The allure of expensive and boutique guitar gear is undeniable. Who wouldn’t want a James Tyler guitar, a '59 Les Paul aged in the Murphy Lab, an Xotic or Fender Masterbuilt Strat equipped with Fralin pickups and a custom titanium tremolo? I, too, was enchanted by these for many years. While the magic is still alive, I’m thrilled to see the presence of guitar and related gear that may not carry a prestigious name but possess their own unique mojo.
Gone are the days when you had to shell out at least $1,000 to achieve a good tone. Nowadays, you can get truly playable guitars for just a few hundred dollars—equipped with stainless steel frets, steel tremolos, locking tuners, decent pickups, and roasted maple necks with solid wood bodies.
Another branch of this evolution is pickups, naturally. Chinese companies like Donlis, which I’ve reviewed before, are steadily carving out a space for themselves in the market with consistent quality. Fleor is another such brand. I used a Fleor pickup for the first time—let’s see how it left an impression on me!
The Test Guitar
My test guitar for that Fleor set is my Charvel Model A guitar. Because it had Seymour Duncan Jazz&JB combo just before i sawpped them. The guitar features a mahogany body, quarter-sawn maple neck, ebony fretboard, 25.5" scale length, Floyd Rose tremolo with steel block (JT580LP), nickel silver frets, CTS&alpha 500K pots, Elixir Optiweb Strings in E-std tuning, a 5-way Ibanez (2502N) switch. For two hb guitars that switch has totally useable inner positions that you don’t need anything else. Its primary (unplugged) tone is warm.
Evaluation
I’ve heard many things about those Fleor pickups but never could tried before. Finally, during a discount period on Amazon, I came across it. I thought it would be a good alternative to try and placed an order. It arrived within a few days, but since I had other pickups to test at the time, I only got the chance to try it out a few months later.
First of all, there is no clear information or detailed description about the pickups. All I could find was a broad range of DC resistance values, and that’s it. Of course, as the model name suggests, it comes with Alnico 5 magnets.
FLEOR High Output Alnico 5 Bridge
Magnet – Alnico 5
Advertised DCR: 14-15 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 14.87 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 7,51 K Ohm (Screw Coil)
Measured DCR: 7.36 K Ohm (Slug Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 6.56 H (Series)
Inductance @100Hz: 2.79 H (Screw Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 2.97 H (Slug Coil)
Measured C: -17.8 nF (Series)/ -32.4nF (Screw Coil) / -34.8nF (Slug Coil)
Output: Medium
EQ (B/M/T) –
Gauss: 300G screw, 320G slug (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)
When we visually examine the pickup, the first thing we notice is that it has two symmetrically wound coils, a detail that measurements also confirm. I’ve felt the pole pieces screws little bit narrower than the ones on Duncans or Dimarzios. But i need to measure them with a caliper. Plus their lenght seems a little bit longer. Upon inspecting the coils, they didn’t appear skinny to me but not full either. This led me to think if they might be wound with AWG 43 wire. In terms of magnetic flux density, I measured a lower Gauss value compared to the regular alnico 5 humbuckers. Neck. It aligns with the standard polished Alnico 5 specification (350G).
When you see a pickup set with 7-8K resistance in the neck, 14-15K resistance in the bridge, Alnico 5 magnets, a traditional humbucker design (screw 'n slugs), and a nickel silver baseplate, what’s the first pickup combo that comes to mind? Of course, the Jazz/JB. Naturally, that’s exactly what came to my mind when I read the specs of this set. I’m leaving the neck pickup for 1-2 weeks later, avoiding any spoilers by not including it in this discussion. So, how close is the Fleor A5 to the JB? This will be one of the central themes of my review.
Looking at the measurements, a few important differences catch my attention. First and foremost, inductance. I've had many JB pickups pass through my hands, and I currently own 2-3 of them. The lowest inductance among them is 8.020H, and the highest is 8.50H. However, for the Fleor, this value is 6.56H. This is the biggest indication that there will be a noticeable auditory difference. On the other hand, there’s also a difference in winding, which we can observe through the DCR values. You can find the values for the JB in this review of mine.
Additionally, while both pickups use Alnico 5 magnets, I’m reading different magnetic flux densities for them. In this regard, the Fleor has a slightly lower value. I haven’t completely disassembled the pickup to measure the magnet within from end to end, as my primary goal was to "test it as-is." However, once the review process is over, I might perform some surgical intervention to extract more details. Could these slightly lower Gauss readings be caused by the magnet itself or by the screws, which seem slightly longer? I’ll look into it. Perhaps I might even shorten those screws a bit—who knows?
When we examine the EQ spectrum audibly, I can start by saying that the lows are tight but not as powerful as you would expect from a pickup of this type. In other words, it lacks the richness and depth of a JB or a Custom 5. The lower mids are not dominant, but the upper mids are pronounced relatively. In this regard, it also differs from the JB and i hear that pickup as “bright”.
If I were to compare it to something familiar, the Fleor sounded closer to a Custom 5 rather than a JB. However, it’s not as powerful as the Custom 5; I’d describe it more as a "Custom 5 Lite." Which can be a thing, you know. Especially if you are not into modern prog metal/djent riff zone, into more of a “hard rock” zone, that could really be a thing.
So, is the Fleor A5 a high-output pickup? No? I’m not 100% certain about this, but in terms of output, it seems to be slightly higher than a PAF Pro but definitely lower than a JB. Therefore, I can confidently describe it as a "medium-output" pickup.
If we evaluate the Fleor A5 in terms of dynamic range, we can say that it offers a fairly wide perception compared to its peers. Yes, there is a certain sense of compression, naturally. However, it never goes overboard. I must say, I particularly liked this aspect of it. Hard or soft pick attacks, finger or picks or different phrasing manouvers can get the result.
The Fleor A5 Bridge pairs exceptionally well with the its neck—they complement each other particularly well. As for alternative companions in the neck position, I think pickups with brighter nature fit perfectly. Strong singles maybe, just like Fender Texas Special.
I haven’t used it on lower tunings yet.
Conclusion
Ever since I got this pickup, I’ve asked myself many times whether I like it or not. Now, there are some things I don’t like—or rather, things I feel are missing. Normally, I’m a big fan of bridge pickups with around 6.5H inductance (for example, the Al DiMeola bridge). But the feel of this one didn’t resonate with me in the same way. In that sense, I can’t write as positive a review as I did for Donlis. Nevertheless this pickup can be a really good alternative considering its matchless price tag.
However, if the right guitar and the right purpose come together, and especially considering its price, it’s clear that this can be a pretty good alternative. If you have a warm-toned guitar and want something a bit brighter in the bridge position, don’t need a high-output metal machine, and are on a budget, I think you’ll like it.
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Guitar pickup reviews
FLEOR High Output Alnico 5 Bridge Review
FLEOR Alnico 5 Bridge Review
FLEOR Pickups