Seymour Duncan Phat Cats

Passive single coil pickup. Supposedly a p90 dressed up as a humbucker.

This is in an Epiphone Sheraton II (335 style semi-hollow). Both neck and bridge. Replacing stock humbuckers. I wanted a single-coil tone, originally a strat tone, then I learnt above p90s, played some, and realised thats what I wanted.

Im using it through a Marshall Compressor, a Boss SD-1 and a pair of danelectro 7-band eqs, into a Peavey Valveking 112 on the clean channel.
The tone is perculiar - these do NOT sound like true p90s. But they do sound good. Real good. The main difference is they dont have as much mids, in fact they actually have a scooped sound. With my treble and bass at 0 and mids at 10, through the SD-1 which is a very middy overdrive, I still get that harsh scooped sound. But its easily solved with a 7-band eq to boost the mids considerably, it then gets warm smooth and oh so sweet. But without the eq, it is true that they have scooped mids, and this isn't typical of p90s. It won't give you the typical p90 overdriven sound. They are raw and raunchy, just not middy enough. With some drastic EQing it can be fixed and you get a great p90 tone.
Clean is another story, they are oh so good clean. The bridge first - it is chimey and jangly, almost like a gretsch or rickenbacker. Though its still smooth, and still twangy. You get some good snap and twang from it. A pretty rounded sound. Good solid bass and a fantastic sparkling high end. VERY versatile, will pretty much do anything classic rock/blues. Roll the tone off and it gets smooth and mellow. The neck is incredible - it has LOADS of bass, but not making it overpowering or muddy, it just makes it THICK and DEEP, and really damn nice. Its still got a fine sparkling high end. Blues licks are POWERFUL from this neck pickup. Rhythm strumming is really thick. It is balanced. Roll the tone off it gets REALLY mellow and smooth. The neck pickup is incredible for overdriven leads with the tone rolled off a bit, really Santana-esque! Again, with the neck pickup you get some awesome twang and snap. These pickups are VERY lively and detailed, and react great to picking dynamics and style. In the middle position, the tone gets much thinner, a bit quackier and twangier, but nonetheless thin, a bit too thin for clean stuff. Overdriven though, it has a really nice squeal to it. For clean stuff in the middle position, you will want to roll the tone off a bit to get some thick sounds.
Overall tone - incredible cleans (bridge = jangly/chimey, neck = thick/deep), for overdriven stuff you might need to do some drastic EQing to boost the mids, but if set right you can get some REALLY smooth, warm distortion tones. Perfect for blues and classic rock. Very responsive and lively-sounding. Twangy (but not too much). I'll take a point off as they might not be what you expect of p90s, but if they weren't marketed as p90s they would surely get a 10!

I would DEFINATELY buy again if stolen. If I had unlimited funds I would try out other company's hum-sized-p90s, but if in doubt I would always rely on these pickups to give me my tone.
I love the tone, basically. They are unique. But damn, damn good. You might wanna get a little eq from danelectro for $30 to boost the mids though. Rather odd that pickups marketed as p90s have scooped mids. But then again, it gives you the excuse to get the eq, and that makes your sound much more versatile, giving you TWO tones from the same pickup!
I am satisfied. These pickups have helped me achieve my signature tone, which I am incredibly proud of and would never change.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs: dunno

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez AK-85 DVS (Artcore Jazz)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: neck + bridge
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: dunno
You musical style(s): Jazz-projects
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a more "Grant Green" like sound on this relatively cheap guitar. The upgrade with the SD P-90 Phat Cats is truly great and worth and penny. Roght now, this is real value for aoney. !!!!

Perceived output level: Makes me feel that I am in control of the output
Tone: Balanced
Sonic evaluation: I play with a Fender Deluxe, with a few mod's (C-12 Celestian 12", Svetlana's and Electro Harmonix 12 AX.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Jazz jazz jazz

Comments: I play for almost fifteen years and the last years I am on a Jazz Exoerience tour. It's great
I don't need Gibson on my neck just for making me feel good. Just buy the right things and upgrade it yourself !!!

Pickup features: Single coil, nickle covers, passive, humbucker sized
Impedence or other specs: 8.5k bridge, 8k neck

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson ES-333
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson original 490R/498T
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: don't know, don't care
You musical style(s): Blues, jazz, light rock
Reason for pickup change: Already have another ES-333 with 490R/490T combination (I don't like the 498T too well in the ES's). Thought on this, 2nd ES-333 I'd go for a little different tone.

