New SF Pickups.

[gotGASbad]

Anyone been able to try out the new SF pickups yet?

I work in a music shop and we've got a few people making up their orders. They are asking us about the new ones. . . . .

[pipedwho]

I have a set that is still a couple of weeks away, but would also be interested in reading about people's experience with these.

[pipedwho]

...actually, before I ordered mine, I spoke to Roy, and he described them as somewhere between an SA and a VA. My Drop Top had a neck/mid set of SDs, but the neck has died. So the SFs are going into that guitar.

[Stevenems]

So what's the scoop on SF's? Are they stacked humbuckers or single coils? If humbuckers, are they splittable, and do they sound somewhere between VA's and SA's when split or unsplit?

And now, for the final question, is it possible to get SF pickups without ordering an entire guitar to go with them? I'm looking for quiet single-coil sized pickups to replace the EMGs in my strat. I'd love to find some humcancelling pickups that just sound like traditional, chimey single coils. I was about to get SD's, but then I started wondering about the new pickups.

[John Price]

So what's the scoop on SF's? Are they stacked humbuckers or single coils? If humbuckers, are they splittable, and do they sound somewhere between VA's and SA's when split or unsplit?

And now, for the final question, is it possible to get SF pickups without ordering an entire guitar to go with them? I'm looking for quiet single-coil sized pickups to replace the EMGs in my strat. I'd love to find some humcancelling pickups that just sound like traditional, chimey single coils. I was about to get SD's, but then I started wondering about the new pickups.
From what I gather the SF's are stacked but don't react like one! They can be split but the consensus seems to be not to split them! They just have it! This seems to be TAG's best sounding pickup for single coil players looking to dodge the hum and retain that single coil vibe. Yes! You can order the pickups separately. I do believe Magdon Music has a set........



Cheers!

[tom]

well said john.
the problem with splitting stacks is that the split will always be louder, and louder wins every time when you caompare things side by side. the series humcancelling sound is wonderful.

[pipedwho]

Ok, so I just installed an SF1 / SF1R set into my Drop Top (maple on basswood). They replaced an SD1 / SD1R set - this changeover was instigated primarily because the SD1R neck pickup had died after being 'screwdrivered' during a visit to my local guitar tech. :mad:

Anyway, the verdict: awesome, trule awesome! :eek:

The SDs were good, but these exceeded my expectations. This is THE sound I was after. Not ultra vintage or anything, but very strat like in the best way possible. In fact, I prefer this sound to the typically overly spanky sound that most strats try to achieve. They bring a sweetness to the sound that the SDs didn't quite get.

And best of all, they actually sound BETTER in hum cancelling mode than in split coil mode. It's like some of the sweetness is being added by the second coil. Yes, the volume drops, but at the same time, the sound seems to become a little more complete, and a little less brittle. The split mode would be ideal if you need some extra twanginess, but the hum cancelling mode is where it's at in my book. (This is opposite to how I liked the SDs, where I much preferred the split mode.)

Positions 2 and 4 sound great. Not the most quacky pickups I've heard, but more than enough to hear that the duck is alive and well. I felt the SDs lost a little too much mid range when in these two 'tween positions, but this is not so with the SFs - they sound much fuller and as such are way more present in the mix. This is a huge bonus.

IMO these are on par with actual single coils - and that is ignoring the fact that they don't hum!

Tom, great job on another brilliant pickup design! :)

[pipedwho]

Did I mention that I love these new pickups? Yes. Yes, I did. And I'm liking them more and more every day. :D

[John Price]

I have a guitar on order scheduled for April/May equipped with these pickups! can't wait......:D



John

[morty]

I also have SD`s on my drop top, I realy like the SD in the neck, but wants a more "stratlike" tone in bridge/middle position. maby SD,SF,H2+ will be an option? does the SF work with switcheroo?

[pipedwho]

The SF is wired exactly like the SD and the SA. So, yes it'll work with the switcheroo (which is what I wired mine up to).

The SD neck was my favourite sound too, but that was in single coil mode. The hum-cancelling mode was good, but seemed to lose something in the highs.

The SF neck was even better again, IMO.

You could definitely try an SD, SF, H2+. It'll give you a better split between the bridge and the middle. It'll probably help the neck/mid split with the SD too.

[michaelomiya]

From what I gather the SF's are stacked but don't react like one! They can be split but the consensus seems to be not to split them! They just have it! This seems to be TAG's best sounding pickup for single coil players looking to dodge the hum and retain that single coil vibe. Yes!

I was hoping to avoid this, but I ended up picking up a DT in T-Blk today:eek: :rolleyes: ...and she's armed with the SF1 and SF1R, with switcheroo electronics.

Man do these s/c's quack (neck and middle both "up" in the parallel position). I demo'd her through a M/B Mk IV, and was completely sold. At any volume, the sensitivity and responsiveness of the SF's are noticable. After experiencing SA's and SD's for so long, I'd say that TAG's really nailed that full single coil squawk (that really cuts) without sacrificing the "vintagey" vibe. YMMV.

[morty]

what about neck position! I realy like my SD in the neck position, it`s twoards "tele" sound whit realy nice bite. what will the SF sound like in the neck position??

[pipedwho]

The neck position SD is great - especially in split mode. The SF has a little more bite, so when it's in humcancelling mode (where the bite seems to be reduced) it doesn't lose its definition.

I liked the SDs, but I really like the SFs in this guitar (maple/basswood DT).

[gtrdaddy]

I just picked up my first Tom Anderson. It is a Hollow Drop Top Classic with an alder body, maple top and hard rock maple neck. It is wired with a master splitter and a 5-way.

All I can say is WOW! This TA really blows all of my strats away. I won't even try to describe the sound difference; to really appreciate it, one must experience it; no words will do it justice. All pickups in both series and split are quite wonderful in tone and most responsive in a very musical way. The SF pickups are too COOL!

[ConnemaraGuitar]

And now, for the final question, is it possible to get SF pickups without ordering an entire guitar to go with them? I'm looking for quiet single-coil sized pickups to replace the EMGs in my strat. I'd love to find some humcancelling pickups that just sound like traditional, chimey single coils. I was about to get SD's, but then I started wondering about the new pickups.

I've bought two sets of SFs from Jack at Magdon Music. Folks who play the guitars in which they're installed are totally blown away by the sound!

One guitar splits the singles, the other does not. Not splitting seems the way to go, although one guitar (80s Japanese Fender Strat with the singles split) is a solid body and the other is a semi-hollow mahogany (singles not split). The mahogany body sounds sooooo nice, even unplugged. Since I'm a builder and not a player my wife prefers the unplugged sound...

[MapleGuitar]

I just played a DTC with SF1, SF1R, and SF3 pickups (05-17-08P). This was my first experience with the SF pickups and I thought they sounded great -- very nice single coil vibe. This guitar also had the VA booster switch and, as far as I can tell, there was no way to split the pickups. So I'm curious why the middle pickup was reverse wound on this guitar?

[Rob C.]

I have a T Classic on the way with SF's in it. So a review against SD's & SA's will be coming soon. I had to order it with a master splitter though - I've always used the SD's & SA's with the splitter and am just too scarred to not order it with the option.

I'll probably end up changing that later, but ohh well.

[tom]

we try to anticipate the things that customers "might" want to change after the fact. that's what drives some of the options we have. let's face it, people change their minds after they've lived with something a while. so we still put the reverse wound pu in there in case a splitter is added.