GFS boston blues power?

[Joobsauce]

http://store.guitarfetish.com/boblalstpise.html
Anybody try these yet? They seem like a nice set, and something different than the usual 60's repros. (no offense to anyone who has them). Anybody try them? I might have to get a set for my cheap $100 off brand thing. :)

[Offshore Angler]

Joob, I gotta be honest with you. Back in the day, there weren't as many pickups around and there was time when you could ask about pickups and get answers, but today, there are sooooooo many aftermarket pickups that the chance of getting enough people using them with the same guitar and amp playing a similar style as you to get a good reading is almost impossible.

Where I you, I would just group all the aftermarket stuff by magnet type and resistance and then if you find a likely candidate just worry about the quality and customer service aspects of the company.

I can remember a couple years ago when everyone was gaga over Bill and Becky Lawrence's pups. Today, they are never mentioned.

It seems to run in cycles as to which brand is the new must-have.

I guess what I'm saying is that the market is so saturated with aftermarket pickup choices that it's a total mess. The only way you'll know if a set is right for you is by experimentation.

I've come to the conclusion that changing a single part on a guitar won't really change it that much. The guitar sounds the way it does because of the sum of it's parts and the player.

[Joobsauce]

that was probably the most brutally honest post I've seen in a while, and I really have to agree and say you're probably right, and thanks for knocking some since into me. I figure I might as well go ahead and try them, can't hurt.

And if you ever heard the pups in this off brand "stagg" jazzmaster/strat copy type thing, you'd think it was a dying cow. The guitar it's self is great besides the tuners and it plays like a dream; but the pickups are not responsive and more or less belong on a fender Starcaster, or worse.

But it's not that bad for $100 on a clearance, so I shouldn't complain at all should I? :)

[melody]

I dont no bout changing one single part of the the guitar not making a diffierence. I do agree that a guitar is a sum of its parts and a player will make a lot of the sound. Some pups are harsh some a clear and bright others sound mid heavy to muddy..



WTF for $65 USD shipped to your door how can one go wrong?



On the other side of the coin your AMP will make a big diffierence! a shitty amp will make a good axe and player sound shitty. Life is too short to play a shitty anything or drink cheap BEER!

[elicross]

I think it's still worth asking around, even given the huge number of pups out there today and the long odds against a lot of people here having tried one specific model. If one person says "I heard they were pretty good" and another says "I like mine okay," that may not be tremendously helpful -- but if one person whose opinion you've come to trust has a strong, first-hand opinion, that's worth knowing. And if someone who fits that description says "I put some in my Strat and they were the worst pickups I've ever had," then you could at least eliminate those from your search.

As many people as read and post on this board, you never know who might have the info you want until you ask. If nobody has any experience with/opinion of Boston Blues, no harm done. The thread will die a quiet death and scroll off the page.

All I know about those pickups is the blue coils look cool, and the first time I saw them on the GFS site, I wondered why anyone would name a "blues pickup" after Boston. Memphis, Chicago, sure, New Orleans maybe...but Boston?

[Plugger]

Here's the dealio about "tone". _Everything_ makes a difference to your tone, from the brand of strings you use to the phase of the moon.

However, not everything is as important as everything else. In order, the three most significant determinants of your tone are going to be:

1) Your playing style
2) Your amp
3) Your pickups

Now here's the second part of the dealio: probably by the time you get past item 2, and certainly by the time you get past item 3, no-one (except possibly you) is going to notice the difference anymore. Having said that, who says you only play for the pleasure of other people? So you might as well indulge yourself.

-Mark

[Plugger]

All I know about those pickups is the blue coils look cool, and the first time I saw them on the GFS site, I wondered why anyone would name a "blues pickup" after Boston. Memphis, Chicago, sure, New Orleans maybe...but Boston?

Well, MA is the bluest of the blue states... no?

-Mark

[jrgtr42]

I'm thinking of using those same pickups in a $100 knockoff project I'm planning.
Evening considering the posts here, I'd like to hear your thoughts on those PUs if you decide to go for them.

[Offshore Angler]

FWIW, I prefer Armstrongs over GFS for the same money.

[Joobsauce]

actually, I think I'm getting a set of their regular RV/wound alnico pickups in the clearance section for now, since i broke a string and they're all off and it's only 20bux + shipping.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/vistsewocrbl.html

Can't hurt.

[Joobsauce]

Well forget that, my parents said I could have the 60's repros for Christmas... so it's going to be 65.95 with shipping for the pups and 30-50 bux to get them installed by local luthier/tech. He's a cool guy and he does GREAT work, so I think I'll be happy. Should have them ordered and installed by January, which is in little less than a month. I'll post a full review on them for you guys.
http://store.guitarfetish.com/19repralstpi.html

And I want to put the guitar up against a classic 50's player strat with Lindy Fralin's in it that my tech has for sale, so I want to see what they really sound like compared to pickups 3-4 times the price.

[chuckocaster]

spend an extra 12 bucks, ask the tech to "sit in" with him and learn to solder them bad boys in. it's six wires and about 15 minutes of your time. you'll then know how to do it yourself and be able to mod any guitar.

[Timbo]

+1

[pseudocat]

+2

My dad taught me how to re-wire my guitar when I was 16, and it's been one of the most valuable things ever.

[Joobsauce]

well, I know how to solder and wire up a guitar, but I'm afraid of making a cold joint, so I'll just let him do it and make sure it's done right.

