I thought the Hendrix strat sounded better but I dunno how much of that is the guitar and how much is the pickups. The Starcaster with the GFS pickups definitely doesn't sound bad at all. :)
Yes, everything you said. I'm not very scientific with these things. Granted, the Starcaster has really crappy pots and switches, lesser woods, doesn't stay in tune as well, and doesn't really feel like you are playing a strat. Just that it got in the ballpark though is pretty cool. I can easily recommend these pickups to folks on a budget.
@@RickRomanelli I stand corrected. No dummy coil. www.guitarfetish.com/64-Stagger-Vintage-Grey-Bottom-Boutique-Fits-Stratregreg--Surfy--Kwikplug™-Ready_p_21997.html
The Hendrix strat has reverse pole stagger and the bridge pickup is angled the opposite direction, will give it different tone than a our of the box 65 set, subtle and small difference but a difference that is significant when you start to put it through its paces.
Hi. It was the only guitar I had access to with those pickups. I thought the owner might be upset if I changed to a different pickguard and neck. I appreciate the input though.
@@RickRomanelli still a great review just want people to know that the Hendrix strat (I own one) is set up different than the 65 pups out of the box, would have to install them backwards and with a different slant on pickguard to get exact same tone, they are great pickups regardless will only notice a slight difference between Hendrix strat and regular strat w 65s
@@50kal44 Yeah you are right, GFS even has a "Jimi" set as they call it and that is the difference (reverse staggered poles) fatter power chords and smoother B string.
This is a great comparison, Rick. To my ears, the GFS sound compressed and the twangy presence is missing. The dynamics are also gone. The Hendrix guitar is dynamic, open and spunkier. Although the GFS sound good, they sound more like a humbucker. I prefer the Hendrix Vintage pickups.
@@RickRomanelli I don’t agree with that guy, they sound great just different. Let’s be honest no human alive would notice any difference in a mix. Mostly bedroom guitarist are anal about things that don’t matter. Someone who is a professional and records for a living would and should be more discerning.
Sorry but I think the GFS pickups sound better and yes I own Fender pickups 2 sets in my collection and they sound like they beat the shit out of my vintage noisless set and my original Highway 1 set . The GFS Neck and Middle for sure beats Fender on sound, the bridge for me is a toss up where the GFS bridge sounds a little hotter and brighter. But the thing that makes me kind of sold on the GFS set is the fact there is only slight differences in the bridge so it sounds like it is intentionally hotter than Fender ones. Don't get me wrong the Fender set does sound nice and will never need to be replaced because the guitar overall sounds good. But the GFS ones are in a "Starcaster" with cheaper parts overall so it literally has everything in the world working against them and yet they pull off that sound. This was a great comparison between two different sets of pickup so thanks for that. But what sells GFS and makes them better is they did it for half the cost and it rivals Fender. So price and sound wise the GFS beat on price and gives Fender a run for their money on sound. I think anyone would be happy with either set but that price tag makes a huge difference.
hey my friend - I have a strat I love the way it plays but the tone is off . Its a 2012 Americans standard strat . I wonder if changes the PUs out will help ? Nice Video !
The pickups on modern models tend to be pretty uninspiring. Definitely try out some different models from the 50's and 60's eras. But first.... Play through a dimed germanium fuzz with the strat volume down. You may just find your tone hanging out there
Not a totally fair comparison since you have a left handed neck -vs- a right handed. Two totally different beasts. Personally in this video I would take the fenders. Also, are the neck radius' the same on both guitars ?
@@RickRomanelli lol. Well it did help. I went with a pair of the fender vintage '64 & a 920D 4 way switch in my favorite ash Tele. Also currently building a Nashville style on the cheap & decided on a gfs Jimi for the neck. Thanks 👍👍
Awesome. That Jimi Strat and is one of my bucket list guitars, also lately I've been really thinking of Brad Paisley's 2017 silver sparkle road worn MIM Tele for some reason
fenders have the traditional sound we all gravitate to ...I like the crispness of the GFS pickups...both are good...pricewise well we know GFS has that edge...
PV 65 killed the GFS here. The GFS didn't sound bad but not anything like the Fender set. What kind of wood is each guitar, I've recently learned that makes a huge difference. I'm listening through bigger speakers, not a phone and the GFS don't cut through the backing track to stand out as having that special something. The Fender do they still bite through.
@@stringspicksandfiddlestick6388 Of course. It those items are changed then it isn't a fair comparison. It's not a p'up comparison anymore then, it's a before and after of all the mods.
