« Budget alternative to an X2N »

GFS pickups is a brand of pickups sold by a small online guitar parts store called GuitarFetish. They sell all sorts of brand name and no name parts for guitars. They are mostly known for their house brand pickups that are usually very cheap but perform quite well. This is one of their newer pickup models and it is kind of expensive for a GFS pickup. This pickup costs 35 dollars but that is about half of what you would pay for a comparable Dimarzio or Duncan. This is their Power Rails model and you can clearly see what pickup inspired this one. As a long time X2N fan I think it is pretty cool there is a budget alternative out there on the market in case I have a beater guitar that needs more power. Sometimes a guitar isnt worth dropping in a 70 dollar pickup in it. With these cheaper pickups you can do whatever. The bridge model has an output of about 16k which is really hot. The pickups are wax potted to cut down on the noise. This is important on a pickup like this where it is so hot. They also have four conductor wiring so you can split the coils. These pickups have a very modern high end sound to them. They are kind of like active pickups in sound. They have a thick sound with a high end crunch that gives you good clarity. If you are down tuning these pickups work well because they are not muddy at all and retain clarity. I like the bridge pickup but wouldnt recommend the neck pickup. For the neck you want something with a smoother tone to it. These pickups are made for riffs and metal not blues solos. GFS has other pickups that would work better in the neck position. If you are looking for a cheap way to pump up the power in your metal guitar this GFS Power Rails pickup will give your guitar a nice kick.