Phat cats in a gibson les paul

[smudge]

Hi all, I have a Gibson Les Paul Std 2001 fitted with the 490R/498T Gibson PUPS, i was fairly happy with its sound untill that is i picked up a cheap china made Epi 56 GT with the p90 PUPS, the Epi flat out rocks!, clean or with overdrive.
The Gibson in direct comparison is lifeless and muddy and lacks expression.

So i must be the only person who wants to make his Gibson sound like an Epi!

I am thinking off replacing the Gibson PUPs with some Phat Cats. Any one have experience of phat cats in a Les Paul?

Will this bring the Gibson back to life?

I am mainly a strat player, i play mostly blues with a fair amount of overdrive.

Thanks in advance.

[Zhangliqun]

Had them in a Standard and the neck is a bit too hot/dark while the bridge is a little thin, but for true P90-heads, it's probably just fine. Have one underwound (as I did a while back) to about 7.0k and it will be killer for the neck.

[Lewguitar]

Just installed a set in a short scale (24 3/4") 1980-something MIJ Squier Strat. Cool little guitars and you find them for under $300 factory routed for two HB's.

I really like the bridge Phat Cat. The neck Phat Cat, I wish was a little brighter.

But I still really like this set.

Through a small tube amp like my tweed Fender Princeton or tweed Deluxe I get a really moody, atmospheric, slightly broken up blues tone.

Nice for slide too!

These wouldn't be my first choice if I only had one good guitar, but for a different tone when I want to hear something other than than Strat pickups, Tele pickups or humbuckers, they're great.

Lew

[The Usual]

I put them in a friends LP Studio and was not overly impressed. His axe was rather dull, so not much was going to help him, but still, they seemed a little lifeless. I may try them in my SG one day, if a set comes my way.

[jeremy]

i think the bridge cat is fantastic. i had it in my les paul special till i put my trusty pearly gates set in there. the neck cat can be really nice with 1000 turns peeled off

[Lewguitar]

i think the bridge cat is fantastic. i had it in my les paul special till i put my trusty pearly gates set in there. the neck cat can be really nice with 1000 turns peeled off

I'll bet. That would make it a little brighter and clearer.

The bridge Phat Cat I like just as it is. Sounds like a cross between a P-90 and an alnico 2 paf to me. It's a great pickup, especially for American Roots stuff.

Lew

[blueman335]

Had them in a Standard and the neck is a bit too hot/dark while the bridge is a little thin, but for true P90-heads, it's probably just fine. Have one underwound (as I did a while back) to about 7.0k and it will be killer for the neck.

I'm a blues player myself, Smudge & I like some overdrive too. You're in good company.

After using a few HB/Phat Cat set ups, I put a pair of Phat Cats in an Epi LP Std. Like many players say, the neck seems dark and the bridge slightly weak & thin. That's easily fixed. I put an A5/A3 in the neck PC, and a A8/A4 in the bridge PC. Problem solved. The neck is brighter & more articulate (really sounds like a single coil), and the bridge has more body & muscle. Sounds great now. All you need is 15 minutes to swap magnets & you'll have what you want. The stock magnets in the Phat Cat seem like a strange choice (A2's), but let me tell you, it's a fantastic PU once you start swapping magnets. You can do things a HB can only dream of.

[smudge]

Thanks, for you replies, i guess i am still a little undecided, maybe its time to trade in the Standard for an R6 Gold top?

Good as the Epi is, it dosent have the feel or sustain of the Standard, just wish the standard had a bit more attack and grind if you know what i mean, its a bit too smooth and polite, looking for a more aggressive fatter, ballsier in your face sound, funny because i can get that sound out off all my strats, despite the relatively weedy single coil pups!

Thanks again.

[smudge]

Hi blueman, maybe i shoudnt give up on the Standard just yet, it is a good player and a good looker, after all, a set off Phat Cats is going to be a lot cheaper than trading for an R6!,, Hmmmm think i will give it a shot after all.

[The Usual]

Hey Blueman, where do you get all your mags from? Wymore?

[blueman335]

Hey Blueman, where do you get all your mags from? Wymore?

Wymore is the place. I always get an assortment, so I have what I need on hand when I start dialing in a PU. They carry A2, A3, A4, A5, and A8. If you think you'll be pulling out a particular kind, you'll probably end up with enough spares of that, and wouldn't need to buy those. With me, it's A2's; I have a pile of spares. Shipping's free on $50 orders.

[blueman335]

Hi blueman, maybe i shoudnt give up on the Standard just yet, it is a good player and a good looker, after all, a set of Phat Cats is going to be a lot cheaper than trading for an R6!,, Hmmmm think i will give it a shot after all.

