GFS Pickups Crunchy PAF

GFS crunchy PAF NECK.....

gibson SG....

Unbelievable, the perfect neck pickup.....

Best neck pickup I'v heard in my 35 years of playing.....

Passive humbucker. Chrome cover. 5 wires.

I put this pickup in the bridge position of my Gibson SG Elite just to give it a test drive.

This review will be short. Very low output and no punch. This pickup is so dull and weak compared to a Gibson 490T or a DiMarzio Virtual PAF. I can't call this a PAF because it's too cheap-sounding.

!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!!

This is the follow-up to my previous review which should be completely ignored. I don't know what exactly went wrong the first time I installed this pickup, but I reinstalled it in the same guitar and it sounds great ! I was about to sell it until I got a reaction on my first review from Greg Lewis who's working as a luthier in Wales. He encouraged me to give the crunchy PAF another try because he's been using these for years and won't ever buy expensive pickups again. So I took the word from a pro and reinstalled the pickup double-checking everything this time and yes ... he was right !
This pickup is cheap but sounds like the best out there. It's warm, punchy and articulate like a PAF should be.
Once again, forget about my previous review. It was based on a technical error and I apologize for me giving it bad publicity.

These pickups are cheap and sound cheap. If you're used to Duncans, DiMarzios or Gibsons these GFS-pickups won't be good enough. Pickups must be touch-sensitive, punchy and dynamic. I'd rather by a second-hand big brand pickup than another new GFS pickup that's for sure !
I couldn't even recommend these pickups to debutants.

GFS Crunchy Pat, Alnico V, GOLD Covered, Neck humbucker. These come from GFS with 4-leads for Single-coil options.

I used the Crunchy Pat in my GIBSON Les-Paul. I own THREE Les-Pauls. Two of them have BB-Pro's which came stock from Gibson. I absolutly LOVE the neck BB-Pro. In the bridge position they are OK. So this LP has the 490/498 Gibson set. And while IMO the bridge 498 sounds great, I just think the neck is way to Muddy for me. So I bought the Cruncy Pat for the Neck position.

After removing the 490 in my Les-Paul and soldering in the Crunchy Pat I finally had a shot to Jam with the Les-Paul tonight.

The neck version of this Crunchy Pat is AWESOME, While its not EXACTLY like a BB-Pro. Its close! It has a bigger Bass response. The pick-up is Clear, Clean, Raw and Edgy. Its output is all of 10K and fit GREAT with the Gibson bridge 498. The set sounds like they were made for each other much moe than the 490 did.

Many players like the Alnico II magnets for their humbuckers and rightfully so, that is what the Great ones of the late 50's were by Gibson. While I could go Alnico II in the bridge I find that the Alnico V is my favorite for the neck position.

This Les-Paul will NOW get a LOT of use due mainly to the GFS neck Crunchy Pat. I have had a difficult time over the years finding Neck humbuckers I am totally happy with. GFS has now given me THREE different neck humbuckers I absoluty LOVE in the Crunchy Pat, Fat Paf, and the Dream 180. The Crunchy Paf stands out from the others due to its output. At 10K its no whimp, yet it does retain so much Tone for the output. The Clearness of this pick-up is immediatly noticed. The second thing I noticed was the Bass response on it, Next I found the pick-up almost asking to played hard with it Edgy, Raw Crisp Tone! Nice job again JAY!

Pick-Up is a 10, no doubt about it. And its not a 10 because its a great pick-up for the price! Regardless of what I could, would or did spend for the pick-up, I would have paid $100, bucks for this pup or more for this EXACT Tone! I have a good idea now of what GFS's pick-ups will sound like from reading his sight info and from owning many of his pick-ups already. So I have found this pick-up to be everything it was desribed to be. Bpttom line is I want a Clean, Clear pick-up in the neck of ALL my guitars. So Gibsons 57 classic and 490 have never impressed me.

THis Crunchy Pat has given me another Tool to use now in my Musical journey. The Studio would just have not been played with the 490 ib the neck. And its a SHAME. While I LOVE my Vintage Mahogany LP, and my Standard LP. This Studio just has the best feel with the combination of a FAT neck and a weight of 8LBs on the nose. And it just Rings out acoutically.

I found it very disappointing that I enjoyed playing a $159.00 dollar Xaviere electric OVER my Les-Paul Gibby? Regarless HOW much a guitar cost or how well its built? If it has a Neck pick-up I don't care for, I will not play it!

When I dropped the Crunchy Paf in the STUDIO the guitar went from a under the bed Dust Collector to a Spot in the Line-Up of electrics I CONSTANTLY USE. And really a lot of this is DUE TO THE GFS Crunchy Pat! This was a great guitar before the GFS pup, but a great guitar not being used! GFS has once again done its MAGIC with this pick-up!

