As a Gretsch player, i'm partial to the filtertrons. The Ray Butts have a lot of highs and lows and make it shine when clean and also retains a lot of clarity no matter how much gain you use. Like you said, PAF have a lot more Mids. At edge of break up, the Ray Butts was the absolute winner. At low gain they were similar. With the cranked amp it was really interesting. When you did the bending at the beginning they were quiet similar, then you started to hear difference. In this instance there wasn't a clear winner because they sounded worlds apart. Paf had those singing harmonics that are just gorgeous. BUT, the Ray Butts had this almost Fuzz Face sound that it was really really cool.
I love the seamless transitions from one guitar to the other playing the same phrases! I prefer the Filtertrons! Lows are beefier. Highs more present. Great when in the crunch zone!
filtertron got definition, with all that nice low end thump and sparkly treble, and kinda mid scooped (to my ears)... gibson paf got that focused midrange thing goin on. so, their sweet spot (to my ears) is: filtertron for rhythm, gibson paf for lead (pretty much AC/DC explained). my favorite (rhythm) filtertron player: Neil Young
Filtertron is gnarlier and brighter but you need that PAF smoothness too. Just wanted to say thank you for all the work you put into these videos. I’ve recently just started my own UA-cam channel and your channel has been really inspirational! Keep up the good work
Wow. Both of the replica pickups you chose for this comparison were excellent reproductions of the original models. I've come to expect excellence from ThroBak and, as usual, they came through. The TV Jones were a great surprise. I may be ordering a set.
Have played both humbuckers and filtertrons over the years, and have grown to become a filtertron guy. The Ray Butts filtertrons have a fullness across the full range of the guitars tested. The jangle of the higher registers are similar to Rickenbackers single coils, combining the best of both sounds. The creamy round tones of the lower registers make the filtertrons my vote for best sound of the tones compared. I have previously owned guitars with both pickups, buy my go to guitar is a Gretsch Tennessee Rose. I am currently on the lookout for a Gretsch 6211-1962 Country Gentleman that I can trade for some of the guitars in my current collection. Thanks for the comparison, it cemented my preference for filtertrons.
I built a hollow body double cut Les Paul Junior with Gretsch appointments...those Ray Butts Filtertrons are going to sound amazing in it...thanks for do this shoot out Joe
I've always loved the filtertron sound. My dream guitar has been a Duo Jet for a while now, my biggest issue is deciding between the Filtertron or Dynasonic version though haha
Another great review/demo. Now maybe I grok the rockabilly versus jazz sounds of guitar in the Fifties (and beyond) a little better. I was surprised that the Filtertron was as loud as it was. I have been led to believe that they are low-output pickups that aren't as hot as PAF's. Not true, apparently. Which one I prefer? Not sure. It would depend on what I want to play. Slow blues like SRV's version of _Tin Pan Alley?_ Probably the Filtertron for its scooped, almost Strat-like tone. Eighties power ballads where you're trading lots of clean, almost acoustic-sounding passages with big, loud, distorted power chords? The same probably. Loud, raunchy heavy rock and blues-rock a-la old Whitesnake, Bad Co., Kiss or ZZ Top? The PAF, for sure. But it's not like one is so much better than the other that you can pick one and toss the other in the trash. Each has its strength, sure, but both are capable of giving a good sound while playing the kind of music I want to play. But you: playing a Marshall Plexi circuit inside a small-ish room at volume. Are you deaf yet?
The Ray Butts filtertron gets my nod, the PAFs are certainly not slouches but for about half rhe price and 1/10 the noteriety, the Gretsch vintage sound proves it's worth!!! P.S. if you have daughters they're probably going to be great ginger beauties! Cheers
I always said nothing looks as cool as an orange Gretsch G6120 and nothing sounds as crummy as an orange Gretsch G6120. I have always found them to be thin and tinny sounding. So, the ultimate hollow body would be a Gretsch with Gibson style humbuckers. One of my favorite fingerstyle players is Jim Nichols who can play any Chet Atkins tune ever recorded but he has the tone of classic old Gibson jazz guitars.....that's what I strive for. Jim uses a custom made guitar similar to a Gibson Country Gentleman.
My conclusion is, that the best answer is to have both That being said, nothing sounds quite like a good Filtertron. The chime and clarity is unbeatable, but time and time again, while I love my Gretsch, I typically reach for my Les Paul for most things, mostly due to my love of Mids
It's a 1992 Honeyburst Standard, with ThroBak SLE-101 PAFs, Faber hardware, 550k VIPots, 50's wiring and Luxe Bumblebee caps :-) More about it here: ua-cam.com/video/m2ruUUz8Yw8/v-deo.html
As a Gretsch player, i'm partial to the filtertrons. The Ray Butts have a lot of highs and lows and make it shine when clean and also retains a lot of clarity no matter how much gain you use. Like you said, PAF have a lot more Mids.
At edge of break up, the Ray Butts was the absolute winner. At low gain they were similar.
With the cranked amp it was really interesting. When you did the bending at the beginning they were quiet similar, then you started to hear difference. In this instance there wasn't a clear winner because they sounded worlds apart. Paf had those singing harmonics that are just gorgeous. BUT, the Ray Butts had this almost Fuzz Face sound that it was really really cool.
I love the seamless transitions from one guitar to the other playing the same phrases!
I prefer the Filtertrons! Lows are beefier. Highs more present. Great when in the crunch zone!
