DMZ PAF Pro - surprise! (have I missed something??)

[marcello252]

A friend of mine gave me a broken PAF Pro, coming from neck position of his Ibanez JEM. I didn't think to be able to fix it, anyway I tried.
I checked it, one coil was ok, the other was clearly shorted, so I disassembled it and I started to unwound the thin thin wire, trying to find the broken point.
I don't know how many times I broke the wire pulling it, the wax is very sticky, anyway, I wasted I lot of time and I decided to use the raw force. I lift a bit more than a single wound, brush out the insulation and pointed the tester: to my big surprise I got readings!! so I solder a wire from there.
In the end the fixed coil is only 200 ohm lower than the other, a big unexpected result (it's now circa a 8.2K pickup)

Ok, I had a spare pickguard around so I put it in there with a 500K pot, I swapped the complete pickguard I had in one of my partscaster strat with this and.....




Whhaaaaaat??? I didn't remember it sounded that good. It's not that hair metal pickup I thought and remember it was, it's a musical PAF with a slight punch on the mid high part of the eq, not overwhelming, I'd say a pickup more for lead than rhythm, but very usable.

So, Have I missed something during these years? are my ears getting too old? Anyone here using it in the bridge?

 

[Chistopher]

Yeah they are pretty great, never tried one in the bridge of a Strat though, seems like it could get a little bright. I'm all for salvaging broken parts, especially if the result winds up being unique.

What are your plans moving forwards? I kind of dig the "minimum viable solution" vibe that you took with assembly to test it out.

 

[ErikH]

I've used it in the bridge and neck of Strats. One of the better PAF-ish pickups out there, IMO. It was designed to work well with the rack systems of the day. Outside of that it's still a great pickup.

 

[marcello252]

What are your plans moving forwards? I kind of dig the "minimum viable solution" vibe that you took with assembly to test it out.

I put it there to test it but it's worth some exploration, I have an american fender strat single somewhere, I ll put in the neck with a tele 3 pos switch and a 500k tone pot I have spare, I'm curious

 

[Masta' C]

"Hair metal pickup"? I mean, it was around back then, but the PAF Pro is SO much more versatile than that!

Most hair metal guys wanted a hotter pickup than the PAF Pro, which is why there were so many subsequent DiMarzios and DiMarzio-made OEM models based on it.

 

[marcello252]

I'm old enough to remember back in the 80s the pu you must use were JB and the paf pro the most, the super distortion era was over and people used racks a skyscraper high, old pickups got lost in the mix, that's why I associate the Paf pro to that kind of music.
But listening to it now, after three decades, it's different to my ears, much more beautiful and usable, that's why I'm quite impressed

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer the PAF Pro in the bridge position than in the neck.

I feel like the PAF Pro is kinda like what Duncan does with the '59 or the Jazz where they want to make you believe it matches well with every pickup they offer, when they really don't (IMO, of course).

Not to say that the PAF Pro sounds like the Jazz or the '59... but I personally feel it's more of a lower-mid-output vintage with a touch of modern pickup.

It's stronger than most PAF-types (it's slightly overwound, and it's got a slightly oversized A5 magnet), but it's not quite mid output. It's strong, though. It has a very PAF-like open high-end that responds well to picking hard. Much like a traditioanl PAF-type, it twangs and rewards you a lot when you put some effort into striking your strings with your right hand.

The DiMarzio description makes it sound like it will be a mid-boosted pickup, when in reality, I don't find that to be the case. It's not quite as scooped as fhe '59B, true, but IMO, it's much closer to the '59B than it is to, say, the JB in terms of EQ. Not to say it sounds like a '59B, but it's bright and open with a very emphatic attack, a firm, but not emphatic low-end, and a hint of midrange scoop (though not as much as the average A5 PAF) for some added clarity.

I love it, personally. One of my favorite medium-low/vintage-high output pickups for the bridge position.

I hate it in the neck, though. It's too attack-y for my taste. I remember I had one paired with a Dominion in the bridge once, and my neck position was brighter than my bridge, LOL.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I guess why the PAF Pro is not a bigger deal than it is may be because it looks modern, but leans way more towards vintage-hot.

 

[ehdwuld]

My buddy put a Dp182 in his HSS strat
he loves it
It has a smooth creamy sound with just enough bite

I tease him about it
But it sounds great

 

[Chistopher]

I guess why the PAF Pro is not a bigger deal than it is may be because it looks modern, but leans way more towards vintage-hot.

