Look what GFS just put up...Brian May style pickups.

liddokun · February 5th, 2010, 09:48 AM

Brighton Rock Vintage Spec Alnico Pic...en" sound

Right when I was looking into dropping the money to import a set of Burns Tri Sonics or Brian May sig. pickups.

Might be worth a shot for my second strat....now if I could only get a body really cheap I'd so put one together with the May wiring scheme.

corosith · February 8th, 2010, 07:03 AM

Cool, I feel another guitar project coming on - maybe a body with nice cherry red stain/gloss duco, rosewood neck, a set of these pickups with a custom pickguard and in/out phase switching - kind of like a Red Special inspired Strat!

(note: I just recently sold my re-worked Aslin Dane Red Special with Brian May Signature pickups, would be good to compare with these pickups)

chevalij · February 8th, 2010, 04:33 PM

Doesn't make sense to me unless I'm missing something. He's saying they're nothing like the original, and yet they are?

"that's not what I'm doing here. If you're a true Red Special nut these are not for you.

However... if you dig the classic sound Brian got from his re-wound Burns Trisonics and his handmade, homemade guitar- I think a decent Strat-style guitar with rosewood fingerboard and a set of of Brighton Rocks gets you very, very close."

He also used to sell real "Formvar Plain Enamel pickups" that were wound with poly and amazingly has Texas Surf pickups ?

tonyw · February 8th, 2010, 04:51 PM

If you want tri sonics buy tri sonics what names and sales angle he going to come up with next.

Should read here i have a set of pickups that looks sorta like a Burns trisonics but arnt as ours are sourced from asia very cheaply.

I know Simon Croft who plays the Brian May Parts in the queen show "we will rock you" i will ask him what he thinks of these now that hes back from touring, should be a hoot.

Simon with BM

corosith · February 8th, 2010, 06:52 PM

Probably shouldn't knock these pickups until you've tried them, I think he was indicating that if you want an accurate red special replica, with pickups that are physically the same as the trisonics, then these are not for you. He also seems to be indicating that these are designed more of a drop in pickup for a strat versus a blatant copy of the trisonic (try putting trisonics in a fender pickguard without touching a dremel - don't think so!).

By the way, the Burns Brian May signature pickups are made in asia anyway -they are made in Korea especially for Burns!

tonyw · February 8th, 2010, 07:59 PM

I wont be trying them thats for sure and i wasnt knocking them, i was referring to their usual sales pitch which is a load of BS. I know where he gets his pups, these are wound for a strat style guitar with a clone of a trisonic cover, that doesnt put them anywhere near a trisonic. A trisonic has magnetic covers it has a range a little sharper than a humbucker. Trisonic pickup wound in Sth Korea is a bobbinless tapewound coil with a two piece vintage style isotropic magnet. Now unless Jay has them wound by the same factory to fit a strat we wont know until i get a chance to strip one down.

corosith · February 8th, 2010, 10:17 PM

It's obvious that they are built nothing like the trisonics as he has indicated, so no need to go pulling apart pickups to make a point.

Quote:

With a decent Class A amp I think you'll find this to be an extremely useable and classic sound. We've made these with the best stuff- fiber bobbins, 42 gauge plain enamel wire, potted with genuine beeswax. The oversized Alnico V 6.5mm polepieces and chrome pickup surround cop a lot of the classic look, but it's the sound...

So, no they are not built the same as a genuine trisonic and don't pretend to be. The pickup is apparently desgined to emulate the sound using the traditional strat style pickup - at the end of the day it's the sound that matters, not whether it is built the same as a trisonic. Afterall, we are talking about a $29 pickup versus a $100 pickup.

Proof is in the pudding I guess, but there is so much more to Brians sound than just the pickups.

tonyw · February 8th, 2010, 10:49 PM

Only chance i would ever get of stripping one down is if a client had a guitar loaded with them and wanted them out, and no i am not trying to make a point, what a waste of time that would be. I am going only on the perception he is trying to create with his wording.

corosith · February 8th, 2010, 11:24 PM

I guess you've got to sell things somehow, even if a bit creative license involved, I guess it will appeal to some people who cannot afford a red special or trisonics.

liddokun · February 9th, 2010, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyw

Only chance i would ever get of stripping one down is if a client had a guitar loaded with them and wanted them out, and no i am not trying to make a point, what a waste of time that would be. I am going only on the perception he is trying to create with his wording.