@@stringspicksandfiddlestick6388 True. But could be argued as a way to compare the different types of Strat pups. I mean in the end, the differences between pickups really comes down to construction method or parts used. That's it. Doesn't matter if some bougie boutique builder makes them or some random dude out not his basement; component for component being equal the pickup will not be any better or worse. Obviously if someone is shitty at winding that can make a difference but for arguments sake we will assume the same skill-set for winding is taking place. Some dude in China in a factory would turn out the exact same sounding pickup as that boutique builder if they used the same components and the same construction method; like a staggered vs flat for example. Obviously cheaper quality components can make a difference but pickups themselves really aren't all that magical. I went down a major rabbit hole when deciding which humbuckers to get for a LP project I was working on. Did I want Gibson or were the new ProBuckers good enough? Was there a real and quantifiable difference? Turns out, the answer was, No. There is no quantifiable difference. The ProBuckees used the same metal alloy ratios, the same screws with the same finish and made fromrnrh same material, same wore, saw cover and same winding method. Only difference is that one is made in the USA and one is made over seas. Outside if that the pickups are identical. I had a LP with h some Gibson pups and when I got the ProBuckers installed they were the same. Now different guitars can influence the sound for better an worse; a better, more resonant piece of wood or a different type all together. But still, the pups themselves aren't special because of some magic that a builder can add. It's really interesting to learn how limiting pickups really are when it comes to the bounds they are beholden to. It's really only mat rials and construction method.
been considering putting some GFS 64 pickups in my own Starcaster actually (which coincidentally has a Hendrix style reverse slant pickguard lol) not sure if I should go for the vintage, the overwound, or split the difference with the Texas set... any suggestions?
I vote for Texas! I like the vintage myself but I like low output pickups. For that reason, my preferences would steer me clear of the overwound. Thanks for watching and commenting, James!
What kind of music you play dictates what pickups you should buy to be happy with them. I personally have a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless and I am not happy with them because they are too weak for what I play. The original pickups sounded the best but I donated them to another guitar I don't want to kill. I own 3 EMG Actives, 1 Seymoure Duncan Livewire (old ones that took 2 batteries), a passive Seymour Duncan (forgot which one) and an Evo 2 from Dimarzio (Vai's pickup). I am happiest with the EMG 81/85 pickups (cheap version is the RedActive by GFS) and for passive the EVO is literally the best sounding passive pickup I have ever heard. So if you are like me and play Hard Rock, Metal, Neo Classical, blues and normal rock then you probably would lean more towards the overwound or the RedActives. If you play more on the country, blues and jazz side of things then you'd be happier with just theTexas, 59 or 64 set from GFS or the Woodbox Slick WarmTone S set. I tend to lean towards a hotter sound because you can soften a hotter sound in an EQ on the amp, but you cannot pull hot out of a vintage pickup, they generally have a 5 to7k resistance and that just isn't enough to drive it into modern music era. My fender noiseless set has ohms readings of 7 bridge, 5 mid and 5.5 neck and those are fine for vintage type playing and softer tones. But if you want to send a note into the stratosphere it needs to have an ohms reading of around 9.5 to 12, especially in a single coil set. But you likely want that neck to be softer anyway so you can still get a nice warm clean tone. So what set should you buy...these ones www.guitarfetish.com/NEW-Trucoil-II-Improved-Noise-Cancelling-Kwikplug-Ready_p_24571.html They are noise cancelling due to the dummy coil (a dummy coil on a strat pickup gives you all the benefits of humbuckers but leaves the single coil sound intact), and you can choose in the options just how hot you want that bridge, mid and neck. If you want metal out of the bridge pick one that is around 10 to 12k the mid should be 7K, neck the 5.5k.....alternately if you play in the softer side of things make the bridge 7k, mid 7 or 6k, and keep the neck at 5.5k. That should get you started and should help make choosing easier. Hope that helps.
Thanks. I have that Hendrix Strat too ^^ Just in black. But ive put the Custom Shop Hardware on it (its called Fender "Pure Vintage" too, like the PUs. Saddles, Steelblock, Springs and Tuners.) In case someone wonders, yes, they are different. In this case its not just the name. Its the same hardware like the Custom Shop guitars have, with some rather obvious differences like Saddle length, material, 5 soft springs instead of 3 hard ones (like Hendrix had, for example), tuners are a bit smoother etc. Its a killer now ^^ I have the Classic 60ties with Custom 69 too and a few others, see below. The Custom 69 are more clear in sound but the swapped Pure Vintage 65 from the Hendrix Strat just sound dirtier , what gets more obious with more gain and fuzz etc. Exactly like Hendrix sounded. Neither of my other 3 strats sound that much like Hendrixs guitars did (i have an US Standard Strat too and a Squire Classic Vibe.) If someone is looking for a steal and wants to come as close to Hendrix sound, buy a Hendrix Tribute Strat and pimp it with Custom Shop hardware. It will be like 1300 or 1400 Euro all together, depending where you live. Thats one third of a real custom shop Strat and will have the same hardware. Its missing the wood and finish of course. Still makes it the best i had so far. Im playing it on a Pod Go currently, that has all the Hendrix Gear in and sounds really good, after tweaking a few hours.
Wait...at about 7 minutes in...a Strat should sound "pokey"? Which reaction emoji is "Head scratching"/"Confused" one again? 😉 Seriously, I like this pickups to pickups comparison. I've wondered about GFS in general. And I always enjoy watching/hearing you play, Rick.