I agree, but it's funny because the dual hex design has been around for 50 years now.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

I'd agree with what's been said, it's less mid scooped than PAF type pups. Arguably a good match for 6k type single coils if you have them in mid/neck positions.

I've had one in my Ibanez RG410 (Baretta copy) for years and it's pretty good. I did take out the metal spacers a couple of years ago for an 'air' thing, and that made it more mid scooped to my ear and a little less output, also cool.

I did try it in the neck position too and didn't care for it there, much better in the bridge. My few cents.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Smooth is the last thing I'd call a PAF Pro, personally. It's REALLY attack-y.

Unless you use it witn 250K pots, I guess. I've never tried it like that, but I doubt I'd like it. 250K pots made even the Pearly Gates Plus way too tame.

 

[Teleplayer]

Although it depends a bit on the guitar, mounting height, pot values, it's normally a pretty safe bet for a strat IMO.

 

[Aceman]

, it's a musical PAF with a slight punch on the mid high part of the eq, not overwhelming,

I never thought it was anything but that!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Although it depends a bit on the guitar, mounting height, pot values, it's normally a pretty safe bet for a strat IMO.

Yeah, I know it's the standard. But my Road Worn came with the Texas Specials running on 250K pots, and I thought that even those sounded dull-ish with the 250K pots. At least for being single coils.

Maybe it is because I'm used to running hums with only 500K volumes and no tones.

 

[nienturi]

I MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer the PAF Pro in the bridge position than in the neck.

I feel like the PAF Pro is kinda like what Duncan does with the '59 or the Jazz where they want to make you believe it matches well with every pickup they offer, when they really don't (IMO, of course).

Not to say that the PAF Pro sounds like the Jazz or the '59... but I personally feel it's more of a lower-mid-output vintage with a touch of modern pickup.

It's stronger than most PAF-types (it's slightly overwound, and it's got a slightly oversized A5 magnet), but it's not quite mid output. It's strong, though. It has a very PAF-like open high-end that responds well to picking hard. Much like a traditioanl PAF-type, it twangs and rewards you a lot when you put some effort into striking your strings with your right hand.

The DiMarzio description makes it sound like it will be a mid-boosted pickup, when in reality, I don't find that to be the case. It's not quite as scooped as fhe '59B, true, but IMO, it's much closer to the '59B than it is to, say, the JB in terms of EQ. Not to say it sounds like a '59B, but it's bright and open with a very emphatic attack, a firm, but not emphatic low-end, and a hint of midrange scoop (though not as much as the average A5 PAF) for some added clarity.

I love it, personally. One of my favorite medium-low/vintage-high output pickups for the bridge position.

I hate it in the neck, though. It's too attack-y for my taste. I remember I had one paired with a Dominion in the bridge once, and my neck position was brighter than my bridge, LOL.

I can't agree more for the most part. Many people claim PP is mid hump humbucker but i never heard that Oommph that people telling me about But to me it is absolutely one of the most versatile neck humbuckers, a cure for muddy neck positions and don't like much for the bridge, that's the part we are parting

https://www.tonejourney.com/post/dimarzio-paf-pro-review

 

[devastone]

I love PAF Pros, and they work in any position, IMHO of course. Right now I have a PP in the neck and a Norton in the bridge of a mahogany body RG and it sounds great.

 

[marcello252]

I don't want to mess with this pickup anymore because I fear my fix wouldn't last long, but I suspect it would be perfect to my ears with an A2 (I'm only guessing)

 

[marcello252]

Anyway the REAL problem with this pickup is it's pink

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I don't want to mess with this pickup anymore because I fear my fix wouldn't last long, but I suspect it would be perfect to my ears with an A2 (I'm only guessing)

The problem with DiMarzio pickups is that their magnets are slightly off-sized. So if you try to put a standard-sized magnet, those are off for like something tiny like 0.1 mm or something like that, but that means when you put them back together, they end up being slightly crooked. I mean, they work... but it bothered the hell out of me when I tried it.

Plus part of the charm of the PAF Pro is the magnet is slightly oversized. Like not quite as big as Super Distortion's Ceramic, say. But larger than a PAF's 36th Anni A5, IIRC.