GFS Pro Tube Lipstick Pup?????

[tele-martini]

Last year I did a modified Squire 51 in Surf Green with custom PG. I wanted a vintage surf sound for this ax so I put a GFS Pro tube in the neck position. The guitar turned out great but i can't get myself to like that pup for nothing. i've read many good reviews on it and even had it suggested by a few folks for this application. To me its awful cold and makes me feel like I'm chewing tinfoil when I crank it up.Has anybody else felt this way after installing them? BTW I don't mean to trash talk GFS, I have had success with some of there other pups and still feel they are a great value.
martini

[aznrambo481]

I have the exact same guitar, exact same pickup in the neck position. For me it's a nice mellow sound that contrasts the "vintage split" fender-style humbucker in the bridge. If you softly fingerpick, the chords seem to build and blossom. I love it on the clean channel, it's okay overdriven. However, when I go dirty I often use the vintage split.

[MikeC123]

I have a "scrap-o-caster" that has a GFS Retrotron Liverpool in the bridge and lipstick pups in the middle and neck. I love those 'tubes. If you are having issues with yours, wrap it carefully and send it to me!

[mojocasterman]

I enjoyed mine but I like them more in clean tones than dirty...

[tele-martini]

I guess its just me then. I've tried playing it thru all the amps I own and can't get a tone I like. I've been happy with the other GFS pups I've bought from them. To me it(LP Tube) sounds like a single coil played thru a crappy effects pedal.

Originally Posted by MikeC123

I have a "scrap-o-caster" that has a GFS Retrotron Liverpool in the bridge and lipstick pups in the middle and neck. I love those 'tubes. If you are having issues with yours, wrap it carefully and send it to me!

I might take you up on this if it wasn't for the oversized slot the lipstick tube would leave in my PG . Anyway for now it can stay put. The split HB in the bridge does the surf tone well. How do you like the Retrotron Liverpool? How does it compare to the LP tube.
martini

[Durtdog]

I don't have that pickup, but I'll offer this thought:
I installed an OC Duff "Nancy" pickup in a Tele, supposed to have lots of twang...it sounded ok, but not much twang. I was really dissapointed. It wasn't bad, just not really good and juicy. I took off the control plate and started poking around while the guitar was plugged in, and lo an behold the twang came through in spades. I had left a tiny glob of solder on the connection that was touching some other part. Cleaned it up and lived happily ever after.

Check your connections before you discard the pickup.

[RomanS]

I don't have that pickup, either, but I do have a Danelectro 56 Pro, with two lipsticks (the stock ones from Danelectro, made somewhere in Asia) - here are two observations:

-) Lipsticks sound great clean; you can use them with a bit of low gain overdrive, but IMHO they aren't really good for dirtier, higher gain sounds than that - their output is just too low, and they will sound too thin - just like you noticed, kinda like playing through a cheap overdrive pedal...

-) I like the lispticks on my Dano best when both of them are switched on (middle position - on the Dano they are wired in series, not in parallel, like on most twin-pickup guitars); to me, a single lipstick by itself doesn't sound that useful (OK, maybe for jangly rhythm playing), the magic starts when you use two in series, which gives a ballsy, punchy, yet CLEAN twangy tone, ideal for surf sounds.

...that won't help you a lot, though, I guess.

[JohnnyCrash]

Great for clean jangle, not as good for OD. Also, what value pots are you using?

[aznrambo481]

also remember that everybody has their personal tastes and you may absolutely hate what others love (to some extent). If it doesn't suit you, fleabay it and get a different one.

[boneyguy]

Originally Posted by Durtdog

I don't have that pickup, but I'll offer this thought:
I installed an OC Duff "Nancy" pickup in a Tele, supposed to have lots of twang...it sounded ok, but not much twang. I was really dissapointed. It wasn't bad, just not really good and juicy. I took off the control plate and started poking around while the guitar was plugged in, and lo an behold the twang came through in spades. I had left a tiny glob of solder on the connection that was touching some other part. Cleaned it up and lived happily ever after.

Check your connections before you discard the pickup.

This is real good advice from Durtdog.

