GFS Pickups Hot Alnico Staggered

Single coil calibrated Strat set

Originally, I had these in an SX Strat clone, but then installed them in a '99 Fender MIM Standard Stratocaster.

Output is slightly hotter than stock. I'm using it mostly with computer plug-ins: Amplitube, GuitarRig, Line6, SansAmp, etc. I write music for video, and compose my own "art". I need a Strat sometimes, although I've never been much of a "Strat guy". I prefer a Tele or my Gibson SG Classic for single coil sounds.

That said, these pickups completely fulfill the times I "need" that Strat sound. Funny enough, they sounded awful in the SX, and I was going to get rid of them. I ended up with this MIM Strat and threw them in just to see if there was any difference. Wow! They really came alive in the Fender. Weird. Anyway, I'm leaving them in the MIM and getting rid of the SX. I think I've finally solved my love/hate dilemma with finding a Strat.

These sound like a much more expensive guitar.

I'd order these again, especially for the price.

I've been playing around 35 years. I have too many other guitars to list, but most of them are real instruments and all stock (for example I own an '84 Gibson Les Paul Custom, etc.)

I compared these with the stock MIM pickups and a set of Vintage Fender Noiseless. These sound a LOT better then the Noiseless pickups, and obviously better than the stock MIM pickups.

I'm very satisfied with this Strat sound. FWIW, I've owned a lot of Strats over the years, and had a love/hate relationship with every one of them.

It is a single coil set with impedance of about 8,3 K, Alnico 5 magnets, staggered cut nickel polepieces, genuine Formvar 43 gauge vintage style copper windings, all individually vacuum impregnated with genuine Paraffin wax, vintage style color coded cloth wiring. This set is calibrated for the neck, middle and bridge position. To create a "Humbucking" effect, the middle pickup is reverse wound- now positions 2 and 4 on your 5-way are noiseless.

I build a David Gilmour Black Strat copy partscaster with neck-bridge switch and mounted this set of GFS pickups.

The outputlevel is just like I wanted it to be. It has the real Strat tones, not muddy at all. Played it over a Laney valve amp and a Farfisa TR-70 OS vintage transistor amp. Various types of music. They sound awesome. I went to a large Fender guitarshop in my hometown and let the people of the shop play this guitar. They were convinced it had Fender customshop pickups. They loved the sound and they were stunned to hear it had GFS pickups!

If it was destroyed or stolen, I would definately buy it again. I have been playing for 40 years. This is a great pickup set. My other guitar is a Telecaster.

Texas Hot Alinco Staggered pups (single coil)

I put them in a 99 model Standard Strat (mim) Neck and middle postion. I had a set of GFS Texas Premiums. Bridge pup is a GFS Fat Paf. Dont know of anyone using them. I had run these in a strat I had built , check ealier review , and they sounded much better than the more expensive GFS Texas Premiums I had bought. They have a true vintage strat sound.

The output is normal for a single coil. I playing through a Crate Palamino V16 for distortion and 112 Crate (transitor) for clean , and a pedal board. I usally run the singles in the 5&6 postion and the tone is unreal. I can go from SRV to that clean 80's sound to Southern Rock to the strat on "wicked game". Any vintage strat sound ypu can get if you try. I play Christian rock ,Classic Rock , Blues , and R and B. Like I said a versitle pup.

This will probably be my pup till I quit playing. I have played for over 30 years and not matter what phase I was going through I always had a guitar with that strat sound. I have 3 strats (2 fender& 1 copy) , 2 Lps (epi and jay turser) ,Alverez acoustic , 2 crate amps (one tube & one transitor) , and a pedal board with different pedals (my fav is my crybaby) I love the tone its got to be the best sounding single coil , It could have better output thats the only thing I dont like about it. Thats why I give it a 9 instead of a 10.

Single coil Strat style passive pickups.

What model guitar or bass did you install this in?
I put these in a frankenstrat cobbled together form cheap parts and a poplar ply body.

What position is it in?
Neck / Middle

Other pickups installed on the instrument?
GFS Dream 90 in the bridge slot.

Reason for changing the pickup?
Wasn't a change; these are original to my frankenstrat. I wanted decent quality strat pups at a good price and have had good luck with GFS in the past. Got these on ebay for $25. The are a few years old, the seller had bought them as a 3-pup set but only needed the bridge unit.

What's the output level like?
Both are very strong, seem much stronger than stock strat pups. Balance very well, output wise, with the P-90 in the bridge.

What amps and effects are you using it with?
For recording, NI Guitar Rig 2 and Amplitube LE and Tech 21 Trademark 20. Live-- Tech 21 Trademark 60, and have run these through Fender Champ and Deluxe Reverb.

Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced?
Simply awesome. Perfectly balanced, maybe leaning towards the bright but without harshness. The bass is loud and very clear; the mids cut and give a wonderful vocal like quality without getting indistinct, and the highs are very crystalline--not harsh, not too twangy or "glassy." Sweet, really sweet. Clean they are lively, with good snap and deep bass with no mud. None, hallelujah. Cranked a little bit they yield great vintage Stones tone, a little bit of hair with lots of attack. Turned way up with decent distortion, the middle pickup is very Robin Trower-like: very throaty/vocal and articulate, with excellent sustain. The neck is splendidly woody and violinish when cranked, but never loses its articulation. All the notes ring clear even when these things are roaring on Eleven. They really do bring to mind some classic "vintage" tones, from the spanky 2/4 position stuff that reminds me of Rory Gallagher and Delaney and Bonnie era Clapton, as well as the more aggressive Hendrix stuff. This axe screams SRV.

