Ray Butts Ful-Fidelity Filter'Tron™ Neck Pickup - No Ears Mount
Some parts of history are so legendary that they never die. The original Filter'Tron, invented by Ray Butts and originally called the "Ful-Fidelity" in his technical journals is one of those things. These pickups are made according to Ray's personal notes, designs and Jones' extensive, multi-decade analysis of original Filter'Tron pickups. Butts was awarded one of the first patents for a hum-canceling guitar pickup (No. 2,892,371, June 30, 1959.)
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"This is the real deal...each offering includes all of the original design's bells and whistles...the vintage pole spacing, covers, original zinc-coated backplate used by Gretsch at that time - and more. In Ray's era, factory made guitar pickups were not wax saturated as they are now. These pickups will not be saturated in order to remain absolutely historically correct," said Jones. "I notice a more three-dimensional, open-air quality to the tone of a pickup that is not saturated in wax. Microphonic feedback is not a big issue with this design. To be clear though - I do find waxing necessary for higher-gain, "squeal-less" applications."
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Cover Options:
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Blank Cover - Late 1957-1958
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PAT. APPLIED FOR - 1959 - Early 1960
- U.S. PAT 2892371 - 1960 and onward
Tone/Characteristics
Tighter bass response and slightly more top end EQ than a TV Classic. Truly unique sparkle and dynamics provided by the lower output and absence of wax. If you want that unmistakable Great Gretsch Sound then these pickups are the way to go.
Output/Power
"We offer a lower 3.8K ohm version for the neck position, and a 4.2K ohm version for the bridge position. I have worked on many late 1950's Gretsch guitars with these ohm reading variations...most vintage Filter'trons float somewhere around 4.0k" - TV Jones.
DC Resistance is not entirely an indicator of true pickup output, although it can be helpful.
Bridge: DCR - 4.2k / Inductance - 1.7H
Neck: DCR - 3.8k / Inductance - 1.4H
Installation
The No Ears Mount is a direct drop-in replacement for guitars with standard sized Filter'trons. This pickup comes with two pieces of compression rubber and 2 wood screws for mounting directly into the guitar. Note: Covers are not soldered to pickup.
Wiring Notes
This pickup is shipped with vintage spec 2-conductor wire.
Special Considerations
Filter'tron Replacement: The No Ears Mount is a direct drop-in replacement for guitars wtih Vintage Filter'trons, HS Filter'trons, Fideli'trons, Mega'trons, Full-trons and any other standard sized 'Trons.
Pre-2012 Pro Jet Guitars: These will require some specific modification in order to install No Ears Mount pickups. You can refer to our Pro Jet Resource Page which is in the Resources section.
Check out our Guitar Modifications Section for more details on these unique guitars and more!
- Ray Butts Ful-Fidelity Bridge and Neck Videos and Demos -
