Phat Cats vs SH-4 JB

[df]

I play stuff from Green Day, No Use For a Name and NOFX...I plan on changing the my Epi LP's pickup but am stuck between the 2. I've got a JB in my strat, so I roughly get the idea of the sound I'll get when I put it in my LP. But I'm not sure how the Phat Cat will sound...

So...advice?

 

[subversion]

i own both JB & Phat Cat...

the PC is a single coil unit, expect hum @ high gain settings. it sounds nothing like a JB, let a lone a typical humbucker. nevertheless, if you like lots of single coil snap, the PC has potent fat tones on board 8)

 

[df]

Hmm...the Phat Cat is sort of a middle of a humbucker and a single sound...am I right to say that?

 

[jony]

Yea... Its a p90. Technically its a single coil. But a phat sweet one.

 

[subversion]

Hmm...the Phat Cat is sort of a middle of a humbucker and a single sound...am I right to say that?

many people termed it so because the tone it generates simply falls between a single coil & humbucker voicing. however, the Phat Cat has more single coil inclinations.

 

[df]

But does it sound as weak as a single coil?

 

[subversion]

many single coil units are 'weak' because they are conceived to be so. when these pickups were first made, they were meant to excel in clean settings. subsequently, when overdrive was discovered, many manufacturers raise the pickup's output to be more forthcoming to drive settings- only to induce more hum...

the PC isn't a high output unit. if you wish for more output, Duncan's Hot P-90 will address this need. however, the latter model is a p-90 pickup by make, it won't fit into a humbucking cavity (but the PC will).

 

[df]

Bummer...so there's no high output humbucking P-90?

 

[subversion]

the reason why there aren't too many humbucking p-90s around is because, p-90s are not meant to be humbucking. even Duncan's stacked P-90 (STK-P1) has more single coil characteristic than a humbucker. in fact, the only humbucking feature it emulates is the noise reduction characteristic.

Duncan's PC/ Stack P-90 are both moderate output (not low), plenty of kick on board. if you equate better drive with higher pickup output- that's not quite the formula.

 

[df]

Duncan's PC/ Stack P-90 are both moderate output (not low), plenty of kick on board. if you equate better drive with higher pickup output- that's not quite the formula.

So basically, the PC has a output which is in between one of a humbucker and one of a single coil?

 

[subversion]

not quite. there are humbuckers with lower output than a single coil.

the output specification isn't dictated by the nature of the pickup, it's more of what the manufacturer has to offer to achieve their recommended tone.

 

[df]

Oooook...maybe that wasn't the direction I was looking for, lol...I wanted to ask if the PC's output is that in the middle of a JB and a, say...stock single coil?

 

[subversion]

in that case, the PC has more ouput than a single coil but nowhere near a JB. in fact, it's not even an in-between in terms of output comparisons.

 

[df]

Dang...now I'm still stuck between the 2...though I'm leaning more towards the JB now...

 

[jony]

You can always buy the phat cat and swap where they are placed.

Try a phat cat in a strat... you may be surprised.

 

[subversion]

i have plans to have a single PC in a strat- that's about it, just one pickup in a guitar...