GFS Pickups I37 Alnico Fatbody Tele

Single coil, not covered. Pole pieces are extra large, same as bass guitar poles. Passive. Yarn is wound around coils, like old time pups. Supposedly a factory produced version of what was a custom hand made pickup.

I put this on a New York Pro tele copy, which is modeled on a fifties tele. Very well made by the way, except for the electronics. This is the neck pickup. I also replaced the bridge pickup. The former pickups were Fenders from an Antigua tele. I don't know who uses this pickup. I started by putting in the Fenders pups, then I replaced the Fenders to get a bigger sound.

Their output level is higher than the Fenders. I use the guitar with a Vox AD30VT, which is a modeling amp with a tube in the power amp (rather than pre amp. I use the effects in the amp. The tone has more definition, and more bottom. In some ways like a humbucker. I play everything, but mostly rock on the tele. I like the neck pup better than the corresponding bridge pup. The bridge pup has more bass, less needles in the ear, which is fine for me but may not be what tele purists want.

I would replace it if it was lost. It has a much bigger and more defined sound than a Fender, or for that matter, the original pickup on the guitar. I modified the wiring by putting in a 5 way switch, and wiring one of the combinations with the pups wired in series. Very humbucker sounding, sweet like a Gibson. The guitar is much more versatile that way... all the tele sounds, plus a Gibson sound. The fifth sound is the bridge pup through a capacitor, which is also useful. I love the guitar this way. For about 2 bills total, I have an amazing guitar. I've played guitar for 45 years, and have had 2 American teles, and one Japanese. These pups make it sound better than any of the other teles. (I no longer own them) I do own a Carvin AE185, an Aria Pro Titan 100 (335 copy), a Frankenstein strat, a Martin HD28, a Taylor 510, and two classicals.

Single coil or humbucking? Active or passive? Single coil passive.

Impedance about 7.2K

This pup has very large pole pieces more akin to those on a bass guitar but it is the normal size for a Tele neck pickup. It does not have any metal cover.

What model guitar or bass did you install this in? Yamaha Pacifica 302S (Telecaster copy)

What position is it in? Neck

What pickup are you replacing? Stock

Other pickups installed on the instrument? GFS Repro 1950'S Telecaster I29 Alnico Boutique Bridge

Reason for changing the pickup? Yamaha pickup was low-powered, lacked tone and was very muddy. Apart from the pickups, this is a great guitar. It's very well made from high-quality materials and plays great. It just needed something to bring it to life.

The stock pickups were a bit lifeless. Output is a bit hotter than the stock pickup but the transformation in tone is nothing short of amazing. I put a GFS I29 in the bridge and suddenly I'm in Tele heaven. Before I bought these I asked GFS to recommend pickups to give a warm vintage sound with lots of sparkle and twang. These are what the suggested and it???s exactly what they supply. I play through a Vox AD30VT. With the old pickups I could only get a good tone using the Vox AC30 simulation but now I can get great tones at any amp setting. Also the balance between the pickups is much better. There is now no need to raise the volume when switching from the bridge to the neck pickup. These pups do not appear to be wax-potted but I have had no feedback problems so far. I have been playing for 25+ years, played many different guitars and am totally impressed with these pickups. I play Rock, Pop and Blues.

For the price I paid I would recommend these to anybody who has a decent Telecaster or Tele copy and who wants great vintage sounds for not much money. Even taking into account the postage costs to the UK, these are fantastic value. Before you spend four times the money on a big-name replacement, try one of these! I don't need to look any further for the tone I wanted. I have it now!

Single coil or humbucking? Active or passive? Single coil
Impedance or other specs? 7.2

What model guitar or bass did you install this in? MIM standard Ash Tele
What position is it in? neck
What pickup are you replacing? stock
Other pickups installed on the instrument? Fender
Any artists using this pickup? N/A
Reason for changing the pickup? Wanted some strat sound, and more clarity

What's the output level like? bigger
What amps and effects are you using it with? Compressor, EQ
Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced? balanced
What style of music do you play? Is this a good match? Country, Rockabilly and Blues
For which positions is this pickup (un)suitable? None

This pickup surprised me in many ways. It is more of a strat sound, but not so much so that it feels it is in the wrong guitar. The beauty of this pickup is that it has some levels of compression which lend itself nicely to rythym playing, but yet it has enough bite for lead.