BTW I can't speak on the bridge version cause I haven't played it as of yet. But after hearing the neck? I might try a bridge version in my other LP to go along with the neck BB-Pro. That combo most likely will work great also?

Humbucker, slightly hotter than a gibson paf but very close in overall tone.

Bought as a pair for an aria les paul, also used as neck and bridge pair on a through neck squire stagemaster. considerably better than stock pickups in both cases, excellent individual string definition, the 10k neck pickup is perfect, one of the best ive ever used, a very considerable bargain.

i would put these in any copy/epiphone les paul as the best value upgrade you could get. 9.5 for the neck pickup, 8 for the bridge. TWELVE for value.

Been playing 34 years, play clapton/gilmore/schenker/gary moore style these are an unmissable bargain. no point spending any more on a neck humbucker, its perfect. the bridge could do with just a tad more edge but i`m comparing it with $100+ pickups now, for the money its the biggest no-brainer in music.

14K Chrome covered humbucker

Squier '51 Bridge

Wanted to tame the high end a bit and get a little more output

It's rated at 14, but it doesnt sound quite that hot. The stock pickup in the '51 is rated at 10.5, and this doesn't sound much hotter than that, maybe a tad hotter.

It's a very classic sounding pickup, it can pretty much handle any classic rock/blues with ease but not suitable for very heavy, high gain type of stuff, it's just a bit too tame.

It crunches very nicely, and has good lows and highs, not a real prounounced middle, this thing is really not about the mids IMO.

It took me a day to really figure out what this pickup was all about, it was quite different from what I was expecting. I thought it would lean toward more of a "distortion" type of pickup due to its fairly high output, but it sounds more like a beefy PAF, which it not a bad thing because I like that too.

It's surprisingly great for blues on the '51, it really fattens up the tone nicely with just enough high end bite and nice crunch and low end.

If this pickup had a bit more output it would be great, although it's definitely a keeper anyway. It's very versatile and pleasing, but it is not "high gain madness" if that is what you are looking for.

I've got a GFS Loudmouth and that is significantly hotter, although not necessarily better, it's all what you are looking for. The Loudmouth does not crunch as well and is not as good for blues, but is much better in "split" mode. The split mode on the Crunchy is very tame, but then again lets be honest were probably not really buying this pickup for the split mode, are we!

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 14+ k

Model of guitar or bass: Jay Turser JT-200 Serpent
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: stock neck pickup
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): hard rock and heavy metal
Reason for pickup change: stock pickup was muddy and i wanted to try a GFS

Perceived output level: clear and crisp
Tone: balanced
Sonic evaluation: JT-200 Serpent, line 6 POD 2.0, Marshall MG50 DMX

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: this pickup is not as hot as my seymour duncan JB, but it is more balanced. it's very articulate and has just enough punch. if you play rythm in your band this is a great pickup. a lead player might want something a little hotter. i got this one for $14.50 US at auction... at that price i'd buy a box full of them

Pickup features: bridge humbucker, passive, gold cover, 4-conductor
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Burny Les Paul Custom (Randy Rhoads model)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB
Other pickups on guitar: GFS Dream 180 neck (replaced Duncan '59)
Artists using this pickup: no idea
You musical style(s): rock, old school metal (heavy/speed/thrash), as well as funk, blues, disco and surf
Reason for pickup change: To try it out, see if the GFS hype was true and also because the JB needed a replacement anyway (wanted gold covers, but the JB had nickel cover). I like the JB in the bridge, don't get me wrong, I just seized this opportunity.

Perceived output level: a slightly bit more than the original Burny's VH-1 PAF copies, but less hot than the Duncan JB.
Tone: balanced, clear, less muddy in the low-end than the Duncan JB was.
Sonic evaluation: When I use my gain cascading (Boss BD-2 into H&K Tubefactor) for a Gary Moore-ish level of high-gainness, the Duncan JB sounded a bit too flabby in the low-end. This GFS Crunchy PAF definitely seems to handle that better. Pinch harmonics are still great (although the JB almost put me in Zakk Wylde mode!).
So it's right now in my Burny LP Custom (thick maple top, mahogany body, blabla, your basic Gibson LPC specs here, apart from the ebony fretboard, it's rosewood). When practicing, I use a Roland GC405 amp and when deafening, I use an Engl Savage 60 head + Engl 2x12 V30 cab.
It sounds a hint better than the JB when used clean too. Less pushed. But when split, it really gets thin (like the splitted sound was intended to get a '54 Strat sound from a thick LP). I like it, when parallel with the neck humbucker in HB mode though, but the JB's split sound was a pinch more pleasing.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play (hard) rock and heavy metal with this guitar mainly. I have a neck Crunchy PAF on the way, so only then I'll know whether it's unsuitable or not for the neck.

