For Sale stock Gretsch Filtertrons
- Thread starter TV the Wired Turtle
- Start date
nickurso
Gretschified
Agreed!I’d trust Tavo before the guy at the Customer Service desk.
SLICKFASTER
Country Gent
Who’s Tavo?
He sounds tall…..
He sounds tall…..
HS Filtertrons are made in Japan. See the package next to the Gotoh bridge.
tartanphantom
Friend of Fred
This discussion is just getting good...
Gretsch stock HS Filtertrons have never been made by TV Jones. They have been made in Asia since the 1990's. And yes, this includes pickups with the patent number on the cover. Gretsch still owns the patent, they can make the pickups anywhere they darn well please. And as @TV the Wired Turtle said, they are NOT identical in design to vintage Filtertrons.
I trust the man who not only has opened them up and compared them side by side, but who has also been a TV Jones dealer for many years.
Namely, Tavo.
Gretsch stock HS Filtertrons have never been made by TV Jones. They have been made in Asia since the 1990's. And yes, this includes pickups with the patent number on the cover. Gretsch still owns the patent, they can make the pickups anywhere they darn well please. And as @TV the Wired Turtle said, they are NOT identical in design to vintage Filtertrons.
I trust the man who not only has opened them up and compared them side by side, but who has also been a TV Jones dealer for many years.
Namely, Tavo.
Bertotti
Gretschified
I don’t get much of this byplay but Oncan say the HS Filters in my Penguin sound gray and it’s more than obvious that since it’s a Penguin they had to be made in Antarctica by a very advanced race of penguins. I have no idea how they are capable of such things but that just makes them more magical! I think they might outsource to some Antarctic sirens who use some of their siren magic to imbue them with the special something. @TV the Wired Turtle if you have any contacts down there let me know! I would love a picture of the siren facility. 
Fairlane Blue
Gretschie
Yes but these are made in CORONA - not FULLERTON where Fender originally made their guitars. That's what I meant when I said that. So they're still being made with the same specs and designs but not by the same people (most of them are dead now) and not in the same factory with the same equipment. If you remember Fender sold off the entire company - lock, stock, and barrel to CBS. The Japanese made these once CBS sold it back to Fender employees because none of the original tooling was offered in the sale. And Fender moved their base of operations to Corona completely in the nineteen nineties so they're done with that. So do you know what Tim's last name is? (asking for a friend)I was literally on the phone w my buddy Tim head of operations at Fender and was sharing this post with him.Again not to in anyway be demeaning, but rather to just not second guess myself in case something changed but ya he chuckled and assured me that Fender is making all their pickups right at the factory in corona where I just saw them being made a few yrs back as well as the custom shop and gretsch custom shop. -namaste'
Fairlane Blue
Gretschie
Not according to GRETSCH. Maybe they don't where they're made either?
JackNangle
Gretschie
I think you might regret that statement.. TV Jones makes TV Jones Filtertrons, not Gretsch HS Filtertrons. Different company, different pickups. Gretsch have used TV Jones pickups on some higher end guitars. Gretsch HS Filtertrons are made in Japan, as has been shown in a photo on this thread. I bought a pair a couple of months ago. Not all Filtertrons are made by TV Jones - I think that might be the mistake here
Fairlane Blue
Gretschie
I understand but I talked to Gretsch and T.V. Jones about these pickups and the same story I got from them is what I'm telling here - not because I don't know what I'm talking about or joining in with the popular consensus is among the crowd. It was a while ago but I doubt they would sell these at the USA MADE prices that they're being sold at if they had to have them made overseas and pay both VAT (Various Applied Taxes) or Import taxes and shipping which makes no sense financially! Also Fender makes more than one brand of guitar and pickup style. However that may be some poor dolt believes that the USA MADE Bigsby licensed tremolos are made overseas too! I read this in a review on a website that no longer sells them.
rcboals
Country Gent
Y'all need to go play your guitars.
Thanks, Ray. It’s perfect timing for a little Blazing Saddles prayer!
And maybe some “authentic frontier gibberish“…
I think you mean "Taco."
He lives in France and makes amps and effects for weirdos who play metal on Guilds.
He can't be trusted.
so hurtful, at least Im a bit taller than Kevin Hart
We’re likely all a ways off from this guy in height.
With all due respect, whoever you talked to must have misspoke.Not according to GRETSCH. Maybe they don't where they're made either?
The top of the line expensive Gretsch gear is all made in Japan (with the exception of Gretsch Custom Shop, which is it’s own separate thing). A few 6xxx models do in fact come with USA made TVJ pickups, but most of them come with regular HS filtertrons, which are made in Japan.
Personally, I really like the HS Filtertrons.
That’s why I bought this set. I don’t even have a guitar to put them in right now, but I may get one eventually.
Fairlane Blue
Gretschie
Oh I love these pickups but most people assume one thing or another. However that may be some people think that these are made in CHINA, or Korea, or wherever without really knowing. I understand that the expensive Gretsch guitars are made in Japan but so are the USA custom shop models. That doesn't mean that everything expensive is made in Japan! The Bigsby tremolos are still being made in USA in Downey California. I don't really care either way I'm just glad that I got a few of these before they really become expensive the point of not being able to afford them without selling a kidney! It could be worse - they could've done this to them:
https://www.nme.com/news/watch-gibson-smash-hundreds-guitars-with-construction-truck-2534722
Jalexander
Electromatic
I think you are simply confused and you are ignoring the counsel of a genuine expert, Tavo.
Let’s be clear. Fender makes Fender pickups in Corona, but not Gretsch pickups. They make those for Gretsch in Asia.
Until the end of the “vintage” era when Gretsch shut down (around 1980), Filtertrons were made in the USA.
When Gretsch came back in the 1990s, Filtertrons were made in Asia. And that extends into the FMIC era of the past 20 years. You have photographic evidence above with a MIJ label on them.
TV Jones is a separate company that does not make Filtertrons. They make their version of a Filtertron called things like TV Classic and TV Classic+. TV Jones does not own the trademark to “Filtertron” so they can’t make a “Filtertron”. (Same goes for the Hilotron, so TVJ makes the TV-HT). These are made in the USA.
Maybe you’re getting confused because some proline and custom Gretsches come from the factory with TVJ’s. But not all. I have a 2012 6120 with stock Japanese-made Filtertrons, and a 2016 Penguin that came with TV Classics.
But if we’re talking “stock Filtertrons” (like Tavo was selling above), we’re talking about something made by Fender for Gretsch in Japan, and it has nothing to do with made in USA TV Jones pickups.
Fairlane Blue
Gretschie
WOW! Some how I missed a couple posts. I've never seen any Gretsch pickup with the exception of the mid 2015 Gretsch branded models with MADE IN JAPAN emblazoned across the package. None of the Filter'Trons that I have seen or bought said made in anywhere on them! I guess it depends on who you talk to. As I said before I don't care where they're made. It's not like any of us can afford or want to afford to pay through the nose for an off - shore guitar that has been simply branded Gretsch for thousands of Dollars when you can get the same basic guitar for about a third of the price or less. Regardless WHO sells these or makes copies of them I too have opened a couple of these pickups and they are by and large the same pickup design, quality, and appearance made with the same materials. It's not like Gretsch will ever be in business again no matter who makes their guitars or guitar parts with their name on it.
This gets my vote as weirdest thread ever. I feel like there are citizens of different realities trying to come to an impossible consensus. In my reality, every Filtertron is made in Norway by cobblers' elves and comes with a free pony. I don't know what the rest of y'all are talking about. Or what I'm gonna do with these ponies.