A Phat Cat or two, and some magnets, and you can get some first rate tones from that LP. It will "bring it back to life." PC's have twin magnets, and the tone is blended when you use two different kinds of magnets. You can really fine tune the sound you want.

In neck PC's, I've tried A5/A2, A5/A3, and A5/A4. The A5 adds treble & bite. Brings out that open single coil sound. The other (warmer) magnet softens it a bit & fills in the mids. So far, the A5/A3 is the brighest of the three combinations I've tried, the A5/A2 is the darkest (but much brighter than two A2's), and the A5/A4 has the most balls, with a combination of bite & warmth.

In bridge PC's, I've tried A8/A4 and A6/A4. Both are similar, with the A8 seeming to be slightly brighter. The tone on both of these combos is more powerful than the stock magnets (two A2's). If you want a little more treble, you could substitute an A5 for one of them. Fun stuff. You can't get down to this level of tone detail with a HB.

[jimijames]

Also, you don't have to do phat cats. As much as I love SD, there are other manufacturers who make really good pickups of the p-90 in a humbucker variety. It might even be worth it to get a set of P-Rails in there, the p-90 is wound to mid-7k in the neck and 10.2k or something similar in the bridge. In addition, you also get the rails coils, and humbucker sounds. Just look up the wiring guide for 2 p-rails, 4 vol/tones, and 2 push/pulls. I'm sure it's on the SD main site if you need it.

[blueman335]

Also, you don't have to do phat cats. As much as I love SD, there are other manufacturers who make really good pickups of the p-90 in a humbucker variety.

Absolutely. Any P-90 or 'P-90 in a HB' will work. I just happen to have used Phat Cats so far. The key is twin magnets. It lets you dial in your tone in finer increments, so you can match your wood & guitar design to the PU better. Twin magnets are where the magic is.

If you're up to it, hooking up your single coils (P-90's, Phat Cats, P-94's, etc) in series/parallel is a great idea. Gives you that virtual humbucker sound (like a Strat in position 2 & 4). Hermetico & Artie have diagrams; one push-pull is all you need.

[Zhangliqun]

I'm a blues player myself, Smudge & I like some overdrive too. You're in good company.

After using a few HB/Phat Cat set ups, I put a pair of Phat Cats in an Epi LP Std. Like many players say, the neck seems dark and the bridge slightly weak & thin. That's easily fixed. I put an A5/A3 in the neck PC, and a A8/A4 in the bridge PC. Problem solved. The neck is brighter & more articulate (really sounds like a single coil), and the bridge has more body & muscle. Sounds great now. All you need is 15 minutes to swap magnets & you'll have what you want. The stock magnets in the Phat Cat seem like a strange choice (A2's), but let me tell you, it's a fantastic PU once you start swapping magnets. You can do things a HB can only dream of.

A8 would sure de-thin it! Which side of the pu is the A8 on, facing bridge or facing neck? It does make a difference...

[LtKojak]

I am thinking off replacing the Gibson PUPs with some Phat Cats

If I was you I'd look for Gibson P-94 p'ups. They're A5, so you won't have to change magnets, and the neck p'up is not muddy at all.

Hell, even GFS Dream 90s or Mean 90s will do for a lot less!

I've got a P-94 set in my 1996 Mayones Maestro guitar (it's a $ 5,000.00 semi-hollowbody Custom made in Poland guitar) and a set of GFS Mean 90s in a Squier JAG. Both sound good to my ears, but these kind of p'ups seem to like best thin solidbody guitars... at least to my ears!

HTH,

[wanmei1]

.

So i must be the only person who wants to make his Gibson sound like an Epi!

I don't think so,
Your just one of the few that will admit it.

[blueman335]

A8 would sure de-thin it! Which side of the pu is the A8 on, facing bridge or facing neck? It does make a difference...

A8 on the screw coil side. Haven't done as much tinkering with PC bridges yet. With the stock A2's they didn't quite have the tone I was looking for, so I have more HB/PCN guitars than twin PC's. Once I started started swapping magents in them, I opened a magic box of possibilities.

[blueman335]

If I was you I'd look for Gibson P-94 p'ups. They're A5, so you won't have to change magnets, and the neck p'up is not muddy at all.

While A5's on the neck would be nice, they'd be fairly bright for the bridge, at least for those of us who like warm bridges. Personally I'd swap out at least one of the A5's on a P-94B to give it some mids.

[LtKojak]

While A5's on the neck would be nice, they'd be fairly bright for the bridge, at least for those of us who like warm bridges. Personally I'd swap out at least one of the A5's on a P-94B to give it some mids.

Well, I've wired the P-94 set like this: the neck p'up with a 500K pot and the bridge with a 300K. Both caps are orange drops .022.

They sound fairly balanced to my ears, at least. I LOVE the tone in the both on position. (B.B. King's sound come to mind here)