Perceived output level: About the same as a Gibson 57 Classic
Tone: Tight bottom, not boomy, very scooped mids, sparkly highs.
Sonic evaluation: "Peabody here, with my pet boy Sherman. Sherman set The Wayback Machine to 1963, so we can revisit the root tones of the Phat Cats....."
Both pickups are brighter than the 490/498 stock combination. Output is markedly lower than those two as well. Keep in mind, the 490 is more powerful than the 57Classic (which will be our output standard). The 498 is much noticably louder than the 490, and much louder than the 57Classic, and therefore much louder than the Phat-Cats. I'd say the Phats are about as loud, or have the same output as a Gibson 57Classic, or the same as a medium level humbucker. I'll call the 490's a bit hotter, more of a "hard rock" output (but considerably less than "metal" or "shred").
There is an interesting scoop to the mids overall, and the upper mids in particular on the Phats. The result... is that they have this very appealing chime, without getting "icepick" or "brittle". I think the "how" to this sonic effect is subtle, yet worth noting. By reducing the upper mids, you are not drowning out those sparkly chimey high end sounds. I think they're always there, but on a heavy mids pickup - like a 490 or 498, you dont get to hear them as well because they're getting stepped on. Those sparklies are what I'd say what makes the Phat's signature tone, and you can hear it on the Strat, and on both pickups of the ES-333.
The low end is solid. Tight. Not muffled. Not Tele-quack either. On the neck pickup, you get a smoothness that you'd expect. With the tone control rolled off a bit, you begin to quickly lose those sparklies and here's where finesse comes in. The tone control now gives a very wide palette of tones, and you have to be careful with the setting - there's a lot of good flavors there. The stock 300k (250-275k really) volume pot seems well suited to the Phats, and give a good response for swells. No doubt you'd get a bit more high end with a larger pot, but I dont personally think its needed.
Playing chords, rhythmic stuff, is a pleasure and the output is controllable and predictable. Actually... as I'm thinking about it, the tone sounds very similar to the 52RI neck pickup that I have in my mahogany/maple Tele Thinline - with the solid goncalo-alves (a harder tight grained mahogany) neck... except the Phats are higher in output. They've also got better dynamic range, so when you're searching for some punch with the 52RI's... the Phats just deliver. In that way, they're like a P90.
On the bridge side, we've got similar even tone with sparkly top, just a bit more treble, a bit more bite, and a bit more punch, as you'd expect from the bridge pickup (wound a bit hotter too, for compensation). No suprises here. Bell like, chimey, glistening top end, reduced mids (they make that great top end possible) and solid, non-boomy bass end. The response is smooth, even, totally predictable and comfy for the ears. One problem is the tone control. Not a major deal but it sounds good with the .022 capacitor there, but it rolls off a bit too much. Let me restate that. The capacitor value determines the corner frequency of the filter its part of. Well other things do too, its a balancing act, but we CHOOSE the capacitor value to change the corner frequency, since we cannot go about changing the impedance of the pickups. The .022uf is just fine. It sounds fine, it works fine - with one issue. When you roll off the treble fully its a bit too rolled off. This is not a capacitor issue (unless you consider ESR an issue, and it wouldn't change things that much). Its a matter of range. The pot is in series with the cap, to ground. The range of the pot is 500k to 0k, so that when the treble is fully rolled off, the signal is shorted to ground through the cap. The fix is to add a resistor, and I dont know the size but will guess, and put it between the cap and pot. The effect is to lim

Comments: Duncan says they're like P90's (sort of). They are not. I've got guitars with P90s, and Phat Cats are not like 'em!
Phats have their own tone, fatter than Fender, lighter than a P90... just a big round tone. Very pleasant to play on, and listen to.

Pickup features: Single
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1980 Gibson LP Firebrand
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock pickups--Dimarzios?
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): whatever pays the bills--rock, country, jazz, blues
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a second "single coil" guitar and figured I'd give these a try in an old guitar I didn't play much anymore.

