Let's Talk About GFS Pickups - An Intro

There are lots of great guitar pickups out there. Some are vintage (even from some pretty unusual cheap old guitars), some are modern.

I could list about a page of great pickup makers/sellers/rewinders, but instead, I just want to focus on one at a time.

If you want consistently-made, excellent sounding moderately low priced pickups, one great choice is GFS. The folks at http://guitarfetish.com (please tell them Jim Pearson sent you there...) (opens a new window) make a wide variety of pickups. These include humbucker-sized pickups, 'tron style pickups, P90s, "P180s", Minis, singles, teles, lipsticks and more.

Here's one of my Telecaster setups with a GFS Mini (ceramic) in the neck position:

This mini turned out to be the perfect combination for some Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups to make some downright dirty-scoundrel bluesy rock sounds. When I sold this custom, it was gone in one day. The GFS was the deal-maker.

Each and every GFS pickup I've ever used has been comparable to or better than many of the much more expensive brand name pickups I've used. I'd place GFS as a boutique pickup with some interesting variants from mild to very hot.

I've used GFSs in dozens of guitars, and have always been very satisfied. They definitely hold their own against the big boys, and the GFS sound is always a welcome alternative to the same old-same old stuff you find in guitars these days. I have truly enjoyed making many recordings with their pickups. I'll (hopefully) get the time to write up a mod that uses one of my GFSs.