You owe it to yourself to try them. Don't get the Blacktops as they only have an 1/8" thick magnet in them. The sweet sauce lies in the original design with the 1/4" thick magnet. I emailed GFS guitar fetish and asked about their Filter'Tron copies to see if there was a 1/4" magnet inside. They have yet to respond. So stay away from them if you wanted to try Filters. I don't want to go back to normie humbuckers since Filter'Trons sound so good.
@@armandomorales3809 Eventually you'll grow out of that phase, and part ways with that music you used to love so much as a teenager. Put on your producer ears and really listen to great guitar tone that isn't saturated with gain and drowning in reverb and other effects. Try to find guitar players who were plugged straight into their amps. High output & high DC resistance pickups have their place, as do low output pickups. I plan to keep at least one guitar with "normie" humbuckers as I like variety. All my guitars have different pickups in them. I think of them as different tools for the job. I like experimenting and playing with new sounds. Variety is a good thing.
@@armandomorales3809 pedalboardplanet.com/improve-your-guitar-tone/ Learn To Play Cleanly This is by far the quickest and most cost-effective way to improve your tone - learn to play cleanly. I don’t mean turn off your overdrive pedals and go on a jazz vision quest, but honestly, this is not too far off from what I’m talking about. Like jazz, the emphasis is on attack and articulation. The cleaner your notes come out as you play them, the better it sounds. Learn how to play as close behind the fret as possible. This will help eliminate buzz and other unwanted noises. Not only will this clean up your sound, but also helps with your accuracy Try recording yourself playing a lick with no distortion or drive at all, and listen back to it. Can you make out what you are doing over the string noise and poorly picked notes? I’ve found this to be an eye-opening exercise because it lays the cards on the table and says; this is what the distortion is masking for ya buddy. Clean It UP! Don’t Scoop The Mids This one is a little subjective. You will see scooped mids quite a lot in metal bands, Dimebag Darell of Pantera is a prime example of a scooped mid that actually works well. If that’s the type of sound you are going for, ignore this tip. But again, the guitar is a mid-range instrument, removing all of the mids takes away some of the naturally resonating tones from the guitar itself. Turn Down the Gain You would be surprised how much gain you actually don’t need. Dial your gain down as low as it goes, and gradually increase until you get the sound you want.
@@armandomorales3809 1. CLEAN IT UP WITH LOW GAIN. Many tube amps have two inputs: one for high gain and one for low. As the pros know, plugging into the low-gain input can clean up those fat-sounding humbuckers and can even sweeten your tone. www.guitarplayer.com/lessons/13-pro-tips-to-make-your-guitar-and-gear-sound-great “So what’s the secret of that huge AC/DC guitar tone? You guessed it: raw talent aside, the Young brothers both use way less gain on their amps than you’d think.” blog.hughes-and-kettner.com/acdc-and-the-no-gain-no-pain-secret-for-great-guitar-tone/
I dont mean to be so off topic but does someone know a tool to get back into an Instagram account? I stupidly forgot the account password. I love any tricks you can give me.
@Hezekiah Skyler thanks for your reply. I found the site thru google and im trying it out atm. Takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
There are some incredible players on youtube. I mean really great players. However, when I watch their videos I just basically feel like they all pretty "sound" the same. Chris, I genuinely believe you might be the only guitarist on here that when I hear you I know it's you. If someone blindly turned on a video and told me to guess who the player was I really believe I could pick you out of a lineup and that's what sets you apart from the rest of the youtube players. Great work dude! Finding your own voice on guitar is a phenomenal accomplishment.
He's in a class of his own. Gilmour with extra balls. People often talk about players making the guitar "sing". This dude is the Pavarotti (or the Maria Callas?) of the electric guitar. I wonder if at some point a big time producer will give him his shot.
Whilst I love Chris’ playing I think it is also a bit daft to single out players in this way. As you said there are many great players on UA-cam! Guthrie Govan and Sam Coulson to name just two more.
Good vid, great playing. I'll never be that good. I'm 68 years old and a beginner. Just bought my first guitar. I bought a Gretsch G5420T. I'm enjoying it.
Came for the info, stayed for the phenomenal guitar playing. You are an inspiring player! Thank you! Your Technique is so good and never sterile…somehow exact AND lively.
Another absolutely awesome guitarist called Chris, is Chris Cheney of the Aussie three-piece The Living End. Punk, ska, jazz, rockabilly, metal prog, folk - that guy plays it all on Filtertron-powdered Gretches. And live!!!!! Simply stunning plating. His voice is pretty good too.
Amazing video mate! First, that opening solo blew me away after I have got into the habit with other videos of respectfully listening to the first few bars and usually skipping the rest to get to the content. Secondly your explanations and test recordings were the clearest I have heard of the subtle differences between a PAF and Filtertron pickup. Third, you give Yamaha guitars the respect they truly deserve. Thank you.
One thing about the old PAFs and early Patent No. pickups: they’re really bright! Lotsa air and presence in the treble frequencies. Filter’Trons have more upper-mid snap but actually *less* high treble response than (most) PAFs. When the ‘Trons start rolling off the PAFs just keep going. “Telecaster on steroids” is an accurate description.
You’ve quickly became my favorite guitarist in a while! You’re in a league all your own! Keep up the good work! And your knowledge of guitar history is on point.
Haha I know right! This kid is rapidly becoming (in my opinion) one of the best young guitarist in the world! He plays with so much feeling and soul! Not something that we hear a lot of these days
gheddi right! I listen to so many young guitarist and the older ones from my generation. Chris really has a good soul and it shines through in his playing like many of my favorite guitarist. When I say that it’s something that we don’t hear a lot of. I mean in mainstream music
Very well done Chris. Your playing is phenomenal and it was a pleasure to hear the comparison demos. This video was so well put together. The history timeline is so interesting. I’m fascinated to learn that a lot of these innovations came from ideas of the players!