Plus, he's a perfectionist, so I'll be VERY happy. :)
And I just ordered the pickups, so I hope they'll be here by Friday and b installed after Christmas. Wo0t!!!!!

[melody]

Good deal I think you will dig them!

[Offshore Angler]

well, I know how to solder and wire up a guitar, but I'm afraid of making a cold joint, so I'll just let him do it and make sure it's done right.

Plus, he's a perfectionist, so I'll be VERY happy. :)
And I just ordered the pickups, so I hope they'll be here by Friday and b installed after Christmas. Wo0t!!!!!

Big deal. You make a cold joint, just reheat it. You'll know it's good when the solder is nice and shiny before it freezes. Easier than changing strings.

[elicross]

Man, there's no surer way of getting a hard time on this board than saying you're going to let someone else work on your guitar instead of doing it yourself.

[Joobsauce]

Well, I just got the pickups earlier today, boy was that fast for ground! Anyways, both my guitar and pickups are at my tech's right now and they'll be installed within 2 or so weeks.... They looked to be of very good quality with the cloth wire and all, I like it. Lets see how they sound in a bit.

[Plugger]

Man, there's no surer way of getting a hard time on this board than saying you're going to let someone else work on your guitar instead of doing it yourself.

Well, I think if you posted that you were going to pay a tech 30-50 bux to change the strings on your guitar, you might expect a few comments. As OSA says, it's comparable in terms of time and difficulty.

-Mark

[elicross]

Well, I've done both, and I don't think changing strings is remotely comparable to changing pickups in terms of time or difficulty.

Are there techs that charge $30 to $50 to change your strings? I'm dubious. Regardless, if a guy would rather have a tech install a set of pups for him than do it himself, and if he's got the money and is willing to spend it, seems like he should be able to do that and not have to fear saying so on the board.

[Plugger]

Well, I've done both, and I don't think changing strings is remotely comparable to changing pickups in terms of time or difficulty.

Which do you think is more time consuming and/or difficult?

-Mark

[elicross]

duplicate post!

[elicross]

I don't know how you do it, but I've never had to remove and replace a pickguard, remove and replace six more screws, heat up a soldering iron, and desolder/resolder six joins to change my strings.

[Plugger]

I don't know how you do it, but I've never had to remove and replace a pickguard, remove and replace six more screws, and heat up a soldering iron to change my strings.

Yeah, I appreciate the procedure is _different_. The question, was, which do you find more time consuming and/or difficult?

Pay attention!

-Mark

[elicross]

Well, Mark, pretending you didn't get the not-too-subtle subtext of my last post -- I find that replacing pickups is more complex and time-consuming than replacing six strings. You don't?

[Plugger]

Well, Mark, pretending you didn't get the not-too-subtle subtext of my last post -- I find that replacing pickups is more complex and time-consuming than replacing six strings. You don't?

I think they are comparable in terms of time and difficulty -- really. I agree that it is a more _complex_ task in the sense that you have to have some basic soldering skill, but if you do have this, it's as trivial as changing strings.

Here's a "hot tip" on soldering (pun intended) -- start heating the iron _before_ you start unscrewing the pickguard. It will be ready when you need it. That reduces the time to just about the time it takes to loosen the strings, remove the pg, remove the pups from the pg, and then reassemble it. The soldering time itself takes almost nothing, as I'm sure you appreciate.

I certainly wouldn't pay someone 30-50 bux to do it, anymore than I would to change my strings.

-Mark

[elicross]

I wouldn't pay anybody $30 to $50 to change my strings, either, but I've never encountered a place that charged that much. Besides, I like changing my own strings.

Here's a hot tip: Get yourself a peg winder. Then it won't take you so long to change your strings.

[Plugger]

Here's a hot tip: Get yourself a peg winder. Then it won't take you so long to change your strings.

I actually did buy one for that reason. Problem is, when it comes time to use, it takes me longer to find the damned thing than the time it would save changing strings...

But I always know where my soldering iron is, so I guess it's not a fair comparison...

-Mark

[jrgtr42]

Most techs I know will charch 20 - 30 for a setup, which is a heck of a lot more time consimeing that just replaceing strings - assuming its done right.
in fact, most techs I know won;t just replace strings, it's juist not worth their time.
When I sold guitars, I got people all the time asking about replacing them - assuming it was slow that day, I'd do it for them - for free, (they buy the strings, of course) However, I'd make sure the player was right there watching me do it, and explaining what I was doing, so that next time he (or she) could do it themselves. A couple times they'd wander off, leaving Mom there watching. I wouldn't do it then, explaining to Mom that it wasn't her guitar, she didn't need to know how to restring.
My favorite time, (off topic, I know...) was that someone's mom came in, said they needed to send it out for repair.
asked why, she said, "We just got this 2 weeks ago, and it;s already out of tune!" After a bit of questioning to make sure she really meant 'out of tune', I explained that it happens all the time - heck, if I go 15 minutes without having to tune, it's a miracle.

[melody]

FWIW, I prefer Armstrongs over GFS for the same money.

OSA, I googled Armstrong his pups are $70 bucks each...

[stevefried]

I replaced my stock pickups with GFS then Dimarzios then the GFS again on my HWY 1. So... one time putting in the GFS, one time putting in the DiMarzios, three times getting the GFS in right again. After five times taking off the neck and pickguard and installing or resoldering pickups, I think it's a toss up between changing strings or changing pickups. It still takes much, much longer to tune the thing up with the floating bridge than it does to thread strings or put in pickups!