Perceived output level: seems a little hotter than the stock pickups
Tone: well balanced
Sonic evaluation: 1980 Gibson LP Firebrand, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with Jensen C12-N replacement speaker.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly in a Country/Classic Rock/Oldies band

Comments: I've been playing for 30 years, pro for 22. I put the Phat Cats in an old Gibson that was my first electric guitar, purchased new in 1980. I've kept the guitar all this time (obviously) but rarely played it. After hearing another guitarist playing a Les Paul with P-90's in it, I started checking out guitars with that type of pickup. After seeing that the Phat Cats were designed to replace humbuckers, I decided to give them a try instead of buying a whole new guitar. I'm extremely happy with the sound. The combination of guitar and pickups is working very well. I love having the ability to blend the two pickups together --something you don't usually get if you go with a Tele, Strat or other more typical single-coil guitars. The LP Firebrand guitar is much lighter than a regular Les Paul and I think this works to my advantage tone-wise with the PCs. After many years of not really liking humbuckers or regular single coils, I'm finding the P-90 sound to be very close to what I've been after all this time.
I previously used a G&L Comanche as my main guitar, but really only like the sound of the neck pickup, not crazy about the bridge. I've had the same feeling about a lot of Teles I've tried, too. The P90 bridge pickup is not as brittle, and that's a big plus for me. As far as other guitars, I also have a '79 ES347 that I'm considering putting Phat Cats in, plus a couple of Ibanez electrics, a Jackson bass and a few acoustics laying around, too.

Pickup features: Single Coil (P90) passive
Impedence or other specs: Unknown

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Sheraton II
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: SD '59 neck and SD JB bridge
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Not known
You musical style(s): Post rock, alternative rock.
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups sounded OK, but muddy so I swaped them for a SD '59 in the neck and SD JB in the bridge as I had these in a guitar I never play. Put them in and there just wasn't sufficient improvement. I usually play telecasters and absolutely love the sound of single-coils - you just can't get single coil clarity with humbuckers. Anyway. I'd seen a band play who play a similar style of music to me and one of the guitarists used a Sherton and I loved the sound so bought one... but I knew that the pickups HAD to go (I realise that I just don't want a humbucker sound). I was looking for the tone and note clarity I get with my tele's but warmer, with a more balanced bass response and less icepick highs (I find my teles can be a little thin at times). I looked around for single coil pickups that fit hubucker housings and considered the Fralins, the harmonic designs and the symours - I went for the seymours based on reviews I'd read and their affordability.

Perceived output level: Hotter than the single coils in my teles - actually almost as hot as humbuckers.
Tone: These pickups are very well balanced - great highs, mids and lows - nothing sounds harsh. All really cut through the mix.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using the following rig:
Epip Sheraton II with Phat Cats > Boss DD5 > Boss RV3 > Boss OD3 > Boss Keeley BD2 > Rat II > Big Muff Pi > Line 6 DL4 > Boss TU2 > Fender Twin reverb.
Yes. Delays at the front of the chain.
It sounds incredible. I was looking for something that sounded like my tele's - I've played teles for years and love their sound, but find that they can soumetimes be a little to thin and trebbly - basically not warm enough. As mentioned, I'd seen someone use a Sheraton and loved it - but as soon as I played the Sheraton with its humbuckers, I knew I had to put single coils in there. I'd never played a guitar with p90 type pickups before so it was really a case of me looking for single coil pickups that come in a humbucker housing - so I wouldn't have to do any majore modifications... I read about these, considered a few alternatives but went for the SD's.
They sound FANTASTIC - very tele-like but fatter, warmer, great clarity. Sound really great with overdrive/distortion - growling and you can hear every note! I am very very pleased.
I mainly use the neck pickup and find that with my tele's, if I switch to the bridge, I really need to change my amp settings otherwise it's icepicks allround - NOT SO with these - the two are very well balanced and usable without changing amp eq settings. Nice.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Post-rock, alternative rock. Explosions in the Sky. Mogwai, Low, Radiohead, Interpol, DO Make Say Think. These pups are beautiful for this - clean guitar parts with delay/reverb sound beautiful, add distortion and you still have the clarity - lovely sounding.

Comments: I adore these pickups - they have transformed the guitar for me - from mushy sounding to singing clear. I cannot recommend these enough - really great sound, really good price. Get 'em!

