Feeler: GFS Pickups (Mean 90, Dream 90, Surf 90, Seymour Duncan P-Rails)

[Mossman]

Speaking of Rogue VB100, I have one of those too, what did you put in it?

Sorry I missed this post... I put a set of licensed Hofner "staple-top" pickups by Allparts in it (as well as about a dozen other things). They sound really good... I'm going to be re-posting that project thread from the old forum soon, and I'll be adding a video demo as well.

[Gear_Junky]

Speaking of Rogue VB100, I have one of those too, what did you put in it?

Sorry I missed this post... I put a set of licensed Hofner "staple-top" pickups by Allparts in it (as well as about a dozen other things). They sound really good... I'm going to be re-posting that project thread from the old forum soon, and I'll be adding a video demo as well.

Thank you, very nice! Do you feel it was a noticeable improvement over the stock pickups?

I owned a Douglas violin bass (same thing) and back then I had old GFS pickups (they no longer make) that looked like triple-slot toasters, similar to some of the Rickenbacker guitar pickups. I figured they were "rails", so I put them into that bass and it was nice. But I traded it to someone for my Epi LP Custom (it wasn't an even trade, I gave something else). But then I missed having a violin bass, so I traded my acoustic Dean EAB for the Rogue I kinda miss having an acoustic bass but I do have a CCB (cheap chinese bass) upright bass that I need to fix up and get into action.

Looking forward to that thread. I'll check if those Hofner pups are expensive.

[Mossman]

Thank you, very nice! Do you feel it was a noticeable improvement over the stock pickups?

I owned a Douglas violin bass (same thing) and back then I had old GFS pickups (they no longer make) that looked like triple-slot toasters, similar to some of the Rickenbacker guitar pickups. I figured they were "rails", so I put them into that bass and it was nice. But I traded it to someone for my Epi LP Custom (it wasn't an even trade, I gave something else). But then I missed having a violin bass, so I traded my acoustic Dean EAB for the Rogue I kinda miss having an acoustic bass but I do have a CCB (cheap chinese bass) upright bass that I need to fix up and get into action.

Looking forward to that thread. I'll check if those Hofner pups are expensive.

Yeah, I think they were a great improvement over the stock pickups. Mostly in the neck pickup. It has more punch and definition and less BOOM (though it can be made to sound boomy if you want to). The bridge pickup is only marginally better, but that's mostly due to its proximity to the bridge (something that real Hofner owners complain about as well). It sounds too trebly by itself, but when blended with the neck pickup, you can geta real woody tone that sounds very much like an upright bass (with flat-wound strings, that is).

I used to have an Epiphone Viola, and I thought the pickups in that bass sounded kinda boring. That was the main reason I eventually sold it (there weren't a whole lot of after-market options back then). The Rogue pickups look and sound pretty much identical to those... Probably the same OEM.

The Allparts pickups are cheaper than GFS. Just thirty bones a pop, but they're out of stock right now: https://www.allparts.com/products/pu-64 ... style-bass

Be advised that the pickup rings that come with them won't work on the Rogue. I had to have custom bezels made by Pickguardian.

I also had Tony make a new pickguard, control plate, and TRC. I didn't want it to look like every other Hofner 500/1 copy out there, so I chose a translucent "Marble Tortoise" material that was new at Pickguardian at the time (Hofner originally used a similar looking material on early 500/1 basses in the '50s). I replaced the generic "curly-q" tailpiece with a German Hofner TP, and replaced the tuners with Wilkinson's version of Hipsot Ultra-Light tuners, with banjo tuner buttons that I found on StewMac. And I ditched the PCB-mounted pots and switches and replaced them with CTS pots (VVT), but I keep changing the knobs! I still haven't tried anything I like 100%. Here's a few recent pics I've taken:

BB body angle dark.jpg

BB body vert low dark.jpg

BB full angle dark.jpg

Here's one with the PG attached:

BBF3.jpg

I also repainted the headstock (I couldn't stand the Rogue logo) and put my own logo on it, and painted faux binding around the perimeter of the headstock... It ain't perfect, but that was my first attempt at such a thing.

BBF4.jpg

[Gear_Junky]

Yeah, I think they were a great improvement over the stock pickups. Mostly in the neck pickup. It has more punch and definition and less BOOM (though it can be made to sound boomy if you want to). The bridge pickup is only marginally better, but that's mostly due to its proximity to the bridge (something that real Hofner owners complain about as well). It sounds too trebly by itself, but when blended with the neck pickup, you can geta real woody tone that sounds very much like an upright bass (with flat-wound strings, that is).

Awesome work, man! Yep, flats is what I have on mine and it's the [only] way to go!

[Mossman]

Yeah, I think they were a great improvement over the stock pickups. Mostly in the neck pickup. It has more punch and definition and less BOOM (though it can be made to sound boomy if you want to). The bridge pickup is only marginally better, but that's mostly due to its proximity to the bridge (something that real Hofner owners complain about as well). It sounds too trebly by itself, but when blended with the neck pickup, you can geta real woody tone that sounds very much like an upright bass (with flat-wound strings, that is).

Awesome work, man! Yep, flats is what I have on mine and it's the [only] way to go!

What kind of strings are on yours? I settled on the LaBalla "Beatle Bass" strings after trying D'Addario medium-scale Chromes on the Epi Viola. They were long enough to accommodate the tailpiece, but the string tension was... frightening.

Have you tried Pyramids or Thomastic Infelds? People rave about both of those brands, but frankly I'm not interested in paying $70+ for a set of bass strings. The pickups were cheaper than that!