Well Jay is known to overhype a lot of his produdcts, but while sometimes overhyped, I still think GFS sells great pickups. Also, definitely more to the May sound than trisonics, hell I'd be willing to bet my money that normal strat pickups wired with Brian May wiring scheme would sound more similar than trisonics wired in a normal strat scheme.

tonyw · February 9th, 2010, 01:39 PM

GFS dont make pickups they import them.

You need to read what May himself has to say about trisonics.

Trisonics are manufactured differently than these GFS, different windings magnets etc so i dont know how anyone can make a statement about there closeness to Mays sound without hearing them, that one is going to be better than the other to sounding like May with a May wiring setup. To sound like May you need to be BM.Dont forget to add a treble booster maybe an old Hawk or Dallas rangemaster if you want that May sound.

I played an old Baldwin by Burns the other day with modern trisonics and they are pretty close to the old ones, a bit sharper i thought.
Heres the guitar i was playing just for a look , lovely old thing but not my style

Buy what you want, do what you want, dont matter to me we all have opinions, just opening some eyes that what Jay says aint exactly what Jay should really mean.

liddokun · February 9th, 2010, 06:09 PM

Sure thing.

Btw, my previous post has been editted for correctness.
IMO, I think GFS sells great pickups for the price.

Thanks for your insights about the Trisonics, would still like to try these pickups out, regardless. Maybe one day I will afford a set of Trisonics.

corosith · February 9th, 2010, 09:06 PM

Interestingly enough, Kent Armstrong make a pickup with similar claims - a strat pickup with sonic similarities to the burns trisonic, but the price is rediculous at over $200 AU for a set, may as well buy the real thing as a set of three Burns BM Trisonic pickups only cost around $200 AU on ebay!!!!

tonyw · February 9th, 2010, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liddokun

IMO, I think GFS sells great pickups for the price.

Some rediculous prices are quoted for aftermarket pickups out of Asia
even for my danelctro 56U2. I wanted to try something with a bit more nuts so i went for a set of GFS lipsticks, havent tried them yet i am still rewiring the whole guitar new concentric pots and all. It will always be the price first that leads people to GFS and if they are happy with the product why not go back.

The Dano with the lippies in

liddokun · February 10th, 2010, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyw

It will always be the price first that leads people to GFS and if they are happy with the product why not go back.

Indeed I am a poor student who doesn't professionally play music, so GFS products are right up my alley. It'd be nice to drop the $150-$200 on a custom wound American/UK/Canadian made pickups, but I'm glad I have GFS. I've got GFS pickups in all my guitars.

The quality of asian made guitars/parts have really gone up in the last few years.

7thSun · February 11th, 2010, 11:25 AM

I think all the gfs pickups suck, cheap chinese made knockoffs. save yourself the hassle and buy a quality pick up. They are cheap chinese crap,... did I say that already?

platypibri · February 11th, 2010, 12:43 PM

You've tried them ALL?

Grounded · February 11th, 2010, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7thSun

I think all the gfs pickups suck, cheap chinese made knockoffs. save yourself the hassle and buy a quality pick up. They are cheap chinese crap,... did I say that already?

There are a lot of great pick-ups made in China i.e. Toneriders. Just because it's Chinese does not make it cheap crap.

liddokun · February 11th, 2010, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7thSun

I think all the gfs pickups suck, cheap chinese made knockoffs. save yourself the hassle and buy a quality pick up. They are cheap chinese crap,... did I say that already?

I've got GFS pickups in all my guitars (telecaster, 335 copy, strat), and I think they are well made, good sounding pickups, and a great value.

At any rate, it looks like I've opened up a can of worms here.....I'm not sure that arguing about this will be beneficial to anyone.