Pickup features: p-90 style humbucker-sized passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: dunno

Model of guitar or bass: epiphone g-400
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock epiphone
Other pickups on guitar: -
Artists using this pickup: don't know any
You musical style(s): blues, rock, thrash metal
Reason for pickup change: stock pups were dull and muddy, wanted biting rock sound, heard some recordings with p-90 guitars

Perceived output level: pretty hot for a single coil, about as much output as the epiphone humbuckers
Tone: quite the opposite of the epis... very sharp, super-twang to say the least. trebly-middy. extremely touch-sensitive. sounds much sharper and nastier than p-90s i have heard or tried. almost too brutal, but now the pots are useful even on an epiphone guitar. the sg's dry-sounding character really adds to these already very aggressive pups, which may or may not be a good thing.
Sonic evaluation: a) laney tf700 120w hybrid head with behringer 4x12 cab
b) behringer v-amp 2 amp modeler with roland cube-15 solid state combo
no effects, guitar goes right into amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: awesome for blues and rock, not that good for either soft stuff or hi-gain mayhem, they're just too nasty.

Comments: what i really love about these is the insane attack they have. i can easily go from more quiet (yet sharp) sounds to loud bangs only by picking technique. and i mean loud BANG!s, you think the cab explodes... it crunches the solid state clean channels of my amps easily, unlike any other guitar/pup i've tried yet.
this is great for clean blues solos, but really shines at mid-gain riff/solo mixes (think jimi hendrix), since they are as responsive to your picking as other guitars are only when played clean. it's so much fun playing with these, all other guitars i played sounded boring to me in comparison, e.g. gibson les paul, gibson sg special (which sounded fairly similar to stock epiphone), fender usa tele, framus panthera (stock humbuckers are duncans), or gibson les paul melody maker (which has a p-90, but it sounded much softer and friendlier than these).
softer stuff requires using the tone pot a lot, which doesn't sound as good as a good clean-playing-pup. thrash metal is a little problem, for you have to crank the gain to make palm-mute shredding do that "chomp-chomp" sound. but at those gain levels, the overall sound gets too harsh... and since they're single coils, they collect a lot of electromagnetic pollution (unless you switch to middle position, the phat cat neck and bridge pup combined are hum-cancelling). this doesn't mean you can't get satisfying results, but it could take a lot of fine-tuning, and some harsh-sounding amps like marshalls might be completely not so good for this purpose. if you prefer hi-gain stuff, i recommend humbuckers.
when playing the guitar with stock pups, i always had to crank the treble of the amp and use hard carbon picks. i made the mistake to start with the same configuration after the replacement, that caused severe pain in my ears. now i mostly have the eq at middle, so in the end i think i've found my sound.
i'm very satisfied, but since it's not perfect, it won't get a 10. it's not everybody's darling and doesn't do every style. and then, 170 euros for a pair is also a bit pricey. it deserves 9 though.

Pickup features: P 90 in a humbucker size
Impedence or other specs: somthing like 8ohms neck 9ohms bridge

Model of guitar or bass: 70's Cortez Les Paul copy
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Burstbucker
Other pickups on guitar: both are phat cats
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): Blues Rock jazz Rockabilly
Reason for pickup change: cant afford a gibson let alone a 50's gibson

Perceived output level: Like the old sweet 60's gibson's, a classy non metal hot
Tone: Nice balance for a single coil,not to sharp yet not dead
Sonic evaluation: Paul copy,overdrive pedal Peavey classic 30

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Not as solid souding played clean as a humbucker,however does amazing things with mild to hard overdrive distortion