[Gear_Junky]

What kind of strings are on yours? I settled on the LaBalla "Beatle Bass" strings after trying D'Addario medium-scale Chromes on the Epi Viola. They were long enough to accommodate the tailpiece, but the string tension was... frightening.

Have you tried Pyramids or Thomastic Infelds? People rave about both of those brands, but frankly I'm not interested in paying $70+ for a set of bass strings. The pickups were cheaper than that!

I don't remember now but I think LaBellas is the package I have in my strings box. I try to save the sleeve/label of strings like that, that I don't use in bulk, just to remember. I recall reading that Beatles/McCartney fans all recommend these as "the" strings. I figured I'd splurge once. I think I've also learned about some strings of the "correct" scale not fitting due to the extra length (you reminded me). I'm not a bass player (I "used to be"), even though I like having a few basses around. So I don't change strings on basses like I do on guitars. I like to find a set and keep it.

[Mossman]

What kind of strings are on yours? I settled on the LaBalla "Beatle Bass" strings after trying D'Addario medium-scale Chromes on the Epi Viola. They were long enough to accommodate the tailpiece, but the string tension was... frightening.

Have you tried Pyramids or Thomastic Infelds? People rave about both of those brands, but frankly I'm not interested in paying $70+ for a set of bass strings. The pickups were cheaper than that!

I don't remember now but I think LaBellas is the package I have in my strings box. I try to save the sleeve/label of strings like that, that I don't use in bulk, just to remember. I recall reading that Beatles/McCartney fans all recommend these as "the" strings. I figured I'd splurge once. I think I've also learned about some strings of the "correct" scale not fitting due to the extra length (you reminded me). I'm not a bass player (I "used to be"), even though I like having a few basses around. So I don't change strings on basses like I do on guitars. I like to find a set and keep it.

That's the reason I got LaBellas too. After the D'Addario fiasco I did a little more research and found that LaBellas and Pyramids were the two most frequently recommended brands (and the LaBellas are specifically made for this type of bass). The price difference informed my decision from there. I think the LaBellas sound great, and they sound the same now as they did when I first put them on a couple of years ago. Considering this bass only gets a fraction of my playing time, I'll probably never have to change them.

[Gear_Junky]

That's the reason I got LaBellas too. After the D'Addario fiasco I did a little more research and found that LaBellas and Pyramids were the two most frequently recommended brands (and the LaBellas are specifically made for this type of bass). The price difference informed my decision from there. I think the LaBellas sound great, and they sound the same now as they did when I first put them on a couple of years ago. Considering this bass only gets a fraction of my playing time, I'll probably never have to change them.

Isn't the wisdom: "beatle bass is short scale, but you need med-scale strings for it"? That's what my dusty memory returns.

[Gear_Junky]

I might be interested in your sx p90 so maybe someday I can experiment on a mag swap. I dont want to risk my current ones. Whats the price? I'm in san diego. I also have a firbird a5 copy pickup and possibly an m22 carvin hb. The hotter model iirc. If any of those interest anyone

Nomadh, I'm not sure if PM's get through, I found them to be glitchy or maybe just funky. Was there still any interest? A-ok either way

[mickey]

Hi, nomadh. I'm not sure if PM's get through. I was trying to see if you need 1 or 2 of the SX P90's?

Simple, when you send someone a PM on here it goes in your OUTBOX
When the person you sent it to reads the PM it moves to your SENT folder.
Because of that you can be sure whether it got thru or not.

[Lacking Talent]

I also repainted the headstock (I couldn't stand the Rogue logo) and put my own logo on it, and painted faux binding around the perimeter of the headstock... It ain't perfect, but that was my first attempt at such a thing.

Love the faux binding! When are guitar manufacturers -- I'm looking at you, Gibson, starting with your Les Paul Standard (and expanding to include every other maker that copied its look) -- finally going to learn that a guitar with a bound body and fretboard looks absolutely unfinished and incomplete as a cohesive visual statement if the headstock remains unbound? Yeesh!

[Gear_Junky]

...When are guitar manufacturers -- I'm looking at you, Gibson, starting with your Les Paul Standard (and expanding to include every other maker that copied its look) -- finally going to learn that a guitar with a bound body and fretboard looks absolutely unfinished and incomplete as a cohesive visual statement if the headstock remains unbound? Yeesh!

Part of why I always liked the looks of LP Custom vs Standard. However, Standard later "grew" on me, especially with the likes of honeyburst and when the back is transparent so you can see grain. Why do we care about what's on the parts of the guitar that nobody sees?

[nomadh]

I might be interested in your sx p90 so maybe someday I can experiment on a mag swap. I dont want to risk my current ones. Whats the price? I'm in san diego. I also have a firbird a5 copy pickup and possibly an m22 carvin hb. The hotter model iirc. If any of those interest anyone

Nomadh, I'm not sure if PM's get through, I found them to be glitchy or maybe just funky. Was there still any interest? A-ok either way

I am interested but I need to stop pretending I'm going to get to any of this stuff I want to do anytime soon. I love tinkering but I need to put my energy into playing more music thats what makes me happy. As I get older I realize I can do anything but I can't do everything

[Gear_Junky]

I am interested but I need to stop pretending I'm going to get to any of this stuff I want to do anytime soon. I love tinkering but I need to put my energy into playing more music thats what makes me happy. As I get older I realize I can do anything but I can't do everything

Yep, there's a lot of that going around No worries, thanks for letting me know