Pokey isn't my word. I just used it. 🤨 Feel free to recommend a word that describes the bright beautiful tone of a Strat. GFS makes good pickups. Not saying they are just as good as others, just that they are well worth the money. Thanks Larry. It means a lot to me that folks like you are watching my stuff. Peace my friend!
@@RickRomanelli my feeble attempt at humor notwithstanding, I get that verbal descriptions of sound can be problematic. I've heard Tele and Strat neck pickups described as "squishy" (meant in a good way) and bridge pickups as "ice-picky" (a bad thing). It's just that I'd never heard "pokey" in this context before, and didn't know what sonic characteristics it was meant to describe. And it's always a treat to watch/listen to you play.
Rick send me an original for Friday.. 6minutes max peace Bro. Subbed Now . Thought I was no worries thanks for wanting to share your music with us peace.
Hey thanks. ruclips.net/video/Zh4og2jcBhE/видео.html Let me know if you got it. Sometimes it'll go to spam. This is 6:04 when the music ends. Less thank 6 minutes if you cue it after my intro. Thanks again dude!
@@RickRomanelli I appreciate a great jam but for the show it's about the flow ant time constraints 3-5 Minutes is the norm. I'll have a look peace Rick
The GFS pickups sound like a value brand and brittle. Excellent pickups for a partscaster or a Squier bullet upgrade. The PV ‘65 set are some of Fender’s best.
Ordered 2 sets of the PV 65's... both sets arrived with a DOA pickup and they ALL measured anywhere from 5.6 to 6.2kohms. Allover the place. Gonna try some FatPups Little Fat Wing '67s... losing faith in anything Fender not from the Cu$tom $hop.
A player, in my opinion is the deciding end factor. I have seen countless "stars in their eyes guys and gals in my over half century, around music and the industry, that get wobbly in the knees over "brand" and must have this or that artist signature guitar or that name brand headstock with custom or pro or limited in the small print with what they were brainwashed into thinking was going to make them sound and play like the pros and the ax gods but if they didn't practice and learn some music theory it didn't matter the pickups, pots or copper shielding in their praised and wallet emptied for ax's. They still played like or more important sounded either like a copy cat wanna be who in the end sounded like poo. It's the 80-20 rule for my money and time. The "follow the followers" will always try to find short cuts to sound great but nothing beats time on the fingerboard. But a beat to hell, road worn or ol Willie N. acoustic can and will still carry and move hearts, draw tears and make an audience move emotionally in the hands of an acomplished seasoned player, no matter the Pups, the strings, the name on the stock or the hole in the soundboard. Ice playing in the video, nice comparison and thanks for your effort my fellow ax weilding brother. That's my opinion and feedback loop, take it for what it is and have a blessed day 😁
Great video by the way, but i couldn't help noting that I'm hearing that nasty overtone you get very overly staggered pickups, from both of them. Might be "original specs" but, why do pick up manufacturers including Fender insist on listening to tone purists? Why because more will buy out of proportion pick ups? thats why I've stopped subscribing to "Vintage" specs, ruins the experience and makes no difference in tone at all.
Jesus Christ loves you so much and He will save us from our sins if we put our faith and trust in Him! because we all sinned and fell short of Gods perfect glory (romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is eternal death! (romans 6:23) but the gift of God is this john 3:16-21 "for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. this is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposes. but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." and romans 10:9-13 "if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. as scripture says, "anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame. "for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." so God is coming at a time we least expect, and if we put our faith and trust in Him He will gift us His grace and clothe us with the righteousness of His blood (but of course death could not hold Him, He is risen!) and we will have eternal life in His kingdom where there will be there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying. there will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. because He loves you so much! (romans 5:6-8) but if we deny and reject Him and don't repent from our sins to follow God, then we will have our part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. because no liar, no thief, no blasphemer (using Gods name in vain as a cuss word to express anger or disgust) and no adulterer (Jesus Christ says in matthew 5 that anyone who just looks at someone to lust for they’re an adultery at heart) will enter the kingdom of heaven. so hear these words, repent and believe the gospel! accept Jesus Christ and confess your sins to Him so that He will forgive you and give you a life with truth and real love and joy and peace that this world can never give you or fulfill in you you! and the love and joy and peace that He will give you will never fade away or perish. this is all if you haven't done this yet and Jesus Christ hasn't saved you yet, also when you have time please you should watch this channel here on youtube called "Christ forgiveness ministries" and hear what they have to say, glory to God. God bless you! 🙌👑💟 . . .
