Members Geeter Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Well I picked up one of the cheap pickguards from GFS and installed it on my Highway 1. My first solder job went OK, but I clearly need practice. I was quite relieved when I plugged it in and it worked. The pickups are pretty darned good for such a pathetically low price. I haven't had time to really play it yet, so no more of a review yet. Here are the before, during and after pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Looks nice. Which of the loaded pickguards did you get? Did the screw holes line up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Would you consider them an improvement over the stock Highway 1 pickups? In what ways? Just curious. I have a GFS pickup installed in one of my guitars (a cheap one) and it is pretty nice. But I wouldn't really consider them for a replacement in a "good" guitar such as a Highway 1...personally I'd be looking at Lollar/Fralin etc in that situation as a real "upgrade" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Geeter Posted March 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 This GFS Link is the one I got. I wanted a humbucker in the bridge. Curiously the singles seem the best. So far I am not in love with the humbucker, which seems a bit too far on the treble side, but I am still in that dial in period. This purchase is a placeholder. I knew these were ceramic pups and that I would be upgrading them. Its a hell of a lot of value for $38. I am thinking a lot about the BG s-90s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Geeter Posted March 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Sorry, I meant to say the holes lined up pretty nicely. A couple were only about 70% aligned, but the screw went in just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Sorry, I meant to say the holes lined up pretty nicely. A couple were only about 70% aligned, but the screw went in just fine.Thanks. I need some new pickguards and am looking for some that line up well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 I gotta tell you guys, I picked up a set of GFS Vintage Strat pups, the $45 set recently and tried them out in my HWY (which is an HSS). They ARE an upgrade over the stock pups, they sound very, very nice - I'm impressed. I do like/love the stock humbucker that came in my hwy strat, it's a fender pup and it really rocks. I wired it to a tone control though. I have a set of the $18 overwound GFS cheapies in my MiM strat, and they sound really good. It's sort of embarrassing that they're such a cheap set of pups, but you have to get over that - they sound freekin' good. FWIW, I swap pickups weekly in my axe's, or so it seems. So I'm trying out a bunch. I just ordered some staggered '64 overwound from gfs to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Thanks. I need some new pickguards and am looking for some that line up well. I've used GFS pg's before, there is one on my 74 strat and my MiM (super strat setup). They line up well. I had to drill one hole on the 74 and the MiM lined up perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xStonr Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 I like the white pearloid pickguards they have. I have one coming for my Tele. Looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 This GFS Link is the one I got. I wanted a humbucker in the bridge. Curiously the singles seem the best. So far I am not in love with the humbucker, which seems a bit too far on the treble side, but I am still in that dial in period. You might want to try a Fender Duncan Pearly Gates Plus. They are an alnico V magnet instead of the normal alnico II magnet on the standard Pearly Gates, so the Plus is warmer sounding. I just ordered one from www.gtrheaven.com in their going out of business sale. The only color they have is white, which would be bingo! for you. I'm eventually going to get around to stuffing mine in a Squier '51. If you call, negotiate a lower price than shown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Congrats on having the fun of modding! Looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 This GFS Link is the one I got.I wanted a humbucker in the bridge. Curiously the singles seem the best. So far I am not in love with the humbucker, which seems a bit too far on the treble side, but I am still in that dial in period. This purchase is a placeholder. I knew these were ceramic pups and that I would be upgrading them. Its a hell of a lot of value for $38.I am thinking a lot about the BG s-90s... I'm still uncertain about your feelings on the neck and middle pups. Do you like the new GFS ones better than the Fender stocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitarfetish Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Just to reiterate again- The wired guards are NOT GFS pickups- The new batch we have now ARE designed by me but using stock components- on the GFS range everything is custom made- And of course these are all ceramic magnet- That said I think they represent a hell of a value- And I had to commit to Ocean Containers full to get this price so I appreciate the business!! These are an upgrade from the Squier stuff but these are not intended to be an upgrade to MIM and USA strats- just a quick and cheap way to revive an old guitar, build one from scratch or try out a different pickup configuration. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ILikeGuitar Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 That pickguard looks sweet man. I might have to put an SSS pearloid on mine, or maybe something dark. How many pieces of wood is the body? I haven't opened mine and the pieces match to well for me to see through the finish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Just to reiterate again-The wired guards are NOT GFS pickups-...Jay I've seen you say this before Jay, and the same about the $18 strat pup sets. However, those cheap strat sets sound darn good. I had a wired cheap pg from you too, sss, and although I didn't end up keeping the pups (I need the pg, pots and switch), it too sounded pretty darn good as well. So those things are a helluva deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 I've used GFS pg's before, there is one on my 74 strat and my MiM (super strat setup). They line up well. I had to drill one hole on the 74 and the MiM lined up perfectly.Cool. Most of what I have are MIMs and I'm wanting to jazz them up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members weeladdie Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 This GFS Link is the one I got.I wanted a humbucker in the bridge. Curiously the singles seem the best. So far I am not in love with the humbucker, which seems a bit too far on the treble side, but I am still in that dial in period. This purchase is a placeholder. I knew these were ceramic pups and that I would be upgrading them. Its a hell of a lot of value for $38.I am thinking a lot about the BG s-90s... I think that's the same PG I bought and I agree about the hummer being too treble. I thought about moving it to it's own tone control, but GFS doesn't use the standard 5-way Strat switch so I was loathe to start experimenting with moving wires around. If you decide to make the mod, hope you can post it here so I can try it too. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Geeter Posted March 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Frets, I am just getting to know the singles. Still raising and lowering etc. I did not notice a huge drop in tonal quality. Actually, I am intrigued, but I will need some time to "figure em out." Jay, I think you have always been quite clear about where you see these budget pups. From my perspective, this loaded pickguard is a whale of a value. It cost me just a bit more than an empty one, so what's to complain about? weeladdie, You can be sure that I will post any mods. GAS Man, Thanks for the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Just to reiterate again- The wired guards are NOT GFS pickups- The new batch we have now ARE designed by me but using stock components- on the GFS range everything is custom made- And of course these are all ceramic magnet- That said I think they represent a hell of a value- And I had to commit to Ocean Containers full to get this price so I appreciate the business!! These are an upgrade from the Squier stuff but these are not intended to be an upgrade to MIM and USA strats- just a quick and cheap way to revive an old guitar, build one from scratch or try out a different pickup configuration. Jay Yeah nice try Jay, trying to talk us out of them. But I don't think it' gonna work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Here's how to move the far tone pot to the bridge pup. I do this to every strat I have. 1) I find every stock strat is too trebly in the bridge position. The addition of the tone control on the bridge pup makes it much more useful. 2) The loss of the tone on the middle pup alone is a bonus. I also like the sound of the middle pup alone without a tone knob. It's more spanky/SRVy. And when combined with the neck or bridge pup, you still have a tone control. 3) It's fookin easy! The two terminals in the middle of the switch contacts, are the output to the vol pot. The three terminals to the right are easy to identify cuz they go to the pups. The three terminals to the left are easy to identify cuz two out of three of the terminals go to the tone pots. The order is the same on both sides. Just move the far tone pot's wire to the empty terminal next to it. DUN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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