I would kill to have you dial in the best tone you could dredge out of my live rig. I'm completely convinced that it would sound better than anything I've ever been able to get with my endless tweaking.
Great episode, Chris! I recently modded the broad'tron HB size pickups in my Gretsch guitars to get more chime and clarity. I removed the three top right, and 3 bottom left pole pieces and replaced them with M3 x 12mm nylon screws. The transformation is incredible.
Nice job- very easy to hear the difference! Good playing too. We worked with Yamaha alot in 2018 and 2019 and they gave us one of those Revstars- the frets are so nice and its just a really fine playing guitar and very useable in every way. Thanks for the well produced video
what are you if you are recognised by either hearing ór seeing you play? to me your right hand style is not only recognisable, it's signature. you let your picking hand serve the music's demands, walking that awkardly fine line between craftsmanship and artistry. you inspire me.
Seldom found in solid body guitars, and even then, seldom real Gretsch. I bought a G2215, threw the Broadtron in the garbage and installed (NOT a "drop in" part) a HS Filter'Tron and WOW. P90 and HS compliment each other so well and I was blown away by the high gain sounds of the HS. At least a half dozen brands now and several have more than one model. A Filtertron for everyone no matter the sound you want...and they are versatile.
I built my brother a Strat with 2 filtertron pick ups and single coil. He loves it. Mixing the neck single coil and bridge filtertron creates a very near humbucker sound on his Marshall.
Feel: 10, Note selection: 10. Big Ass Glissandos during soloing, akaBAG-DS: "11" (said like Nigel Tufnel). But your ability to (so, so clearly) think ahead of what you're currently playing and lay down some might riffing as a result.... flipping' priceless!
Chris, great video. I am so excited to see you grow as a musician, as you are a young man growing up in a crazy world. You certainly have the tone, technique, passion, and aptitude to be an amazing player, who will give memories to other great Guitarists souls. I hear so much David G, in your delicate touch and bending, and wish that you lead a great Prog Rock band with your atmospheric guitar playing and tones, alas maybe thats just the ramblings of an older player still looking for the new Floyd in our times. Stay safe, keep playing and whatever musical journey you follow, know that players will be watching.
These are always my #1 suggestion when someone asks me what they should use in the neck position of a Tele. They're clear and have that quality of sounding like they have more gain, but without actually having the output that will overpowering a single coil in the bridge. Plus you don't have to go with a really hot bridge single coil to get them to balance.
Great play! Interesting to learn the way you use finger and pick interchangeably. I did not ever think about it to do it in the middle of solo work such frequently to make differences in nuances and tones. That style inspires me about more freedom in guitar plays. Beautifully done, excellent melody, too. I am very impressed!!
I've been a huge Gretsch fan since the early 80s, my 71 Superchet was the sweetest guitar I've ever owned, and I'm working on getting a 3rd right now, with a set of HiLo'trons, so I'll have each of the 3 classic Gretsch sounds, Dynasonics, Filtertrons, and HiLo'trons. Nice vid Chris, thanks for posting.
Great video. This may interest: Dimarzio makes an Eric Johnson humbucker that was developed specifically to sound like a Filter'Tron. The story as I recall is that Johnson came to Dimarzio and said he wanted to know if they could make a humbucking pickup (presumably for his Les Pauls) that would sound like the Filter'Tron in a Getsch. Dimarzio researched and developed, and Johnson after playing them commented that the Dimarzio pickups sounded almost as clear as his Strats! (To be sure, I don't think that Johnson is currently using these, as he now has a 59 Les Paul with PAFS as his go-to Les Paul.) But for folks interested in approximating that clear and jangly sound in a Les Paul, I definitely recommend you check them out! There is a really good UA-cam video where the fellow A/Bs regular humbucking pickups with the Dimarzios in his Les Paul, keeping all the other variables constant. You can really hear the difference; check out the video here: ua-cam.com/video/7QEkI1OHews/v-deo.html Perhaps Mr. Buck should try these out since he's said before that he struggles to get enough clarity from the neck pickup in a Les Paul!
I have 3 pickup Ephiphone 61 Les Paul Custom which sounded like crap out of the box. I totally rewired it and put in Duncan's in the bridge and neck and for fun I put the Eric Johnson Dimarzio bucker in the middle position which can be added to the mix with a push pull pot. The Johnson pickup is very low output but it add beautiful chime to what is a muscular, glassy sounding guitar. I love this mod and my guitar is so much more versatile
I've become a full-on filtertron convert. I have two humbucking guitars, a Gretsch Electromatic pro jet and a USA Les Paul with Burstbuckers in them. The gretsch sounds to my ear, far better, clearer and most of the power of the humbuckers but a bit more controllable. Worth mentioning the electromatics use the cheaper and "Worse" blacktop filtertrons, they're great. IMO they're more versatile and I kinda love them. I don't think the Les Paul is staying around much longer.
Seymour made me a FilterTron in 1994. He bough a number of of leftover Gretsch parts from Duke Kramer(who was a sales guy for the original Fred Gretsch company. When Gretsch closed down in 1980 Duke bought 3 tractor-trailers full of original Gretsch parts and sold them direct to the public. Duke was a wonderful man. I first met him when I was 17 as I had called Gretsch for something and ended up talking to him for about 30 minutes. Sadly he passed in the early 2000's right after Fender took over control of Gretsch.
CHRIS BUCK. KUDOS TO YOU FROM CANADA. Unlike the run-of-the-mill American "pablum & porridge" that typically gets served up on these YT Guitar sites (much like "The Short Bus" emptying out its eager passengers at a WWF wrestling tent, or such!) - you clearly seek to understand NOT JUST THE MUSIC YOU "JAM ON" TODAY - you also display that keen English thirst for knowing where the Hell all of this magical shit came from! That is why I watch, Dude; - yeah, you display the wild chops and keen musical sensibility - but you aso honour your craft! and those who went before - and brought us all this magical shit! Kudos to you, Bud! Rock on!