If it was destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else?
How long have you been playing? 10 plus years
What other gear do you own? Acoustics, amps
What do you love about it? What do you hate? No chrome cover, the screws they give you are huge, almost the size of the pole pieces. I looks like you have 8 pole pieces.
Did you compare it to other products? Yes
Which ones? Don't want to mention names
Why did you choose this one? Basically I was looking for a clearer neck pup.
Anything you wish it had? Not really
Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for that sound? Very satisfied
Anything else you'd like to share? This pickup has me looking into the other GFS products.

I am very pleased with this pickup. I am almost to the point of putting the other pickups in my drawer up for sale to get more GFS products. I give this pickup a 9 on sound because well, nothing is perfect, but a 10 on price. In all GFS gets a 9.5, so I will round up to 10.

This is a single coil, passive Tele neck replacement p'up. According to GFS, this runs at 7k.

I installed this on my MIM Nashville Tele, in the neck position. I had in the stock Fender Tex Mex p'up. I have a GFS Hot 'Lil Puncher in the bridge position, a Seymour Duncan 'Lil '59 in the middle position, and now this lovely Fatbody in the neck slot.

The output level on this p'up is just right for the Tele neck position. It's got grind without muddiness. For me, it is a perfect cross between a Tele neck pickup and a Strat neck-middle notch position. Very bell-like, but with great string response. I have run this p'up through quite a few amps, and it is just great sounding. I play rock'n'roll, like Radiohead + Led Zeppelin, and for me it suits my style perfectly. It is a very good sounding pickup, and I'd recommend it for anybody unhappy with their current Tele neck pickup.

I would definitely buy another one. I have been playing for fourteen years, with a variety of equipment. I also have a Westone Spectrum ST, a Yamaha FG-80 acoustic, an Alvarez acoustic, a Beringer GFX 110, a Trademark 60 112, a Crybaby wah, a Bad Monkey overdrive pedal, and other odds and ends. I love this pickup, plain and simple. It's just great quality.

Pickup features: single coil passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Squier 51
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock strat
Other pickups on guitar: stock humbucker
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): This and that.
Reason for pickup change: Crap ceramic stock pickup. I replaced the stock 51 pickguard with one that had a tele pickup cutout so I needed a tele neck pickup. Thought I'd try a tele sized strat pickup.

Perceived output level: Much like an average strat neck pickup. It balances well with the stock humbucker.
Tone: Very balanced. Clear and full sounding without being brash or mushy. Full but tight bass. Clear top end.
Sonic evaluation: This Squier 51 is just a beater.... a messing around guitar. But with this neck pickup I feel I'd be able to use it at a gig. It suits this guitar.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: You could use it for anything you'd use a strat neck pickup for.

Comments: This actually is a tele neck pickup sized strat pickup. It sounds and responds much like a reasonably good strat neck pickup. I love tele neck pickups (I mainly use teles) but they can be abit mushy if you get a 'hot' version. This is why some players use a strat neck pickup instead. This GFS offerring gives you that in a tele pickup size. A good pokey, woody toned pickup with a clear top end.
Getting any pickup is a bit of a lottery. You don't know how it will sound in your actual guitar until you try it...or whether it will suit YOU.
But at least this one is pretty cheap so it's not that much of a risk.
A tele neck pickup cover will fit over it, by the way.

Pickup features: Passive Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: Around 8.3

Model of guitar or bass: 1997 Ash American Standard Telecaster
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan Five-Two
Other pickups on guitar: Lindy Fralin Telecaster Bridge
Artists using this pickup: ??
You musical style(s): All kinds
Reason for pickup change: Never been happy with any of the Telecaster neck pickups I've tried.

Perceived output level: Hotter than stock
Tone: Pretty well balanced.
Sonic evaluation: I like the sound of the pickup. It's pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. The neck position is not as muddy now. It sounds like a cross between a strat and a tele pickup, but the guitar still retains a good amount of twang. It's not a perfect pickup, but I like it more than the Seymour Duncan Five-Two and the Lindy Fralin neck that I tried before it, but I realize that what I'm going for is kind of strange. I wanted the neck to sound like a tele, but also not like a tele. This fits the bill perfectly.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play all kinds of stuff. It seems to work pretty well for everything so far.

Comments: For the price it's hard to beat.