Thoughts on GFS pickups.
- Thread starter newking70
- Start date
piblock
New member
I have one in the neck of an Epiphone Special, it sounds really nice. Same with the Mean 90 in the bridge of a 339, it compliments the Dr Vintage neck really well. Nothing at all like the HD Z90 in my Hamer, but it's a great pickup and does what it does well.
Overall, I've had good experiences with GFS, but I've been careful to only order models I've read great things about. Some models get crappy reviews.
The Jimi strat pickup sounds good to me as well. But I'm not a Strat guy, and my frame of reference is smaller than it is for Gibson style PUs.
JB_From_Hell
Jomo's Nimions
I have a set of the Rails humbuckers. I like them. Had a PAF/hot PAF set in an Epiphone Les Paul, liked those too.
eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
+1 on the VEH bridge humbucker.
I liked the Surf 90s too, but they are their own thing - not a P90 variant despite the name.
I liked the Surf 90s too, but they are their own thing - not a P90 variant despite the name.
Erlend_G
New member
I might install the "surface mount" single coil; on the top of my Epi Koa Wildkat;
if I can find a way; that's either reversible- or 100% nice.
The only thing the guitar lacks, for me- is a middle pickup- (in my case, mounted right by the bridge PU), for series/parallell sounds.
.
in theory; it would work very well. Just need to test it out with a temporary mount; before drilling any holes. (also; I have a serious tendency, to procrastinate things like this; for ...decades.)
if I can find a way; that's either reversible- or 100% nice.
The only thing the guitar lacks, for me- is a middle pickup- (in my case, mounted right by the bridge PU), for series/parallell sounds.
.in theory; it would work very well. Just need to test it out with a temporary mount; before drilling any holes. (also; I have a serious tendency, to procrastinate things like this; for ...decades.)
Artie
Peaveyologist
I've wondered if the Mean 90 might be a better fit, (tonal wise), for my Iceman. The Dream 90's are nice, but maybe a bit too tame for the character of the guitar.
The Mean 90 has more output and definitely has more mids. But the highs don't sound as aggressive to me as the dream 90's, but I had all of my Mean 90's in LPs so that may have made a big difference. But the Mean 90 has much more mids if that's what you're looking for.
Agree. I have a pair of Surf 90's in a 12 string I made and they are certainly "surf" sounding but I don't really hear any P-90 in them.
I also like the "Bigmouth" which has a similar sound to the SD Quarter Pound. It sounds fantastic and splits extremely well to get a reasonably good Tele tone. And for a fuller more powerful pup the "Loudmouth" is a very good pup. I like that one either split or parallel more than the typical series humbucker mode...it's a bit too much output and strong mids for my taste. But split...it is a thing of beauty.
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
My coworker put the rails in his Schecter they sounded fantastic. This guy is an extreme metal guy and they got the job done nicely for him.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
The Bigmouth is a nearly perfect match for QPs in terms of tone and output. I put Alnico 8 and Alnico 4 in mine for a little extra balls.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
If you look at the bottom of the coils of a GFS humbucker you will see a ARTEC logo. Many of the cheaper replacements you find on ebay being marketed under store brands are ARTEC pickups and electronics. Some are just re-branded ARTEC models while others may be custom made to the customers specs. That being said I have also had great luck with ARTEC products and if you're willing to do a bit of digging into the pickup's specs you can save yourself some money by buying an ARTEC instead of one of it's re-branded equivalents.
