GFS Pickups GFS Pro-Tube Lipstick

Single coil passive Strat replacement Lipstick tube pickup.
neck 4.9K, middle 6.0K reverse wound/reverse polarity and bridge 8.0K.

Squier Classic Vibe 50's model.
All positions.
Stock.
GFS Pro-Tube Lipstick pickups.
Don't know or care.
Looking for something different then what I have on my other guitars.

The output level on these pickups is medium with the neck being more vintage and the bridge being a little hotter and the middle somewhere in between. As a set together they are well balanced with each other. I am playing this guitar through two 15 watt Laney tube amps running stereo with one going through a 2-12 Celestion speaker cabinet. I use an assortment of effects on my pedals board which is in constant change. I was surprised at how balanced the tone on these pickups was. I thought they would be really bright and lacking in lows, but found that they seem to cover all of the ranges of sound quite well. I mainly play blues,funk and rock and these pickups seem to cover all of these style really well. I am a modding junky and have tried loads of pickups in the 22 years I have been playing mainly Dimarzio and Duncans and I think these compare quite well with the stuff that these two put out sound wise. I am happy with the way they sound in all the positions including the 2 and 4 noise free settings. I am also surprised at how little noise these pickups make in the standard position for being true single coils. Even when you drive them a little harder they don't add a lot of noise.

If something happened to these pickups I would replace them with the same thing. I have been playing for 22 years and own four other electrics and 3 acoustics. All of them do something different and have a purpose for me. What I like about these pickups is they sound great and look great and are nothing like anything else I have. I am more satisfied with these pickups then I thought I would be. I bought them, because I wanted to have a guitar with lipstick tube pickups in it and these were a cheap way to give it a shot. I ended getting something I am really happy with for a 3rd of the price I would have paid to buy the Duncan lipsticks that I was thinking of getting.

Single Coil Alnico 2 Middle Reverse wound 6K. Strat sized tube Lipstick pickup.Chrome finish.
9

Installed in the middle of a G&L Asat Classic semi-hollow guitar.The Nashville tele mod where you also add a 5 position selector switch.
The bridge and neck pickups are the standard Asat tele style pickups.
I always liked the strat 2 and 4 position sound. Think of Richard Thompson or later Albert Lee sounds. Also can switch the phase of the middle pickup, useful for motown style stacato rhythm playing.Bright sounding with little bass but cuts through the mix well.

Output level is less than the standard Asat pickups. More of a vintage level. Sounds excellent with Matchless Spitfire, Marshall, vintage Gibsons asnd Fender amps.Tone is bright and chimey without being shrill and bass is focused. Great for country, blues, rock and jangly pop. Not really suitable for heavier sounds.Designed for a vintage sound and it does this very well.

I really like this pick up and feel it is perfect for what I was looking for. Excellent tone for a very reasonable price. It has less output than some pick ups. The 8 k bridge version might make for a better output match for some pickup combinations.

GFS Pro-Tube Lipstick Humbucker

Yamaha Pacifica 112:
Alder Body
Maple Neck
Rosewood Fretboard.

I installed this in the neck position. I was the both neck and bridge pickups accidentally after ordering a set of Mean 90s. (GFS rectified their mistake and sent the correct pickups). So with bot sets of pickups at hand I thought why not use one of these.

I replaced the factory standards with 2 GFS. The bridge has a mean 90.

The output level isn't really important as the amp does the work but for arguments and information sake the output level is nice and high.

I'm a tone purest so I don't use many effects so just clean and overdrive with reverb and a bit of delay.

I'm using a Laney VC30 but I have tried it with a Peavey Valveking.

I play a variety of styles. Mainly jazz, country, blues, rock and acoustic.

The tone of the pickup suits these styles nicely. it sounds like an acoustic guitar from the position I have it in. The bass is not as overpowering as most neck pickups which is very nice and is just nice and clean. when in conjunction with the mean 90 it makes a very nice combo.