I love single coils, from lipstcks to tele pups, to P-90s. I've always loved how P-90s seem to almost straddle single coil and humbucker. My favorite pup if I had to choose. Trons are without a doubt, the most 'single coil' sounding humbuckers I've ever heard! And they remind me of P90s. I may become a convert! Just bought a set from Guitar fetish to put into a 335 clone. We shall see.
Filter'Trons just sound a lot better than PAFs in general, imo. Lots more clarity and balance. PAFs just tend to be muddy, though I suppose for some kinds of music that's what you want.
Hi Chris, Brilliant Video 👍👍👍. The Pickups sound really nice, the design shape reminds me of the Bartolini Pickups. Excellent playing, Thank you. Take care, Melbourne, Australia.
Thanks for the great comparison. I have a Lollartron in my Tele neck and love it. Thanks for playing identical segments for the comparison. So many times people do comparisons but play different stuff each time which makes it difficult to discern.
Love Filter'Trons. Owed a 2 pickup Corvette, thin solid body and Filter'Trons, was my rock machine until stolen. Always broke it out when playing late 60's early 70's rock.
Hi chris, greetings from Calif. I love your in depth guitar videos! I think you have the best videos on youtube. Looking forward to seeing you in concert some time!
I love the sustain on Chris' s solo in "Sunrise", definitely one of my faves from his albums. For years I never clued into the fact that the Humbucker name was derived from the cancellation of the hum and noise from the pickups. I always thought that the "bucker" part was a just a reference to the kick ass tone. I always find it odd to see a Bigsby on a Tele body, they seem more suited and at home in a larger curvier guitar like a Gretsch to the point that I find it odd to see a Gretsch without one.
Absolutely true. Filtertrons, even though always an odd bird, have in recent years gotten a bit forgotten it seems. I had a Thinline Tele with TV Jones FT pickups until last year, very spanky and jangly. One day I want a classic Gretsch for Rockabilly style playing.
In my opinion the biggest factor in the Filter'Tron sound is the 1/4" thick magnet. My Gretsch came with Blacktops which have an 1/8" thick magnet. I put some 1/4" magnets in them and that's the sweet stuff right there.
Sorry I dont understand. How do you change the magnet? Did you just stack another 1/8' on top? Where did you buy the magnet? And what does a thicker magnet do to the tone?
Love your video as usual. I've always had good luck with high output pickups like the Dirty Fingers. They blow me away! Thanks for the video, Chris. I'll look for these.
I prefer the Grestch bridge pickup (less nasal sounding) but the Gibson neck (warmer sounding). I also prefer mini humbuckers over humbuckers, probably my favorite humbuckers of all. Thanks for the history lesson and explanation as to how these pickups are constructed.
I had a Filtertron put in my 20 year old Fernandes Native Pro at the neck with a Duncan Pearly Gates PAF at the bridge. It is a killer combination. I use a lot of dirt and the Filtertron has a small scoop in the mids creates a huge sound without any dirt.
I became a huge fan of the FilterTron after being floored by Luke Doucet. It took me a couple years, but eventually I was able to acquire a Gretsch Black Phoenix, and have been so in love with the FilterTron sound ever since!
One of the best comparison's between the two one UA-cam, well done! Many years back discovered Filtertrons playing a friends Gretsch 6129 Sparkle Jet. Playing a LP at the time was very impressed. Made me a fan for life, now having more Gretsch in the stable than Gibson. Both are terrific Guitars. Wish more players would give the Filtertrons a chance.
Thank You so much for making this demo. It's crazy because I recently came across these pickups in my search for something different but with broad dynamic range.Some of the Punk Rock bands in L.A. back in the late 1970's such as the Flesheaters used the old Rickenbacker which I actually got that original Guitar from them (JonBoy Curry) as my older brother joined a band with him called the Flyboys and went to my 1st gig on July 4th,1979 at the Hong Kong Cafe were FEAR actually opened up for them which is crazy because FEAR is legendary. They came on and I had never seen anything like this in my life ! I played Guitar for about a year at that point as I was 14 years old. I have been playing vintage Gibsons since then as we could pick them up dirt cheap. Les Paul Juniors for 500 bucks and my SG Les Paul Junior 1963 for 200.00 USD in Portland ,Oregon in 1980 when I was staying with my Mom and her really cool boyfriend that was really supportive. Got the '66 Rickenbacker from the Flesheaters for 500.00 USD in early 1980 I think. They are worth around 6500.00 now. This thing was mint w/ original case. Had the Toaster pickups.The Flyboys singer and Rhythm Guitarist playing a '58 Gretch Country Gentleman in Green, He had an orange one too. Great Tone through a Marshall Plexi. I like to play psychedelic stuff mixed with heavy Rock/Punk/Metal tones to progressive and even this Djent clarity heavy Gain. I am wondering if a Dollar can handle such amps as my ENGL's,Labogs mr.hector/5150 heads without insane feedback.sorry for the novel. Im delirious and sleep deprived.
Love my PAF equipped Schecter, my Gretsch (Streamliner w/Broadtrons - not quite Filtertrons but close enough), and my heavily modded SG with splitable Duncan P90 'Buckers. Fascinating video mate. Hey..a pickup called a Chris Bucker. Patent that, my dude!
Chris, you need a signature humbucker called the "Chris Bucker 'er" ...just do it. I see that Catherine Faulkner beat me to that one in a previous comment.
Todd Nichols of Toad The Wet Sprocket is a huge TV Jones fan and uses plenty of the Filter'tron style pickups in his own hand-made guitars. They definitely had a lot of presence and more prominent transient response when you compared them to the humbuckers.
