GFS 'True Coil' pickups?
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Cagey
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I've used a number of them. The Neovins sound very good, the True Coils are superlative. The True Coils really do sound like single coils, as that's mostly what they are. Even though they use a second coil for noise cancelling like most "noiseless" pickups do, it's a much smaller coil that doesn't do any picking up to speak of. So, all you really get is the tonal characteristics of a single coil. Downside is, they're not completely noiseless, but it knocks out about 90% of it, which is about 89% more than shielding regular single coils does. You almost don't notice it, but if you do you can easily eliminate what's left with a simple gate.
LushTone
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Cagey said:
Hmm, that's good to hear. Would you say they sound better than more hyped up USA pickups like Dimarzio's Area pickups? The more organic single coil thing is appealing...
Do you happen to have experience with the single sized humbuckers they make?? I would use the True Coils in the neck and middle, and a humbucker type single in the bridge.
Also, how long would these take to ship? I know it's an Asian company...
Cagey
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I'll tell ya - it's tough to get a pickup that sounds "bad" these days. The state of the art has gotten to the point where everybody does a pretty good job. But, to my ear, the True Coils sound more like single coils than anything else I've powered up in the last few years. I've still got a couple unusual designs in the pipe that haven't been powered up yet that are supposed to be fantastic as well, such as Bill Lawrence's "Micro Coils" and Fishman's new "Fluence" units. We'll see what happens with those soon enough. But, at this point, if I need a single coil, the True Coil is the way to go.
I haven't used any of GFS' single-width humbuckers that I can think of, but I've used a number of their other designs and all I can say is GFS is one of the better-kept secrets of the guitar world when it comes to pickups. Very high quality parts with great performance at a more than reasonable price. I don't think you'll be disappointed, but even if you don't get all you dreamed of as far as tone, it's not like you had to get a second mortgage on the house to buy the things. Try something else. While the pickup is by far the largest contributor to an electric guitar's character, the guitar certainly makes a difference as well so the same pickup will sound different in different instruments.
As for delivery time, they're pretty quick. The parts are made on the other side of the world, but they're stocked and ship out of Massachusetts. I usually get stuff from them in about 3 days here in Michigan.
I haven't used any of GFS' single-width humbuckers that I can think of, but I've used a number of their other designs and all I can say is GFS is one of the better-kept secrets of the guitar world when it comes to pickups. Very high quality parts with great performance at a more than reasonable price. I don't think you'll be disappointed, but even if you don't get all you dreamed of as far as tone, it's not like you had to get a second mortgage on the house to buy the things. Try something else. While the pickup is by far the largest contributor to an electric guitar's character, the guitar certainly makes a difference as well so the same pickup will sound different in different instruments.
As for delivery time, they're pretty quick. The parts are made on the other side of the world, but they're stocked and ship out of Massachusetts. I usually get stuff from them in about 3 days here in Michigan.
TonyFlyingSquirrel
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I have one in the neck of my Bari-Tele.
I'll have to bring it by the shop for you to check out in the next couple of weeks.
It has a NEO TN 7, http://www.guitarfetish.com/Neovin-Pure-Vintage-Neck-Pickup_p_553.html and it blooms wonderfully.
I also have a True Coil 10, http://www.guitarfetish.com/10k-True-Coil-_p_1967.html that you're welcome to try out if you like. I liked the voicing, but it just wasn't the particular volume match that I was looking for to work in the neck of my TFS6 in conjunction with the Dimarzio Evolution in the bridge.
If I'm free tomorrow afternoon, I'll stop by the shop to drop it off for you to borrow if you like.
I'll have to bring it by the shop for you to check out in the next couple of weeks.
It has a NEO TN 7, http://www.guitarfetish.com/Neovin-Pure-Vintage-Neck-Pickup_p_553.html and it blooms wonderfully.
I also have a True Coil 10, http://www.guitarfetish.com/10k-True-Coil-_p_1967.html that you're welcome to try out if you like. I liked the voicing, but it just wasn't the particular volume match that I was looking for to work in the neck of my TFS6 in conjunction with the Dimarzio Evolution in the bridge.
If I'm free tomorrow afternoon, I'll stop by the shop to drop it off for you to borrow if you like.
TonyFlyingSquirrel
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LushTone said:
If you're working tomorrow, I'll try to stop by in the earlier afternoon, around 3-3:30pm-ish.
