You know, this video more than anything proves to me how much most people have become brainwashed consumers who believe that you need to spend a couple of grand on a fender custom shop guitar and £100-£200 per pickup for an instrument that sounds good and claim that 'you get what you pay for'. I'd put money on that if you made a blind video, didn't show the guitar or pickups, and said it was a custom shop Jaguar with bare knuckle or other highly priced pickups, and pretended to compare it with a £200-£300 Squier Jag and £40 surf 90s, the comments would be a lot different and people would treat the expensive guitar & pickups in a more positive manner and the inexpensive guitar in a negative one.....but your guitar sounds very good indeed and those surf 90s are as good as any pickups I've heard anywhere, in fact I bought a set myself last year because I liked them so much. The tone is down to the player, not the players' money.
Great job; GREAT guitar! I'm CONVINCED that we are living in the Golden Age of Squier. I don't care what jabs I take, it's true. I've been playing guitar (sometimes on a budget, other times sky's the limit). Many of you younger/newer guys may see the prices and demand for the 80s MIJ Squiers and think they've always been universally praised and admired. Let me set that $#|+ straight RIGHT NOW- I vividly remember the cork-sniffery that the MIJs were met with in their day. They were viewed nearly EXACTLY they same way today's Classsic Vibe, Vintage Modified MIC, MII or MIW(here-ever) are. It's only been with time that the pride in workmanship and superior quality have become recognized. These 2 lines (CV and VM) are on par with ANYTHING on the market. Even WITH the stock internals. Some models may be better than others in that dept, but NONE are bad, or unuseable- bone stock. I have well over 20 guitars, 6-7 Cv/Vm's alongside vintage, MIA, MIJ, Fender, Gibson etc etc.-HOWEVER- the Vintage Modified Surf Strat is far and away THE BEST FENDER CLEAN TONE- PERIOD; with the only exception of actual 50s 60s vint. Strats. Many many pros, collectors and dealers who know their stuff agree- check the Strat-Talk for one. I think the biggest problem in 20-30 years will be finding a clean STOCK examples, as SOOOoooo many of us are modding them. I've stopped, the last 3-4 I bought I'm keeping stock, and noticing MINOR subjective differences, not necessarily improvements when vs. ones with even the most high-end "upgrades". RANT OVER- go plug in and enjoy some glorious angelic tones!!
I have an American made Fender hanging in the room. ...and beside me on the stand is a $300 Squire with Surf 90's in it and both have a great set up. Guess which one I pick up to play every day...
I've had these pickups for years in a guitar and I can't get this sound out of em. I havent tried in a few years so I think ill go back and give it another shot.
Just what I needed to hear. Been pondering a bridge change in my ‘96 Jaguar MIJ HH hardtail sunburst. Stock Neck is fine as is for chords, but bridge needs some surfy twang!!!!
Nice! The GFS pickups are really good. I have them in my home built "sorta" Jazzmaster clone and see no reason to switch them out. Some nice picking, some really cool slide, and sweet tone in your video too. !!!
Fred Centrella Gfs are really amazing pickups.i put a bridge MEAN90 in a project les paul jr. i tell you what 40bucks never done me soo good. i wouldnt put a 100dollar one if i could. that thing spanks,snarls, cleans up to glassy crisp glossiness. oh it handles gain like a beest. i love Gfs. there really good.
I agree, great pickups. These models are actually pretty easy to retrofit a Bigsby on with the stock bridge. You can adjust the angle of the bridge so the strings won't catch on the string anchor holes, but I've also seen people do it by replacing the stock bridge with a Tune-o-matic. I'd do it if I didn't already have a Jazzmaster, which is my favorite tremolo type anyway.
Quick question, I tried the surf 180s and they had this upper mid-range I was super over emphasized and nasally. Are these compared to Strat or tele pickups similar, smoother, etc?
that tone from the chord at 0:51. I could see buying these. How does it "feel" when your playing? are they harsh feeling? or is there some give? Great video!
Hi, Great video!!! Question, do you think 500K pots result in a bright enough tone? I was toying with the idea of trying 1 Meg pots (ala Jazzmaster) but am concerned that might be too much! Any thoughts would be appreciated?
Thanks! I like 1 meg pots, personally. That said I typically leave the tone control on "7" most of the time with 1 meg pots. I currently have this guitar wired with Emerson CTS 1 meg pots and Stew Mac Parsons Street PAFs and it sounds great. It's an inexpensive experiment and worth a shot!
+Rolf Dinter Hey! It's wired with 500k CTS pots and a .022 mfd Orange Drop, if I remember correctly. I may end up swapping to 1 meg pots to get a more traditional (brighter) Jazzmaster/Jaguar sound, but we'll see.
A thoughtful replacement. Never really saw the point of straight humbuckers in a Jaguar.Might as well be an SG. I like the Surf's , but also be aware of the (Alnico2) Phat Cats and Railhammer Cleancuts if you want the flat EQ and fatter lows most P90's lack.The switching on the Jag is very useful with the right pickups.