Oh my God.......really so spamming it because of why? What Earthly purpose have you appointed to yourself that YOU need to assume people do not know what is in the bible and need to tell them on behalf of a being who will always be higher in authority and power than you will ever be? Here's you something to think about since you seem to have ran out of things and just are convinced you have the answers. If every atheist complains that the church and their interpretation of God's word has caused them to stop listening and leave then how is it a house of God when its directly responsible for turning people away from God? Sounds like a pretty good reason for God to be angry with it. You can't be responsible for helping make atheism more prevalent and think you did a good job. You didn't. Second since you are so reliant on that book you might want to know that in 382 A.D. St. Jerome was tasked with putting the original Hebrew text into a single book in Latin, he prefaced the book by saying he was NOT comfortable putting anything beyond the Gospel of John in it because everything after is speculation and is not a part of the original Hebrew text. He said the interpretation would be lost and become incorrect. This book is known as the "Vulgate bible" and was compiled quite a bit before King James interpreted it. He was right as reading the Vulgate bible you will quickly realize some stuff in the original text has been changed. Proving you guys messed with the interpretation of God's word so how is that not bearing false witness? Third how is not bowing before a golden cross not idolatry, regardless of what it represents God said NO IDOLS period and you guys didn't listen. Fourth you have succeeded in making people fear the one being they should NEVER fear. Fifth the Romans quote is just that a quote and not the word of God but the words of someone who thought they knew what God meant. Sixth the book supports reincarnation and you guys just want to continue to think that God is an idiot and would just ignore putting a system in place to handle death and unfair death. Reincarnation is written all over that book, if humans thrive on challenge then no you are not going to heaven for eternity because boredom does not represent perfection. Heaven can't be heaven with us in it because we are imperfect. So reincarnation is how God kept his word and promise, it is everlasting life, it is inheriting the Earth and it is a very elegant and beautiful system. He didn't just get lazy when creating everything. Heaven is only a waiting place for us to get ready to be reintroduced to the world. But the one that gets me the most, is believing a max of 120 years is enough time to teach people what they need to know and enough time to display the faith they are suppose to have? A continuation of life is literally the largest test of faith as it extends beyond death. There is a lot wrong with the churches interpretation, not God's words but the interpretation put forth by the church. The fact Lilith is missing from the book of Genesis is most certainly editing God's word as she is very much in the earlier version known as the Torah. Never pass judgement by assuming someone has no clue who God is, otherwise you get people like me who didn't just settle for what some jackass in a polyester suit told them but went looking for the answer. So considering I have far more interpretation's of God's words under my belt than you I'd strongly suggest never to spam someone with stuff you didn't vet yourself but assumed those who told you, and just relied on them doing your research for you, when they didn't do enough of it. How you know what you figure out is right is that it will match with Science. Sorry but God created both philosophy and science and they have to compliment each other, otherwise you get half a picture as you have clearly demonstrated here. And finally to quote Mathew "Judge not lest ye be judged," and lets not stop there lets finish his quote "for the judgement you use to judge others will be the judgement used to judge YOU" Judge superficially as you just did and that is how you will be judged. Funny how all of you leave that second part out because it tells you God doesn't take shallow judgement lightly.
Gfs aren’t all “budget” pickups. GFS sells WAREHOUSE to direct. Different business models .Fender sales through third partie distributors who gotta get paid too. Thats your price difference. I have 3 or 4 sets of GFS pups, all with german silver baseplates, push back cloth wire and their tele style bobbins are wrapped in nice vintage cloth. If Fender put its covers on the GFS pups and sold them as fender grey bottoms, people wouldnt notice and no one would say crap , fender wouldn’t even have to return and apologize.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I thought the Hendrix strat sounded better but I dunno how much of that is the guitar and how much is the pickups. The Starcaster with the GFS pickups definitely doesn't sound bad at all. :)
Yes, everything you said. I'm not very scientific with these things. Granted, the Starcaster has really crappy pots and switches, lesser woods, doesn't stay in tune as well, and doesn't really feel like you are playing a strat.
Just that it got in the ballpark though is pretty cool. I can easily recommend these pickups to folks on a budget.
Your ears do not deceive. The GFS have a dummy coil under the pickup that cancels the hum. Unfortunately, that also affects the pickups' tone.
@@knowitall1694 these pickups did not have a dummy coil and still have hum. That's ok. Thanks for your input.
@@RickRomanelli I stand corrected. No dummy coil. www.guitarfetish.com/64-Stagger-Vintage-Grey-Bottom-Boutique-Fits-Stratregreg--Surfy--Kwikplug™-Ready_p_21997.html
When Fender took apart Clapton's Blackie Strat which was a 50's parts caster they found Grey Bottom pickups from the '70's.
They sound nice. Thanks for the information too.
Awesome man, sounds great ✌👍
Thanks Andy!
The Hendrix strat has reverse pole stagger and the bridge pickup is angled the opposite direction, will give it different tone than a our of the box 65 set, subtle and small difference but a difference that is significant when you start to put it through its paces.
Hi. It was the only guitar I had access to with those pickups. I thought the owner might be upset if I changed to a different pickguard and neck. I appreciate the input though.
@@RickRomanelli still a great review just want people to know that the Hendrix strat (I own one) is set up different than the 65 pups out of the box, would have to install them backwards and with a different slant on pickguard to get exact same tone, they are great pickups regardless will only notice a slight difference between Hendrix strat and regular strat w 65s
@@50kal44 Yeah you are right, GFS even has a "Jimi" set as they call it and that is the difference (reverse staggered poles) fatter power chords and smoother B string.
