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Seymour Duncan SPH90 Phat Cat P90 Single-Coil Pickup

SPH90-1 Real-deal single-coil P-90 sound in a direct replacement for humbucker-equipped guitars. Phat Cats provide a great combination of output and high-end response. The tone is big, fat, and punchy with enhanced upper-mids for extra "cut." When used together, both pickups are hum-canceling. Learn More...

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Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Individual User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10

Feature:
There aren't that many things to muck around with in a pickup.

Quality:
It seems to be pretty amazing. I haven't had any problems. I have a neck and a bridge pick-up and they are both pretty incredible.

Value:
It's a little pricey for a single coil but given that it can go in a humbucker spot and it is way cheaper than Gibson's version, it's pretty good value.

Desirability:
Ok, it is a pick-up. However, if you want that amazing P-90 tone and you don't want to buy a brand new guitar, get this. I really wanted that tone.

Sound:
This is a very nice pickup. I knew the P-90 sound would be what I was looking for and it was. It just seems to fall in that happy middle ground between normal single coil and humbucker. I have replaced to high output humbuckers on my vintage Yamaha SBG-500 with these babes and there are so many cool combinations. The bridge is just the jazziest thing ever. The bridge pick-up is just incredible and right in the middle is the no hum zone, which leads me onto why I rated it so. I gave it a 9 because of the hum which in all honesty isn't that bad. I think it would be pretty sweet if they could make this in a stack pickup and still maintain it's tone...

Ease of Use:
It's a pickup so it's pretty easy. Don't try and put it in yourself unless you kind of have an idea of what you are doing or your local music store will laugh at you, I know from experience.

Support:
I dunno what the support is ike but let's not ruin it's rating because of that.

Overall:
Besides spending a total of $160 on the guitar, which is something you have to come to terms with when you own such an investment, and the problem all single coils have with noise, it's an amazing product. There is really nothing to validly complain about, I knew about the price and the hum going into this. It's just what you need for that P-90 sound. I think I am going to get a cheap guitar for the road and I am going between getting a single pick-up Les Paul and switching one of these in or just getting the double pick-up one. The fact that these are really the way to go is making this decision quite the task.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Feature:
No "I heart p-90s" stickers. No catalog of outfits to dress them up in. SD really fell down on the job here.

Quality:
Nothing seems amiss, and once installedm, it's hard for anything to really go wrong with a pickup.

Value:
Sounds great, and fits in where a humbucker would go. For a Gibson P-90 you'd pay more upfront, and then have to take a router to the top of your guitar.

Desirability:
Looks like a normal shiny humbucker... but wait... the posts are running down the middle... is that a giant single coil??? Be still my heart. (Sad truth is that I'm enough of a guitar geek that the above was not meant as sarcasm)

Sound:
If you love that P-90 sound, you won't be disappointed. Crank them up and you get one of the all time great rock 'n' roll sounds. Huge, thick, sloppy notes with crazy amounts of tone. Not the right pickups for your machine gun shredding (all that pick work will be lost) but the best pickups in the world for big nast riffs and power-chords. HIGHLY recommended for punk guitarists.

Support:
Haven't dealt with them, but they have a pretty good website.

Overall:
I play a bunch of different guitars. But this will be my primary one for some time to come.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Feature:
Yup, that's right, zero accessories. No action figures, no comic book wrapping material, no glow in the dark anything. About the only thing it did come with are my favorite pickups in the world. There I said it.

Quality:
a little scratch heavy, but great if you're into that vintage look. But really folks, don't expect to go after the screws on top, slide off and scrape your screwdriver accross the cover and not leave a scratch. If only someone had warned me.

Value:
Look around and find them cheap. It's not like they're handwound gifts from god here, just lovely little assembly line beauties that will revive your love of your humbucker guitar if you, like myself, find yourself getting tired of all that extra push.

Desirability:
Ok, so I play an epiphone les paul classic quilt top in Orange. When I first got it, I liked the way the neck felt, I liked it's weight, (read very heavy) and I liked the way it sat on my body, hated the electronics, hated the open coil humbuckers. So I get it on the cheap, cause you can do that with an epiphone. Replace the electronics, slap a Bigsby B12 on there, and then as the piece of resistance (Say that last part in french if you like) put these pickups in my guitar. I went through three pairs of pants on the spot. Sex appeal? Oh YEAH!

Sound:
Great Biting Tone, Bluesy if you want it to be, but also really fun, sort of twank available to you. A Bit better on the high end than a humbucker, not quite as nasal as a single coil sounds to me. Note again I said twank, not quack. Have mine in a les paul so that will color the sound as well. but overall very balanced with great attack defintion. Can sometimes get a bit fuzzy in chords if you're on a dirty setting of your amp, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Support:
Could go either way, havn't really needed any.

Overall:
For what they are, they surely kick ass. I'd also suggest looking into the Rio Grande Bastard and Fat Bastard, havn't tried them myself, but I'd like to. Don't expect a humbucker, don't expect a single coil. Expect a really nice loively looking, P90 sound in a drop in replacement for your humbucker.

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