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Guitar Fetish claims that GFS pickups can compete against any boutique brand...

skunky_funk

By skunky_funk
in Electric Guitars

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DavidMgT Newbie

DavidMgT

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Apparently those Chinese teenage girls do a hell of a job. Because according to this thread. A fair number of people like their work.

 

Indeed. They also make a mean iPod at 30 cents an hour :)

 

I should note, that I have no problem with Chinese pickups or Chinese anything for that matter - my Chinese-made PCs TVs etc.. attest to that (the last thing I want to do is feed another China manufacturing political/economic debate). I am just amused at the assertions that somehow small businesses such as Lollar, Fralin etc.. are somehow selling hype and misleading consumers. In my opinion such business are far from being the problem.

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Steadfastly Newbie

Steadfastly

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He probably didn't reply because you don't know what hand wound means (or he recognized you just wanted to pick bones instead of doing business).

 

 

Hand wound means hand wound, period. However, unscrupulous mfr's. have tried to market it as something different lately. Frankly, it's a lie, pure and simple.

 

Secondly, no one has ever proven that truly hand wound pickups improve the tone. They may sound different but will never be the same each time because the hand is not precise enough whereas a computer operated winding will turn them out exactly the same every time giving consistency and control.

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axegrinder Newbie

axegrinder

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Hand wound means hand wound, period. However, unscrupulous mfr's. have tried to market it as something different lately. Frankly, it's a lie, pure and simple.


Secondly, no one has ever proven that truly hand wound pickups improve the tone. They may sound different but will never be the same each time because the hand is not precise enough whereas a computer operated winding will turn them out exactly the same every time giving consistency and control.

I somehow anticipated your argument. Yet you editted out most of what I said so you could slip it in even though I said "whether or not you believe it" the conclusion is irrelevant. The irony is that what you did quote is reinforced by your approach.

 

As for the sacred "proof" you seek, well lack of proof is the biggest argument toward any religion. I could care less who or what anybody worships, but since you include faith-based commentary in your signature I just see irony.

 

In my sig. I see a lot of coincidence. :lol::o

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smorgdonkey Newbie

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He probably didn't reply because you don't know what hand wound means (or he recognized you just wanted to pick bones instead of doing business). Nobody in their right mind winds pickups for sale without using a machine to spin the bobbin around. When the maker guides the wire by hand, the coil gets built up in a less precise fashion. That is the projected benefit of hand winding (whether or not you agree).


This is really irrelevant to the OP. What matters is the end product and how it performs when compared side by side to others. And like all things subjective your mileage may vary.

 

 

This is exactly it. If I were to put 8000 winds of delicate wire onto a bobbin BY HAND then the pickup would cost $300. Yet I am a nobody, so if someone who was an expert were to put 8000 winds on a bobbin BY HAND then a pickup would likely cost $1000.

 

Steadfastly. Seriously...the many arguments that you present in apparent attempts to have yourself appear smarter or more informed almost always do the exact opposite.

 

It's true. Think about it, then alter your behaviour. You will be a better person.

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Frets99 Newbie

Frets99

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Indeed. They also make a mean iPod at 30 cents an hour
:)

I should note, that I have no problem with Chinese pickups or Chinese anything for that matter - my Chinese-made PCs TVs etc.. attest to that (the last thing I want to do is feed another China manufacturing political/economic debate). I am just amused at the assertions that somehow small businesses such as Lollar, Fralin etc.. are somehow selling hype and misleading consumers. In my opinion such business are far from being the problem.

 

I can understand the point but I bristle when the Chinese continue to be stereotyped on our forum as hardly changed since the Boxer rebellion. As far as hype is concerned, that's what advertising is all about. That being said, there are people with a good musical ear who go into the pickup business. The business model they employ will ultimately determine the cost of the product but not necessarily the quality. On the product level, I don't much care if they teach dogs how to wind pickups or strictly use a mechanical system to save money. If the pickup sounds good and fits my needs, it's a quality pickup. From a political point of view, I may have other issues to attack but those are not strictly issues of product quality.

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Steadfastly Newbie

Steadfastly

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I somehow anticipated your argument. Yet you editted out most of what I said so you could slip it in even though I said "whether or not you believe it" the conclusion is irrelevant. The irony is that what you did quote is reinforced by your approach.


As for the sacred "proof" you seek, well lack of proof is the biggest argument toward any religion. I could care less who or what anybody worships, but since you include faith-based commentary in your signature I just see irony.


In my sig. I see a lot of coincidence.
:lol::o

 

My faith has nothing to do with the marketing ploy of manufacturers who mislead or lie in order to try and look like something beyond what they are. I'm quite flabbergasted that you even brought this up regarding supposed hand wound pickups. Frankly, it's about the craziest reply I've heard yet to something I've posted. I guess, you can believe what you want to believe, though.

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Steadfastly Newbie

Steadfastly

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This is exactly it. If I were to put 8000 winds of delicate wire onto a bobbin BY HAND then the pickup would cost $300. Yet I am a nobody, so if someone who was an expert were to put 8000 winds on a bobbin BY HAND then a pickup would likely cost $1000.


Steadfastly. Seriously...the many arguments that you present in apparent attempts to have yourself appear smarter or more informed almost always do the exact opposite.


