Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 i'd like to swap the humbucker pickups on my hagstrom viking for gretsch filtron pickups. i know the gretsch pickups are a bit bigger than normal humbucker holes.question: anyone done it and how much work is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kit_strong Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 Well, if you don't already have the pickups then your best bet is to either get a set of TV Jones in English Mount or a set of Lollartrons which are HB sized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 i yet have to buy the pickups. rather pricey those tv jones and lollartrons pickups ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kit_strong Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 i yet have to buy the pickups. rather pricey those tv jones and lollartrons pickups ... True, they aren't cheap by any means. You could also try out some of the GFS Retrotons. Maybe someone else will chime in with an answer to the original question but I don't have any experience with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 I'm pretty sure the old gretch pups were an odball size. I'm not even sure they would fit in a HB routed hole withoutmount adaptors, hole routing or both. Best to go with the TV Jones or budget GHS type pups to be sure you dont get stuck with something that wont fit. I seem to think the poles were closer together on some of those gretch pupsbut its been a long time since I messed with them. I did see an electromatic onEBay saturday and its all in one metal mounting ring/cover didnt look like it wourl work on a standardhumbucker route. Best steer clear of something questionable unless you're building something from scratch and can make it fit when you route the hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 29, 2012 Moderators Share Posted May 29, 2012 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=filtertrons+in+a+humbucker+hole&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-beta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 True, they aren't cheap by any means. You could also try out some of the GFS Retrotons. Maybe someone else will chime in with an answer to the original question but I don't have any experience with that. never heard those pickups. any good at that price, do they sound like filtrons or do they just look the part? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=filtertrons+in+a+humbucker+hole&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-beta thanx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 I'm pretty sure the old gretch pups were an odball size. Only by modern standards. In 1958, every company had it's own proprietary pickups, or they bought them from DeArmond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kit_strong Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 never heard those pickups. any good at that price, do they sound like filtrons or do they just look the part? No experience with them myself but there are some clips up on the site. I've been tempted to get a set to try in my wife's luna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RunJonnyRun Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 never heard those pickups. any good at that price, do they sound like filtrons or do they just look the part? They sound pretty damn good. Especially for the price. I hate to bring the price factor into it because they really do stand out on their own, but for under 40 bucks a pup, you can't help but mention what a steal these are. I currently have the neck in and bridge surf 90's (hb sized dynasonics copies, which gretsch does use dynasonic type pups in some of their guitars) and their humbucker lipsticks in my gretsched out iceman (below in sig)and have played a few guitars with the gfs retrotron pups in em. I'm in love with the surf 90's. There are sound samples for the retrotron style pups on the gfs website. I'm partial to the Memphis but the Nashvilles and liverpools are quite good depending on what your looking for. The three retrotron styles also come in varying degrees of hotness. Check em out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 pheww ... there's a lot pickups to choose from ... i quiet like the nashville filtron pickup sound on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 just ordered 2 nasville retrotrons ;-) not much in euro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 Retrotrons don't sound like Filtertrons very much. Gretsch Filtertrons are available from eBay seller joshmsr for $49 each, just a few more dollars than the GFS models, which again, aren't that close. I'm sure Ratae's page of links has info on rigging your own English mount. TVJones sells mounting rings from $5 each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 just ordered 2 nasville retrotrons ;-) not much in euro. Well {censored}. I got here too late. You should return them. Or cancel. His shipping to Europe is pretty high, I've read. Seriously, get the real Gretch pickups and never think about this again, or get the GFS and replace them later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 well, i will try the gfs and in case resell them. shipping is like 10 euro to europe. that's ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 Do what you want. I've been there, though. Good luck, maybe your ears will like the GFS stuff better than mine did. Their pickups never stay in for the long term for me, but everyone is different. Jesus Christ Superfuzz reminds me of my friend's old group Jesus Christ Superfly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 Jesus Christ Superfuzz reminds me of my friend's old group Jesus Christ Superfly! damnit! and i thought we were unique ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 damnit! and i thought we were unique ;-) They've been pretty much disbanded for a decade, except for the odd reunion show. Most of them are in a punk country group now, Gravy Boat. Every ten years or so is a fairly fresh cycle, I'd wager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 Retrotrons don't sound like Filtertrons very much. Gretsch Filtertrons are available from eBay seller joshmsr for $49 each, just a few more dollars than the GFS models, which again, aren't that close. what is it exactly you don't like about the retrotrons nashville pickups? to harsh sounding or to muddy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 what is it exactly you don't like about the retrotrons nashville pickups? to harsh sounding or to muddy? It's not that they are a bad sounding pickup by any means, they just don't really capture the gretsch sound. They're wound hotter, they come off like a bright, somewhat hot paf more than anything. Filtertrons, to me, are more of a single coilish tone, but fuller and rounder, with an incredible clarity from string to string even under a lot of dirt. The retrotrons are a cleaner voiced pickup than many, but don't approach that clarity and fullness in my experience. If the exact Grestch tone is not what you're after, you may be happy with the GFS product. They are not unpleasant or poor quality by any means. I had a sound in my head, and they didn't match it. For less than $10 more apiece, Gretsch does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zinzin Posted May 29, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 i don't necessarely need the gretsch sound. i just have my hagstrom viking, which is a wonderful guitar to play, it just sound to modern to me and especially the low e-string is very stiff sounding. so i want to change the pickups and not just put some gibson classic humbucker innit which i find boring. i rather take a risk and have it sound like a gretsch or whatever fits my guitar arsenal, as i already have rickenbacker, firebird, danelectro, epi casino, so lots of different sound, i miss a bit of a gretsch sound yeah, but not necesseraly "the" gretsch sound. i will see.the original gretsch filtertrons do cost double in europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RunJonnyRun Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 I will agree with JJ that they aren't quite gretsch. That's what tv jones are for. But to me those Memphis sound suhweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 i don't necessarely need the gretsch sound. i just have my hagstrom viking, which is a wonderful guitar to play, it just sound to modern to me and especially the low e-string is very stiff sounding. so i want to change the pickups and not just put some gibson classic humbucker innit which i find boring. i rather take a risk and have it sound like a gretsch or whatever fits my guitar arsenal, as i already have rickenbacker, firebird, danelectro, epi casino, so lots of different sound, i miss a bit of a gretsch sound yeah, but not necesseraly "the" gretsch sound. i will see.the original gretsch filtertrons do cost double in europe. If the eBay seller won't ship reasonably to you, I will. He can ship to me and I'll reship to you for actual cost, I can bike to the post office in 7 minutes. If you find the retrotrons lacking and want to do this, just pm me. The GFS are much easier to install, of course, since they are drop in replacements. TVJones does drop in replacements, but thy are much pricier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HanSolo Posted May 29, 2012 Members Share Posted May 29, 2012 Solid Body? Filtertrons will drop right in the humbucker route. You can mount them with wood screws through the pickup with a spring behind like a Tele or cut up a mouse pade for a cushion underneath for adjustability. Trim off the humbucker route with gretsch filtertron mounting rings. Two screws will catch the body, two may be off so you just buy a longer screw that will reach to the bottom of the cavity to hold the rings in place. Semi-hollow or hollow will require the TV Jones English mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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