Strat neck pickup? I'm sure you can. I did. My Tele has a Duncan CS Jerry Donahue Tele bridge pickup and an Antiquity Surfer Strat neck pickup.

In my experience, nothing sounds like a vintage style Strat pickup except a vintage style Strat pickup.

 

[JB6464]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

Can you order a new pickguard for your Tele routed for a Strat neck pickup? I'm sure you can. I did. My Tele has a Duncan CS Jerry Donahue Tele bridge pickup and an Antiquity Surfer Strat neck pickup.

In my experience, nothing sounds like a vintage style Strat pickup except a vintage style Strat pickup.

My custom tele is a solid top , no pickguard and rear routed for the pot and switches .
So I am kind of stuck unless I can find someone that makes a humbucker size pickup with a real strat pickup under it .
I'm sure the SD CS can do that but for $160 , and it's still a gamble if it will work out .

 

[David Garner]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

Really, I think most of that stuff is in their hands. But if you're looking to absolutely replicate the tones, a Strat with late 60s low wind pickups and a Les Paul are going to be the weapons of choice. Bonamassa has expressed favor for 65 Strats, and the pickups in those aren't that different from the ones in the late 60s, so you could cover both tones with one guitar.

Really, though, play like them and you'll sound like them. We're talking about masters of their craft here. No amount of gear will get you to that level.

 

[JB6464]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

Really, I think most of that stuff is in their hands. But if you're looking to absolutely replicate the tones, a Strat with late 60s low wind pickups and a Les Paul are going to be the weapons of choice. Bonamassa has expressed favor for 65 Strats, and the pickups in those aren't that different from the ones in the late 60s, so you could cover both tones with one guitar.

Really, though, play like them and you'll sound like them. We're talking about masters of their craft here. No amount of gear will get you to that level.

I totally agree , I'm just trying to get close with what gear I have without going out and spending big cash for old vintage gear .
That's why I was wondering if the Phatcat P90 would get me close since my tele is already routed for humbuckers , it's kind of a in-between of the two preferred pickup choices but I wasn't sure if it could still get that true single coil tone with a Phatcat P90 .

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

My custom tele is a solid top , no pickguard and rear routed for the pot and switches .
So I am kind of stuck unless I can find someone that makes a humbucker size pickup with a real strat pickup under it .
I'm sure the SD CS can do that but for $160 , and it's still a gamble if it will work out .

I think if you did a little searching you could find humbucker sized mounting "rings" for Strat pickups. Here's one on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/i/322645056813?chn=ps

 

[David Garner]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

I totally agree , I'm just trying to get close with what gear I have without going out and spending big cash for old vintage gear .
That's why I was wondering if the Phatcat P90 would get me close since my tele is already routed for humbuckers , it's kind of a in-between of the two preferred pickup choices but I wasn't sure if it could still get that true single coil tone with a Phatcat P90 .

I think you can get close enough. You just aren't going to nail those cleaner Mayer tones at least. You can probably get really close to Bonamassa's LP tones with a boost.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Wil Phatcats do JM and Jb tones

i dont like the single coil adapters since they usually dont put the pup in the right place but it is an option and will get you closer than a phat cat or gfs dream90. a vintage wind strat pup like the antiquity II surfer neck is a great choice for those tones. the duncan cs does a strat under bucker cover, but the surfer in the adapter will be really close and a lot cheaper. i guess thats what i would do if i was in your shoes, itll sound good, probably very good actually but might not nail what you are after.

joes "best" strat is a '55 hard tail according to him