GFS Pickups Authentic Premium Vintage Staggers

As described in previous reviews, matched set, cloth wires, stagered poles, etc. Non reverse wound middle pickup just like every Strat made for the first 10 years or more.

All positions in a part caster, Fender Alder body, Allparts maple neck, Fender controls, bridge, tuners.

Hotter than a GFS vintage set I have in another guitar, but not a real overwound rock type. A little more volume and bite than 50's vintage types, but still Strat tones. Sorry, not much detail, but these sound like I hoped they would. Great quack in 2 and 4 thanks to the non reverse wound middle. With the right amp and or effects I get those 60's blues and rock tones.

For the money these are a super deal, would be great at twice the price. Might not quite match the real top end stuff, depending on your taste, perceptions and how much you fool yourself into believing that because you paid $300 or more for a set of pickups they must be better. I've tried most of the big names over the years and these compare well against them, but as I said, tone is a subjective thing. In your axe, with your rig these might not do it for you, but if you want a good set of pickups at an insane price I don't know of a better deal.

I have the mim 60th anaversey strat, came with tex-mex pups.
Hated them!

So I rewired it too jimmy vaungh spec's and put these pups in!
The difference is like day and night.

warm,yet clear on the neck...even better on the next position

middle_wide open no tone control..( and they rock! )
4&5 you have to dial it in, I like being able to to cut some of the
highs on the brige pickup..

I can't say if you'll like them, I just know they smoke the tex-mex's that came with mine and there cheap! money wise!.

got mine for 59.00 and shipping.
hope they get to popular.

stratocaster

Alnico V, Single Coil, 42 guage formvar wire, cloth covered leads, non reverse-wound (no hum cancelling in pos. 2&4) 5.8k, 5.5k, 5.3k respectively.

Replaced stock pickups in a MIM '50s Reissue Stratocaster--all positions.
Changed pickups to see if it would make much of a difference. It did!

Output is fairly hot, hotter than the originals, closer to Texas specials I suppose.
Playing through a Fender Blues Jr. via a Boss CS3 compressor and a combination of Ibanez TS-808 and TS-9 tube screamers when I want some hair on my notes.

The tone is fairly bright and punch on these guys. I A/B'd this guitar with another strat loaded with Fender Custom Shop 57/62s and the output was greater but not nearly as smooth. Then I A/B'd it with another MIM strat loaded with stock vintage reissue pickups and the output was a bit hotter but the tone was much more "strat like." I'd have to say these pickups are sort of like a cross between the 59/62s and Texas Specials. They aren't ase punchy as the Texas Specials, and aren't as smooth as the 59/62, but they are a great in-between.

Overall I think these are excellent pickups. I just ordered a similar set with hand-beveled pole pieces from the Guitar Fetish website and can't wait to drop them in my other vintage reissue MIM Strat. I just love fuckin' with guitars! I have GFS pickups in three other guitars and I am convinced that they are the best deal in pickups around. Mind you, I said DEAL, because these pups (yes, a brilliant double entendre) are cheap. But for the price, they really can't be beat.