Glad I got you on notification on!
filtertron got definition, with all that nice low end thump and sparkly treble, and kinda mid scooped (to my ears)... gibson paf got that focused midrange thing goin on. so, their sweet spot (to my ears) is: filtertron for rhythm, gibson paf for lead (pretty much AC/DC explained). my favorite (rhythm) filtertron player: Neil Young
No wonder one of the greatest Rhythm guitar player, Malcolm Young, used filtertrons!
Hey joe, when you wrote the song “Monochrome andalucia” did you have any inspiration you based it on?
That was sitting on a hotel balcony in the south of Spain watching a sunset, but also feeling very unwell - so it was a bittersweet experience!
Filtertron is gnarlier and brighter but you need that PAF smoothness too. Just wanted to say thank you for all the work you put into these videos. I’ve recently just started my own UA-cam channel and your channel has been really inspirational! Keep up the good work
Thanks Sam - best of luck with your channel!! 👍
Wow. Both of the replica pickups you chose for this comparison were excellent reproductions of the original models. I've come to expect excellence from ThroBak and, as usual, they came through. The TV Jones were a great surprise. I may be ordering a set.
The Ray Butts 'Ful-Fidelities' are astonishingly good pickups!!
Have played both humbuckers and filtertrons over the years, and have grown to become a filtertron guy. The Ray Butts filtertrons have a fullness across the full range of the guitars tested. The jangle of the higher registers are similar to Rickenbackers single coils, combining the best of both sounds. The creamy round tones of the lower registers make the filtertrons my vote for best sound of the tones compared. I have previously owned guitars with both pickups, buy my go to guitar is a Gretsch Tennessee Rose. I am currently on the lookout for a Gretsch 6211-1962 Country Gentleman that I can trade for some of the guitars in my current collection. Thanks for the comparison, it cemented my preference for filtertrons.
I built a hollow body double cut Les Paul Junior with Gretsch appointments...those Ray Butts Filtertrons are going to sound amazing in it...thanks for do this shoot out Joe
You rock kind sir!
Filtertron or PAF? that's a question like "who do you love the most , daddy or mommy?" in my mind.
I've always loved the filtertron sound. My dream guitar has been a Duo Jet for a while now, my biggest issue is deciding between the Filtertron or Dynasonic version though haha
I have the TV Jones T-Armonds in my Duo Jet and they sound amazing! :P
I know this is late, but your question is silly.
one of each.
you're welcome
@@gizmotis valid argument... And my birthday is next month so RIP paycheck.
see that wasn't hard.
so you don't eat for a minute or two, no big deal. eating is overrated, am I right?
Another great review/demo. Now maybe I grok the rockabilly versus jazz sounds of guitar in the Fifties (and beyond) a little better.
I was surprised that the Filtertron was as loud as it was. I have been led to believe that they are low-output pickups that aren't as hot as PAF's. Not true, apparently.
Which one I prefer? Not sure. It would depend on what I want to play. Slow blues like SRV's version of _Tin Pan Alley?_ Probably the Filtertron for its scooped, almost Strat-like tone. Eighties power ballads where you're trading lots of clean, almost acoustic-sounding passages with big, loud, distorted power chords? The same probably. Loud, raunchy heavy rock and blues-rock a-la old Whitesnake, Bad Co., Kiss or ZZ Top? The PAF, for sure. But it's not like one is so much better than the other that you can pick one and toss the other in the trash. Each has its strength, sure, but both are capable of giving a good sound while playing the kind of music I want to play.
But you: playing a Marshall Plexi circuit inside a small-ish room at volume. Are you deaf yet?
.....WHAT? :P Surprisingly un-deaf after years of cranking loud amps in that tiny room! :P
The Ray Butts filtertron gets my nod, the PAFs are certainly not slouches but for about half rhe price and 1/10 the noteriety, the Gretsch vintage sound proves it's worth!!! P.S. if you have daughters they're probably going to be great ginger beauties! Cheers
I always said nothing looks as cool as an orange Gretsch G6120 and nothing sounds as crummy as an orange Gretsch G6120. I have always found them to be thin and tinny sounding. So, the ultimate hollow body would be a Gretsch with Gibson style humbuckers. One of my favorite fingerstyle players is Jim Nichols who can play any Chet Atkins tune ever recorded but he has the tone of classic old Gibson jazz guitars.....that's what I strive for. Jim uses a custom made guitar similar to a Gibson Country Gentleman.
Put them together and you get AC/DC. Classic.
yep, and exactly the sweet spot for each of them: filtertron for rhythm, gibson paf for lead
My conclusion is, that the best answer is to have both That being said, nothing sounds quite like a good Filtertron. The chime and clarity is unbeatable, but time and time again, while I love my Gretsch, I typically reach for my Les Paul for most things, mostly due to my love of Mids
Both is always the correct answer :P
They both sound good you’re les Paul was a little bit brighter but that other guitar we make a great rhythm guitar it has sort of a rawer edge to it
What les paul standard that is?
It's a 1992 Honeyburst Standard, with ThroBak SLE-101 PAFs, Faber hardware, 550k VIPots, 50's wiring and Luxe Bumblebee caps :-) More about it here: ua-cam.com/video/m2ruUUz8Yw8/v-deo.html
Ray Butts has more body and bloom imo 👍
I have a '57 no paraffine dip p.a.f. and it has a quaky-woman-tone like, and capture also the human voice.
Looks like I'm viewer no. 666 :) on videos about guitars I think that stands for something.
666 - the number of the beast. 668 - the neighbour of the beast ;-) heh