GFS Pickups Hot Lil Puncher

Hot rail style for tele bridge replacement
15k

Replaced the bridge single in a good quality tele copy

Wanted the versatility and power of a bucker

GFS has a bunch of great pickups, but IMO this one is the best and seems to get the least amount of hype.

I've got this coil tapped, and no lie in single mode it sounds totally authentic, just like a great tele single but better. It rounds off those icepicky highs just enough, while somehow still retaining the unmistakeable tele signature with plenty of power but somehow adding a pinch of "sweetness". It does not sound good, it sounds great, period!

In full mode, it sounds very full and roars nicely while still retaining more than a hint of its tele heritage.

IMO, this pickup is the "magic bullet" if you have always wanted more power out of your tele but dont want to give up that "tele vibe" that you bought the guitar for in the first place.

This pickup would work for any kind of music.

Been playing for five years, got a bunch of guitars.

I love this pickup, I don't think anybody could make a pickup that sounds better than this one.

And it looks too cool, and it's 1/3 of the price of Duncans.

If you're looking to beef up your tele, look no further.

Pickup features: Mini Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Squier, Standard Telecaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Whatever junk the factory installed
Other pickups on guitar: GFS Vintage Chrome neck
Artists using this pickup: No idea, but a bunch should!
You musical style(s): Weird Celtic-Metal-Industrial-Punk-Surf
Reason for pickup change: The Squier had exactly the pickups you would expect on a factory Squier - lefeless, no umph and basically no tone or balls!! I needed way more..

Perceived output level: Out put at the same volume settings were notably much higher than with the stock pickups
Tone: Overall the tone is much brighter , way higher defined and extremenly clear when compared to the stock jobbers that were on my little Tele (OK, almost a Tele - !)
Sonic evaluation: Squier Standard Telecaster, old-old Peavey Standard 260 - pushing two 4X12 cabs (mis-matched, one's a Crate the other Peavey with Scorpion speakers). when I crank things up - the Hot Lil Puncher rises nicely to the occasion and delivers whatever level of madness I desire - my first expression, as soon as I got the bridge back on the guitar and plugged it in was "Holly Mother of God!!!!!) These pickups absolutely SCREAM.. However they aren't just about high output - they also have a very warm-clear tone when you back off the distortion and all the other stuff I tend to add on top. Quality all the way!!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is probably well suited to virtually any musical style, my twisted celtic metal thing demands alot form my equipment, and the Lil Puncher delivers it every time!

Comments: Well, what can I say, I'm an old fart (55) and I've been in garage bands, bar bands, crazy bands and all kinds of things since I was in high school (nevere mind the years mate!). I've had several types of guitars over the years, some great - some crap, but I was amazed at some of the quality features on the Squier Standard (string through in particular) and thought I would play it for a while. After doing a very anal setup on the guitar, I was well pleased with playing it except for the very limp pickups!! I've used GFS pickups in project strats so decieded to give this a try. If it were stollen, I'd track the B-----d down and beat him/her/it. That failing, I'd buy another Lil Hot Puncher with hesitation. I'm building up another real project tele for my Son, and Yes Sir, it's going to be sporting GFS pickups in both slots!-- Thanks Guitar Fetish for selling this great line of pickups!

Pickup features: dual rail humbucker. Fits in a stock tele bridge. Passive 4 wire for splitting or tapping coils.
Impedence or other specs: not sure but hot... I think around 13k....I am about tone.... not numbers

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Nashville Power Tele
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Kent Armstrong Rail Humbucker ( installed by first owner)
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Tex-Mex Single and tele ( soon to go and be replaced with GFS Lil Killers.)
Artists using this pickup: Me..lol.. www.productoffaith.net
You musical style(s): Christian Rock ( like Third Day, Audio Adrenaline, and David Crowder Band)...and some old school stuff.
Reason for pickup change: I needed more over the top , in your face tone. broader tonal spectrum with more control.

Perceived output level: Very punchy....in your face. But also smooth when you back off the guitar volume. Guessing around 13k....
Tone: Killer tone.... very well balanced .Fat and sparkly both. Smooth, but can also be IN YOUR FACS HOT! True , to my ears, PAF type tone
Sonic evaluation: Guitar<>Modded Crybaby Wah<>Keeley Compressor<>Keeley Modded Sparkle Drive<>Kelley Ultra Mod Boss DS1<>Visual Sound H2O Chorus Delay<>(don't laugh)Dano Tuna Melt Tremolo.I know....SWEET TONE but cheap<>Modded Boss DD3 Delay<>Marshall AVT Half Stack or a Behringer Vintager AC112 Combo... depending on the room or stage.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Christian Rock 70's -80's style guitar styles

Comments: I have been playing for 31 years....as a Pro/Semi-Pro live and Session Player... and just for the fun of it. These pickups are UNREAL at ANY price!! I just bought a Vintage Alnico set for my son's strat. Another killer GFS set! You can not go wrong with these pickups. Quality all the way.And tone tone tone!!!That is what it is about after all. I would and will buy these again!!! Try em....you'll love em! Chris Barnes www.productoffaith.net

