GFS Pickups Alnico Woodtone Humbucker

This is a sharp-looking mahoghany topped humbucker--mine is for the bridge position. It's passive, and delivers an overwound vintage sound, though I'm unsure of exact impedance value. It matches really well with the 5.5k lil' puncher cool vintage pickup I have at the neck, if that helps. So I guess it's around 6.5 or 7 K (??). It has 4 conductor wires for versatile installation options.

I installed this in an ebay-bought, solidbody, through-neck, tele-style body made by Antoniotsai. The body looks badass, and the mahoghany top on this humbucker matches suberbly with the body woods. I installed the woodtone in the neck position and use a push-pull 500K pot for optional coil tap. I was first interested in the pickup for aesthetic reasons, but only after I read so many rave reviews for GFS pickups did I really set my sights on it as the neck pickup my project needed.

The output is fat and warm, yet also chimey with a nice, thick twang when only it is being used. I'd say the output is a good bit more than your average replacement/project humbucker in thias price range--thething only cost $40. Sonically, it's a nice change from my my Strat, which is armed with Rio Grande Tallboys (SSS)--the neck pickup on that has nice twang, but lacks that humbucker beef. Here, with the woodtone, you get that nice, vintage tone, and it saturates nicely as you crank up the gain. It's really wonderful, though, played clean, with a tad of a clip when you dig in. The bottom end can be nice and tight or boomy depending on the height. And with an overdrive pedal the top end can get pretty damn pericing at high volume, but as with any nice pickup, this can be contolled. A player wants the option to go the the extreme ends of the sonic spectrum; that means the pickup has good range. It's in the setup and your picking attack that you control the beast, so to speak. Anyway, I feel the pickup is versatile and, overall, is very warm. It can doo rock , country, jazz, and it can handle high gain too, so it'll work for most folks. In the second position (with my lil' puncher neck pickup) the woodtone blends well and adds a cool 335-type barky-ness. I've only played this guitar at home four or five times and for two band practices, so I'm still getting used to it, but I have to say, as a dude who usually plays a strat, I've found myself relying on the bridge pickup much more than I ever have. Sometimes I'm very surprised to find that my selector switch is all the way back, and that the wonderful, thick sound I've got poing on is from my neck pickup alone. It'll respond for rhythm and leads without flicking to andother pickup selection, wich I always dig. And the thing looks sweet as hell, too. The chrome is nice and bright, and while the mahoghany top looks a tad dry up close, from a couple feet away it looks as good as any guitar wood. I'm very happy with this thing.

Pricewise, you can't beat it. It's merely the pessimist in me keeping me from clicking on those 10s. Jay, the guys who runs GFS was also very helpful. If you are considering his products, he will respond to your emails--no matter how green you are.