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GFS Mini Humbuckers?


danswon

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Anybody tried these? I'm thinking of the Mini Birds, quite like the clean look

 

 

I put the GFS Little Crunchy Mini (H92) in the neck position of a telecaster. I also bought the pickguard from them. It is 4-wired so you can split the coils if you want.

 

Compared to the chirpy, burping sound of the Squier PU that was in there, I am very happy with it. After switching from the bridge only position, it can seem to be "darker" at first. But, that's what it's supposed to sound like. The mid position (neck and bridge) is great, though. I had the foresight to get a 500K vol pot, which probably helped.

 

I would recommend this particular high-quality pickup.

 

Wanted to add: the tone of the Little Mini-Crunchy is as described on the GFS website: " .. round and warm ..". So, it brought more celar low-end and great upper-neck blues tones.

Greg

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Can't attest to this model, but the one I'm using now (Epi) has a more balanced sound than a PAF style. It's less prominent in the mids than my Burstbucker and a lot smoother.

Clean, it's articulate with good overtones. Not quite P90-ish but it has some of that piano quality to it.

Overdriven it sounds more like a regular humbucker, but, again, more balanced from high to low. Even with gain, you can still pick out individual notes in a chord.

Maybe a little thinner than a regular humbucker but clear and articulate are the words I'd use to describe them.

I like them a lot. Compared to a Duncan or Gibson mini, my Epi has a bit of the "blanket" syndrome going on. It's not bad but you can hear the difference between the good ones-just like any pickup I guess.

I'm also interested to know if the GFS is an upgrade from the Epi or a side step.

 

EG

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In all honesty, GFS minihumbuckers suck.

 

I've had both the Crunchy and Fat with alnico magnets. They were dark, muddy with no definition at all. No amount of height tweaking or wiring would cure them. They are worse than the stock pups from even the cheapest guitars.

 

Although I'm a fan of one of GFS's pickups, the Mean 90 and think that's a great buy, the GFS Minis are complete {censored} and possibly the worse pup I've ever installed and played.

 

If you want a mini, save up some cash and according to the sound you're after, get Seymour Duncan Antiquities or SM3. Fralins are wonderful too. A set of GFS minis are a waste of $60-$70 bucks.

 

A good mini will be very articulate amd yes, a bit thinner than a regular HB but clearer as well and still have enough balls.

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I'm also interested to know if the GFS is an upgrade from the Epi or a side step.


EG

 

 

Side step? It would be more like falling down a flight of steps! On that beautiful guitar of yours, I'd suggest going with something off the top shelf.

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Oh dear! Well I'm glad at least that minis are a bit clearer and less middy than full buckers as that is exactly what i'm looking for

 

Was hoping the GFS minis would be decent as it's a cheap (but good) guitar and i'm on a pretty tight budget

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I used the GFS Vintage Split Humbuckers in a Tele that I built for my son and I really like the sound. They seem (to my ears) clear, balanced and very articulate. Full-bodied but brighter than a PAF-type, they really do what Jay says they should do. If I build another Tele for myself I may use them again.

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The Kent Armstrong minis are around $65. Maybe worth a look.

I just worked a deal to have mine rewound custom.
:thu:

EG

 

:eek:

By the MAN!?! By THE MAN?!? Oh please tell me he'll do that! I'd send him a set by flying burro immediately!!!

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Was hoping the GFS minis would be decent as it's a cheap (but good) guitar and i'm on a pretty tight budget

 

 

Here's a YouTube link:

 

 

demoing the GFS mini-humbucker I was talking about.

 

I don't know what {censored} sounds like except when it makes a splash, but I and others are happy with that particular model. You wouldn't be thinking GFS if you weren't interested in a lower-cost PU, so it's hard to go wrong.

 

(Wait: a "PU" that "sounds like {censored}"! I get it now.)

 

Greg

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Here's a YouTube link:



demoing the GFS mini-humbucker I was talking about.


I don't know what {censored} sounds like except when it makes a splash, but I and others are happy with that particular model. You wouldn't be thinking GFS if you weren't interested in a lower-cost PU, so it's hard to go wrong.


(Wait: a "PU" that "sounds like {censored}"! I get it now.)


