What is a PAF pickup?

[DeathMetalRob]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

So, if I wind my own pickups, is it a PAF (If I apply for a Patent) until i give it a name or is it a PAF no matter what..?

The pickup I wound was a hex coil with an A9 magnet - does PAF apply to the tone or the name in all cases..?

[LtKojak]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

So, if I wind my own pickups, is it a PAF (If I apply for a Patent) until i give it a name or is it a PAF no matter what..?

The pickup I wound was a hex coil with an A9 magnet - does PAF apply to the tone or the name in all cases..?

http://www.zexcoil.com/welcome.html

FYI.

HTH,

[JeffB]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

And according to records Gibson bought far more A4 mags at that the time than they did A2. A3, or A5...

Bottom line, PAFs have as much variety and uniqueness as the wood in the guitars they were paired up with. Good luck trying to nail down "the PAF tone".

[thespricket]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

I'd like to add that single coils, while noisy, have a percussive characteristic that can often be described as jangly, chimney, and bell like. They also have a certain clarity that most humbuckers don't have, even with higher gain.


Guitar->pedals->amp

[Evan Skopp]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Good luck trying to nail down "the PAF tone".

That's why SD has the '59, Seth Lover, Pearly Gates, Antiquity, Bonamassa, Whole Lotta Humbucker, Benedetto P.A.F., and probably a few others I'm missing.

[stringbender11]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

I'd like to add that single coils, while noisy, have a percussive characteristic that can often be described as jangly, chimney, and bell like. They also have a certain clarity that most humbuckers don't have, even with higher gain.


Guitar->pedals->amp

^Totally agree with this. Single coils def have a brighter, jangly tone to them. While humbuckers have a darker more even tone. Makes a Strat & a Les Paul sound very different, even taking into acct the scale length difference of the two guitars.

Personally I like them both and have guitars that have both types. I've never tried p90's though, and am very curious how they sound.

[jon the art guy]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

P90s are hairy buggers. They're high powered, but less than a humbucker. They're articulate like a single coil but way more crazy angriness to them.

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[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

I'd like to add that single coils, while noisy, have a percussive characteristic that can often be described as jangly, chimney, and bell like.

They also have a certain clarity that most humbuckers don't have, even with higher gain.

True . . . but these are doing a bloody good job of staying VERY clear, even with uber-high gain settings.

http://www.lacemusic.com/Alumitone_Humbucker.php

[blueman335]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

^Totally agree with this. Single coils def have a brighter, jangly tone to them... I've never tried p90's though, and am very curious how they sound.

P-90's are single coils, and were in guitars several years before Leo came out with his budget versions.

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

I love P90s. They are really noisey though. More noise than a Fender style single coil (which I also love the tone of). The humbucker sized P90s (still true single coils) encased in metal are a big improvement in this regard. I don't know of any noiseless P90s that really capture the magic of the traditional P90.

[blueman335]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

I love P90s. They are really noisey though. The humbucker sized P90s (still true single coils) encased in metal are a big improvement in this regard.

If your dog ear or soap bar P-90's are noisy, you can put some aluminum foil inside the plastic covers, punching out holes for the pole pieces. You keep the same look, but add shielding.

[rumy22]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

If your dog ear or soap bar P-90's are noisy, you can put some aluminum foil inside the plastic overs, punching out holes for the pole pieces. You keep the same look, but add shielding.

How much is the noise reduced?

[ItsaBass]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

That's why SD has the '59, Seth Lover, Pearly Gates, Antiquity, Bonamassa, Whole Lotta Humbucker, Benedetto P.A.F., and probably a few others I'm missing.

Exactly. P.A.F. specs were all over the place, within certain basic limits. They could have had A2, A3, A4, or A5 magnets (though mostly A4), and any wind from kind of lean to kind of hot.

More importantly, the main factors in the "P.A.F. sound" were not the minute details of the gadgetry used. They were the people who used those pickups, and those who recorded them (i.e. the production values).

[blueman335]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

How much is the noise reduced?

As much as a HB-sized P-90 with a metal cover. Makes a difference.

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

^Totally agree with this. Single coils def have a brighter, jangly tone to them. While humbuckers have a darker more even tone. Makes a Strat & a Les Paul sound very different, even taking into acct the scale length difference of the two guitars.

Personally I like them both and have guitars that have both types. I've never tried p90's though, and am very curious how they sound.

BLASPHEMY !!!

Do you know . . . in some countries you can go to jail for LIFE, if they discover that you have NOT played on a P90 equipped guitar !!!! FACT !