This is a great comparison, Rick. To my ears, the GFS sound compressed and the twangy presence is missing. The dynamics are also gone. The Hendrix guitar is dynamic, open and spunkier. Although the GFS sound good, they sound more like a humbucker. I prefer the Hendrix Vintage pickups.
Thanks. In the room they sounded very close. I appreciate the comment.
@@RickRomanelli I don’t agree with that guy, they sound great just different. Let’s be honest no human alive would notice any difference in a mix. Mostly bedroom guitarist are anal about things that don’t matter. Someone who is a professional and records for a living would and should be more discerning.
In Hendrix´s model, pickups are installed upside down. This affects tone too.
But his had all that sweaty residue from Woodstock. Ewww.
Sorry but I think the GFS pickups sound better and yes I own Fender pickups 2 sets in my collection and they sound like they beat the shit out of my vintage noisless set and my original Highway 1 set .
The GFS Neck and Middle for sure beats Fender on sound, the bridge for me is a toss up where the GFS bridge sounds a little hotter and brighter. But the thing that makes me kind of sold on the GFS set is the fact there is only slight differences in the bridge so it sounds like it is intentionally hotter than Fender ones.
Don't get me wrong the Fender set does sound nice and will never need to be replaced because the guitar overall sounds good. But the GFS ones are in a "Starcaster" with cheaper parts overall so it literally has everything in the world working against them and yet they pull off that sound.
This was a great comparison between two different sets of pickup so thanks for that. But what sells GFS and makes them better is they did it for half the cost and it rivals Fender. So price and sound wise the GFS beat on price and gives Fender a run for their money on sound. I think anyone would be happy with either set but that price tag makes a huge difference.
Right on man. Thanks for this feedback. I was also impressed with the GFS pickups. Great comment.
hey my friend - I have a strat I love the way it plays but the tone is off . Its a 2012 Americans standard strat . I wonder if changes the PUs out will help ? Nice Video !
Thanks Rick. Maybe you just don't like the sound of a Strat? That would be ok, right?
@@RickRomanelli no never ok
The pickups on modern models tend to be pretty uninspiring. Definitely try out some different models from the 50's and 60's eras. But first.... Play through a dimed germanium fuzz with the strat volume down. You may just find your tone hanging out there
Not a totally fair comparison since you have a left handed neck -vs- a right handed. Two totally different beasts. Personally in this video I would take the fenders. Also, are the neck radius' the same on both guitars ?
I don't know. I was just making a comparison the best way I could. Both guitars belong to friends. I don't get paid much for this :) .
@@RickRomanelli lol. Well it did help.
I went with a pair of the fender vintage '64 & a 920D 4 way switch in my favorite ash Tele.
Also currently building a Nashville style on the cheap & decided on a gfs Jimi for the neck. Thanks 👍👍
Awesome. That Jimi Strat and is one of my bucket list guitars, also lately I've been really thinking of Brad Paisley's 2017 silver sparkle road worn MIM Tele for some reason
Is that the tele with the hidden pickup? I'd like to try it but I'm dubious of that pickup. Thanks for watching as always David!
@@RickRomanelli no the hidden pickup one is the new one I think, when you get a chance look up the 2017 MIM one, I think you'll like it.
@@DavidMorales008 There is no doubt I'll like it.
fenders have the traditional sound we all gravitate to ...I like the crispness of the GFS pickups...both are good...pricewise well we know GFS has that edge...
PV 65 killed the GFS here. The GFS didn't sound bad but not anything like the Fender set. What kind of wood is each guitar, I've recently learned that makes a huge difference. I'm listening through bigger speakers, not a phone and the GFS don't cut through the backing track to stand out as having that special something. The Fender do they still bite through.
Thanks for your input!
The Tremelo block and saddles change tone too.
@@stringspicksandfiddlestick6388 Of course. It those items are changed then it isn't a fair comparison. It's not a p'up comparison anymore then, it's a before and after of all the mods.
This comparrison is kind of Apples and Oranges anyway. The reverse stagger on the Hendrix bridge pickup is also a BIG change.
@@stringspicksandfiddlestick6388 True. But could be argued as a way to compare the different types of Strat pups. I mean in the end, the differences between pickups really comes down to construction method or parts used. That's it. Doesn't matter if some bougie boutique builder makes them or some random dude out not his basement; component for component being equal the pickup will not be any better or worse. Obviously if someone is shitty at winding that can make a difference but for arguments sake we will assume the same skill-set for winding is taking place. Some dude in China in a factory would turn out the exact same sounding pickup as that boutique builder if they used the same components and the same construction method; like a staggered vs flat for example. Obviously cheaper quality components can make a difference but pickups themselves really aren't all that magical.