I’m convinced! They sound great to my ears, and I plan to get a pair of Filter’Trons fitted to one of my guitars (or get another with them fitted). Thanks for the focus on these great sounding pick ups.
From Leo: I really like those pickups. I even have a Telecaster and a Jazz guitar with Filtertrons, not including the ones that came in Gretsch guitars. TV Jones has done a great job building original sounding Filtertrons for decades.
@@HAKJOBSautomotive Depends on what kind of sound you're after, and they each have lots of different models too. But generally they sound similar (both are good for metal and heavier music), Marshalls are very dark but precise sounding, Orange amps are 'dirtier' and kind of lo-fi which I prefer.
I use a Marshall DSL and Crate VFX5212 on stage. Many times people have come to me and commented on the wide range of sounds those two amps cover. Nothing handles slide like the VFX. It has tight, precise tone spanked out through two Tone Tubby greens. While the DSL delivers delightful cleans and classic '80s rock through the Greenbacks. The VFX handels Southern Rock duty with aplomb. I have played crying blues through the VFX and had people come to me and say they had tears in their eyes from the sound. Custom shop Tele with Pearly Gates bridge and '59 neck. Stratocaster with hot quarter pound GFS pickups. NOW, I am making a Strat with Filtertrons at neck & bridge with lipstick in the middle.😊 I am 71 and have been playing for 58 years, a lot of that in clubs and tours.
Excellent comparison....great overview!👏🏻 ...Mr. Buck sir, of late you have become my favorite player 🙏🏻....tasty Beyond measure.....carry on my friend !
I think the "clarity" people keep hearing is simply the Filtertrons being more compressed sounding. You can really hear it in the arpeggios how much louder the higher strings are. In the PAFs they're so quiet and drowned out by the lower strings.
OMG that song at the end is BACK!!! Love it, absolutely brilliant melody and superb playing mate. AFAIC you could put this song at the end of every video of yours , only played on a different guitar :D so we could enjoy the tonal array and your immaculate style. Cheers and rock on!
It's crazy how much all pickups sound so distinctive clean but can all sound so similar with effects. I can always tell a filtertron clean but it didnt sound any different than the humbucker the more effects added. A clean filtertron is THE sound of Chet Atkins or the Stray Cats/Bryan Setzer.
bro casually dropped one of the most hard going solos in youtube demo history and thought we wouldn't notice
Literally the first video I’ve ever see by this guy, talk about a gut punch lol.
I agree! 👍
that opening solo sounds like if you gave gilmour some speed then said, "play the solo to 'time'"... i love it!
These are like cleaner, hum-free, lower output P-90s. 🔥
Was thinking the same thing but with a little less detail 😂 those cabronita teles sound insanely badass
I feel like they have more output and gain than P90's tho, they're humbucking pickups after all
@@metallicmonkey4519 not at all in my experience. They take extra gain very well but they’re quite low output compared to typical humbuckers.
I was a single coil-P90 guy until I got my first Gretsch. Now I have 3 and no turning back
@@deepwaterrehab7685 that's why you should go with TV Jones and pick your output level
Wow, can't believe how much better I like the Filter'Tron pick-ups in the demo. I never would have thought about using them until this video.
You owe it to yourself to try them. Don't get the Blacktops as they only have an 1/8" thick magnet in them. The sweet sauce lies in the original design with the 1/4" thick magnet. I emailed GFS guitar fetish and asked about their Filter'Tron copies to see if there was a 1/4" magnet inside. They have yet to respond. So stay away from them if you wanted to try Filters.
I don't want to go back to normie humbuckers since Filter'Trons sound so good.
@@checkpointcovid8021 until you add any high gain distortion...
@@armandomorales3809 Eventually you'll grow out of that phase, and part ways with that music you used to love so much as a teenager. Put on your producer ears and really listen to great guitar tone that isn't saturated with gain and drowning in reverb and other effects. Try to find guitar players who were plugged straight into their amps.
High output & high DC resistance pickups have their place, as do low output pickups.
I plan to keep at least one guitar with "normie" humbuckers as I like variety. All my guitars have different pickups in them. I think of them as different tools for the job. I like experimenting and playing with new sounds.
Variety is a good thing.
@@armandomorales3809 pedalboardplanet.com/improve-your-guitar-tone/
Learn To Play Cleanly
This is by far the quickest and most cost-effective way to improve your tone - learn to play cleanly. I don’t mean turn off your overdrive pedals and go on a jazz vision quest, but honestly, this is not too far off from what I’m talking about. Like jazz, the emphasis is on attack and articulation. The cleaner your notes come out as you play them, the better it sounds.
Learn how to play as close behind the fret as possible. This will help eliminate buzz and other unwanted noises. Not only will this clean up your sound, but also helps with your accuracy
Try recording yourself playing a lick with no distortion or drive at all, and listen back to it. Can you make out what you are doing over the string noise and poorly picked notes? I’ve found this to be an eye-opening exercise because it lays the cards on the table and says; this is what the distortion is masking for ya buddy. Clean It UP!
Don’t Scoop The Mids
This one is a little subjective. You will see scooped mids quite a lot in metal bands, Dimebag Darell of Pantera is a prime example of a scooped mid that actually works well. If that’s the type of sound you are going for, ignore this tip. But again, the guitar is a mid-range instrument, removing all of the mids takes away some of the naturally resonating tones from the guitar itself.
Turn Down the Gain
You would be surprised how much gain you actually don’t need. Dial your gain down as low as it goes, and gradually increase until you get the sound you want.
@@armandomorales3809 1. CLEAN IT UP WITH LOW GAIN.