Comments: Im sorry to say that most of the folks on this forum praise alot of garbage-adleast in my tastes-Ill say this-this is the p90 for those of us who are humbucker addicts-the hum is cancelled in mid position and is not that bad when 1 pup is used,and I HATE single coil hum-
The reason I tried this was because of an amazing 65 sg jr I tried-
and couldnt afford.I noticed that its p90 was picking up alot of the guitars suble harmonics(bloom) and I was told that the reason being for that is that a p90's feild of what picks up the strings is narrower than a humbuckers-So I took a shot on these reluctantly thinking odds were Id sell em in a day-I was afraid they sound like gibsons new p90's which sound nasal n terrible IMO.But I lucked out
-This pup definetly is for mild or heavey overdrive,totally clean is not its strong point-Not for the jazz guitarist-But on light overdrive it has a muddy waters kinda twang and on heaver it almost sounds like Alman Bros live at filmore(strange but true since its a single coil)What it doesnt sound like is a fender(thank god)
Ill tell you what Ive tried so you can see if our tastes are similar:
gib 57 classics-weak thin pup-nice high end but no presence-hated em
gib 490's- This isnt my favorite pup,however they have a nice presence,a bit too much mids,nice clean,soso overdriven
gib BurstBucker pro's-This is what I was using,A great clean pup,decent overdriven,great punch,probally gibsons best in there new line IMO
Duncan Anttiquities- Man sooo close to an old sounding pup so so close, but it aint- Very nice mellow pup,definetly lacking somthing though-Great in a les paul ,sucky in a hollowbody,liked it alot,but not my fav
Lindy Fralin Humbucker-Buying this is what happens when you listen
to morons on this forum- PLain plain plain n overated- No personality
whatsoever-an expensive waste of money
Duncan's Seth lover - Seymour I love you for making the phat cat but the seth was a dissapointment-No frills sounding bucker
Anyway I hope this has helped-Ill give it an excellent 8 because anyone who says 10 is a moron unless they talking about a paf or a 50's strat pup or somthing of the sort-Good luck on your pup quest!

Pickup features: P-90's for Humbucking guitars
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone ET-290
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock humbuckers
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Noisy, Jagged, Poppy, Chordy Rock
Reason for pickup change: I don't like Humbuckers in general, and especially the ones this guitar came with. I'm not a fan of the muddiness or smooth, warm tone of Humbuckers, but everything else about the guitar is stellar, so I had to make the switch.

Perceived output level: Much more loud and gainy than most single coil pick-ups I've played, which is fine.
Tone: Very "middy", so to speak, which is great. Intense clarity.
Sonic evaluation: Playing through Peavey StudioPro of some variation, compression, and overdrive, which makes the guitar sound like a Fender Tele or something instead of a Humbucking guitar, which it is no longer. Excellent. Very punchy and almost clanky when thrashing, which is alright news! Gritty but clear notes with overdrive up.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Excellent match for my style: garage rock punk stuff. Sounds best with both positions going.

Comments: If it were destroyed or stolen, I would assume my guitar would also have been destroyed or stolen, and I would have to focus on finding another of said guitar, which is no easy or cheap feat. If a thief somehow managed to steal the pick-ups alone, I would replace them sooner or later. This product saved my favorite guitar from smooth muffy Humbucker muddiness hell. I'm ever grateful.

Pickup features: Single Coil P-90
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Heritage CM150 (Les Paul)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Heritage Rendall Wall
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Classic Rock Blues
Reason for pickup change: Heard a '52 Les Paul with P-90's...

Perceived output level: Powerful cutting tone. Clear yet breaks up nicely when driven
Tone: trebly, yet refined
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a Fender Blues Jr., but I sometimes run a POD in front of it for extra tonal options

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock, Blues

Comments: My guitar tech (Eric's Guitar Shop in Van Nuys CA) recommended them when I told him that I wanted my LP to sound like my friend's 52 LP. It does! If stolen I'd replace them immediately. After installing these I sold my Boss ME-50 on eBay. Sounds so good straight through to the amp that I didn't want anything else in the way! I've been playing them for about 5 months and my band loves the new sound. My old humbuckers were great, but without the definition and clarity. I've found THAT sound.

Pickup features: P-90
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: PRS McCarty
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: McCarty Standard Pickups
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Blues
Reason for pickup change: Humbuckers too 'mushy'

Perceived output level: Hotter than a single coil
Tone: Chimey, rude Mids
Sonic evaluation: PRS-->TS-9 (Analog Man)-->Bogner Shiva

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great pickup for blues, Hendrix, Arc Angels, Doyle Bramhall II

Comments: Playing 20 years. Never played P-90s before. Play a Strat w/ Texas Specials--love the tone, but wanted a non-trem. Picked up the McCarty b/c I love the Rosewood neck. I like the concept of Humbuckers (i.e. sustain, output, etc) , but never liked the mushy tone. These pickups for me are the Ultimate in the quest for 'The Tone'. No Hum. Incredible with the McCarty Rosewood. Would immediately replace.