What is a PAF pickup?

[0v3nm4n]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Silly gooses


Everyone knows that a PAF is just a FAP backwards

[Chickenwings]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Been 8 years. Dude prolly has figured it out by now.

lol.
It doesn't look like anyone cares!

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

lol.
It doesn't look like anyone cares!

[leevc5]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

10+ year ago it seemed like nobody new what a P.A.F. pickup was for sure in terms of tonal characteristics. But here we are today and manufactures still use P.A.F to describe the sound of their pickups.
Has anybody discovered what it mean when a pickup is described as having P.A.F. sound qualities.
From what I've heard the original P.A.F. pickups had very loose process controls and could end up sounding like anything from a Tele Bridge pup to who knows what for sure at this point in time.
Case in point:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/benedetto-p-a-f
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...ickup&tbm=shop
We all know there are many, many more examples. Who's kidding who and why?

[freefrog]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

10+ year ago it seemed like nobody new what a P.A.F. pickup was for sure in terms of tonal characteristics. But here we are today and manufactures still use P.A.F to describe the sound of their pickups.
Has anybody discovered what it mean when a pickup is described as having P.A.F. sound qualities.
From what I've heard the original P.A.F. pickups had very loose process controls and could end up sounding like anything from a Tele Bridge pup to who knows what for sure at this point in time.
Case in point:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/benedetto-p-a-f
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...ickup&tbm=shop
We all know there are many, many more examples. Who's kidding who and why?

Along the dozens of online threads about the sound of "P.A.F.'s", there's people saying that P.A.F.'s were technically too inconsistent to sound the same and other people stating to hear something common in most P.A.F.'s, due to the design and to the materials of yesteryears.

Among the countless data available online, I'll personally select this old comparison, because it describes the "sound qualities" of a P.A.F. in a way reflecting my own (and admittedly limited) experience: https://www.vintageguitar.com/3602/v...hoot-out-2005/
We could add a few sonic features often encountered in that famed "P.A.F. sound", like "double tones" but words are cheap. Here is a YT page including loads of samples recorded with P.A.F. and early pat. number pickups: https://www.youtube.com/user/pelikan...sort=dd&view=0

Regarding DiMarzio, who come first in your Google link: they have a trademark on the "PAF" acronym, which isn't the same than "P.A.F." ... And IME/IMHO, their "PAF" 's don't sound like "P.A.F." 's. They sound like DiMarzio's - but anyway, many, many P.A.F. clones translate the tastes and personality of their designer as much or more than they reproduce an original P.A.F. sound... IME and IMHO at least.
YMMV, de gustibus et de coloribus non est disputandum and so on. :-)

EDIT for a footnote: I don't think that anybody is "kidding" anyone. Some rigs and ears will just make obvious the common sonic features of P.A.F.'s while other playing situations will suggest that various P.A.F.'s and their clones can sound very different. Let's compare the two vids below. Must they be heard as similar or not? Won't the answer depend on the listener? You decide, I stop here (not enough free time to keep rambling). Have a nice day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPTwl41091k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Ky1Wiu1ZE

[Mincer]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Wow, old thread! But anyone who is really looking to learn more about pickups should really visit Seymour's Knowledge Base, which is a really great FAQ about guitars, artists, and pickups.

[freefrog]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Wow, old thread! But anyone who is really looking to learn more about pickups should really visit Seymour's Knowledge Base, which is a really great FAQ about guitars, artists, and pickups.

Yes, the Duncan FAQ's are a goldmine: I dig them for 12 or 15 years... And I wish they were still referenced by a number, as it was the case in the past (it was easier IMHO to know the answer 390 as refering to the PAF than to "question" the data bank without knowing if an answer will come or not).

Now, FAQ's are useful but can't we consider that personal/empirical experience is even better? The Web is full of samples recorded with P.A.F.'s and of discussions about them and it's really a fantastic initiatic travel to collect all these info's, in order to understand why people say what they say... And even if P.A.F. are "old" pickups evoked in "old" threads, the amount of vulgarized knowledge available about them on the Net is now higher than ever.

