Kent Armstrong Filtertron Style

Low output humbucking pickup.

Installed in a Gibson Custom ES-335 in both positions.

With these awesome Filtertons I replaced the TV Jones pickups I had before. TV Jones sounded harsh and in-your-face. These are almost twice as cheap and ten times better!

Now my 335 sounds like a '59 Gretsch with some Gibson-ish color. Very nice! Perfect for any kind of classic rock, alternative, rockabilly. I recommend these in both positions to anybody who are not completely happy with the overhyped and expensive TV Jones replica pickups. The Kent Armstrong Filtertrons are much more musical and balanced.

I would definitely buy these ones again if stolen! Basically, these are the only option for those who rememebers the real early Gretsch tone!

Low output Humbucker.

I installed this in my Gibson L6-S in both the neck and bridge position. I wanted a less harsh lower output pickup from the stock Bill Lawrence designed pickups that were in it. It gave me exactly what I was looking for, lower output and much less brittle and harsh sounding without losing the chime and clarity like a PAF would.

As stated before, these are low-output pickups. I am finding that I really like lower output pickups because they really let the sound of my amp develop. These tend to be more chimey than a standard PAF style but still have a loose almost single coil quality. These would be great for anything but metal. I have never had anything with Filtertron style pickups to compare it to but these fit my needs rather well.

Overall, I really like the tones that i get with these pickups. I have three other sets of Kent Armstrong pickups in various types and am always amazed at the tones I get. They seemed to be a much overlooked company that turns out some amazing products at very inexpensive prices.

A low output humbucker that's reminiscent of the early Gretsch FilterTron pickups, the Kentron is a country/rockabilly pickers dream. Bright and detailed with single coil type twang, the Kentron is the latest addition to the ever growing Armstrong line.

I installed them in a Gibson L6 in both the neck and bridge. I was replacing the stock overly-bright too much output for me Bill Lawrence designed pickups. I felt i wanted something with way lower output and that would retain clarity.

As before these are low output which means, you can get more headroom out of your amp. The tone is balanced yet has a fun mid-hump thing going on. It's great for high gain amps if you want to cool them down a bit and tends to be more jangly than most humbuckers. This is NOT for hard rock / metal.

The price on these things are cheap! I got the pair for around 100 bucks. Well worth the money!

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Low output

Model of guitar or bass: Partscaster
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stew Mac Golden Age
Other pickups on guitar: Van Zandt Vintage flat pole
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Varied
Reason for pickup change: Searching for different sonic vistas

Perceived output level: Warm, articulate, and balanced.
Tone: Beautiful vintage tone.
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: This is a very, very good sounding pickup. It's nice to be in the "golden age" of pickup making right now. There are many small winders putting out excellent sounding pickups. There are also many excellent pickups being produced "offshore". No longer does made in Korea denote a poor performing ceramic bar, single coil pickup masking itself as a humbucker. This pickup is as good as any vintage style Duncan or Dimarizo on the market. Very "Seth" like in tone and feel. Sounds very sweet clean and very articulate with low gain overdrives. If you play blues, roots music, jazz, country, etc....this would be an excellent choice. I'm giving it a big fat 10. Compared to pickups costign twice as much, it can hold it's own. Nice surprise with this one. Me likey.