Tell me about 'Trons.

[Rich_S]

So I'm on YouTube, watching an old Garbage concert from 2005 and I see that Steven Marker is playing a single-pickup Gretsch, which I assume is the nice, no-empty-neck-route version of Malcom Young's guitar. Garbage is not really the kind of music I associate with Filtertrons, but then again, neither was AC/DC. Then there are Neil Finn of Crowded House and Jim Moginie of Midnight Oil, both guitarists I respect and who play solid-body Gretsches.

It got me to thinking... I have a MIK Hamer Sunburst that I hardly ever play. I'll never sell it; I'm a huge Hamer fan (because James Honeyman-Scott, Rick Nielsen) it presently has a set of humbuckers in it that are pretty close to those in the original '70s USA Hamers (think Dimarzio PAFs). I have similar pickups in my "other" humbucker guitar: a Duncan '59 set in my Schecter goldtop PT (with a MIM Fender neck). Probably due to the maple neck and the longer scale, the PT sounds more right to me. The Hamer by contrast is kind of dull or flat sounding. If I want the old '70s fat Les Paul sound, the Hamer does it but that's a place I rarely go.

What would 'Trons do in a guitar like this? How do Filtertrons compare to standard vintage-ish humbuckers? There are hotter types of 'Trons, to, right?

I'm totally out of the 'Tron loop, so you experts please share your wisdom. What sort of HB-sized 'Trons would add a bit of snap and dare I say twang to a Gibson-scale all-mahogany guitar? Bonus points for bang-for-the-buck, I'm unlikely to put high-$$$ booteek pickups in a $200 Korean Hamer (Cort).

 

[brookdalebill]

Filtertrons are my favorite pickups.
I really like TV Jones’ modern replicas best.
They offer mounting rings that fit standard PAF type routes.
If you find Jones’ pickups pricey, GFS makes great sounding cheaper alternatives.
Both sound great clean or overdriven, both are hum-free.

 

[Dan German]

I am not knowledgeable about Filtertrons, but if the GFS Nashville Retrotrons are the same as they were 14 years ago, I can vouch for them being good value. I really liked them, and I am not typically a lover of humbuckers. (Personally, they made me think I need a TV Jones someday…)

 

[Peegoo]

Garbage is not really the kind of music I associate with Filtertrons, but then again, neither was AC/DC. Then there are Neil Finn of Crowded House and Jim Moginie of Midnight Oil, both guitarists I respect and who play solid-body Gretsches.

Add Billy Duffy (The Cult) to your list. Like Steve Marker, he gets a really aggressive push from the Filtertron. The amp you use matters.

Filtertrons are my favorite pickup. They have a snarl and bite when played through an overdriven amp, but they clean up and really can twang when you roll off the volume (see Chet). I like them with a high bypass cap across the volume pot.

When I built a guitar that had everything I wanted and nothing I didn't, I used one in this.

I have FTs in other guitars as well.

 

[Rich_S]

Add Billy Duffy (The Cult) to your list. Like Steve Marker, he gets a really aggressive push from the Filtertron. The amp you use matters.

I can't believe I forgot Duffy. He's been in the guitar press lately 'cuz new album.

My base tone is an 18 Watter clone pushed into light crunch. Add a BB Preamp to get into '80s modded-Marshall territory. Add a Big Muff or other fuzz for over-the-top '90s and beyond dirt.

I'm also a modulation freak: Phase 95, CE-3, BF-2, TR-2.

 

[Rich_S]

Also in the “I can’t believe I forgot…”
department, “Who’s Next”.

 

[TX_Slinger]

I have a set of Seymour Duncan Psyclones, humbucker sized, in a Tele. They're like hot Filtertrons and they sound more like PAF under more gain so more like the love child of Angus' and Malcolm's pickups..

 

[arlum]

For cleans and crunch I love what Filtertrons sound like. Excellent for Rock & Roll, Country and Rockabilly. They sound great for Surf. Humbucking Twang comes to mind.. The only down side, IMO, is that they don't produce as great of a smooth high gain voice or deliver as much smooth high gain sustain as a vintage comparable low output PAF.
Both pickup types produce excellent cleans with more high end definition in the Trons, (Brian Setzer / Chet Atkins), and more "body" in the PAFs, (to many player examples to name). I like the crunch rhythm tones of the Filtertron more than the PAF also because of their open highly defined tonal quality. Their crunch never sounds muddy. AC /DC's slamming rhythm patterns that you just can't get out of your head. Always out front. Crunchy PAF pickups have a tendency to slip into a muddy patch lacking highs if the players not paying close attention. When it comes to smooth high gain leads with notes that will sustain forever, IMO, PAFs own this lock, stock and barrel. Again ..... This is just my opinion.

 

[KelvinS1965]

I swapped around some Filtertrons and then TV Jones into a Gretsch Electromatic I have. Still didn't get the bright twangy sound I thought they were meant to give, though I'm quite partial to the Filtertrons now I've put them back into the Gretsch. I put the TV Jones into a Cabronita build I did and they seem a bit brighter sounding, though obviously a different guitar/scale length/solid body but I also wired them differently (pull switch on the single volume to give a tone cut, otherwise no tone).

I still find my Gibson SG (61T/61R) and my Epiphone Les Paul (Bareknuckle Mules) actually sound brighter than the Filtertrons. Maybe it's the particular humbuckers I have though.

Of course it would be rude if I didn't show a picture of the Cabronita build since this is a Tele forums.