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?
I play psyched-out blues and rock, Beatles, you name it. I'm way, way happy with these. Don't think they'd be good for metal, unless you want some extra flava.

If it was destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else?
I'd be pissed as hell. I would definitely get another set--this time all three so I can see if the treble pup is as excellent as the other two.

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
Been playing constantly since '74 and either own or have owned it all.

What do you love about it?
I've owned three Fender Strats over the years. Now, this pice of crap of mine that I hammered together (and ain't even a strat-style body and neck!) gives me the best real, pure, hot Strat tone I've ever had. Without a doubt the best 25 bucks I've ever invested in a piece of guitar gear. This tone makes me feel the way I did years ago when I was first crazy for all things guitar.

Pickup features: Single coil passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom Strat Project
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: N/A Put in a new Guitar
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Christian Rock, Blues, and Country. Praise n Worship.
Reason for pickup change: N/A first pups for guitar.

Perceived output level: Semi-Hot
Tone: Balanced tone from a SRV to Clapton (Cream Sunshine of your love)
Sonic evaluation: Peavey Ultra Tube and a digitech Bad Monkey

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Their great for blues, country and classic rock

Comments: These are kick butt pups, my other strat ( a fender) has fat 50's(which are great), but these have more of a fender sound. Also the pots,switch, and wiring are from a 2005 U.S. Fender Strat. I was highly suprised they have the sound I've been looking for.

Pickup features: Single coil with alnico magnets
Impedence or other specs: bridge approx 9k, middle & neck approx 8.2k

Model of guitar or bass: Standard Mexican Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock ceramic
Other pickups on guitar: All GFS
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Blues and classic rock
Reason for pickup change: Stock ceramic pickups sound dull with no sparkle.

Perceived output level: Compared to the original ceramic pickups, the Alnico magnets produce considerably less output. This problem is particularly noticeable in the bridge position as well as the bridge/middle combination.
Tone: All pickups have more clarity than the stock ceramic and I do like the tone of the neck and middle pickups. The bridge pickup just doesn't have any guts and also sucks the tone and output from the middle pickup in position 2. I will have to replace the bridge pickup soon. Very soon!
Sonic evaluation: I had amazing results recently when I changed my stock Mexican Tele pickups for some Alnico Mighty Mites. This encouraged me to replace my Strat pickups and after lots of research on the Net I opted for the GFS Hot Alnico Stagger. In hindsight, perhaps I should have opted for the next model up "Boutique" range which are even further overwound. I run my guitars through a few pedals like overdrive, phase and chorus then into a Traynor YCV20 tube combo. Like I've said before, the neck and middle are nice but the bridge is just too thin and weak.

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

Comments: GFS products are good value and overall I'm happy with my purchase. The bridge pickup doesn't work for me on my Strat but I think it will do a good job in the middle position on my Prodigy. I think I would consider the next level up GFS pickups next time. I rate the neck and middle pickups at 8 and the bridge at 6.

Pickup features: S/C Passive
Impedence or other specs: ???

Model of guitar or bass: Strat American standard
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, rock (the usual)
Reason for pickup change: Needed a more vintage, woody tone

Perceived output level: slightly higher than stock
Tone: nice separation, sustain, harmonics
Sonic evaluation: Straight through to a Blues DeVille - really nailed that tone I always imagined Strats should sound like. Was about to pay a couple of hundred quid for Texas Specials - certainly won't bnother now. Warm woody neck, twangy (but not too bright) bridge, and great, controlled quack on 2 & 4. This is the sound I thought I was going to get when I bought the guitar - at a really, really silly price!

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

Comments: Certainly replace these if lost
Been playing 12 years or so - also own a 335, LP, Epiphone Emperor & a Lowden Acoustic

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Fender Lace Set
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues/Jazz/Rock
Reason for pickup change: Looking for unmistakable vintage Fender tone.

Perceived output level: Less than Fender Lace, probably due to the need to keep Alnicos further from strings
Tone: Balanced
Sonic evaluation: Fender American Strat w/Rosewood neck. Fender Hot Rod Deluxe w/tube modifications. Silvertone 1482 (w/Tremolo). Chandler Tube Driver. I haven't added my RP7 effects into the mix yet.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Wonderful tone across all positions. As I had hoped, the 2 & 4 positions are to die for.

Comments: I was in the market for Fender Fat 50's. I came across these on eBay at the last minute. At 1/3 the cost I thought I should try them. Pickups I've have had at one time or another: Fender Lace & Standard, Seymor Duncan, Dimarzio, Gibson P-90, MightyMite, and probably others. The Strat sound I've been dreaming of for years I have found in these PU's. Perhaps the Fat 50's are better. But at this price & sound, I do not need to look any further. If lost or stolen I would replace no problem.