Best Bang for the Buck Pickups? Guitar Fetish?

[Cactus Jack]

I recently read a lot of great reviews about Guitar Fetish, or GFS, pickups. I checked them out and was shocked at the specs, and even more shocked by the prices. Are these pickups really that good? From a raw material perspective they seem as good, if not better, than my current sets from Lollar, Fralin, Suhr, TV Jones, Duncan etc.

Let me know what you think. If you've tried them I'd love to know which models and how they stack up compared to your go to sets. Single coils, P90s, humbuckers, bass pickups, please share your insight.

 

[mayfly]

I bought a set of their telecaster pickups for a low-budget guitar I made a few years ago.  Compared to the Lollars that I usually use, I found them to be pretty characterless.  They were ok, but not something that I would use again given an alternative. 

 

[Cagey]

The pickups themselves are pretty high-quality. Whether one likes the sonic character is subjective. I've been favorably impressed by them every time I've used or encountered them, but I don't know how to compare them to anything else. It'd be like comparing DiMarzio to Seymour Duncan or Gibson to Fender or Kinman to Bareknuckle.

The way I've always looked at it is for what they cost, there's little risk involved. If a set doesn't satisfy, how much do you lose? A pair of PAF-clones from them might cost $50-$70, while a pair of Kinmans might run $300+, with other mfrs falling somewhere between there.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Im interested in their GF Tron pickups. I have a pair of TV Jones Classics sitting around which would make for an interesting shootout.

What I think is really cool is they offer a filtertron Tele bridge plate. However it appears to have 54mm string spacing while the GF Trons are 50mm.

The P90 offerings, and a few of their humbuckers look enticing.

 

[arealken]

They definitely aren't bad. In fact they are good, and that is from me who has bought sets in the several hundred dollar range.Then again, I have only bought the rails Alnicos foem "Artec" China ..they sound very good in a H-S-S guitar  and round out a bright sounding guitar and add fullness to a floyded guitar.
I don't think I would use a set of those cheap chinese regular vintage type Strat pickups though, I go top end on those.

 

[amon]

They're made by Artec in Korea.  There are many other brands that use Artec as their supplier, often using the same (or similar) specs to the GFS products.  Almost all of them are very affordable.  GFS, Guitarheads and Calig are some that I have personally sampled, as well as ones that are Artec branded (purchased through Eden Guitars).  Are they as high-quality as, say, Bartolini?  No, but all of them are decent and very usable.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Thanks for the heads up about Eden, I had never heard about them.

Those tube lipstick pickups have my attention. Very cool look.

 

[rauchman]

Not sure if this pushes your budget, but Bill Lawrence pups (wildepickups.com) are great for not a lot of money.  I'm using the Twin Blades T48 (Tele bridge) and T45 (Strat) pup in a Tele build.  Fantastic for $100 for the pair.

 

[rgand]

Not sure if this pushes your budget, but Bill Lawrence pups (wildepickups.com) are great for not a lot of money.  I'm using the Twin Blades T48 (Tele bridge) and T45 (Strat) pup in a Tele build.  Fantastic for $100 for the pair.

As a long time fan of Bill Lawrence pickups, I'll second this suggestion. I recently picked up a Keystone Tele set that's waiting to go into something. $95 for the pair. The prices are hard to beat for what you get.

 

[JWR]

I've tried alot of pickups, mostly Duncans, a few Dimarzio, Bill and Becky, EMG.  To that end, I do not think there is evidence of a budget bang for the buck pickup.  These are usually made by Pacific Rim suppliers and come as standard equipment on most imports.  The best bang for the buck, bar none, is the Duncan JB.  Just my opinion, but I think in the long run, you won't have to replace it again and therefore is a best value. 

 

[Rick]

For take a I'm a bill Lawrence fan.  Humbuckers most recent favs are rail hammer but still searching.  Might try the bill Lawrences.

 

[ragamuffin]

For a bit more than GFS you can get a set of Vineham Pickups http://www.vineham.com/ handmade in Canada. I just tried one of their humbuckers and it's excellent, and their base price is only about $60 USD. Not only a good value, but I'd put the quality up against just about any more expensive humbucker.

 

[mayfly]

Hmmm!  I'm going to have to check them out!


[pause for checking website]


wow - they have everything!  I'll have to try them.

 

[Ric Moore]

GFS sites been tough lately. Every set of pickups I like are out of stock. Guessing they’re waiting supplies too from overseas.

 

[DuckBaloo]

Another relative low-cost PU is Kent Armstrong, distributed by WD. These are popular about 15-20 years ago and then people sort of forgot about them. You need to get them from a dealer that discounts to get the best price. WD only sales direct ast full MSRP, a dealer may knock 30-40% off.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Their NeoVin Strat & Tele pickups are great on a blindfold test and hold their own with the rest of the ever expanding market.