 

[uriah1]

I have some revtrons in a reverend that rock pretty decent.
I have a Indonesian Gretsch that I don't like their filtertrons

 

[SixStringSlinger]

I have some revtrons in a reverend that rock pretty decent.
I have a Indonesian Gretsch that I don't like their filtertrons

I've been lead to believe that, contruction-wise, Rev-Trons are more like mini-humbuckers than 'Trons, though they certainly look like 'Trons.

Regardless, I have them in my Tricky Gomez and they're not bad at all.

 

[blowtorch]

Filtertrons are the best. Just the old run of the mill common ones.
To my ear you need no boutique "improved" version

It gets a little dicey though, because for a few years Gretsch was putting "gretschbuckers" in their cheaper electromatic guitars, they look a bit like filtertrons but are not that, rather just relatively generic sounding humbuckers

 

[TX_Slinger]

Filtertrons are the best. Just the old run of the mill common ones.
To my ear you need no boutique "improved" version

It gets a little dicey though, because for a few years Gretsch was putting "gretschbuckers" in their cheaper electromatic guitars, they look a bit like filtertrons but are not that, rather just relatively generic sounding humbuckers

I put a set of Gretschbuckers in my Tele before trying a couple others and they were very dark, not bad just not what I wanted. The Psyclones hit the spot, jangly/twangy under low-mid gain and not loose with a lot of gain. I was running thru some Tool the other day and my son remarked they sounded amazing running thru my Diezel VH4 patch. For the record I picked that guitar up for something else and it just led me to playing some Tool .

 

[Rich_S]

Well, this is kinda weird. "Progressive Rock Land" showed up in my Facebook feed this morning, featuring a short video of a holiday greeting from Focus. In the clip, Jan Akkerman is playing a black beauty with the stock bridge pickup and a Filtertron in the neck. Strange coincidence. (Let the conspiracy theories run rampant.)

 

[robt57]

I did a few PU changes in my hamer sunburst and gave up. But honestly think a 57 classic or similar would jive. Keep fresh strings on it what ever you do, assuming they were consistant. Just not brite, mine anyway..

 

[thechad]

If you do look into TV Jones pickups, you can often get a great deal buying the “blemished” ones as long as you don’t mind a minor aesthetic imperfection. I bought a couple for a build I did and was almost disappointed with how new and clean they looked. Hardly blemished at all, but I didn’t mind the discount.

 

[jvin248]

.

I have a 1970 'Global' branded MIJ flat top LP (like a junior special) apparently made by Ibanez, trashed when I got it, fixed up with GFS H-sized Dynasonic neck and P90 bridge pickups. It's a fun guitar. However, I find rotating regular H bridge pickups during install so the screw poles are on the other bobbin and raising them gives me that P90 tone.

I also have a Gretsch solid body LP with their covered mini humbuckers and dual row of screw poles, which I adjust for tone.

So you can't go too wrong with any. I'd be most likely to pursue a Goldfoil neck and Filtertron bridge set or maybe also try a Dynasonic neck. If you go booteek spendy, remember you can always move them from the target guitar to others in the fleet.

Don't forget pickup heights, tip, and pole adjustments plus careful pot and cap selection can really push tone around. Series cap can fix a too muddy pickup. Wood don't matter, but the electronics do.


.

 

[Tmcqtele65]

I'm a huge fan of the Filtertron sound. For me, it's just the right blend of highs, lows, mids, and signal strength to combine with your choice of clean/overdrive processing.

Also, add Richard Fortus from GnR - and check out some videos of his two signature models.

I find this video comparison to be a good example of what can be done with these pickups in more of classic rock, heavier rock vein:



For retrofit installs, keep in mind the form factor is a bit different than a standard humbucker*, so there may be routing, plugging of old holes, drilling of new, etc. involved. TV Jones does make most (all?) of their pickups in a direct humbucker mount format if you want to go that route, but as someone pointed out TVJs are quite pricey. The Jet in the video I linked has TVJ "Powertrons".
*Filtertrons are longer and narrower than traditional humbuckers....2.812" x 1.375" vs 2.76" x 1.5".

 

[schmee]

Gretsch standard trons are fine . I think they are called HS Filtertron now. I had them and bought the TV Jones ones, No perceptible sound difference. TVJ has other versions though like Supertrons which are hotter.
You can get the Gretsch for probably $65-75 each. Make sure you are getting Filtertrons not Gretsch "blacktops".

I have mounted standard Trons in a HB rout and it worked just fine. Just added a little brass plate on them:

 

[USian Pie]

I've been through a few different TV Jones pickups in a few different guitars. These are just my experiences and opinions.

I found no point in a "hotter" Filtertron unless you just need something that fits a Filtertron cavity but sounds like a PAF. The whole point of a Filtertron is sounding like a Filtertron. Overwinding a Filtertron makes it sound like a (kinda lame) humbucker. Yeah, I know a bunch of players who are better than me might disagree. Nevertheless, I tried the "Filtertron but more" and really didn't like it. I tried "Just Filtertron" and liked it a lot.

The humbucker-sized Filertrons kind of work but I just don't like them as much as Filtertron-sized Filtertrons. I don't know if this a psychological/appearance thing or if there really is a difference in sound. It definitely seemed audible to me.

Twang on a 24 3/4" scale guitar is an elusive thing. While they provide more clarity than humbuckers, I don't really hear Filtertrons "twang". My idea of "twang" is a Telecaster -- single coil, 25 1/2" scale. What Filtertrons do great on the low strings for shorter-scale guitars is a clear voice with bell- or piano-like character. With muted low strings, it's a really cool woody percussive thump -- great for Travis picking.