Greg

 

 

that's funny i looked at your vid earlier in my search for info! in fact i left you a comment. i think it sounds great (great playing too)

that's true i am on a tight budget, i think i'll just go ahead and try it. i have been impressed by GFS so far, i'll give this a go

i find it funny how opinions are so polarized about GFS

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that's funny i looked at your vid earlier in my search for info! in fact i left you a comment.

 

 

Aye, not my video, lad. But, I do think he is either a HCEG member and/or TDPRI member.

 

The GFS are okay for me because they are always an upgrade from what I started with. The poster who didn't like them probably was able to make more comparisons than I and I actually would like more of that experience BUT, for now, I will enjoy my inexpensive PU upgrades and affordable table wines, etc.

 

It's quite possible, too, that we are entering a golden age of pickups. Now, I know we're often trying to copy the sounds of 40-50 yr old pickups (the other golden age), but pretty good replica's are affordable to everyone now. Decent quality Asian mass-produced guitars are making it easier for more people to own more guitars and a pickup upgrade is so easy and fun now.

 

I'm all for somebody supporting the independent, custom pu builders, and maybe I will someday, too - or try my own. I am sure, in fact, that theirs are better on nearly every level. But, I have to save money for the other end of the chain: amp, speakers, etc.

 

Greg

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I suppose beauty is in the ear of the beholder, but I like them very much.

Guitar is a Squire Tele Deluxe, originally fitted with Duncan design P90s.  These were great pickups - as good as any P90s I've ever used, but the hum was becoming an issue, particularly for recording in the vicinity of a computer, Thought about 'noiseless' P90s, but have never cared for stacked 'single coils', and since I didn't want to spend more than the original cost of the guitar, I decided to try the Guitar Fetish minis.

First I bought a pair of Fat Mini Firebird pickups, modifying them to fit normal plastic mounting rings.  Sounded ok, but the bridge was a bit shrill for my tastes.  After checking the DC resistances, seemed like the bridge pickup, moved to the neck, would be a good match for my original (9.8k) P90 at the bridge.  I had the idea that maybe by tapping the neck humbucker I could get hum canceling in the middle position with the P90 (which is reverse wound).  It worked, to a point, but still too much hum. So, I bought a Fat Mini- overwound Alnico 12K Bridge pickup, and that got me just where I wanted to be.  Swapped the gold cover from my left over firebird pickup, and that was that.  (Not sure what Gibson minis are like under the covers, but one note is that in these, the bobins are not fastened to the base plate, so when you remove the cover, everything pretty much falls apart, but not an issue if you're careful.)

Anyway, I think they sound as good as any higher priced pickups, if this is the tone you're going for.  They're not as thick as a full sized humbucker, but then, they're not supposed to be. Neither are they as gnarly as a P90, though the overwound bridge pickup has good grind. 

I find that they capture more of what you would associate with a 'tele sound' than the original P90s did, or full sized humbuckers would.

I have them hooked up with a modified "Jimmy Page' wiring scheme, with series/parallel switching between the pickups, and in/out-phase, as well as 3-way series/parallel/coil tap on the bridge pickup and 2-way series/parallel (intra-coil) on the bridge. Finally, I have a double vari-tone type circuit, which capacitors and inductors matched to each pickup. (The reason for this is that I also have a 4PDT switch that bypasses all of the volume and tone controls completely - though not the various switching combinations - and this necessitated the two separate varitone circuits in front of the switch.)

I also have a 2-tiered capacitor bypass on the volume controls (described here: http://music-electronics-forum.com/t15821/), which keeps things from getting muddy when the volume controls are turned down.

Anyway, I think the pickups are just fine. Again, it's all a matter of taste. I like to start with fairly articulate pickups, since it's easy to make a clean pickup dirty, but if you don't have the clarity to begin with, there's no way to achieve it.

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From what I understand, histrically there are 2 kinds of mini hums put out by Gibson. One kind is whats in the LP Deluxe, which is my fav LP by the way.  If I was putting a humbucker in the neck of a tele that would be my choice. I think this design came over from when they aquired Epiphone. Cleaner and more articulate than a PAF type. The other kind is what goes in a Firebird. I belive they are different than the LP Deluxe ones but I'm not sure how. I've never really played a Firebird plugged in outside of a shop.

Not sure which type of mini GFS is attempting to emulate. 

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