If they're a 2 wire pickup you could also try switching the leads around as that sometimes will make a difference. And lastly play around with the pickup height as that can change the character immensely.

[czech-one-2]

hey roman!
well i just ordered a 12k black lipstick humbucker[bridge] and a 4.9k black lipstick[neck] from gfs.
they're going in a headless hohner 'the jack' neck through steinberger copy in a h/s/s configuration.i plan on coil tapping the bridge humbucker with a push pull.it should be in the 6k range when split. i have a fender rw/rp in the middle position.this guitar already has the most pristine clean tone i have ever had,and thats with the emg select pickups!i'm hoping these lipsticks up the twang factor considerably.anybody try the dual lipstick humbucker?
i'm hoping when in 12k mode it will handle some overdrive/distortion pretty well.i'll post picks/impressions when installed but it wont be for a couple weeks.
bk

[Dan German]

Originally Posted by czech-one-2

hey roman!
well i just ordered a 12k black lipstick humbucker[bridge] and a 4.9k black lipstick[neck] from gfs.

To me that sounds like a bit of a mismatch, but I've tried more than a few things that "wouldn't work out" and turned out fine. Like Roman, my experience is with the Dano reissue pickups, not GFS Pro tubes, but I have a h/s/s lipstick setup and I love it. The paired lipstick humbucker works great in the bridge. I am curious about the GFS lipsticks for future builds.

[robt57]

I have Arteks, and I think GFS are also Artek. The look identical except for the GFS stamped on the baseplate, and have the same output. I stuck 2 side by side in a HB slanted slot in a Kramer and only when used together did they sound great through a dirty amp. They sounded OK clean as singles, just OK. Good together clean.

I gotta go tey them in series afte reading Roman's post. And in a non laminated bod before I seel them off.

They dent easily, SO be careful. both of mine got small dents.

[blingdogg]

Originally Posted by czech-one-2

hey roman!
well i just ordered a 12k black lipstick humbucker[bridge] and a 4.9k black lipstick[neck] from gfs.
they're going in a headless hohner 'the jack' neck through steinberger copy in a h/s/s configuration.i plan on coil tapping the bridge humbucker with a push pull.it should be in the 6k range when split. i have a fender rw/rp in the middle position.this guitar already has the most pristine clean tone i have ever had,and thats with the emg select pickups!i'm hoping these lipsticks up the twang factor considerably.anybody try the dual lipstick humbucker?
i'm hoping when in 12k mode it will handle some overdrive/distortion pretty well.i'll post picks/impressions when installed but it wont be for a couple weeks.
bk

That sounds cool! I was interested in the humbucer lipstick pickup, wondering if it can sound good under gain too. I'd like to hear from you when you put it in the guitar!!

[czech-one-2]

well,it took a while to get these in as the neck lipstick arrived doa.however,the customer support of GFS was outstanding and they quickly sent a replacement. I'm a single coil guy,always have been,so these pickups were the ticket for me.very clean,twangy and bell-like [to use a few metaphores]. the bridge humbucker splits really nicely without a big volume difference and even at 12k in humbucker mode it blends well with the 6k strat pickup and 4.9k neck.unlike another reviewer i dont find it thin when split and my high e string doesnt sound weak. all pickups on at once have an amazing acoustic like complexity that i've never heard in an electric guitar before.
how does the humbucker sound with distortion? well,i would say if your happy hitting a ts9 or ds-1 with a strat bridge single coil then you will be happy here. split it sounds just like a good single coil should sound and at 12k it just adds a little more volume,low mids and bass to the tone,but nothing drastic.its also brighter in 12k mode,seems to add a little 'more'of everything in humbucker mode.its pretty bright,but i'm using 500k pots.i may try 250k pots but i like my pickups bright and cutting.its surely not a hot pickup and it sounds more single coil like than any humbucker i've ever used.
if anything,i may try a blue lace sensor in the neck for more fatness and warmth,cause as it is,i have three killer shades of chime and twang,so another option at the flick of a switch might be a good idea.
i think they look cool too,i just need some black wood screws for the neck pickup!