Many tube amps have two inputs: one for high gain and one for low. As the pros know, plugging into the low-gain input can clean up those fat-sounding humbuckers and can even sweeten your tone.
www.guitarplayer.com/lessons/13-pro-tips-to-make-your-guitar-and-gear-sound-great
“So what’s the secret of that huge AC/DC guitar tone? You guessed it: raw talent aside, the Young brothers both use way less gain on their amps than you’d think.”
blog.hughes-and-kettner.com/acdc-and-the-no-gain-no-pain-secret-for-great-guitar-tone/
Great history Chris. Very cool to see/hear the two pickups in basically the same style guitar.
I dont mean to be so off topic but does someone know a tool to get back into an Instagram account?
I stupidly forgot the account password. I love any tricks you can give me.
@Hezekiah Skyler thanks for your reply. I found the site thru google and im trying it out atm.
Takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Hezekiah Skyler It worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy!
Thanks so much, you really help me out!
@Maurice Kaysen you are welcome =)
There are some incredible players on youtube. I mean really great players. However, when I watch their videos I just basically feel like they all pretty "sound" the same. Chris, I genuinely believe you might be the only guitarist on here that when I hear you I know it's you. If someone blindly turned on a video and told me to guess who the player was I really believe I could pick you out of a lineup and that's what sets you apart from the rest of the youtube players. Great work dude! Finding your own voice on guitar is a phenomenal accomplishment.
Spot on; I agree completely.
I agree, we'll said.
He's in a class of his own. Gilmour with extra balls. People often talk about players making the guitar "sing". This dude is the Pavarotti (or the Maria Callas?) of the electric guitar. I wonder if at some point a big time producer will give him his shot.
Whilst I love Chris’ playing I think it is also a bit daft to single out players in this way. As you said there are many great players on UA-cam! Guthrie Govan and Sam Coulson to name just two more.
He's not only a technically brilliant player, but has excellent musical sensibilities and taste. I think that's what separates him from the pack.
Good vid, great playing. I'll never be that good. I'm 68 years old and a beginner. Just bought my first guitar. I bought a Gretsch G5420T. I'm enjoying it.
practice 3 hours per day, in 12 months you'll be amazed. Learn to play clean first.
@@BenState I'm 70 now (in June) but that's pretty much what I'm doing. Thanks.
CSNY-Ohio….Neil young on the white falcon
@jamesmcgrath1952 how are you and your playing now?
Came for the info, stayed for the phenomenal guitar playing. You are an inspiring player! Thank you! Your Technique is so good and never sterile…somehow exact AND lively.
Man you're definitely one of those legends who blows minds with any pickup. In your case it all comes from your fingers.
Another absolutely awesome guitarist called Chris, is Chris Cheney of the Aussie three-piece The Living End. Punk, ska, jazz, rockabilly, metal prog, folk - that guy plays it all on Filtertron-powdered Gretches. And live!!!!! Simply stunning plating. His voice is pretty good too.
oh yeah, The Living End is amazing. ua-cam.com/video/yQ7MNErsMGk/v-deo.html&ab_channel=TheLivingEnd
Chris Cheney is an unreal player, makes that Gretsch scream. I happened into them in 1999 when TLE opened for The Offspring, I was blown away.
Amazing video mate! First, that opening solo blew me away after I have got into the habit with other videos of respectfully listening to the first few bars and usually skipping the rest to get to the content. Secondly your explanations and test recordings were the clearest I have heard of the subtle differences between a PAF and Filtertron pickup. Third, you give Yamaha guitars the respect they truly deserve. Thank you.
Love your playing style, Chris. So distinctive and musical.
The passion, the drama... and a good time was had by all!
You've really inspired me to appreciate more Filtertrons and P90s.
OMG That intro playing was amazing! Chris + FT pups = Awesomeness :)
One thing about the old PAFs and early Patent No. pickups: they’re really bright! Lotsa air and presence in the treble frequencies. Filter’Trons have more upper-mid snap but actually *less* high treble response than (most) PAFs. When the ‘Trons start rolling off the PAFs just keep going. “Telecaster on steroids” is an accurate description.
Nothing does a mid position honk like two hot PAFs. I have Wizz and Arcane both imo best out there after trying too many.
I'd say that my 1960 Filter'Trons are not the brightest PU's in town! :)
Peter Pug My favorite set, in a Duo Jet from the same year, are really punchy. Also not that bright. But I like ‘em a lot anyway.
David Kieltyka mine is a Jet Firebird!
You’ve quickly became my favorite guitarist in a while! You’re in a league all your own! Keep up the good work! And your knowledge of guitar history is on point.
What a great intro! What I love about this pickup is it’s the best of both worlds. All of the clarity of a single coil without the hum.
Oh dude, 1:38 was a full on gurn moment, you always pull out the notes I least expect but just sound the most awesome in context!
Geeesh that intro playing made me forget about the pickups at all. Lol
Haha I know right! This kid is rapidly becoming (in my opinion) one of the best young guitarist in the world! He plays with so much feeling and soul! Not something that we hear a lot of these days
Just insanity wasn't it. My friend ask me recently 2 great guitarists, I said Chris Buck and Michael Lemmo. He just look at me perplexed
gheddi right! I listen to so many young guitarist and the older ones from my generation. Chris really has a good soul and it shines through in his playing like many of my favorite guitarist. When I say that it’s something that we don’t hear a lot of. I mean in mainstream music
I only learned about Chris a week ago. He's the best I've ever heard.
very cool
Very well done Chris. Your playing is phenomenal and it was a pleasure to hear the comparison demos. This video was so well put together. The history timeline is so interesting. I’m fascinated to learn that a lot of these innovations came from ideas of the players!
I love the way these fit in the mix... Same can be said for the gold foils... They don't get lost.
I would kill to have you dial in the best tone you could dredge out of my live rig. I'm completely convinced that it would sound better than anything I've ever been able to get with my endless tweaking.