Yep! I ended up swapping the bridge for an Armadillo billet brass cutoff Tele bridge, a top loader for three saddles, mostly for my own curiosity. Combined with compensated Rutters stainless saddles, it sounds great, though!
Great! Could you tell me how these pickups resist hum? Just like a traditional p90 or maybe a single strat coil? I really need to know before I order a set, thank you.
Thanks! For single coils, they are very quiet due to the metal casing and braided wiring. If your guitar is fully shielded, you'll have probably the lowest noise floor possible without resorting to humbuckers. This video was made a few years ago prior to me fully shielding the Jag and it still had a pretty low noise floor with these.
Got to love youtube I was hoping to find a good video for these p90's I was hoping to hear some slide with them and to top it off I have the exact guitar... yep in Fiesta Red. ha! SOLD
You know, this video more than anything proves to me how much most people have become brainwashed consumers who believe that you need to spend a couple of grand on a fender custom shop guitar and £100-£200 per pickup for an instrument that sounds good and claim that 'you get what you pay for'.
I'd put money on that if you made a blind video, didn't show the guitar or pickups, and said it was a custom shop Jaguar with bare knuckle or other highly priced pickups, and pretended to compare it with a £200-£300 Squier Jag and £40 surf 90s, the comments would be a lot different and people would treat the expensive guitar & pickups in a more positive manner and the inexpensive guitar in a negative one.....but your guitar sounds very good indeed and those surf 90s are as good as any pickups I've heard anywhere, in fact I bought a set myself last year because I liked them so much.
The tone is down to the player, not the players' money.
Wow was looking into these pickups and this jag is my daily driver. Thanks for the upload, its still helping people out 10 years later!
Great job; GREAT guitar!
I'm CONVINCED that we are living in the Golden Age of Squier. I don't care what jabs I take, it's true.
I've been playing guitar (sometimes on a budget, other times sky's the limit).
Many of you younger/newer guys may see the prices and demand for the 80s MIJ Squiers and think they've always been universally praised and admired.
Let me set that $#|+ straight RIGHT NOW- I vividly remember the cork-sniffery that the MIJs were met with in their day.
They were viewed nearly EXACTLY they same way today's Classsic Vibe, Vintage Modified MIC, MII or MIW(here-ever) are. It's only been with time that the pride in workmanship and superior quality have become recognized.
These 2 lines (CV and VM) are on par with ANYTHING on the market.
Even WITH the stock internals. Some models may be better than others in that dept, but NONE are bad, or unuseable- bone stock.
I have well over 20 guitars, 6-7 Cv/Vm's alongside vintage, MIA, MIJ, Fender, Gibson etc etc.-HOWEVER- the Vintage Modified Surf Strat is far and away THE BEST FENDER CLEAN TONE- PERIOD; with the only exception of actual 50s 60s vint. Strats.
Many many pros, collectors and dealers who know their stuff agree- check the Strat-Talk for one.
I think the biggest problem in 20-30 years will be finding a clean STOCK examples, as SOOOoooo many of us are modding them.
I've stopped, the last 3-4 I bought I'm keeping stock, and noticing MINOR subjective differences, not necessarily improvements when vs. ones with even the most high-end "upgrades".
RANT OVER- go plug in and enjoy some glorious angelic tones!!
For me, this is THE Holy Grail of tone. I think I've listened to this video at least 20 times in the last week. So much perfection.
This guy's tone and feel are out of this world.
This dude is an amazing player. I'm talking about you Ed.
I have an American made Fender hanging in the room. ...and beside me on the stand is a $300 Squire with Surf 90's in it and both have a great set up. Guess which one I pick up to play every day...
I've had these pickups for years in a guitar and I can't get this sound out of em. I havent tried in a few years so I think ill go back and give it another shot.
Beautiful chord work and those GFS sure sound like glass! Congrats man.
Eventually I think I'll toss these same pickups in a LP style and see how they sound. I dig the demo!
Holy mackerel, i watched some of your videos. you are so incredibly gifted. awesome music.
Nice Demo....these sound really great!!! My next pickups.
Excellent demo. I put a pair of Surf 90s in a partscaster I built and they sound fantastic.
Great playing and sound! This video makes me glad I chose these pickups for my Jazzmaster project!
Oh man you got that Jag growlin'!!!
gfs has done me well.supurb! mean 90 owner/operator here.
i love it too.great chops man!
Great job Ed , those P/U sound great .
Just what I needed to hear. Been pondering a bridge change in my ‘96 Jaguar MIJ HH hardtail sunburst. Stock Neck is fine as is for chords, but bridge needs some surfy twang!!!!
Nice! The GFS pickups are really good. I have them in my home built "sorta" Jazzmaster clone and see no reason to switch them out. Some nice picking, some really cool slide, and sweet tone in your video too. !!!
