GFS Pickups "Jimi" Reverse Stagger Alnico Premium Pickup Set

Single coils wound to vintage like specs. Bridge-6.5k, Middle-6k, Neck 5.5k.

I bought an '86 Squier strat (MIJ) a few years ago and I am going to paint it in nitro as soon as I pick a color. The strat came with ceramic bar pickups, which they were not the worse I ever heard; but fairly hot. I replaced all the electronics while I was at it.

The output is a lot less than the ceramics they replaced, but that is what I wanted. They respond more to the picking attach and have an overall clarity to them, even with a pedal on. I played them through an Epi valve junior, only working amp at the moment; but is fairly decent at testing things through with only a volume knob.

The neck, always my favorite, in this set sounds much more like it in-between the usual neck and middle sound. It does not get overly bassy like some tend to do. It really responds to pick attack.

The middle is where this set shines, wish it were not RWRP (but I???m not a fan, messes up the in-between sounds). The middle can go from nice and clean to really pushing the amp, but always keeps this warm sparkle to it, never harsh.

I???ll be honest I hardly ever use the bridge ever and meant to put it on the middle pickup control, but I forgot to (will fix it when I paint the guitar though). However, for early 60???s song, I even find this useable; it really works well to cut through another guitar and bass. Very useable.

The neck/middle was okay, got really bassy for my taste. The middle/bridge helped to tame the highs of the bridge, but add a little more mids; very useable.

These were cheap enough, compared to most pickups, that they are easily replaceable. I would buy them again for sure if the middle were not RWRP.

I've been playing for almost ten years, took me 6-7 years to appreciate teles and strat; jonsing for a jazzmaster now.

I did a lot of research before buying this and the info was very limited, but I'm glad I did. Worth every penny. Definitely would recommend these to those on a budget and others who wanted some nice vintage wound pickups for their strats. Maybe part of the sound of this set is the reverse stagger, maybe not; but they sound so nice and warm.

Single coil set of three, bridge 6.45K/mid 6.0 K/
neck 5.5K. All actual impedances written on back of pickup with paint pen (nice custom personalized touch)

What model guitar or bass did you install this in?: Installed in a new Fender MIM Strat (SSS to HSS conversion)

What position is it in? Neck and Middle positions only

What pickups are you replacing? Factory MIM Pickups

Other pickups installed on the instrument? GFS VEH in Bridge position

Any artists using this pickups? None that I'm aware of... Too bad for them...

Reason for changing the pickups? Factory pickups were too bright, harsh, & thin

What's the output level like? The ouput level is very vintage, maybe slightly hotter.

What amps and effects are you using it with? I play with a number of Amps but the main systems are JCM800 (2204) w/ Marshall 1960A Cab, Fender Twin Reverb, as well as Gutar Rig 3 for those quick setups.

Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced? The tone is very balanced with a slight middle emphasis. Sounds phenomenal through the JCM800 in particular.

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match? I play a wide variety of music, from Country/Blues, Comtemporary Christian, through good old Classic Rock. These pickups are very versatile and are quite adaptable to many styles of music based upon the Guitarists picking style, you hit 'em hard and they quack a bit, just like good old fashioned factory Fenders. You hit 'em light and they have that "bell" like quality that rings through. For what I play, these are the perfect fit and was exactly what I was looking for without breaking the bank. I combined this set with the GFS VEH humbucker in the bridge position, wired it in the "Lone Star" fashion and have exactly what I was looking for. I took a chance, and came up Aces... Why the "9"... Nothing is a "10" but for what I was looking for, this is about as close as I could get, and for only $60 for the set, I could still afford to take the family out for dinner...

If it was destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else? I would definately replace the entire guitar, exactly the same way. This is the tone that I've been looking for, for quite a long time.

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own? I've been playing for the better part of 23 years. I own 6 guitars (This one, 1999 Fender Telecaster MIM, an Early 90's BC Rich Warlock, Xaviere Thinline LP XV-700 (a very good guitar for the price), a self built PRS copy, and a Player 12 string acoustic.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one? I did compare it to other products. As I'm a very avid DIY'er I compared the design components of the pickup with the advertised description and just couldn't bring myself to spend the almost $200 for a set from one of the majors that would do the what I was looking for. These sounded right by the description compared to the design components as well as what I was looking for, so I took a chance and won...

Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for <b>that</b> sound? This guitar is now done. It's setup exactly the way I want it, the right tone, action, feel, everything. I look forward to playing it every day... I never said that about a guitar before...

Single coil set of three, bridge 6.45K/mid 6.0 K/
neck 5.5K.

Installed in a 2007 MIM Fender "Fat Strat". Replaced stock pickups and pickguard.(went from HSS to SSS)

Pretty mild output-wise. The bridge is typically trebly like most Strats but it isn't harsh and has respectable lows. The middle and neck positions are where these shine IMO, especially the neck and neck/middle combo(position 4). The sound is very full and clear, it really does sound "bell like" when playing up the neck with the the neck pickup. The bottom end is more pronounced than the stock pups, but very tight. The in between sounds at positions 2 and 4 are just about perfect to my ears. The set is not hum cancelling in those positions but you gotta pay to play sometimes.

These are more to the "vintage" end of the spectrum tone wise and definitely not a "hot" set of pickups.

I was looking for a set that would give me that 60's cleanish Strat vibe, and these really nail that sound. I wasn't going to drop $120-200 set of pups into a $300 MIM Strat and I love what I got for my 60 bucks.