# How do we feel about Guitar Fetish



## Nolan (Jul 2, 2020)

How much would I be paying for pickups in Canadian dollar and how good are they? Thanks in advance.


----------



## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Welcome. 

What I do is add 30% onto the US price for starters. The shipping will be in the $20 to $30 range, and then you may or may not be required to pay a border brokerage fee of about $10. Take all that into consideration when looking at the GF price.

As far as quality goes, they are better than the pickups that would come on a Squire or an Epiphone.


----------



## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Lincoln said:


> Welcome.
> 
> What I do is add 30% onto the US price for starters. The shipping will be in the $20 to $30 range, and then you may or may not be required to pay a border brokerage fee of about $10. Take all that into consideration when looking at the GF price.
> 
> As far as quality goes, they are better than the pickups that would come on a Squire or an Epiphone.


I generally agree except for higher end Squiers and Epiphones. With Squier an d Epiphone you get what you pay for. Same with Guitar Fetish. Their cheap pickups are just that. Their more expensive pickups are good to very good. The best part is their more expensive pickups are still very reasonably priced.


----------



## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

I have never been impressed with any product from guitar fetish, including pickups.
I have put a few into various guitars for clients and they were all meh.
No better than the stock in most cases.

I prefer to buy from Canadian winders, you get a lot more pickup for your money.

Nathan


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I have had several of the better ones, but don't ask which ones as they've all been and gone. Tele and Gretsch style, and P-90s. Initial impressions were that they were pretty good for the money but "for the money" is a lousy qualifier. (I do remember that the combination of a Tele and toaster was freaking awesome, but that apart they were average, which kind of mystified me.) Some of those pickups were dealt, others were installed in customer guitars, yet others were given away. After a lot of dealing and purging I reduced my needs and in the end I kept 3 Godins and a Tele, all with stock pickups.


----------



## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

I just installed a dream 90 and adjustable bridge on an Ephiphone Jr. I have only spent a short time playing it and find it kind of bright. My sound is set up for a humbucker and I have no other P90's for reference. To tell you the truth the humbucker that came stock sounded pretty good!

The bridge is great, I was able to get the intonation in and could not with the stock bridge.

I really need more time with it before I can give my take on it.


----------



## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

Welcome to the forum @Nolan 



nnieman said:


> I prefer to buy from Canadian winders, you get a lot more pickup for your money.


+1 for this. Check out the likes of: MJS Custom, McNelly, Pickup Wizard, Vineham.


----------



## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

I would struggle to buy GFS pups again. The ones I got weren't bad, but they weren't good either. For just a bit more money you can buy better made and better sounding pickups.

I have the Vineham B Tele pup's, the bridge in a Esq and the neck in a MIM with the stock bridge pup. For $150 delivered to my door I have two fantastic sounding guitars.


----------



## Nolan (Jul 2, 2020)

Thank you all I now know what I needed to know!


----------



## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

Ive had two pickups from them...was happy...
Also ordered a pickguard for a strat...never any problems


----------



## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

I gave that Dream -90 a good ride today and I actually like it quite a bit. I have never had a P-90 pickup in any guitar in the last 45 years. This is bright but kick it into distortion and It is really cool.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

They don't have the "best" products, but they're honest, and if you live in the U.S. (or have a P.O. box at a nearby border crossing) and don't have to pay the additional fees that Canadians do, they represent decent value for the money. I think they provide a service for folks on a tight budget. And I think there's more of them than there are folks who can stroll into a guitar store and plunk down a gold card for an R8 or Custom Shop Strat.

And although the pickups may be mediocre, they can provide a cost-effective way to try out things you had been considering but weren't committed to enough to spend big bucks. For instance, would I *really* like a P90 or Filter-tron or Firebird type pickup in that position? Maybe, and maybe not. Do I want to spend big money on an "I wonder if...." whim? Probably not.

As a past customer, I get their e-mails, and while the "25% off clearance inventory!!!" items can grab my attention, by the time one adds on the various additional exchanges and surcharges, they turn into less of a bargain, and my enthusiasm quickly dissipates.


----------



## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

I had a heck of a time justifying spending $100 on a $100 guitar, it was a cheaper alternative for a P90 that fits into a humbucker hole. Your right Mark it is decent value.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

I'm thinking about ordering a pickguard from them, how are their shipping cost and times?


----------



## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

With shipping, broker fees, taxes and exchange I don't see the value in it for me. 
Resale on their stuff is terrible too. 

I stick with buying used Gibson or Fender pickups, and other parts, or Squier Epiphone etc depending on the guitar.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

tomee2 said:


> With shipping, broker fees, taxes and exchange I don't see the value in it for me.
> Resale on their stuff is terrible too.
> 
> I stick with buying used Gibson or Fender pickups, and other parts, or Squier Epiphone etc depending on the guitar.


Like I say, IF you live in the continental U.S., great value for the money. If you live in Canada, too much money for the value.


----------



## Jim Jones (Sep 18, 2006)

I bought a Dream 90 once. Complete unmitigated garbage. Buy something good the first time.


----------



## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

For price, just Google "cad to usd" and you'll get the exchange rates. 

Last I ordered was well over a year ago, and I don't recall getting any import fees. 

Pickup wise you really gotta YouTube some demos, some are good, some are bad. I got a humbucker sized p90 and a set over Texas wound 63 vintage (or something like that) not bad. I also got a pick guard, wiring kit and the Trisonic clones for a Squier upgrade and those are great. Everyone who's tried them wanted to buy buy a set. 

Also cheap, but UK... I got Warman pickups before, and about to order some Irongear. Check those out... They sound great but way cheaper than Seymour Duncan or Dimarzio.


----------



## TBayLefty (Jul 21, 2020)

nnieman said:


> I have never been impressed with any product from guitar fetish, including pickups.
> I have put a few into various guitars for clients and they were all meh.
> No better than the stock in most cases.
> 
> ...


Cant agree more with this comment. I got Soul Tone pickups hand wound by Jason Robitaille in Etobicoke. Free lefty, plenty of options, very reasonably priced and great sounding.

Makes absolutely no sense to pay exchange, cross border fees etc.


----------



## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

I have a GFS neck on a Squier build that is one of my favourite guitars. Neck feels good, looks good and has a thickness to my liking. I also recently acquired a set of GFS grey bottom 60s/70s pickup set in a trade. I put them into a new build and I can say I am happy with the tone. A little brighter than my other guitars, but that's cool. I don't want the same sound from every guitar anyway. Granted, I did not have to pay for them and have them shipped, but overall I do like them. I had a set of MIM I could have used, but wanted something different. My ability is not up to what many of you here are at, so your assessment may be different based on playing level. I like them and am not unhappy with my trade.


----------



## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

There are 2 GFS pickups that I bonded with: Mean 90 and 60's Hot Alnico. These pair very nicely in a Tele. 
I prefer both the Mean and Dream 90s over Duncan Phat Cats. Don't bother with their 'Rails ...


----------



## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

I bought a few of their pickups and was satisfied.
I own Dimarzio, Bill Lawrence, Seymour Duncan and Bare Knuckle .... Some GFS pickups are just as good.
Just like what is written on a guitars headstock doesn't say anything about a guitars tone or playability .... Same applies to pickups.
I like the GFS "LIl Killers" ( 15k ohms stacked Humbucker ....

My biggest surprise from GFS ,were the Hot Hex Overwound pickups from the Clearance Section .... Slightly more powerful than a Dimarzio X2N, but with some qualities of a Dimarzio Evolution with more lower mid and more cleaner lows.


----------



## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

I have bought quite a few over the years, but they never stayed in my guitar long. They always seemed to be lacking something. So I wouldn't really recommend them for a guitar you were planning on keeping around and it was going to be your nbr. 1 guitar.


----------



## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

I find a lot of their hardware stuff is easily obtained elsewhere, with much less punitive shipping.

One thing I will say though: I have heard a guitar (Agile LP copy) with their "vintage wound" RedActive pickups, specifically the ones with the EQ switches, and it sounded very angry, but in a good way.

Also they are the best deal for Strat blocks in brass or steel, and their heavy duty Floyd is the same one used for the Peavey Wolfgang.

As others have said, shipping is what kills you on these.


----------



## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Nolan said:


> How much would I be paying for pickups in Canadian dollar and how good are they? Thanks in advance.


Depends which pickups. As far as USD prices in CAD... just Google "USD to CAD" and it pops up with a currency converter.

I have a full set of the Brian May "Trisonic" style pickups and they sound great. I have a humbucker sized P90 that I saw many reviews say sounds very very close to the Gibson, but I have yet to install it.

I have an old body/neck only from a Tesico/Kawai SG that I plan to rebuild for fun. I plan to get the gold foil vintage style pickups from Guitar Fetish.

Biggest advise though... wait for a holiday. 4th July, Thanksgiving Weekend, etc... they always have a 10/20/30% off coupon code. Gotta make sure you enter all 3 codes though, each code is for a different part of the site so, you might save 10% maybe 30%.... but it helps with shipping costs.

...That Said... for cheap good quality pickups, maybe check Iron Gear out in the UK. Lots of good YouTube demos to listen to.


----------

