Were these first pickups for Gretsch the Filter Trons?
Thats right. I made a handshake agreement with Fred Gretsch and he held up his end until the day he died. You see, there wasnt anything in writing, so after he died, it took me a while to get a royalty check! I made enough money to keep groceries on the table, but I wasnt getting rich or anything. I also invented a stereo pickup for a guitar they built called the White Falcon. Filter Tron pickup in Gretsch White Penguin guitar Photo courtesy T. Bacon “The Ultimate Guitar Book” How did you learn about building guitar pickups? Well, I understood the basic principal of wrapping wire around a magnet. I also knew from working on transformers that if theyre wound in opposite directions, one cancels the hum from the other. So I just did the same thing winding pickups. I believe Gibson and I were working on this at about the same time. I patented mine in 1954. Did you work as an engineer for RCA when you first moved here? Well, when I first moved here, I didnt have a job really. Chet used to s