Of course, t's even more interesting to play and compare old pickups (if not to dissect and/or repair them as I had to do a couple of times): if someone really wants to hear how P.A.F.'s sound, there's shops with vintage treasures - and musicians, too: I wish I was the owner of the vintage Ricky, Fender and Gibson that I refresh once a year for a friend of mine... IOW: nothing equals a direct personal contact with the sound of P.A.F.s.

Last but not least: I won't post here all the links that I've posted elsewhere as a moderator, but passing an hour to listen YT vids recorded with real P.A.F.'s should be enough to hear what most P.A.F.'s have tonally in common beyond their obvious diversity. :-)

FWIW (= my two cents).

[Masta' C]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

PAF in the modern vernacular is a marketing term used to refer to an extended family of roughly similar pickup types (many of which are seeking to cash in on the idea of being vintage-inspired, sort of the way movies are often "based on true life events"). And, just like a human "family", you can typically tell the designs are somewhat related, but due to the many "genetic" variables, they can display a wide range of sounds and personality types.

[AlexR]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Very few really big winders actually do close to the PAF in its full specs. There are too many 'out of usual production' parts to make it financially worthwhile. And the finicky nature of the real PAF wind makes it a gamble that it will suit in someone's guitar. What they do is try and get a few parts of the tonality that can be easily reached with their machines.

[Mincer]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Yes, the Duncan FAQ's are a goldmine: I dig them for 12 or 15 years... And I wish they were still referenced by a number, as it was the case in the past (it was easier IMHO to know the answer 390 as refering to the PAF than to "question" the data bank without knowing if an answer will come or not).

Now, FAQ's are useful but can't we consider that personal/empirical experience is even better? The Web is full of samples recorded with P.A.F.'s and of discussions about them and it's really a fantastic initiatic travel to collect all these info's, in order to understand why people say what they say... And even if P.A.F. are "old" pickups evoked in "old" threads, the amount of vulgarized knowledge available about them on the Net is now higher than ever.

Of course, t's even more interesting to play and compare old pickups (if not to dissect and/or repair them as I had to do a couple of times): if someone really wants to hear how P.A.F.'s sound, there's shops with vintage treasures - and musicians, too: I wish I was the owner of the vintage Ricky, Fender and Gibson that I refresh once a year for a friend of mine... IOW: nothing equals a direct personal contact with the sound of P.A.F.s.

Last but not least: I won't post here all the links that I've posted elsewhere as a moderator, but passing an hour to listen YT vids recorded with real P.A.F.'s should be enough to hear what most P.A.F.'s have tonally in common beyond their obvious diversity. :-)

FWIW (= my two cents).

I hope at some point someone will go through those FAQs and put them in some sort of order that is easy to research and makes sense. I think they were gradually built on the old site, and poorly ported over, but that is something I'd love to have fixed.

[LtKojak]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

I hope at some point someone will go through those FAQs and put them in some sort of order that is easy to research and makes sense. I think they were gradually built on the old site, and poorly ported over, but that is something I'd love to have fixed.

Me and you both!

However, just don't hold your breath while waiting for this to happen...

[ArtieToo]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

DiMarzio has a trademark or whatever on the use of the term "PAF" so the correct way to refer to an early Gibson humbucker is a "Patent Applied For" humbucker.

DiMarzio's trademark is for "PAF" without periods. If one refers to the pickup as "P.A.F." that is not infringing on DiMarzio's trademark.

Regarding DiMarzio, who come first in your Google link: they have a trademark on the "PAF" acronym, which isn't the same than "P.A.F." ...

I'm surprised by all of this given that Duncan themselves use the term PAF, (no periods), to describe quite a few of their pickups.

[freefrog]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

I'm surprised by all of this given that Duncan themselves use the term PAF, (no periods), to describe quite a few of their pickups.

Google it and here are some of the first pages to come:

https://trademarks.justia.com/731/16/paf-73116336.html

https://inventively.com/search/trademarks/73116336

There's also this little ® after the acronym in this link:

http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/humbuckers/paf-36th-anniversary

My humble conclusion : it's probably not the same to use "PAF" as a generic term in public discussions than to insert it in the official name of a product.

Anyway, some winders swear by the Letter(s) while some others are inspired by the Spirit, if you see what I mean (the Spirit being named Seth Lover in this case)... ;-)