Best PAF style pickup?

[Ydna]

What is the best PAF replica that is currently being made? Something that will clean up relatively fast, like in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pl0NI2YjIo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My strat cleans up really easy, but my SG does not clean up at all, which gets frustrating at times.

[fillmore nyc]

A friend of mine swears that J.M. Rolph makes THE best PAF ever. In his opinion, they're indistinguishable from great real PAF's, and in some cases, actually better than a "less than great" set of real PAF's.
Up front, this is his claim, not mine... I've never heard them myself, but my friend that says this DOES know his shit inside and out, so take that for what its worth. He has done a side by side comparison with real PAF's and Rolph's.
He also says you'd wait a while to get a pair... I dont know why that is though. Might be worth scouring the internet for info on them.
http://www.jmrolph.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[chrisom]

I always use Seymour Duncan '59's. They were replicated using Jeff Beck's old Les Paul according to their old flyers.

Way back in a Guitar Player magazine Allan Holdsworth told how he put the pickups from his old SG back in before he sold it, and put Dimarzio PAF's in his Strat. They were close he said, but when he got the Seymour Duncan '59's he couldn't tell the difference.

I've used them ever since and have no trouble getting the sounds of Zeppelin, AC/DC, Sabbath, Skynard, old Van Halen, old Rush, early Def Leppard. I'm sure there are closer replicas out there, though that's a bit subjective, but you're gonna pay more for them...

[chrisom]

I think PAF's were from '58 to '61 or so (this may be WAY wrong), but if I remember right EVH "re-wound" and potted a PAF from a 1961 Gibson ES-335 for his old main standard pickup.

The '59 is very close for an off-the-shelf solution to sounding like most guitarists using classic Gibsons from the late '50's and early '60's on their recordings.

I routed and sunk a pair of zebra-coil '59's into my reissue Gibson Melody Maker with the '59 shape neck, and it's dreamy sound-wise and playability-wise...

[jbzoso2002]

ThroBak makes the most authentic PAF on the planet earth!


http://gundrymedia.typepad.com/throbak_ ... ntage.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Jimmy

[Ydna]

Yea. I'm looking at the throbaks. Just really pricey.

[jbzoso2002]

Yes they are and it took quite a while for me to get over
that.

I had SD Antiquty's in my R8 before the ThroBaks and they
were very good.

But the ThroBak's are better, they have overtones, nuances
and touch sensitivity that Ive never heard from my rig before.

Jimmy

[Ydna]

Eventually I'll get them. I hope. Hopefully I'll be employed soon and be able to make some money.

[Omn]

I love the humbuckers from J.M. Rolph.

But my first choice would be ThroBak.

There are some I have not tried yet; Slider from Australia has started making humbuckers. And if they are anywhere near his singlecoils..., they would be over the top.

[fillmore nyc]

I love the humbuckers from J.M. Rolph.

But my first choice would be ThroBak.

There are some I have not tried yet; Slider from Australia has started making humbuckers. And if they are anywhere near his singlecoils..., they would be over the top.

Are the Rolph's as close to the real deal as my buddy makes them out to be? He tells me that he did recorded side by side comparisons in the same guitar with real PAF's, and that they were indistinguishable. Pretty big claim, but as I said, this guy knows what he's talking about, and is a killer player to boot.
He has built, repaired and modded amps for a living for at least 35 years, and really (REALLY) knows his shit there too, so I dont take anything he says about tone lightly. He's modded a few amps for me, and the results have been nothing short of jaw dropping.

[somethin'else]

My High Order Pickups really get the job done for me. Jeff does great T-Tops and PAFs. I've got a 8.3 bridge and 8.1 neck in vintage style (a tad weakened) A5 magnets with his hand polished raw nickel covers. Real blue blues, red hot leads, and the famous juicy funk middle position. And they clean up like Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction.

One day I'll drop down for some Throbaks, but I'm in way less of a hurry now! Back in the day (for me) I'd grab a Duncan 59 and go, anytime. I always thought they were the best "over the counter" bucker forever. That was WAY before the boutique explosion though.

[ericsabbath]

I have a custom Bare Knuckle Riff Raff with a custom thicker magnet and slightly overwound to 8.47k (it's usually around 7.9k-8.2k)
it's like a T-Top, but clearer and a lot punchier due to the thick alnico 5 bar
it sounds WAY better than the stock Tim Shaw PAFs in my '81 les paul

[fillmore nyc]

My High Order Pickups really get the job done for me. Jeff does great T-Tops and PAFs. I've got a 8.3 bridge and 8.1 neck in vintage style (a tad weakened) A5 magnets with his hand polished raw nickel covers. Real blue blues, red hot leads, and the famous juicy funk middle position. And they clean up like Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction.

Something I dont understand... unless a person is gonna restore a humbucker equipped Gibson built after 1965 or so, and dosent wanna shell out for "real" T-Tops (expensive these days) why would someone specify T-Tops as opposed to PAF's?

As far as actual T-Tops and PAF's go, PAF's have always sounded better (at least to my ear) in every respect... a little more of everything it seems. I know the whole hype about how the very earliest Patent Number pickups ('63-'64) WERE basically PAF's, but as far as tone is concerned, I sincerely dont understand the need for '65-'75 replica T-Top pickups, if PAF's are available. If it wasnt for the mortal sin of modding a vintage instrument, removing T-Top's from a late '60's guitar and putting in (real) PAF's would have always been considered an upgrade.

I know there must be SOMETHING to it, and this is just my ignorance speaking, but any guitar I've owned with actual T-Tops (a late '60's 335) never sounded as good as ANY PAF guitar I've owned (a '61 345, and my current LP Std).

So 'splain me, por favor??!!

[somethin'else]

That's a great question, fillmore! Sorry, I just mentioned T-Tops and it's a bit off topic to the original question here.

I could be grossly mistaken, but speaking in generalities, I think the PAFs have a natural asymmetric wind (each coil having different output) due to inconsistencies in winders (Betty's on lunch break), where the T-Tops were made when the winders stopped at a certain number of winds, and they finally realized consistency everytime?

Difference in sound? Hmm, can o'worms here... The asymmetric winds in PAFs lend a certain "magical" (sorry, had to say it) "air" to the sound, where T-Tops have a flatter even response from the even wound coils.

That's my bullmalarkie take on it!

Some folks love the T-Tops. A lot of folks love the T-Top. Shoot, a lot of folks LOVE the 490T and 498T ceramics for that 80s punk rock thing. On the other hand, I personally could never get enough of an AlNiCo II magnet. Too much sizzle and compression for me, too dark overall. Totally subjective. Same with speakers! I'm a ceramic magnet speaker guy, and I've tried AlNiCos... just not for me. I've tried AIIIs and AIVs, too... no go.

First thing I did with my R8 was yank those Burstbuckers and put some Fralins in. Great Pups! But I felt a bit of Telecaster leaking into my Paul And in my perception, I was missing that elusive, 3D quality. Maybe it was the AIV mags, or the wire, or the wood spacers, or the direction of the wind... ad nauseam.

I love asymmetrical (PAF) wound pups with softened up A5 mags. What're ya gonna do, right?

[Ydna]

I'm thinking of going with the Seymour Duncans for now, I just don't have the money for boutique pickups. That, or I'll hand wind em' to the specs on the throbak website.