Phat Cat Jerry Donahue

[Birdland]

Hi Folks,

I am starting my third Warmoth Guitar.

This is not my first post in this Forum, I just can`t get a new Password since I have a new Email Adress.

The Question:
I will build a Thinline Telecaster w. Wenge Neck and Ebony Fretboard.
The Pickup choice: Seymour Duncan Phat Cat in neck position and SD Jerry Donahue in bridge position.

1. Does anybody have any experience with this combination?
2. What Pots should I install? 500k or 250k
3. Maybe anybody has a better suggestion. I live in Germany, so it is not so easy to buy any Pick ups here.
    It should be a Pick up from a bigger Brand like Di Marzio or Seymour Duncan etc.

Years ago I played a G&L ASAT Special Semi Hollow with MFD Pickups. This is the Sound I want to come close to.
So maybe somebody has some good starting points...

Thank you in advance and sorry for my Pre School English skills

 

[Great Ape]

I'd say your english is just fine, and, your idea of a 'fat Cat' & a 'Jerry Donahue' sounds like a can't lose combination.

 

[Birdland]

Thank you, I will give it a try.

Any Suggestions for Potentiometers? 500k or 250k? I am afraid that the Jerry Donahue would sound to harsh and trebly withe 500k.
Otherwise the phat Cat could sound to dull with 500k.

Maybe somebody has got a (link to a) Wiring schematic that includes the wiring with Capacitors.

 

[Cagey]

I always use 500K pots, regardless of the pickup design. If things turn out too bright, you can always adjust with the tone controls on the guitar, amp, mixer, etc. But, if you choke the signal at the source, there's no way to get those lost frequencies back.

 

[bbl4ck]

I too would say your English is just fine :icon_thumright: I guarantee your English is much better than my German, and I took one semester of German in high school.  A very difficult language to master...
Anyway, this is a Youtube link to a guitar just as you describe.  Sounds pretty good to me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_-y0_lprY

:rock-on:

 

[leo12.]

Birdland here are some pickup links in Germany.
http://www.rockinger.com/index.php?cat=WG09
http://www.thomann.de/de/seymour_duncan_aptl_3jd.htm
If you want to check anything Tele style join the Forum here they discuss G&L there too.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/index.php
Your English is Always going to be better than my German Welcome.

 

[Birdland]

Thank you guys!

Rockinger is a well known shop here in Germany. They produce some of the best Telly Pickups, called Rockinger Telly. In USA maybe unknown but very famous in Germany.

I think I will install 500k Pots and see what will happen.

 

[stubhead]

I have always used 500K pots since I began actually testing them all. 250K pots -from CTS, Alpha, those ones with the opaque center that Warmoth used - all run from 250K to 190K, and  500K pots run from 500 to 390. And then, there's an easy way to turn a 500 into a 300, which is to run a 750K resistor across the outside lugs. And, capacitors are additive in series, so if you start with a small one, in the hopes of getting some usable tones out of the bottom half of the travel of your tone pot (1 to 5), but you went too small: you can just add another cap in parallel to the first one.

So: use a 500 pot, but leave yourself room to lower it; use a small capacitor, but leave yourself room to add to it

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/potm.htm

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Jun/Improving_Tone_Control_Effectiveness.aspx

There is a common mental formation which says "Tone and volume controls are useless! Every time I touch one, my tone goes to crap!"

This may partly be the result of an ill-adjusted capacitor/potentiometer setup, but mostly it's a matter of being really, really stupid. OF COURSE if you set your amp to be ideal with your guitar at 10/10 volume/tone, anything you do to the knobs is bad; that's why smart people set up their amp to sound ideal with their guitar knobs at 7/7. Then the knobs do GOOD things, then the knobs become your friends. And we all need friends, don't we? ccasion14:

 

[-CB-]

Not with that combination .... but lots with the Phat Cat.  Phats are GREAT for holloow/semihollow bodies, which is what they were designed for.  In a solid.... they're a bit thing, but still fatter than any strat or tele single coil.  Not as fast as the Gibson P94.

I  love the Phats in my Gibby ES333

 

[alterbridgefan]

I have always used 500K pots since I began actually testing them all. 250K pots -from CTS, Alpha, those ones with the opaque center that Warmoth used - all run from 250K to 190K, and  500K pots run from 500 to 390. And then, there's an easy way to turn a 500 into a 300, which is to run a 750K resistor across the outside lugs. And, capacitors are additive in series, so if you start with a small one, in the hopes of getting some usable tones out of the bottom half of the travel of your tone pot (1 to 5), but you went too small: you can just add another cap in parallel to the first one.

So: use a 500 pot, but leave yourself room to lower it; use a small capacitor, but leave yourself room to add to it

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/potm.htm

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Jun/Improving_Tone_Control_Effectiveness.aspx

There is a common mental formation which says "Tone and volume controls are useless! Every time I touch one, my tone goes to crap!"

This may partly be the result of an ill-adjusted capacitor/potentiometer setup, but mostly it's a matter of being really, really stupid. OF COURSE if you set your amp to be ideal with your guitar at 10/10 volume/tone, anything you do to the knobs is bad; that's why smart people set up their amp to sound ideal with their guitar knobs at 7/7. Then the knobs do GOOD things, then the knobs become your friends. And we all need friends, don't we? ccasion14:

Interesting tips! thanks, I've been a stupid person.

 

[mwbjr13]

If you like the G&L try Rio Grandes.

http://riograndepickups.com/scart/Categories.asp?productname=FOR%20ASAT

 

[JustinL]

I have experience with the Phat Cat's as they are my number 1 go to pickup.

For the neck pickup you're definitely going to want 500k pots with 0.22uf capacitors. The reason for using 500k pots is because the output of the Phat Cat neck pickup (DC resistance 7.98K ohm) is much like vintage PAF 'buckers so the 500's are the best for this in my opinion.

Hope this helps!  ccasion14: