# Tv Jones classics



## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

I’m wondering how many of you have any experience with tv Jones pickups mainly the classic model. Are they worth the money? How do they compare to the Gretsch high sensitive filtertron pickups? How would you compare them to a paf ? My friend is always talking about them but he is so biased it’s not funny.thanks in advance 


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

silvertonebetty said:


> My friend is always talking about them but he is so biased it’s not funny.


Thanks for the chuckle. Some folk really are rigid with their thinking.

Is your friend saying good things or not so good things about the TV Jones pickups?

I know nothing about these pickups apart from the fact they have developed somewhat of a "following" through time.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

great pickups, pricey and sometimes hard to find used. but they hold value well so you may consider going new

I liked them, compared with the Fender Filtertrons. a Classic paired with a Classic Plus in the bridge. clean and clear but have some good body. they also hold tight when slammed with an overdrive. favourite sound out of them was a cranked AC30 type amp


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

greco said:


> Thanks for the chuckle. Some folk really are rigid with their thinking.
> 
> Is your friend saying good things or not so good things about the TV Jones pickups?
> 
> I know nothing about these pickups apart from the fact they have developed somewhat of a "following" through time.


Oh he’s swears by them .it’s Gretsch and fender amps or nothing. I was shocked to find out he liked my guild .


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

vadsy said:


> great pickups, pricy and sometimes hard to find used. but they hold value well so you may consider going new
> 
> I liked them, compared with the Fender Filtertrons. a Classic paired with a Classic Plus in the bridge. clean and clear but have some good body. they also hold tight when slammed with an overdrive. favourite sound out of them was a cranked AC30 type amp


I’m thinking of dropping a set in my guild . I technically can go down tomorrow and order them but I’m thinking I’m going to hold off for a month or so . Then I can get that frigged up bridged fixed, there’s a Gretsch bridge I’m looking at that you can adjust the radius on but it’s about $200 for it. I just don’t want to leave me short on cash. And ya my bridge was bent towards the neck instead of up and down and I’m almost certain the saddle for the d string is cut too low. Overall I like the way it feels and looks but I was never fond of the actual pickups. It was a “ ohh I want that and click” type buy . For the price I payed I’m fine with it but I’d be let down if I had to pay full price. So I plan on fixing that . The reason I’m thinking tv Jones is because I’m a big fan Of Duane eddy, eddy Cochran, the Beatles,Chet and Brian from the stray cats. For along time I guess even now my “dream” semi is the white falcon but I always had a love for guilds. 


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I have a set in this guitar...










I can't compare them to the Gretsch pickups, but they are a good bit brighter and more chimey than PAFs.
The neck pickup is especially good, no wooly muffledness of some HBs.
They are some of my favorite pickups that I've tried.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

sulphur said:


> bit brighter and more chimey than PAFs.


came back to edit this into my post. agreed. great chime


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

Absolutely fantastic pickups
Even gretsch thinks they are better than gretsch filtertrons - pretty mich everything that comes out of the gretsch custom shop has tv jones pickups.
Tv jones is great to deal with as well.
The only downside is that they are expensive.

For a canadian source I actually prefer McNelly Sparkletrons.
I think they sound more like a vintage grestch





McNelly Sparkletron review


The world’s leading authority and resource for all things guitar.




guitar.com





What bridge is on the guitar?

Can you post a pic of it?

Nathan


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

I have two guitars with TV Jones Filtertrons. (I believe both are "Classic"). An Epiphone Wildkat (hollow body) and a Tele build. 

Can't agree more with all the positive comments about the pups themselves, and dealing with TV Jones. The Wildkat is a bit limited in being able to really push the pups, but I drive them pretty hard in the Tele. They are more versatile than just covering the Stray Cats in a big body Gretcsh.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

nnieman said:


> Absolutely fantastic pickups
> Even gretsch thinks they are better than gretsch filtertrons - pretty mich everything that comes out of the gretsch custom shop has tv jones pickups.
> Tv jones is great to deal with as well.
> The only downside is that they are expensive.
> ...


I will when I get home . I have it pulled up right , right now and it’s a little better but if it wasn’t messed up I’d be able to get it much lower


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

In my opinion: yes TV Jones makes great pickups. But the Gretsch Filtertrons are excellent too. I have both, and when playing at home, you probably couldn't tell the difference. Out with a band, you'd have a better chance of hearing the difference.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

I tried to find an old video where a guy replaces pickups and does a great job of comparing. Stumbled on this one. Spoiler alert: "the difference isn't night and day"


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## Gretsch6120 (Sep 20, 2006)

Can't go wrong with a set of TV Classics, I'd go with a classic plus in the bridge. The plus has a little more ump, if you need it. Its all in how you adjust the height of the pickup, I set my back one pretty close to the strings to get a volume difference between the neck and the bridge.

I had a neck pickup go bad on my '65 Nashville and swapped in a TV Classic when I had the old one fixed and I couldn't tell the different between the two. You mentioned you like Duane Eddy, you might want to check out TV's T'armond pickups, they make them in different configurations to mount onto almost any guitar.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

Here's what I was looking for. Turns out he was comparing to TV Magnatrons.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

nnieman said:


> Absolutely fantastic pickups
> Even gretsch thinks they are better than gretsch filtertrons - pretty mich everything that comes out of the gretsch custom shop has tv jones pickups.
> Tv jones is great to deal with as well.
> The only downside is that they are expensive.
> ...


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

silvertonebetty said:


> View attachment 344966
> View attachment 344967


Ya replace that crap with a bar bridge.
I made my own with a drill press, files & a chunk of aluminum bar stock from crappy tire.

