G&L MFD pickups?

[lineboat]

Is it just me, or are they extremely bright?
I got an ASAT Classic with the smaller MFD’s. I have an amp that’s dialed in so I can swap multiple guitars without having to touch any amp settings. When that G&L is plugged in, the guitar tone has to be rolled back to about 3-4 to keep it from being ear piercing.
Is that how these pickups are? I had one before and don’t remember it being this bright, or maybe that was because the amp was set for it? It’s not that they’re bad pickups, just brighter than what I’m used to. What does everyone else think?

 

[Danjabellza]

If I recall, the MFD pickups use ceramic magnets, which will(can) give you a lot more high end vs A5 and especially A2.

 

[mthowlett]

I think they're designed to be that way. Just don't be afraid to use that tone knob! That's what it's there for.

 

[regularslinky]

As a rule, electrics sound great with the tone and volume dimed. G&Ls are the exception. Experiment with the volume and tone knobs - great tones in there, just gotta find them!

 

[sothoth]

IMHO the jumbo version of the MFDs sound more balanced but even the smaller ones aren’t overly bright compared to a standard tele pickup. Some people hate them so obviously I you’ll have to go with what your own ears tell you

 

[41144]

Had the same on a Bluesboy semi to the extent the bridge pickup got taken out for an AlNiCo V replacement.

 

[suave eddie]

Had the same on a Bluesboy semi to the extent the neck pickup got taken out for an AlNiCo V replacement.

Do you mean the bridge PU? The Bluesboy never had a MFD Neck pickup.

 

[JD0x0]

I wasn't a huge fan of them because they seemed to have a huge bottom and bright top end. The S-500's actually had to add a 1000pF cap to kill some highs because I think they ended up too bright. This gives the S-500 a slightly bolder thicker sound, especially if you use longer cable runs, to further move the resonant frequency down.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

EQ! I like starting out with more and removing stuff. I never have any guitar's tone control at 100%.

 

[DuckDodgers]

It’s not the magnet composition that makes them bright, but the low impedance- something like 4Kohms, versus the 6-7K of a typical pickup. MFD pickups use fewer turns of wire than most other pickups, which means lower inductance, and hence less loss of high frequencies. They use stronger magnets to raise the output up to what it would be with standard pickups.

I have the pickups screwed down low on my ASAT Special and it’s still louder than my Vintage V52. I back the volume off a tad, which tames the highs and gives me a good tone.,

 

[sothoth]

It’s not the magnet composition that makes them bright, but the low impedance- something like 4Kohms, versus the 6-7K of a typical pickup. MFD pickups use fewer turns of wire than most other pickups, which means lower inductance, and hence less loss of high frequencies. They use stronger magnets to raise the output up to what it would be with standard pickups.

I have the pickups screwed down low on my ASAT Special and it’s still louder than my Vintage V52. I back the volume off a tad, which tames the highs and gives me a good tone.,

And if you compare the jumbo to standard size, there are fewer turns required to get the same length or wire to wrap around the larger magnet, so the bigger MFDs tend to sound pretty distinct.

To me the small MFDs don’t sound shrill like some of the older tele pickups can sound. I know it’s all subjective but I like them and hope you try to play with the tone, volume, and maybe pots/caps a little to find what makes them work for you.

 

[41144]

Do you mean the bridge PU? The Bluesboy never had a MFD Neck pickup.

Whoops ... Yes I did, post subsequently edited ... Thanks

 

[lineboat]

Yeah, I’ll definitely play with them before making any drastic moves. They have an amazingly big bottom end too. Very boomy! I still can’t get over the feel of it, and the overall fit and finish.

 

[sothoth]

Yeah, I’ll definitely play with them before making any drastic moves. They have an amazingly big bottom end too. Very boomy! I still can’t get over the feel of it, and the overall fit and finish.

It would be awesome for you to post an update after some tinkering and getting used to them.

 

[lineboat]

It would be awesome for you to post an update after some tinkering and getting used to them.

Lol! I did, and it made it WORSE! Maybe tomorrow will be the right change for it.

 

[Golem]

MFD is a type of pickup not a model. The S-500, ASAT, ASAT Special, Doheny, and Commanche all use different MFD models. Are they bright? They can be. I like placing the pickups in my ASAT Special further away from the strings than I do on most other guitars. Like most teles, I also roll down the tone. The ASAT Specials' MFDs are really between a Jazzmaster, Tele, and P90 in tone. With the S500, you have toll off base, and lower the volume to make them sound like a strat. I generally like MFD pickups, but I do caution people that they aren't traditional alnico pickups. When I play my ASAT Special I play in a different style than I normally would.

Here are some examples of Andy Martin playing different G&Ls with MFDs. You'll see that each MFD is a different animal.

 

[Golem]

Another MFD:

 

[Golem]

And another:

 

[Doc Moore]

I recently installed the Tele G & L MFD p'ups in one of my guitars and I must say they are probably the best p'ups I've had to date. I've had many ALNICO type p'ups but these are better....more even response and the adjustable pole pieces make them very versatile.

 

[Controller]

Since the ceramic magnets are more powerful, the pickups usually need to be adjusted down away from the strings for optimal sounds. That's my experience and I really like those kind of pickups.