Fred Centrella
Gfs are really amazing pickups.i put a bridge MEAN90 in a project les paul jr. i tell you what 40bucks never done me soo good. i wouldnt put a 100dollar one if i could. that thing spanks,snarls, cleans up to glassy crisp glossiness. oh it handles gain like a beest. i love Gfs. there really good.
I sold my jag in 2013 cause I didn't like the pickups. I should've gotten these. Sounds great
Love the Surf 90's! One of my favorite pickups in any price range. Nice fiesta red Jag, Ed! Wish those came with a tremolo though.
I agree, great pickups. These models are actually pretty easy to retrofit a Bigsby on with the stock bridge. You can adjust the angle of the bridge so the strings won't catch on the string anchor holes, but I've also seen people do it by replacing the stock bridge with a Tune-o-matic. I'd do it if I didn't already have a Jazzmaster, which is my favorite tremolo type anyway.
Quick question, I tried the surf 180s and they had this upper mid-range I was super over emphasized and nasally. Are these compared to Strat or tele pickups similar, smoother, etc?
All good my friend. You have a gift, that is for sure.
Excellent video! love GFS
that tone from the chord at 0:51. I could see buying these. How does it "feel" when your playing? are they harsh feeling? or is there some give? Great video!
nice playing! really great set of pickups!! Have a pair in a mahogany S1 and they sound freakin great!
Great demo!
Man, a set of these in the new Squier Toronado...mmmmm
Nice sound ..guitar ..and playing!..Thanks Frank THE MEMPHIS SUNS.
Hi, Great video!!! Question, do you think 500K pots result in a bright enough tone? I was toying with the idea of trying 1 Meg pots (ala Jazzmaster) but am concerned that might be too much! Any thoughts would be appreciated?
Thanks! I like 1 meg pots, personally. That said I typically leave the tone control on "7" most of the time with 1 meg pots. I currently have this guitar wired with Emerson CTS 1 meg pots and Stew Mac Parsons Street PAFs and it sounds great. It's an inexpensive experiment and worth a shot!
I freaking love your playing.
Did you keep the 500k pots or go to 250k for these?
500k CTS
Hello, great sound! What pots did you use, 500k or 250k? And what tone cap?
+Rolf Dinter Hey! It's wired with 500k CTS pots and a .022 mfd Orange Drop, if I remember correctly. I may end up swapping to 1 meg pots to get a more traditional (brighter) Jazzmaster/Jaguar sound, but we'll see.
Thanks, great sound, keep on rocking!!
A thoughtful replacement.
Never really saw the point of straight humbuckers in a Jaguar.Might as well be an SG.
I like the Surf's , but also be aware of the (Alnico2) Phat Cats and Railhammer Cleancuts if you want the flat EQ and fatter lows most P90's lack.The switching on the Jag is very useful with the right pickups.
Love that chord at 0:32 ! Very unique! Tasteful playing and style as always. Keep up the good work.
Mitch
You still got the guitar? Is it worth it did you keep the stock bridge
Yep! I ended up swapping the bridge for an Armadillo billet brass cutoff Tele bridge, a top loader for three saddles, mostly for my own curiosity. Combined with compensated Rutters stainless saddles, it sounds great, though!
Do you happen to know the value of the caps on your tone pots? Thanks!
That's way huge !
How does the neck compare to a MIM Strat?
*Love those licks*
Great! Could you tell me how these pickups resist hum? Just like a traditional p90 or maybe a single strat coil? I really need to know before I order a set, thank you.
Thanks! For single coils, they are very quiet due to the metal casing and braided wiring. If your guitar is fully shielded, you'll have probably the lowest noise floor possible without resorting to humbuckers. This video was made a few years ago prior to me fully shielding the Jag and it still had a pretty low noise floor with these.
Ed Ricco Music Thank you!
Hallo, is this pickup humbucker based (hum canceling) or single coil? Thanks.
It is a true single coil, but humbucker sized to retrofit a humbucker equipped guitar.
@@voided3 thank you very much!
Great sound!
Got to love youtube I was hoping to find a good video for these p90's I was hoping to hear some slide with them and to top it off I have the exact guitar... yep in Fiesta Red. ha! SOLD
what does HH mean? hh = humbucker, and S = single coil, but HH?
MrMongo321 a two humbucker spaced guitar
ty
Damn, these pickups sound GREAT with a slide.
Sweet!
Luar biasa mas'e, apik teunan..
bravissimo!
A good guitar player makes cheap guitars sound good
To a point anyway. Bad tone can ruin otherwise great playing. I've heard that many times.
What sort of bridge is on that?
It's the stock hardtail bridge. They are very similar to Danelectro bridges with six adjustable saddles.
Thanks for letting me know! I thought it had a trem on it.
Thumbs Up :)