I went down a major rabbit hole when deciding which humbuckers to get for a LP project I was working on. Did I want Gibson or were the new ProBuckers good enough? Was there a real and quantifiable difference? Turns out, the answer was, No. There is no quantifiable difference. The ProBuckees used the same metal alloy ratios, the same screws with the same finish and made fromrnrh same material, same wore, saw cover and same winding method. Only difference is that one is made in the USA and one is made over seas. Outside if that the pickups are identical. I had a LP with h some Gibson pups and when I got the ProBuckers installed they were the same. Now different guitars can influence the sound for better an worse; a better, more resonant piece of wood or a different type all together. But still, the pups themselves aren't special because of some magic that a builder can add. It's really interesting to learn how limiting pickups really are when it comes to the bounds they are beholden to. It's really only mat rials and construction method.
been considering putting some GFS 64 pickups in my own Starcaster actually (which coincidentally has a Hendrix style reverse slant pickguard lol)
not sure if I should go for the vintage, the overwound, or split the difference with the Texas set...
any suggestions?
I vote for Texas! I like the vintage myself but I like low output pickups. For that reason, my preferences would steer me clear of the overwound. Thanks for watching and commenting, James!
What kind of music you play dictates what pickups you should buy to be happy with them. I personally have a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless and I am not happy with them because they are too weak for what I play. The original pickups sounded the best but I donated them to another guitar I don't want to kill. I own 3 EMG Actives, 1 Seymoure Duncan Livewire (old ones that took 2 batteries), a passive Seymour Duncan (forgot which one) and an Evo 2 from Dimarzio (Vai's pickup).
I am happiest with the EMG 81/85 pickups (cheap version is the RedActive by GFS) and for passive the EVO is literally the best sounding passive pickup I have ever heard.
So if you are like me and play Hard Rock, Metal, Neo Classical, blues and normal rock then you probably would lean more towards the overwound or the RedActives. If you play more on the country, blues and jazz side of things then you'd be happier with just theTexas, 59 or 64 set from GFS or the Woodbox Slick WarmTone S set. I tend to lean towards a hotter sound because you can soften a hotter sound in an EQ on the amp, but you cannot pull hot out of a vintage pickup, they generally have a 5 to7k resistance and that just isn't enough to drive it into modern music era.
My fender noiseless set has ohms readings of 7 bridge, 5 mid and 5.5 neck and those are fine for vintage type playing and softer tones. But if you want to send a note into the stratosphere it needs to have an ohms reading of around 9.5 to 12, especially in a single coil set. But you likely want that neck to be softer anyway so you can still get a nice warm clean tone.
So what set should you buy...these ones www.guitarfetish.com/NEW-Trucoil-II-Improved-Noise-Cancelling-Kwikplug-Ready_p_24571.html
They are noise cancelling due to the dummy coil (a dummy coil on a strat pickup gives you all the benefits of humbuckers but leaves the single coil sound intact), and you can choose in the options just how hot you want that bridge, mid and neck. If you want metal out of the bridge pick one that is around 10 to 12k the mid should be 7K, neck the 5.5k.....alternately if you play in the softer side of things make the bridge 7k, mid 7 or 6k, and keep the neck at 5.5k. That should get you started and should help make choosing easier. Hope that helps.
I want that vox behind you
Thanks.
I have that Hendrix Strat too ^^ Just in black. But ive put the Custom Shop Hardware on it (its called Fender "Pure Vintage" too, like the PUs. Saddles, Steelblock, Springs and Tuners.)
In case someone wonders, yes, they are different. In this case its not just the name. Its the same hardware like the Custom Shop guitars have, with some rather obvious differences like Saddle length, material, 5 soft springs instead of 3 hard ones (like Hendrix had, for example), tuners are a bit smoother etc.
Its a killer now ^^ I have the Classic 60ties with Custom 69 too and a few others, see below. The Custom 69 are more clear in sound but the swapped Pure Vintage 65 from the Hendrix Strat just sound dirtier , what gets more obious with more gain and fuzz etc.
Exactly like Hendrix sounded. Neither of my other 3 strats sound that much like Hendrixs guitars did (i have an US Standard Strat too and a Squire Classic Vibe.)
If someone is looking for a steal and wants to come as close to Hendrix sound, buy a Hendrix Tribute Strat and pimp it with Custom Shop hardware. It will be like 1300 or 1400 Euro all together, depending where you live. Thats one third of a real custom shop Strat and will have the same hardware. Its missing the wood and finish of course. Still makes it the best i had so far.
Im playing it on a Pod Go currently, that has all the Hendrix Gear in and sounds really good, after tweaking a few hours.
Wait...at about 7 minutes in...a Strat should sound "pokey"? Which reaction emoji is "Head scratching"/"Confused" one again? 😉 Seriously, I like this pickups to pickups comparison. I've wondered about GFS in general. And I always enjoy watching/hearing you play, Rick.
Pokey isn't my word. I just used it. 🤨 Feel free to recommend a word that describes the bright beautiful tone of a Strat. GFS makes good pickups. Not saying they are just as good as others, just that they are well worth the money. Thanks Larry. It means a lot to me that folks like you are watching my stuff. Peace my friend!