Nathan


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

I "met" these quite often as I was looking for a jazz archtop last year... They were well reknowned as I can remember.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)




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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

nnieman said:


> Ya replace that crap with a bar bridge.
> I made my own with a drill press, files & a chunk of aluminum bar stock from crappy tire.
> 
> Nathan


Yeah like a rocking bar? And yes it’s crap . And as for your comment on the t armonds I thought long and hard and I’m actually really tossed up between the two lol.


mawmow said:


> I "met" these quite often as I was looking for a jazz archtop last year... They were well reknowned as I can remember.


Yeah there not the best .


nnieman said:


> View attachment 344984


I like that . And lovely colour


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Deleted ...too embarrassing and stupid.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

greco said:


> Is this thumbwheel typical?
> Is it on some sort of a spacer to raise it off the body?
> 
> Just trying learn and satisfy my curiosity.
> View attachment 344985


Yes a rocking bar.
It seems to stay in tune better than a tom.
No that lower thumb wheel is weird I don’t know what that is all about.

Nathan


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

.


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

I have a set of TVJ Classics in my La Cab partscaster, a 1-piece sugar pine body with thin May Kay nitro finish by Marc Rutters. The TVJs have been in there from day, 1 so I can't readily compare to Gretschs in a solid body format. Nevertheless, IMHO, the TVJs have relatively more volume and oomph in the mids, acknowledging they're still low-ish output, but still twang nicely. 
I'd love to try a set of Sparkletrons, but not yet in the present non-gigging income environment.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

greco said:


> Is this thumbwheel typical?
> Is it on some sort of a spacer to raise it off the body?
> 
> Just trying learn and satisfy my curiosity.
> View attachment 344985


Lol I’m sorry. That is a reflection the flash went off on my phone I never even noticed  


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

nnieman said:


> Yes a rocking bar.
> It seems to stay in tune better than a tom.
> No that lower thumb wheel is weird I don’t know what that is all about.
> 
> Nathan


Kk and yeah it’s a reflection from my flash . It turns it self on and I have it


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

silvertonebetty said:


> Kk and yeah it’s a reflection from my flash . It turns it self on and I have it


I thought that it might be a reflection but the knurling on the thunbwheels seems different, as does the diameter and thickness of the two thumbwheels. 

Fooled again. Story of my life! ...LOL


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

greco said:


> I thought that it might be a reflection but the knurling on the thunbwheels seems different, as does the diameter and thickness of the two thumbwheels.
> 
> Fooled again. Story of my life! ...LOL


Lol same lol 


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## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

I have a 6122-1959 which has TVs - a Classic Plus in the bridge and a supertron in the neck. I only wanted to buy my Gretsch once and these pickups get that sound. Having tried a bunch of different Gretches along the way, there are a few other key factors through... the standard Gretsch pickups are likely just fine. The TVs are better, but you’re already pretty close to perfect with stock anyways... body size and type, especially bracing, play a big role in how different Gretsches respond... I also found neck feel varies and that is more important to me than subtle pickup differences.

I don’t regret getting the TVs. The only problem is now I want the single coil T’Armonds too!


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I have TV Classics in my G5420T.
I love how they sound and I think there’s a good reason you don’t see them for sale used very often: they sound damn good.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

Jalexander said:


> I have a 6122-1959 which has TVs - a Classic Plus in the bridge and a supertron in the neck. I only wanted to buy my Gretsch once and these pickups get that sound. Having tried a bunch of different Gretches along the way, there are a few other key factors through... the standard Gretsch pickups are likely just fine. The TVs are better, but you’re already pretty close to perfect with stock anyways... body size and type, especially bracing, play a big role in how different Gretsches respond... I also found neck feel varies and that is more important to me than subtle pickup differences.
> 
> I don’t regret getting the TVs. The only problem is now I want the single coil T’Armonds too!


Well tbh I’m not sure I’m actually really tempted with the t-almonds . The main reason I asked is because I’m more of a single coil guy myself. Like I love the neck and neck + middle on a strat and can’t get enough of a telecaster. That being said the Seymour Duncan Seth lover is one and possibly the smoothest Humbucker I’ve played. But I had it paired with a telecaster pickup 


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

silvertonebetty said:


> Well tbh I’m not sure I’m actually really tempted with the t-almonds . The main reason I asked is because I’m more of a single coil guy myself. Like I love the neck and neck + middle on a strat and can’t get enough of a telecaster. That being said the Seymour Duncan Seth lover is one and possibly the smoothest Humbucker I’ve played. But I had it paired with a telecaster pickup
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Theres a used set of t armonds in the swap meet.
I think they are filtertron sized.

Nathan


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## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

silvertonebetty said:


> Well tbh I’m not sure I’m actually really tempted with the t-almonds . The main reason I asked is because I’m more of a single coil guy myself. Like I love the neck and neck + middle on a strat and can’t get enough of a telecaster. That being said the Seymour Duncan Seth lover is one and possibly the smoothest Humbucker I’ve played. But I had it paired with a telecaster pickup
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, I would recommend starting with Filtertrons too. They’re humbuckers but still have a bit of a single coil vibe to them. I only want T-Armomds in addition to the Filters. Again, it’s a distinct take on a single coil, just as the Filters are a unique take on humbuckers. Gretsches just have such a unique thing going on.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

nnieman said:


> Theres a used set of t armonds in the swap meet.
> I think they are filtertron sized.
> 
> Nathan


Like on the forum?


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

nnieman said:


> Theres a used set of t armonds in the swap meet.
> I think they are filtertron sized.
> 
> Nathan


Thanks I found them I did comment so I guess it’s worth a try. 


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