Fralin/Duncan P90's

DeadAirMD

DeadAirMD

Well-known member
Looking to pick up a P90 set, of the Humbucker size variety. Anyone have any experience with Duncan's Phat Cat P90's? Also very curious about Fralin's pickups, in particular the Alnico Noiseless P90 Humbucker.

I've used quite a few Duncan pickups but never anything from Fralin, only heard great things. I'd basically save $150 going with Duncan, but the Fralin's have majorly peaked my curiosity.

Just looking for any experience or recommendations. They would be going in a PRS SE Custom 24-08.
 
I've installed phat cats in a friend's Hamer Echotone and I thought they sounded great. No experience with the Fralin. They only other humbucker sized p90 I've used is the railhammer Billy Corgan and I was not impressed
 
I almost went the route of getting HB-sized P90s (and did a lot of research)--I ended up getting a guitar with real P90s instead.

But from my research I learned that, while the Phat Cats sound excellent, they aren't really close to P90s. If you're looking for pleasing sounding pickups you'll be happy, but if you're looking for the raunch of a real P90 you might be disappointed.

The ones I almost pulled the trigger on were BG Pickups (Most authentic humbucker sized P90 | BG Pups Custom Guitar Pickups (bgpickups.net)). Rave reviews all around.

And the cheap ones from guitarfetish are also highly acclaimed, moreso than many of the boutique offerings.
 
spi said:
… from my research I learned that, while the Phat Cats sound excellent, they aren't really close to P90s. If you're looking for pleasing sounding pickups you'll be happy, but if you're looking for the raunch of a real P90 you might be disappointed.
Click to expand...
this is a really good point. It might be worth sharing what you’re looking for out of a p90 in particular.

I tried one of the guitarfetish p90s in the neck of my tele and thought it sounded really nice. Paired well with a quarter pounder bridge for a powerful and surprisingly low-noise single coil setup. The quarter pounder is kinda like the phat cats in the sense that it sounds pretty dang good to my ears but definitely does not sound like a “real” tele bridge pickup.

I have a set of fralin p92’s in another guitar and think they’re really excellent and super versatile. And silent, which helps with pedal testing since I don’t own any humbuckers. I learned about the p92s from a guy who does session work and swears by them as a super adaptable setup. To my ears, they sound somewhere between a normal p90 but with a cupful of jazzmaster-esque chime and clarity. I *think* fralin does something similar in a humbucker size. That might not be what you’re looking for though!

One nice thing about fralin is you can usually ask for your set to be over- or under-wound to tweak the sound you’re looking for.
 
I've tried the Fralin humbucker-sized P90s in a 335 and they sounded very good indeed. Not exactly like a regular P90 but very usable. I have also tried his hum-cancelling P92s and nah, not so good. I mean they sound good but not in a P90 way. To me they sound way more like a Fender pickup. That might work perfectly for you, but the sound I get from the P90s in my ES-225 and Casino are hard to beat. I've also tried Mojotone's noiseless P90s in my 225 and they were just awful.

A great P90 has a bright, clear tone with plenty of HB-style meatiness. They're kind of a best of both worlds sound, except that they hum. And every time I've tried a P90 style pickup which is hum-cancelling it loses the sparkle and liveliness which makes P90s so much fun.

One I haven't tried is the Kinman P90. I love his Strat style Woodstocks. But his pickups are so spendy that I am unwilling to try his P90s in case they don't cut it. His Strat pickups - at least those I have tried - have most of the Stratiness I could want and while the highs aren't exactly the same as a good set of regular Strat pickups they're close enough for me. They're very, very good.

My all-time favourite P90s are the stock pickups in my ES-225 from Gibson. Slightly underwound, they have all the grunt and punch you could want with a beautiful clarity. That clarity means that with some dirt they can go from sweet and delicate to more brutal than the average PAF. Amazing pickups. And the guitar is pretty good too!
 
The phat cats stray a bit away from the P90 way. They employ Alnico 2 magnets and have a much higher inductance with their big cover. They are great to tame down a brighter guitar and have less attack. I have only one neck model I liked it far better in the bridge position of a strat than in the neck of a Gibson Les Paul. I you ask me I'd guess they do a better job in a ES guitar than in a solid body.
 
I have and have had quite a few P-90s

I think the main thing is deciding how much midrange you want.

I tend to prefer the more open with less midrange variety.

The Lollars I have in a Koll are amazing. Clear, with some weight.

I have some Fralins in a Novo Serus J. They are super clear, but the guitar itself sounds Fendery. I can still wack up the gain and get a Gibsonish sound though. You can call Lindy Fralin on the phone and tell him what you are after, he’ll personally get you there and if you don’t like it, he’ll take it back, so that’s hard to beat.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I think Phat Cats are one of the better pickups going. Very versatile. They sound bright enough to me, I didn’t find they toned down any brightness in my guitars. I’ve had them in some Flying Vs and played them a lot as my main guitars. They are also out there used for not much $$$. I stand by them

Have fun

Hope you find the one that works for you
 
Last edited:
I've got some Phat Cats coming tomorrow that I'll install this weekend. Bought them used and saved a TON of money on them, it was a steal. So I'll try em out and see how they go.

Been in contact with Fralin and keeping them as a strong next option if I don't like the Cats.

I greatly appreciate all of the feedback, everything was exactly what I was looking for. Will steer away from hum-cancelling as much as possible, due to recommendations here. Also learned that my preference also leans more towards underwound, so this was all very helpful. Love this place!
 
DeadAirMD said:
I've got some Phat Cats coming tomorrow that I'll install this weekend. Bought them used and saved a TON of money on them, it was a steal. So I'll try em out and see how they go.

Been in contact with Fralin and keeping them as a strong next option if I don't like the Cats.

I greatly appreciate all of the feedback, everything was exactly what I was looking for. Will steer away from hum-cancelling as much as possible, due to recommendations here. Also learned that my preference also leans more towards underwound, so this was all very helpful. Love this place!
Click to expand...
Curious to see how they work out for you. I’ve managed surfy tones all the way to some convincing British Steel Priest tones with Phat Cats, and if you ever get a chance to play them through and old Hiwatt DR103 loud, DO IT!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top