@@RickRomanelli my feeble attempt at humor notwithstanding, I get that verbal descriptions of sound can be problematic. I've heard Tele and Strat neck pickups described as "squishy" (meant in a good way) and bridge pickups as "ice-picky" (a bad thing). It's just that I'd never heard "pokey" in this context before, and didn't know what sonic characteristics it was meant to describe. And it's always a treat to watch/listen to you play.
not gonna lie at all, these sounds great. Thanks for making this, Rick! I've been thinking about getting some vintage tele pickups from GFS.
Cool. I feel pretty confident recommending these. I have not tried the Tele pickups. Thanks Colin!
Man I can't call it but nice jamming. I had a 66 strat and the tone was unreal
I don't think I can hear any difference, but I don't have but less than half an ear to try with so...both sound great 👍.
I think that's the Strat tone for me. These both sounded pretty good. Thanks Jeff.
@@leodanryan966 Thanks Leo. You're a hoot bud.
@@RickRomanelli Yep...it's a dirty job, but it's a job.
Rick send me an original for Friday.. 6minutes max peace Bro. Subbed Now . Thought I was no worries thanks for wanting to share your music with us peace.
Hey thanks.
ruclips.net/video/Zh4og2jcBhE/видео.html
Let me know if you got it. Sometimes it'll go to spam. This is 6:04 when the music ends. Less thank 6 minutes if you cue it after my intro. Thanks again dude!
Oh wait, this is my video. HA!
@@RickRomanelli I appreciate a great jam but for the show it's about the flow ant time constraints 3-5 Minutes is the norm. I'll have a look peace Rick
Cheap happy tones , I’m all about that!
Me too brother!
it's a hot sound!:)
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Sounds alright by me
Cool! Thanks Janice.
Do people tend to pass Skip in the rotation? Well his name IS Skip.
You don't know that his name is Skip.
The GFS pickups sound like a value brand and brittle. Excellent pickups for a partscaster or a Squier bullet upgrade.
The PV ‘65 set are some of Fender’s best.
They didn't sound brittle sitting in front of the amp. They sounded quite beautiful. Thanks for commenting.
@@RickRomanelli I have GFS in a couple Strats, sound great, can't beat the price!
Might sound brittle because of the plywood guitar.
Ordered 2 sets of the PV 65's... both sets arrived with a DOA pickup and they ALL measured anywhere from 5.6 to 6.2kohms. Allover the place. Gonna try some FatPups Little Fat Wing '67s... losing faith in anything Fender not from the Cu$tom $hop.
Oh! Come back and let us know the outcome of that, please. Thanks!
My untrained ear says they sound the same...
GOOD! That's what I hope for. Peace you ole coot!
A player, in my opinion is the deciding end factor. I have seen countless "stars in their eyes guys and gals in my over half century, around music and the industry, that get wobbly in the knees over "brand" and must have this or that artist signature guitar or that name brand headstock with custom or pro or limited in the small print with what they were brainwashed into thinking was going to make them sound and play like the pros and the ax gods but if they didn't practice and learn some music theory it didn't matter the pickups, pots or copper shielding in their praised and wallet emptied for ax's. They still played like or more important sounded either like a copy cat wanna be who in the end sounded like poo. It's the 80-20 rule for my money and time. The "follow the followers" will always try to find short cuts to sound great but nothing beats time on the fingerboard. But a beat to hell, road worn or ol Willie N. acoustic can and will still carry and move hearts, draw tears and make an audience move emotionally in the hands of an acomplished seasoned player, no matter the Pups, the strings, the name on the stock or the hole in the soundboard. Ice playing in the video, nice comparison and thanks for your effort my fellow ax weilding brother. That's my opinion and feedback loop, take it for what it is and have a blessed day 😁
I didnt want it to be, but the fenders killed the gfs to my ear. Everyset of gfs ive heard lacks wRmth or body
Great video by the way, but i couldn't help noting that I'm hearing that nasty overtone you get very overly staggered pickups, from both of them. Might be "original specs" but, why do pick up manufacturers including Fender insist on listening to tone purists? Why because more will buy out of proportion pick ups? thats why I've stopped subscribing to "Vintage" specs, ruins the experience and makes no difference in tone at all.
Im a GFS fan. Like um.
I've been pleasantly surprised so far with them. I just made a video with some Mini Hums. They sound fantastic! Thanks for watching!