The Filter’Tron to my ear has much more clarity and presence. I’ve always been a humbucker guy. Lately I’ve been thinking about switching.
Filtertrons, mini-humbuckers and Firebird pickups are amazing if you want a pronounced attack with the warmth of a regular sized humbucker.
When I was you it was the Humbucker. Now give me another HS Fitertron.
Great episode, Chris!
I recently modded the broad'tron HB size pickups in my Gretsch guitars to get more chime and clarity. I removed the three top right, and 3 bottom left pole pieces and replaced them with M3 x 12mm nylon screws. The transformation is incredible.
Nylon as in plastic ?
Nice job- very easy to hear the difference! Good playing too. We worked with Yamaha alot in 2018 and 2019 and they gave us one of those Revstars- the frets are so nice and its just a really fine playing guitar and very useable in every way. Thanks for the well produced video
what are you if you are recognised by either hearing ór seeing you play? to me your right hand style is not only recognisable, it's signature. you let your picking hand serve the music's demands, walking that awkardly fine line between craftsmanship and artistry. you inspire me.
Yeah, I mostly watch these vids for the shots of his right hand in action. And this vid, because Filtertrons are the enchilada.
Intro is gonna bring me back to this video many times I can tell you that...
Your playing inspires me. Thank you for that. Truly.
That's some incredibly sweet playing in the intro there. Had a few listens back to back.
Wow those filtertrons sound incredible.
Seldom found in solid body guitars, and even then, seldom real Gretsch. I bought a G2215, threw the Broadtron in the garbage and installed (NOT a "drop in" part) a HS Filter'Tron and WOW. P90 and HS compliment each other so well and I was blown away by the high gain sounds of the HS. At least a half dozen brands now and several have more than one model. A Filtertron for everyone no matter the sound you want...and they are versatile.
Nice intro song and beautiful playing!! You're the only guitar player that I watch right hand more than the left one !!!! Beautiful !!!!!
I built my brother a Strat with 2 filtertron pick ups and single coil. He loves it. Mixing the neck single coil and bridge filtertron creates a very near humbucker sound on his Marshall.
Filter'tron sound best to me. Love that brown finish Yamaha! Thanks for sharing Chris.
Feel: 10, Note selection: 10. Big Ass Glissandos during soloing, akaBAG-DS: "11" (said like Nigel Tufnel). But your ability to (so, so clearly) think ahead of what you're currently playing and lay down some might riffing as a result.... flipping' priceless!
Chris, great video. I am so excited to see you grow as a musician, as you are a young man growing up in a crazy world. You certainly have the tone, technique, passion, and aptitude to be an amazing player, who will give memories to other great Guitarists souls. I hear so much David G, in your delicate touch and bending, and wish that you lead a great Prog Rock band with your atmospheric guitar playing and tones, alas maybe thats just the ramblings of an older player still looking for the new Floyd in our times. Stay safe, keep playing and whatever musical journey you follow, know that players will be watching.
These are always my #1 suggestion when someone asks me what they should use in the neck position of a Tele. They're clear and have that quality of sounding like they have more gain, but without actually having the output that will overpowering a single coil in the bridge. Plus you don't have to go with a really hot bridge single coil to get them to balance.
Great play! Interesting to learn the way you use finger and pick interchangeably. I did not ever think about it to do it in the middle of solo work such frequently to make differences in nuances and tones. That style inspires me about more freedom in guitar plays. Beautifully done, excellent melody, too. I am very impressed!!
I've been a huge Gretsch fan since the early 80s, my 71 Superchet was the sweetest guitar I've ever owned, and I'm working on getting a 3rd right now, with a set of HiLo'trons, so I'll have each of the 3 classic Gretsch sounds, Dynasonics, Filtertrons, and HiLo'trons. Nice vid Chris, thanks for posting.
Chris, loved that intro. You killed it bro. You are a great player. Much love from the D. Jer
Love it! Very emotionally expressive, beautiful style.
That jam at the end was flawless.
Phenomenal playing, tone, and feel Chris!
Great video. This may interest: Dimarzio makes an Eric Johnson humbucker that was developed specifically to sound like a Filter'Tron. The story as I recall is that Johnson came to Dimarzio and said he wanted to know if they could make a humbucking pickup (presumably for his Les Pauls) that would sound like the Filter'Tron in a Getsch. Dimarzio researched and developed, and Johnson after playing them commented that the Dimarzio pickups sounded almost as clear as his Strats! (To be sure, I don't think that Johnson is currently using these, as he now has a 59 Les Paul with PAFS as his go-to Les Paul.) But for folks interested in approximating that clear and jangly sound in a Les Paul, I definitely recommend you check them out! There is a really good UA-cam video where the fellow A/Bs regular humbucking pickups with the Dimarzios in his Les Paul, keeping all the other variables constant. You can really hear the difference; check out the video here: ua-cam.com/video/7QEkI1OHews/v-deo.html Perhaps Mr. Buck should try these out since he's said before that he struggles to get enough clarity from the neck pickup in a Les Paul!
I have 3 pickup Ephiphone 61 Les Paul Custom which sounded like crap out of the box. I totally rewired it and put in Duncan's in the bridge and neck and for fun I put the Eric Johnson Dimarzio bucker in the middle position which can be added to the mix with a push pull pot. The Johnson pickup is very low output but it add beautiful chime to what is a muscular, glassy sounding guitar. I love this mod and my guitar is so much more versatile
I've become a full-on filtertron convert. I have two humbucking guitars, a Gretsch Electromatic pro jet and a USA Les Paul with Burstbuckers in them. The gretsch sounds to my ear, far better, clearer and most of the power of the humbuckers but a bit more controllable. Worth mentioning the electromatics use the cheaper and "Worse" blacktop filtertrons, they're great. IMO they're more versatile and I kinda love them.
