GFS Pickups Lil Punchers Modern Vintage

This is an update to an earlier review. I've had the pickups for almost a year now and I still like them. I do wish that they had come out with the XL version before I ordered because my NashVegas has a string spread that is apparently a little wider than a Fender. I think that I may try a set of the Fatbody single coil pickups to get more of a traditional Tele sound.

Passive single coil sized humbuckers.
i think the neck is 7k and the bridge is 10k.

i have a SAGA TC-10 kit that the stock pickups were horrid! i chose these
1) for the price... they can't be beat and
2) GFS is the only company I found the offers a humbucker in the neck postion for the tele-styles.
so i figured for $50, even if I didn't like them, they HAD to be better than the crap that came with the kit!

I am used to much higher output full-sized humbuckers that are in my Ibanez. These are not quite as hot. but they are much hotter than a standard single coil.
I play it at home through a Peavy KBA 15, I also play it at church through a Peavy Classic 30. Mostly, right now I use it for direct recording through my Magic Stomp II right into my computer.
Now for the actual sound...
It's much fatter than a standard single coil, but a bit thinner than a standard humbucker. Which is exactly what I want. There's twang-a-plenty, when I want it. But not there when I don't. They are fairly versatile in that they respond to ME! The way I attack the strings really changes the sound
The bridge position is UNREAL! it has such a dynamic sound. VERY responsive to the pick attack. It can be very warm or have lots of "pluck" and "twang". I use this position mostly. I cannot say enough about it.
The middle position has a great sound, also. The biggest thing with it is the volume drop. Compared to either bridge or neck positions, the middle is a bit lower in volume. i know this is common, but on this it's noticeable. Otherwise, it really captures the best of both pickups.
The neck is very warm, open and inviting. It almost has a "hollow" sound when played clean. My biggest problem with it was the size! I had to made a few attempts to get it to fit right. It BARELY fits the string width. To get it to line up the "blades" with both "e" strongs is a very precise fit. otherwise, the volume on one of the "e" strings suffers. I understand NOW THAT I ALREADY HAVE IT... that GFS offers a neck pickup that is a bit wider. Something to take into consideration.
This is now my main axe. I use my Ibanez now for "dropped D" type stuff. I use this axe for ALL my reg tuning material. It ranges from contemporary worship, southern rock, hard rock, prog rock, and some metal. though for the metal, i get a lot of help from my effects. These really shine for everything I use them for. I found some of the stuff I play takes on a sound similar to the Police, even though on a different guitar, it sounds different

The first thing to note is that GFS recommends 500k pots, so be sure to replace those too, if needed! They really help to bring these pickups alive.
The bridge pickup alone was worth the money for the set!!! I would defintely buy these again. Though I would be sure to get the larger neck pickup. I would recommend contacting GFS to determine which neck size is right for your axe, though. I would assume that they make different sizes for a reason.
The highs are very clean and clear, but over-the-top-jangly; the mids are very pronounced and full, and the bass is popping! These are quite articulate "lil punchers"
I had never played a tele-style before, So I really had no idea what to expect other than twang. I started looking up non-country artists that use one and listened to some of their stuff, and tried to get a sound similar. These babies rose to the challenge!
I have been playing for about 15 years and I have developed a very particular taste in what I like tone-wise. I am very pleasantly surprised with these. Over the last few months, they have really expanded my tonal pallette, and refined my playing style.
Until the "holy grail" of pickups appears, these will have to do ;)

GFS Modern Vintage Lil Puncher Tele Pickups (passive)

These were installed into my Dean Nash Vegas Tele because the stock pickups were muddy and way too bassy. I replaced both neck and bridge pickups and replaced the stock capacitor an orange drop capacitor.

These pickups are incredible. The neck pickup is warm and smooth with excellent string separation. When you strum a chord you'll here every note as it's played. No muddy too bassy sound here at all. The bridge pickup is sharp and focused with plenty of tele twang. These pickups take on a whole different attitude with a little extra gain. They breakup beautifully and the bridge pickup absolutely growls. These pickups also provide a huge increase in picking dynamics. I can easily go from clean to mean by just adjusting my picking. I did compare these to real Joe Barden's in a USA Tele. The Barden's had more treble response on the bridge pickup and the GFS pickup was a little warmer. As far as sound quality goes these GFS pickups held their own against the Barden's.

These are great pickups without comparing price. Once you add the price comparison into the mix these things are incredible. I would buy these pickups again in a heartbeat. These things are so good that I'm tempted to track down another Dean Nash Vegas just so I can try a set of their oversized polepiece tele pickups. I did not like the wiring instructions that came with the pickups. They mentioned that I could use any Seymour Duncan wiring diagram but they failed to mention that if I did that the black and green wires needed to be reversed.

Side-by-side humbucker in a singlecoil housing. They are passive with the bridge pickup measuring 10k and the neck being 7k.

Tele project with an ash body and maple neck and fretboard
Neck & brige positions
N/A
None
Heck if I know
Heard a lot about them and didn't have a lot of dough to spend

Pretty hot
I use a Line6 Flextone III Plus
They are very well balanced with plenty of twang but not tinny or brittle
I play all types and it suits them all. I like a Tele's character when I'm playing various genres.
I wouldn't use it for some really hard Metal

If it was destroyed or stolen, I would just get a new guitar because the thief would have to take the whole thing. Yes, I would buy them again in a heartbeat.
I have been playing for about 30 years and have tried all the pickups you can imagine.