Pickup features: Passive tele bridge humbucking dual rail
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Standard Tele (Mexican) with maple fretboard
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Original Mex
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues
Reason for pickup change: Somehat lack of balls

Perceived output level: Many times louder than original
Tone: Balanced and adjustable!
Sonic evaluation: I have a Vox Valvetronic I use AC15 and tweed type blue tones, pick or fingers. I also have a custom made Fender Reverb, 6L6, 15" speaker etc. that I made of 335 type blues and did not sound good with Fenders in general regarless of pickup. Since the pickup was hotter and deeper I of course had to adjust the gain and tone (on Vox)and realized how much this pickup's tone can be adjusted - amazing. Also the vol can be turned down on the guitar cleaning it up nicely. At first I thought the pickup would only be good for overdriven tweed tone, but then realized it was still punchy and musical. Plugging into the DR, along with a Sparkle drive, it sounded wonderfully musical and bluesy too. So what you need to know about it is that the EQ on your amp will get all sorts of nice tones (and you will likely need to lower the overdrive as it is hot), the guitar volume and also the tone will give you huge ranges of sounds. It still has punch and highs yet stills has nice balls (but not muddy or farty). The guitar sounded huge. This pickup is VERY low priced so some will immediately feel it is low grade - bull. If you did not know what brand or price you'd think it was one of those high priced models. I have bought Duncan's, Bill Lawrence, and Kinman pickups. these seem equals in quality. HB tele Duncan's are more compressed, as apposed to these being dynamic. Bill Lawerance (Bill and Becky) are wonderlfully accurate and musical tele noiseless replacements, and Kinmans seem to be a varation on the Lawrenece but with it's own unique tone. These Lil HOT punchers are intended not to duplicate a tele, but add balls but remain punchy and still can get nice highs (you need to adjust your amp to match the pickups responses.) The picklup sounds natural and still has a musical quality while being hotter. And again, let me say play with the guitar volume as it will take you from a PAF-ish to tele. These are advertised as a hot Barden but I never heard a Barden so I cannot comment.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues, rock, country rock, Not what one would think jazz yet it is musical

Comments: I'd buy it again and likely will buy another one for an Amer Std tele. I have been play since the 60's. The pickup was what I was looking for - a huge tele. I am sticking with this one and not looking further. I did some good eBAY bidding and got this cheaper than most, I think, but the Buy It now would have been a good deal too based on what I know now. I took a chance and lucked out.

Pickup features: Humbucking Rail-type Tele Bridge pup
Impedence or other specs: don't know

Model of guitar or bass: Homemade Ash Tele
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: GFS Retrotron New York
Artists using this pickup: don't know
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: New Guitar build

Perceived output level: Fairly hot, but not as hot as a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails.
Tone: Indistinct. Sort of muddy for a tele bridge pickup imo.
Sonic evaluation: Homemade Ash Tele Primarily through a Mesa Blue Angel. I wasn't sure what to expect because of the low price, but I thought it would be brighter being a tele bridge pup. It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't have the snap I expected. I wired it as a standard fender Tele, so I may try some different cap values to see if that helps.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: A variety of rock/pop.

Comments: I would not buy this particular pickup again, but I wouldn't hesitate to try another GFS. You can't beat the price, and the other one I bought sounds great. Depends on you needs

Pickup features: Passive humbucker in a single coil package.
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Vintage Tele clone
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Original vintage Maxon sc
Other pickups on guitar: GFS Alnico 4 single coil at neck (another great sounding pup)
Artists using this pickup: Unknown
You musical style(s): Everything except jazz
Reason for pickup change: I had been dragging this cheap Tele clone around for 30 years, and decided to see if I could make it a decent player on a budget. It never played well, and the tone was pathetic.

Perceived output level: This pup plain smokes. Hottest thing I've got in my collection yet. Blows everything else I've heard out the window. Super hot.
Tone: Very wide dynamic range. Bright yet with a full bottom end. Am experimenting with tapping and mixing with the GFS Alnico 4 single coil at the neck. Getting a pleasant variety of sounds and tones. The sc is sweet and bright, but has a bite.
Sonic evaluation: I play in my home studio through a Boss GT-6, line mixer and into a 100 watt amp with monitors. Comparing the output on any given patch with the same levels from guitar to guitar, this pup is hotter than anything else in my collection, which includes a Strat with SDs, a Jackson, an LP with custom wound pups, and a Peavey T-60. I am really impressed with the bang for the buck.
Are there better pickups out there? I imagine so. Would I pay more? Nope - this pup sounds fantastic, and the price was right.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Play most anything except jazz. Mostly mix of rock, metal and blues. This pup works for a lot of the music I play, but it is too wild for some types of music.

Comments: If it disappeared I'd get another one. Best value in this style of pickup I've seen yet, and certainly the hottest of all the ones I've tried/heard. However, this is of course a subjective thing, and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.
Been playing about 30 years. Do it as a hobby nowadays.
These GFS pups don't say Seymour Duncan or Dimarzio or Fralin or whatever, and I know they are made in Korea, but they sure do sound great to my ears. Especially when I think of how little I spent.
It is a tremendous value for anyone looking for a raunchy humbucking sound on a budget.