I don't think the Les Paul is staying around much longer.
Seymour made me a FilterTron in 1994. He bough a number of of leftover Gretsch parts from Duke Kramer(who was a sales guy for the original Fred Gretsch company. When Gretsch closed down in 1980 Duke bought 3 tractor-trailers full of original Gretsch parts and sold them direct to the public. Duke was a wonderful man. I first met him when I was 17 as I had called Gretsch for something and ended up talking to him for about 30 minutes. Sadly he passed in the early 2000's right after Fender took over control of Gretsch.
'Trons bloody ROCK! They give a clarity under crunch that regular PAF style hum buckers do not!
CHRIS BUCK. KUDOS TO YOU FROM CANADA. Unlike the run-of-the-mill American "pablum & porridge" that typically gets served up on these YT Guitar sites (much like "The Short Bus" emptying out its eager passengers at a WWF wrestling tent, or such!) - you clearly seek to understand NOT JUST THE MUSIC YOU "JAM ON" TODAY - you also display that keen English thirst for knowing where the Hell all of this magical shit came from! That is why I watch, Dude; - yeah, you display the wild chops and keen musical sensibility - but you aso honour your craft! and those who went before - and brought us all this magical shit! Kudos to you, Bud! Rock on!
I love single coils, from lipstcks to tele pups, to P-90s. I've always loved how P-90s seem to almost straddle single coil and humbucker. My favorite pup if I had to choose. Trons are without a doubt, the most 'single coil' sounding humbuckers I've ever heard! And they remind me of P90s. I may become a convert! Just bought a set from Guitar fetish to put into a 335 clone. We shall see.
I’m writing this before I watch this video. I’ve been thinking of putting them in one of my Les Paul’s. I like the clarity from them.
Filter'Trons just sound a lot better than PAFs in general, imo. Lots more clarity and balance. PAFs just tend to be muddy, though I suppose for some kinds of music that's what you want.
Great playing with your fingers! impressive those quick switches between fingers and pick. Great feel. Cheers.
Hi Chris, Brilliant Video 👍👍👍.
The Pickups sound really nice, the design shape reminds me of the Bartolini Pickups.
Excellent playing, Thank you.
Take care,
Melbourne, Australia.
Thanks for the great comparison. I have a Lollartron in my Tele neck and love it. Thanks for playing identical segments for the comparison. So many times people do comparisons but play different stuff each time which makes it difficult to discern.
Love Filter'Trons. Owed a 2 pickup Corvette, thin solid body and Filter'Trons, was my rock machine until stolen. Always broke it out when playing late 60's early 70's rock.
I love thornbucker pickups in my Suhr Alt t pro. It sounds very clear, present, but with humbucker warmth - not dark and muddy!! Great pickups!!
Superb content, as ever. Your videos are never less than impressively researched and entertaining, and your playing is always sublime 🎸👍
Hi chris, greetings from Calif. I love your in depth guitar videos! I think you have the best videos on youtube. Looking forward to seeing you in concert some time!
I love the sustain on Chris' s solo in "Sunrise", definitely one of my faves from his albums. For years I never clued into the fact that the Humbucker name was derived from the cancellation of the hum and noise from the pickups. I always thought that the "bucker" part was a just a reference to the kick ass tone. I always find it odd to see a Bigsby on a Tele body, they seem more suited and at home in a larger curvier guitar like a Gretsch to the point that I find it odd to see a Gretsch without one.
Absolutely true. Filtertrons, even though always an odd bird, have in recent years gotten a bit forgotten it seems. I had a Thinline Tele with TV Jones FT pickups until last year, very spanky and jangly. One day I want a classic Gretsch for Rockabilly style playing.
You make every kind of pickup sound great!
In my opinion the biggest factor in the Filter'Tron sound is the 1/4" thick magnet. My Gretsch came with Blacktops which have an 1/8" thick magnet. I put some 1/4" magnets in them and that's the sweet stuff right there.
Sorry I dont understand. How do you change the magnet? Did you just stack another 1/8' on top? Where did you buy the magnet? And what does a thicker magnet do to the tone?
Some day I hope to make my Filter'Trons sound remotely as beautiful as yours. Stay Well Groovy One!
Love your video as usual. I've always had good luck with high output pickups like the Dirty Fingers. They blow me away!
Thanks for the video, Chris. I'll look for these.
I prefer the Grestch bridge pickup (less nasal sounding) but the Gibson neck (warmer sounding). I also prefer mini humbuckers over humbuckers, probably my favorite humbuckers of all. Thanks for the history lesson and explanation as to how these pickups are constructed.
Thx for the vid. About to try out/compare neck Filtertron & Mini HB in my FrankenTele.
I had a Filtertron put in my 20 year old Fernandes Native Pro at the neck with a Duncan Pearly Gates PAF at the bridge. It is a killer combination. I use a lot of dirt and the Filtertron has a small scoop in the mids creates a huge sound without any dirt.
Chris, really enjoy your playing on this too... whew!! Man, killer tones too!!
Great video for Friday stress release. "Fantastic playing" as always and I totally dig the sounds of the F Tron's ... lot of nice info too.
I instantly fell in love with using a supertron in the neck position. its just perfection to my ears.
Eddie Cochran put a P 90 in his neck position Gretch do a copy npwadays
Holy macaroni. What a solo in the intro 😱❤️. You did an awesome job there! 👍🏻
I became a huge fan of the FilterTron after being floored by Luke Doucet. It took me a couple years, but eventually I was able to acquire a Gretsch Black Phoenix, and have been so in love with the FilterTron sound ever since!
One of the best comparison's between the two one UA-cam, well done!
Many years back discovered Filtertrons playing a friends Gretsch 6129 Sparkle Jet. Playing a LP at the time was very impressed. Made me a fan for life, now having more Gretsch in the stable than Gibson. Both are terrific Guitars. Wish more players would give the Filtertrons a chance.