Fender pure v hands down
I just got pure v tele pickups too. Can't wait to get them installed. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Jesus Christ loves you so much and He will save us from our sins if we put our faith and trust in Him! because we all sinned and fell short of Gods perfect glory (romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is eternal death! (romans 6:23) but the gift of God is this
john 3:16-21
"for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. this is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposes. but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."
and romans 10:9-13
"if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. as scripture says, "anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame. "for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
so God is coming at a time we least expect, and if we put our faith and trust in Him He will gift us His grace and clothe us with the righteousness of His blood (but of course death could not hold Him, He is risen!) and we will have eternal life in His kingdom where there will be there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying. there will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. because He loves you so much! (romans 5:6-8) but if we deny and reject Him and don't repent from our sins to follow God, then we will have our part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. because no liar, no thief, no blasphemer (using Gods name in vain as a cuss word to express anger or disgust) and no adulterer (Jesus Christ says in matthew 5 that anyone who just looks at someone to lust for they’re an adultery at heart) will enter the kingdom of heaven. so hear these words, repent and believe the gospel! accept Jesus Christ and confess your sins to Him so that He will forgive you and give you a life with truth and real love and joy and peace that this world can never give you or fulfill in you you! and the love and joy and peace that He will give you will never fade away or perish. this is all if you haven't done this yet and Jesus Christ hasn't saved you yet, also when you have time please you should watch this channel here on youtube called "Christ forgiveness ministries" and hear what they have to say, glory to God. God bless you! 🙌👑💟 . . .
Thanks. That’s correct.
Oh my God.......really so spamming it because of why? What Earthly purpose have you appointed to yourself that YOU need to assume people do not know what is in the bible and need to tell them on behalf of a being who will always be higher in authority and power than you will ever be?
Here's you something to think about since you seem to have ran out of things and just are convinced you have the answers.
If every atheist complains that the church and their interpretation of God's word has caused them to stop listening and leave then how is it a house of God when its directly responsible for turning people away from God? Sounds like a pretty good reason for God to be angry with it. You can't be responsible for helping make atheism more prevalent and think you did a good job. You didn't.
Second since you are so reliant on that book you might want to know that in 382 A.D. St. Jerome was tasked with putting the original Hebrew text into a single book in Latin, he prefaced the book by saying he was NOT comfortable putting anything beyond the Gospel of John in it because everything after is speculation and is not a part of the original Hebrew text. He said the interpretation would be lost and become incorrect. This book is known as the "Vulgate bible" and was compiled quite a bit before King James interpreted it. He was right as reading the Vulgate bible you will quickly realize some stuff in the original text has been changed. Proving you guys messed with the interpretation of God's word so how is that not bearing false witness?
Third how is not bowing before a golden cross not idolatry, regardless of what it represents God said NO IDOLS period and you guys didn't listen.
Fourth you have succeeded in making people fear the one being they should NEVER fear.
Fifth the Romans quote is just that a quote and not the word of God but the words of someone who thought they knew what God meant.
Sixth the book supports reincarnation and you guys just want to continue to think that God is an idiot and would just ignore putting a system in place to handle death and unfair death. Reincarnation is written all over that book, if humans thrive on challenge then no you are not going to heaven for eternity because boredom does not represent perfection. Heaven can't be heaven with us in it because we are imperfect. So reincarnation is how God kept his word and promise, it is everlasting life, it is inheriting the Earth and it is a very elegant and beautiful system. He didn't just get lazy when creating everything. Heaven is only a waiting place for us to get ready to be reintroduced to the world.
But the one that gets me the most, is believing a max of 120 years is enough time to teach people what they need to know and enough time to display the faith they are suppose to have? A continuation of life is literally the largest test of faith as it extends beyond death.
There is a lot wrong with the churches interpretation, not God's words but the interpretation put forth by the church. The fact Lilith is missing from the book of Genesis is most certainly editing God's word as she is very much in the earlier version known as the Torah.
Never pass judgement by assuming someone has no clue who God is, otherwise you get people like me who didn't just settle for what some jackass in a polyester suit told them but went looking for the answer. So considering I have far more interpretation's of God's words under my belt than you I'd strongly suggest never to spam someone with stuff you didn't vet yourself but assumed those who told you, and just relied on them doing your research for you, when they didn't do enough of it.
How you know what you figure out is right is that it will match with Science. Sorry but God created both philosophy and science and they have to compliment each other, otherwise you get half a picture as you have clearly demonstrated here.
And finally to quote Mathew "Judge not lest ye be judged," and lets not stop there lets finish his quote "for the judgement you use to judge others will be the judgement used to judge YOU" Judge superficially as you just did and that is how you will be judged. Funny how all of you leave that second part out because it tells you God doesn't take shallow judgement lightly.
@@evilcowboy It's ok. I'll allow it. Jesus, He's my friend.
Gfs aren’t all “budget” pickups. GFS sells WAREHOUSE to direct. Different business models .Fender sales through third partie distributors who gotta get paid too. Thats your price difference. I have 3 or 4 sets of GFS pups, all with german silver baseplates, push back cloth wire and their tele style bobbins are wrapped in nice vintage cloth. If Fender put its covers on the GFS pups and sold them as fender grey bottoms, people wouldnt notice and no one would say crap , fender wouldn’t even have to return and apologize.
It’s not a good comparison unless you use the same guitar on both imo
You didn't have to watch. This is as close as I could get with my limited resources.
Thats the all time pos strat. The “Fender” “Starcaster” sold exclusively to WALMART.