Pickup lines
In the first part of our focus on Gretsch’s seminal humbucker, the Filter’Tron, we talk to Tom Jones of TV Jones about inventor Ray Butts’ legacy from the 1950s…
The Filter’Tron pickup has never been more popular. Although synonymous with Gretsch following its appearance in the mid-50s, with the guitar brand having been under FMIC/Fender’s control as of 2003, this classic humbucker design has now officially cross-pollinated onto Strats and Teles – with the Cabronita Teles becoming something of a modern classic. In addition, with Filter’Tron recreations being offered by pickup builders the world over, it is also increasingly being spotted on countless other guitars models as an aftermarket mod.
One such pickup builder is Tom Jones – aka Thomas Vincent Jones – of TV Jones. Tom is arguably the guitar world’s bestknown modern day Filter’Tron aficionado and has been at the forefront of the Filter’Tron’s continued success for many years. He worked closely with Gretsch stalwart Brian Setzer as far back as 1993, and has since established a close working relationship with FMIC/Gretsch, providing regular consultation in terms of product development, in addition to overseeing TV Jones’s expansive range of pickups and guitars.
Keen to hear more about the Filter’Tron’s initial development back in the 1950s at the hands of inventor Ray Butts, we dropped a call to Tom to ask him how the story began.
“It all started in 1954 when Gretsch were talking to Chet Akins,” begins Tom. “Ray Butts and Chet Atkins were already familiar from Ray’s EchoSonic amplifier and so Chet said to him, ‘Hey Ray, I don’t like the sound of my DeArmond DynaSonic pickup – it’s just too powerful; it’s too bass-y in the neck and too brittle and bright in the bridge.’
“That’s when Ray made Chet a set of Filter’Trons that fitted under a DeArmond cover. You can see it on Chet’s album artwork; there’s a light plastic on top with 12 screws, two rows of six. That was the first prototype. Nobody seems to know where Ray’s prototype pickup is now [Ray passed away in 2003], although it was seen around 10 years ago. In the 70s, there were two Gretsch factory fires and a lot of information was lost, but luckily Ray Butts
kept everything. His family gave me a bunch of parts that he used in the 70s, 80s and early 90s, and they recently gave me some more stuff, including documents – Filter’Tron information and blueprints – that were presumed lost forever in the factory fires.
“It’s amazing stuff. I have original handcarved bobbins, which were probably made when he was working with Chet Atkins back in ’54, and Ray’s soldering iron – the one he used to make the first Filter’Tron. I also have the first royalty documents, including cheques from Fred Gretsch and a picture of a cheque from Elvis Presley! Ray made a hell of a lot of money from the Filter’Tron back in the late 50s. He was friends with Paul Bigsby and Paul would buy a new Cadillac every year in Detroit and drive it back to California. On the way, he’d stop in and visit Ray and they ended up collaborating; they put a Filter’Tron under one of Paul Bigsby’s aluminium pickup covers.
“I also have the original Filter’Tron patent document that shows the Filter’Tron might have come before the Gibson PAF humbucker. Ray Butts and Seth Lover didn’t know each other – they never spoke, so who knows who was first? I guess they might have been around the same time, but although Seth submitted his patent sooner, Ray got his back before Seth did.
“A friend of mine, [amp builder] Tim Masters, has all of the original EchoSonic amplifier information and he also has the original winder that the very first Filter’Trons were wound on. The coils may have been wound by a different company, but the Filter’Trons were originally assembled in-house at Gretsch’s Brooklyn factory. They were wound with a thicker wire using a counter, but it was hand-guided. They read close to 4kohms, although they varied from around 3.8 to 4.2kohms.
“I love Filter’Tron pickups. They’re just amazing. I think people really enjoy learning about them. More people need to know about it and there’s stuff even I haven’t looked at yet!” Guitarist would like to thank Tom Jones of TV Jones (https://tvjones.com)
“I love Filter’Tron pickups. They’re amazing. I think people really enjoy learning about them.” Tom Jones of TV Jones