It's true. Think about it, then alter your behaviour. You will be a better person.

 

 

That, Smorgy, is my point. You understand this but many don't. They simply don't stop to think what true hand wound would cost but these guys keep putting this in there marketing scheme. They use machines to do it just like most of the large manufacturers.

 

As to being smarter or more informed than others, I am neither of these. All of this information you can find on line. However, I am not stupid either and neither would I consider buying from someone who tried to mislead me. It simply shows what they are really like.

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axegrinder Newbie

axegrinder

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My faith has nothing to do with the marketing ploy of manufacturers who mislead or lie in order to try and look like something beyond what they are. I'm quite flabbergasted that you even brought this up regarding supposed hand wound pickups. Frankly, it's about the craziest reply I've heard yet to something I've posted. I guess, you can believe what you want to believe, though.

Way to miss the point. :thu:

 

 

Hey everybody... :freak:

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Preacher Newbie

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That, Smorgy, is my point. You understand this but many don't. They simply don't stop to think what true hand wound would cost but these guys keep putting this in there marketing scheme. They use machines to do it just like most of the large manufacturers.


As to being smarter or more informed than others, I am neither of these. All of this information you can find on line. However, I am not stupid either and neither would I consider buying from someone who tried to mislead me. It simply shows what they are really like.

 

 

I think most guitar players who are looking to change their pickups understand that "hand-wound" in the pickup industry does not mean that no machinery whatsoever is involved - in this case it is an industry term that means something different due to context.

 

Please stop arguing otherwise because it does make you look silly.

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Mel Cooley Newbie

Mel Cooley

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I agree they could compete, but not win. The P-90s that were in the Xaviere guitar I owned for a very short time sounded like P-90s but flatter and more bland. They were also microphonic to the point of being useless for jamming or gigs. Both pickups also had pole pieces that were stripped on arrival and not adjustable. With quality control like that why look twice?

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Ratae Corieltauvorum Newbie

Ratae Corieltauvorum

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I agree they could compete, but not win. The P-90s that were in the Xaviere guitar I owned for a very short time sounded like P-90s but flatter and more bland. They were also microphonic to the point of being useless for jamming or gigs. Both pickups also had pole pieces that were stripped on arrival and not adjustable. With quality control like that why look twice?

 

 

Not I believe the branded retail GFS P90s IIRC?

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67mike Newbie

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Well....I think there is something to these so called boutique pick-ups.

 

Take Lollar's P-90s for example......I hadn't heard of the guy untill I bought my Heritage H150 last year that came with them.

 

When I played the guitar....it was like Holy {censored}! These are by far the best pick-ups I have ever heard/played.

 

Then I looked up Lollar and read some of the interviews with him....pretty knowledgeable dood.

 

Then I emailed him....and he replied withing hours giving me the juicy info I requested.

 

So, I like Lollar P-90's, and I think the dood is legit, and I think he charges a fair price.

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axegrinder Newbie

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Just as a backtrack, I do believe that Jay uses the term "hang with"?

Yeah but watch for qualifiers in the same sentence such as "I believe", "If you ask me", etc.

 

I also like the term "these stack up against _____ ". I picture somebody literally stacking pickups to refute such claims. Or in your case suspending them in a laboratory setting. :lol:

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Gumkick Newbie

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I think most guitar players who are looking to change their pickups understand that "hand-wound" in the pickup industry does not mean that no machinery whatsoever is involved - in this case it is an industry term that means something different due to context.


Please stop arguing otherwise because it does make you look silly.

 

 

Yeah, that was a really weird tangent there. Just because someone uses power tools doesn't mean something isn't hand made, do you expect luthiers not to use planers and routers either?

 

And personally I do believe that the boutique guys make good stuff, basically everyone's experience that I've ever read backs that up. I'm just not sure what the skill is that you acquire after 10,000 hours of winding pickups--what subtle magic you're imparting that a clever machine couldn't.

 

Of course if you're buying something where an individual whose reputation is riding on it is making it himself you'd expect him to put a lot of care into it. That's worth paying for, boutique pickups are pretty cheap when you look at it that way. But somewhere out there there's gotta be some guy making terrible pickups by hand.

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honeyiscool Newbie

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I am a modern guitar player, i.e. when I buy a new guitar, I think about all the mods I'm going to do to that guitar.

 

That said, most pickups these days are pretty good. When I change them, it's because I don't vibe with the character of the pickup, the quality of the pickup really isn't an issue for anything but the cheapest of the cheapest ceramic single coils on $60 guitars. I mean, hell, the humbuckers that came in those $99 Bullet Tele HHs were shockingly good, and the pickups in the $99 Epiphone Special I are more than adequate for me.

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Steadfastly Newbie

Steadfastly

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I think most guitar players who are looking to change their pickups understand that "hand-wound" in the pickup industry does not mean that no machinery whatsoever is involved - in this case it is an industry term that means something different due to context.


Please stop arguing otherwise because it does make you look silly.

 

 

I'm not arguing. I'm stating the truth. Case in point. I had this discussion on another forum and many there thought that hand wound meant that the pick ups were wound by hand. It may be a moot point to you but it is not to many. It's a marketing ploy, pure and simple. Since these "hand winders" wind pickups like everyone else, tell me why they insist they are hand wound? Regards, Steadfastly

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