I am tempted to buy this pickup for my other guitar to replace a Duncan.

I have been playing for 7 years and this is as good as any other pro pickup I own (Seymour Duncan/Barnuckle).

I love the clean response without the mushy neck sound. Its lovely and pure.

There is one thing I do hate. Of all the things to accidentally send me I was sent a gold one and it looks very ugly however I have installed a cover so not to worry now. If I got another I'd get it in black or chrome.

The best things in life are free.
If I was to buy one though I would be happy to pay for them.

This is a single coil passive Lipstick Pickup rated at about 8k resistance.

It was installed in the middle position of a 82-85 MIJ Squire Strat. A 57' reissue I believe. So it has a small radius and a Maple fretboard.

I replaced the stock pickups. Actually, I bought another pickguard and started fresh so that I would still have the stock pickguard and matching electronics if I wanted to go back or if I needed to sell it.

The neck PU and the bridge PU are both GFS Lil' Killer 15k's. The 5-way switch wiring is standard but neither tone knob is functional. Just a single volume.

I'm not aware of any artist, major or not, who uses GFS pickups. Insert joke about me the being the best artist using these.

I changed the pickups because I like to change pickups. And that's all the reason I need.

I installed it in the middle between two humbuckers because I like the idea of having something different in the middle position and because I thought the combination of the Lil Killer and Pro Tube would sound cool in the notch or "quack" positions.

The output level is higher that a standard vintage-styled single coil, but alongside the 15k single coil sized rail humbuckers, it mixes better than I had hoped. I have the humbuckers set fairly low so that they would mix decently. I tend to play with distortion or overdrive at all times, even if just a little, and it sounds even through all the positions. Clean, there is a notable drop in volume, mostly bass.

For recording I use a Behringer V-AMP Pro that usually goes direct. I practice through a Roland Cube 30 and for everything else I'll use one of several 70's - 80's Peavey 40-120 watt solid state or solid state/tube hybrid amps with a distortion stompbox. I have too many to list. Let's just say I use what my mood strikes me with.

To my ears, the Pro Tube sounds scooped in a very glassy, natural way. I've only played with an older Danelectro with lipsticks a couple of times and I don't remember anything special about them soundwise. I certainly don't recall anything that sounded this good.

The pickup is a little short on bass, but for me, more than makes up for it with style in the upper mid-range. Boosting the freqs around 800-1000kHz makes this thing sound obnoxiously good. Like being oiled up and shot naked out of glass cannon into an army of scantily clad Amazonian women. If you're into that sort of thing.

The Pro Tube is excellent for all types of music. Even metal. By having it in the middle I am never more than one click away from having a ultra-sexy blues breaker tone, especially under mid to heavy distortion.

I can't imagine a position this PU wouldn't be good for. One day soon, I would like to get another pickguard and load it up with nothing but these Pro Tubes. But for now, I'm happy to have this thing be my secret weapon in the middle.

I'm obsessed with trying out new pickups. I've probably tried 45-50 aftermarket pickups and I've yet to buy the same one twice. That being said, the Pro Tube stands a very good chance of being the pickup that breaks the trend.

I've been playing 12 or 13 years. I own several strat type guitars, a BC Rich, a Fender Jagstang, a Halo 7-string, an Aria Pro II Les Paul, and a couple that I've made. Random acoustics and basses of little importance to anyone but me.

I love the sound, looks and price of this pickup.

I hate that like all the other GFS pickups I own, it makes my other pickups sounds like cheap, tacky crap. Don't get me wrong, sometimes Cheap and Tacky is the sound I want, but don't go to GFS looking for it.

I wish this pickup fit a standard single coil hole just a little tighter. The springs that are included do not hold the pickup as low as I would like or need. It's an easy fix, just use longer springs, but I wish I had known before I had everything wired and strung up.

I am happy with this pickup. I've made myself sick looking for cool sounds, and I don't see an end in sight, but this thing always makes me smile and makes my very few friends say "woah." just like Bill and Ted.