[ahoar12]

I have a couple in a beat up old peavey strat copy. I wired them with 500k volume ppot and 250k tone pot. I can't remember the values off hand but I think I used a typical humbucker cap as a treble bleeder on the volume pot and regular single coil caps for the tone pots. It seems to give them a warmer sound. Which is cool cuz I used parts I just had laying around.

[czech-one-2]

''I have a couple in a beat up old peavey strat copy. I wired them with 500k volume ppot and 250k tone pot. I can't remember the values off hand but I think I used a typical humbucker cap as a treble bleeder on the volume pot and regular single coil caps for the tone pots. It seems to give them a warmer sound. Which is cool cuz I used parts I just had laying around. ''

hi,just out of curiosity,what are the values of a typical humbucker and typical single coil cap? i'm using a .1 orange drop in my guitar.
also, i have have a audio taper volume and tone pot as per many suggestions on this forum, but all the action is in the last 10% of the rotation. its not bad,and i kinda like the rapid wah like effect when turning the tone pot,but i guess i was hoping for a smoother taper. should i be using linear taper pots?
bk

[Dan German]

Well, I haven't been playing my Danos for a while, but I was doing some cleaning and re-stringing today and found my '65 Convertible in my hands. Remembering this thread, I tried some of the more distorted models in my DA-5 with it. Single lipstick through Blues 1 (Tweed Bassman) Blues 2&3 (AC15/30) and Crunch 1 & 2 (Marshall Plexi/JCM 800 models) sounds good, through any of the "Hi-Gain" models it sounds like poo. So I'm still wondering how much different the GFS pups are. I guess I just have to decide what to put them in and and buy some!

[ahoar12]

Originally Posted by czech-one-2

''I have a couple in a beat up old peavey strat copy. I wired them with 500k volume ppot and 250k tone pot. I can't remember the values off hand but I think I used a typical humbucker cap as a treble bleeder on the volume pot and regular single coil caps for the tone pots. It seems to give them a warmer sound. Which is cool cuz I used parts I just had laying around. ''

hi,just out of curiosity,what are the values of a typical humbucker and typical single coil cap? i'm using a .1 orange drop in my guitar.
also, i have have a audio taper volume and tone pot as per many suggestions on this forum, but all the action is in the last 10% of the rotation. its not bad,and i kinda like the rapid wah like effect when turning the tone pot,but i guess i was hoping for a smoother taper. should i be using linear taper pots?
bk

I think the typical humbucker cap is like .22 (or is it .022?) or something like that, and a single coil is .047. (I think) Like I said, I can't remember off-hand what they were sence I just used extra caps that were laying around. I don't really know about the pots, I have audio tapers that I believe work pretty good. It might be more of a pot brand quality issue. I know also that there are ways to adjust the taper of pots, but I don't how difficult that is. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[czech-one-2]

hey dan, i would say if your looking for anything over marshall plexi distortion there are better choices than lipsticks. but i'm pretty amazed at my humbuckers ability to easily coax out pinch harmonics anywhere on the neck and musical feedback when my mij ds-1 is on. i'm enjoying these pickups more everyday.
maybe,just maybe i should have gone with their 6k lipstick in the neck,but the 4.9k does sound sweet.
bk

[lclyman]

Originally Posted by RomanS

I don't have that pickup, either, but I do have a Danelectro 56 Pro, with two lipsticks (the stock ones from Danelectro, made somewhere in Asia) - here are two observations:

-) Lipsticks sound great clean; you can use them with a bit of low gain overdrive, but IMHO they aren't really good for dirtier, higher gain sounds than that - their output is just too low, and they will sound too thin - just like you noticed, kinda like playing through a cheap overdrive pedal...

I just got a Jerry Jones Neptune with his own lipstick custom wind pups...it's pretty much a better made Danolectro ..I've got my first gig with it tomorrow and I'm going to use it all night..

I play alot on the bridge pickup so I'll see what I can do with it through my Dr Z Maz Jr and a low gain OD pedal.. (ironically enough a Dano Transparent Overdrive)..

I know from experience that low output pickups can often times bring a whole lotta tone to the table, unlike many of the hotter winds...

We'll see what turning up the amp and pushing the front end with a bit of light overdrive does..!!