I love your right hand technique
what a killer intro man, it blew me away
Thank You so much for making this demo. It's crazy because I recently came across these pickups in my search for something different but with broad dynamic range.Some of the Punk Rock bands in L.A. back in the late 1970's such as the Flesheaters used the old Rickenbacker which I actually got that original Guitar from them (JonBoy Curry) as my older brother joined a band with him called the Flyboys and went to my 1st gig on July 4th,1979 at the Hong Kong Cafe were FEAR actually opened up for them which is crazy because FEAR is legendary. They came on and I had never seen anything like this in my life ! I played Guitar for about a year at that point as I was 14 years old. I have been playing vintage Gibsons since then as we could pick them up dirt cheap. Les Paul Juniors for 500 bucks and my SG Les Paul Junior 1963 for 200.00 USD in Portland ,Oregon in 1980 when I was staying with my Mom and her really cool boyfriend that was really supportive. Got the '66 Rickenbacker from the Flesheaters for 500.00 USD in early 1980 I think. They are worth around 6500.00 now. This thing was mint w/ original case. Had the Toaster pickups.The Flyboys singer and Rhythm Guitarist playing a '58 Gretch Country Gentleman in Green, He had an orange one too. Great Tone through a Marshall Plexi. I like to play psychedelic stuff mixed with heavy Rock/Punk/Metal tones to progressive and even this Djent clarity heavy Gain. I am wondering if a Dollar can handle such amps as my ENGL's,Labogs mr.hector/5150 heads without insane feedback.sorry for the novel. Im delirious and sleep deprived.
Love my PAF equipped Schecter, my Gretsch (Streamliner w/Broadtrons - not quite Filtertrons but close enough), and my heavily modded SG with splitable Duncan P90 'Buckers.
Fascinating video mate.
Hey..a pickup called a Chris Bucker. Patent that, my dude!
Chris, you need a signature humbucker called the "Chris Bucker 'er" ...just do it.
I see that Catherine Faulkner beat me to that one in a previous comment.
Or he could just switch his first name to Hum
or just call it the motherbucker
Beauty intro, I subbed just after that intro. Great playing!
Excellent episode, killer tones, killer chops-just another Friday Fretworks🤷♂️
Another hoofing FFW , the opening track absolutely sublime . Thanks
Love your custom gold top Revstar! This is making me reevaluate Yamaha and Filter ‘Trons alike!
Todd Nichols of Toad The Wet Sprocket is a huge TV Jones fan and uses plenty of the Filter'tron style pickups in his own hand-made guitars. They definitely had a lot of presence and more prominent transient response when you compared them to the humbuckers.
I’m convinced! They sound great to my ears, and I plan to get a pair of Filter’Trons fitted to one of my guitars (or get another with them fitted). Thanks for the focus on these great sounding pick ups.
From Leo: I really like those pickups. I even have a Telecaster and a Jazz guitar with Filtertrons, not including the ones that came in Gretsch guitars. TV Jones has done a great job building original sounding Filtertrons for decades.
I like the little bell-like upper harmonic on the filtertrons.
Awesome video! and wow hella awesome playing! a filtertron is on the bucket list for sure now
Sound great as always, Mr. Buck!!
God I love filtertrons. They're so much more fuzzy and lively than humbuckers. Reminds me of the difference between Orange vs Marshall.
Is orange better than Marshall? Or is it the other way around?
@@HAKJOBSautomotive Depends on what kind of sound you're after, and they each have lots of different models too. But generally they sound similar (both are good for metal and heavier music), Marshalls are very dark but precise sounding, Orange amps are 'dirtier' and kind of lo-fi which I prefer.
I use a Marshall DSL and Crate VFX5212 on stage. Many times people have come to me and commented on the wide range of sounds those two amps cover. Nothing handles slide like the VFX. It has tight, precise tone spanked out through two Tone Tubby greens.
While the DSL delivers delightful cleans and classic '80s rock through the Greenbacks.
The VFX handels Southern Rock duty with aplomb. I have played crying blues through the VFX and had people come to me and say they had tears in their eyes from the sound.
Custom shop Tele with Pearly Gates bridge and '59 neck. Stratocaster with hot quarter pound GFS pickups.
NOW, I am making a Strat with Filtertrons at neck & bridge with lipstick in the middle.😊
I am 71 and have been playing for 58 years, a lot of that in clubs and tours.
Excellent comparison....great overview!👏🏻 ...Mr. Buck sir, of late you have become my favorite player 🙏🏻....tasty Beyond measure.....carry on my friend !
Super nice solo Chris!!
Thanks for this explanation. Great playing.
TBH while I don't think one is 'better' - rather 'different' - I think the filtertron's greater range suits your playing style more.
“Ferrari Fratworks” is what UA-cam’s closed captioning software thought you said. Vroom vroom bro!!! 😆
Lolololololol
The bots do NOT understand WELSH me boy! ;o)
I think the "clarity" people keep hearing is simply the Filtertrons being more compressed sounding. You can really hear it in the arpeggios how much louder the higher strings are. In the PAFs they're so quiet and drowned out by the lower strings.
OMG that song at the end is BACK!!! Love it, absolutely brilliant melody and superb playing mate. AFAIC you could put this song at the end of every video of yours , only played on a different guitar :D so we could enjoy the tonal array and your immaculate style. Cheers and rock on!
Filtertron is by far my favourite pickup
It's crazy how much all pickups sound so distinctive clean but can all sound so similar with effects. I can always tell a filtertron clean but it didnt sound any different than the humbucker the more effects added. A clean filtertron is THE sound of Chet Atkins or the Stray Cats/Bryan Setzer.
I've got an 2014 r9 and a gretsch black falcon, the falcon just has that growl and clarity.