Comments: I'd definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to upgrade cheaper guitars, or someone who wants to tighten/clear their Les Paul up.
And I'm planning to put either these or the Vintage '59 ones in a future Les Paul (copy) I'm gonna buy someday.
I've been playing for 12 years, got some totally different guitars, and recently I've begun to upgrade the pickups (and sometimes other electronics) on several of my guitars.
I love how this Crunchy PAF stays pretty true to the original PAF sound, while slightly enhancing it.
There's nothing that I don't like about it, BUT... I can imagine some people finding the split-sound too thin. I slightly prefer the JB's split sound to it.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: [supposedly] 15k

Model of guitar or bass: ESP Ltd. M-50 Satin
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock ESP LH-200
Other pickups on guitar: WAS another LH-200, NOW is a GFS 'Hot' Nashville Retrotron
Artists using this pickup: Who knows? Who cares? These babies ROCK.
You musical style(s): Everything from hip-hop to hair metal, Obie Trice to Obituary, delta blues to death metal, polka to... well, you get the idea.
Reason for pickup change: The ESP stock pickups were getting 'old', and I wanted something new, some far from the stock humbucker sound. I was getting tired of playing n? metal like all the other kids, and I wanted something vintage-ey and twangy. I didn't care if I wouldn't be able to pull off pinch harmonics - I wanted REAL tone.

Perceived output level: This puppy isn't HAWTHAWTHAWT; it's more TONETONETONE. The guy that makes these things knows what he's doing - however, it's no life-changing tone machine, no. What it IS, however, is a massive, positive leap from the b/s pickups made in China. My old ones had some push, but this thing really shoves - not like an active EMG, but like a '59 for the bridge [hence the zebra config, perhaps?]. I adjusted the polepieces, and THEN I noticed just how articulate it could be. I love it. Each time I readjust the polepieces, the output changes, AS IT SHOULD. More than decent output - even for some Fear Factory nuts out there [one right here].
Tone: With the polepieces at zero level, it seems to me that the treble is at around 10, mids at 7, and bass at around 9. Clean. Somewhat twangy, depending on how you adjust the polepieces... THAT'S THE THING.
Sonic evaluation: Sadly, its true tone is severly digitalized and desensitized by my running it through a DigiTech RP200 right into a Crate GT212 - two heaping spoonfuls of digishit. But it sounds really good, somehow, thus making me wonder just how good it would sound through analog pedals into a tube amp?... Orgasmic? Maybe.
NOTE: The harmonics sound really weird coming from this. I may be deaf due to my usage of shit pickups and digital dungheaps for so long, but hey - make do with what you've got, man. Just don't expect to be playin' Pantera straight outta the box - know what I mean?

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Cat Stevens to Six Feet Under. No high-gain territory here - just tone. This pickup would be unsuitable in the unopened-and-still-in-the-box position.

Comments: If this thing were lost, destroyed, or stolen, I would probably get a different GFS pickup, just to see what the others are like. GFS puts out some really nice tonal pickups, and for a guy who's known only musical lies [digital processors] his entire musical experience thus far, these are the rays of shining hope he has prayed for. These babies shine when running through digital thingamajigs, but through analog boxes and a tube amp - they will surely BLIND YOU.

Pickup features: humbucker passive
Impedence or other specs: 15k ( supposedly)

Model of guitar or bass: gibson les paul
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): rock, heavy rock
Reason for pickup change: wanted to try it out

Perceived output level:
Tone: well balanced, like a dull gibson 498t
Sonic evaluation: quite disappointed with the output level. it sounded very basy but with no cutting power or edge to it. very 'flat' sounding compared to a gibson 500t. the GFS fat paf shits all over this for tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: not for metal at all, more pop rock. high output my arse.

Comments: wouldnt bother replacing it. buy a gibson 500t or older 489t

Pickup features: Ceramic humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 15k

Model of guitar or bass: fender squire cyclone
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: stock single coil
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: little to much highs with stock

Perceived output level: like a dimarzio SD kinda
Tone: great tone no more piercing highs takes high gain better sounds killer with a plexi
Sonic evaluation: I am using with a line6 spider II 30 watt mostly on the plexi sim channel with great results. On the clean channel it sounds good doesn't get as farty as stock pick up did. I removed my tone control I don't need it with this pick up. Overall good sounding cheap pick up I am thinking of putting one in my neck postion. this pick up does good cleans and distortions.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: blues & rock

Comments: for money great deal I am very happy. Are they best ceramics I have heard no, but are very close second. I would not call these super heavey metal pick ups. More old school than modern say comparing to like a dimebags seymour pick up.