HOT brigde PAF

Re: HOT brigde PAF

SwedishHumbucker said:
In my opion there´s no wire that will give such a wonderfull tone as the AWG42 gauge....
I´m not saying other wire gauges sound bad, they just can´t provide that tone i wan´t...
Guess why alot of folks are craving for PAF´s, they´ve got AWG42 ;)
Which is a part of the holy grail PAF tone
Click to expand...

It's a hype thing. Don't buy in to it. If you haven't tried any pickups other than those made with 42AWG, then you just don't know. People hype over PAF's when they don't even know what half of them sound like. Thanks to the internet, some of this stuff gets blown way out of proportion.

The wire used is just a small part of the equation. There's the wire type, the number of winds, the winding pattern, the tightness of the winds, the magnet type and size, the magnet strength, the pole pieces and the guitar the pickup is put in.

There are some great classic pickups wound with 43AWG and even 44AWG.

Duncan Custom (Custom Custom and Custom 5) - 43
Duncan Distortion - 44
Duncan JB - 44

What I'm trying to say is, the wire doesn't give the tone so don't go just by that. You might be surprised with what you find.
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

SwedishHumbucker said:
Hi guys

I´m looking for a bridge pickup for my Les Paul standard which is chambered.
I have the Burstbucker pro for the moment which reads 7,96kOhm.
I need a pickup which is louder, cleaner and brighter.
I would prefer if it where in the 9-12kOhm range and Alnico 5.
The other requirement is that it has to be AWG42 gauge copper wire...

I play very Randy Rhoads influenced and a little Van Halen but i don´t want the SD 78 because of it´s Alnico 2.

Would a hybrid pickup such a the combination of a 59/Custom5 be a good choice???

Take care guys:)
Click to expand...

not trying to sway you from your opinion, but are you able to give us examples of the tone you're attributing to A5 and 42AWG?

i was going to suggest a custom/jb combo with a ceramic mag at first; i've tried one in a chambered LP and liked it a lot but it might not be right for you, based on what you've written here.

randy and EVH's p/ups weren't 42AWG and A5, were they..?
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

ErikH said:
It's a hype thing. Don't buy in to it. If you haven't tried any pickups other than those made with 42AWG, then you just don't know. People hype over PAF's when they don't even know what half of them sound like. Thanks to the internet, some of this stuff gets blown way out of proportion.

The wire used is just a small part of the equation. There's the wire type, the number of winds, the winding pattern, the tightness of the winds, the magnet type and size, the magnet strength, the pole pieces and the guitar the pickup is put in.

There are some great classic pickups wound with 43AWG and even 44AWG.

Duncan Custom (Custom Custom and Custom 5) - 43
Duncan Distortion - 44
Duncan JB - 44

What I'm trying to say is, the wire doesn't give the tone so don't go just by that. You might be surprised with what you find.
Click to expand...


That's what I was trying to get at with my post.....

As long as the pickup provides the tone I want, I don't care what magnet or wire it is aslong as it sounds right :)
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

dr. ad said:
randy and EVH's p/ups weren't 42AWG and A5, were they..?
Click to expand...

The rewound Gibson EVH used in the early days was most definitely 42AWG but A2. After that, he's used bridge pickups wound with 43AWG and either A2 or A5 mags.

Randy's LP was stock so it most likely had 42AWG PAFs or whatever Gibson put in the Customs then. His Sandoval V had a SuperD/PAF combo and the SuperD is Ceramic w/ 43AWG. His Jackson had a Distortion/Jazz combo and the Distortion is Ceramic w/ 44AWG.

And guess what, no matter what they used, you knew who it was.
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

dr. ad said:
not trying to sway you from your opinion, but are you able to give us examples of the tone you're attributing to A5 and 42AWG?

i was going to suggest a custom/jb combo with a ceramic mag at first; i've tried one in a chambered LP and liked it a lot but it might not be right for you, based on what you've written here.

randy and EVH's p/ups weren't 42AWG and A5, were they..?
Click to expand...

Randy Rhoads had Gibson T-Tops in his Les Paul which were 7-8kOhm (AWG42 wire) and Alnico 5 magnets;)
Randy Rhoads also used the SD Distortion, SH-2n Jazz and DiMarzio Superdistortion and PAF.

Eddie Van Halens brown sounds comes partially from and old PAF neck humbucker which he liked and put in the brigde.
PAF´s are AWG42 wire...
I guess it was a Alnico 2 magnet all the time for Eddie...
One certain pickup were made for Eddie which was a Alnico 2 PAF wound to 9,2kOhm and is AWG42 wire...
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

ErikH said:
It's a hype thing. Don't buy in to it. If you haven't tried any pickups other than those made with 42AWG, then you just don't know. People hype over PAF's when they don't even know what half of them sound like. Thanks to the internet, some of this stuff gets blown way out of proportion.

The wire used is just a small part of the equation. There's the wire type, the number of winds, the winding pattern, the tightness of the winds, the magnet type and size, the magnet strength, the pole pieces and the guitar the pickup is put in.

There are some great classic pickups wound with 43AWG and even 44AWG.

Duncan Custom (Custom Custom and Custom 5) - 43
Duncan Distortion - 44
Duncan JB - 44

What I'm trying to say is, the wire doesn't give the tone so don't go just by that. You might be surprised with what you find.
Click to expand...

It´s NOT a hype thing for me...
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

dr. ad said:
not trying to sway you from your opinion, but are you able to give us examples of the tone you're attributing to A5 and 42AWG?
Click to expand...

Ok, the tone i´m associating with AWG42 and Alnico 5, gonna try to do this.
When i play alot of open chords with as much gain as possible i get this kind of sound like it´s a burning flame sort of in the sound don´t really get that from a Alnico 2 in my burstbucker pro brigde.

Maybe i´ve forgotten to mention which pickups i´ve tried.
I´ve tried the Gibson Burstbucker 1 2 and Pros, Gibson 57 classic all theese are PAF replicas and also has AWG42 wire and they sound great, really thick full tone :)
I´ve tried a Gibson 490T in the neck first really open up it was very clear sound a little thin, in the bridge it was just bright thin and lacked power.
I´ve tried Seymour Duncan, Hot Rails alot of power but note that thick wonderfull sound of AWG42, had the Distortion brigde and neck still not the quality like thoose pickups with AWG42.
Also tried the SEymour Duncans, little 59, JB jr.

So the only pickups i´ve fallen in love with are thoose PAF replicas or styled and they have AWG42 wire, so no it´s note a hype thing...
I´m just one of thoose guys who needs to have it in a certain way so that it really does what i wan´t....
So don´t blame me for not being a normal person, ha ha ha...

So no pickups with anything than AWG42 wire is going in to my Les Paul
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

Sorry forgot the tone description...
I also got a good driving sound that keeps sort of pushing my guitar playing into wonderfull hard driving kicking rock sound :)
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

SwedishHumbucker said:
a Alnico 2 in my burstbucker pro brigde.

Maybe i´ve forgotten to mention which pickups i´ve tried.
I´ve tried the Gibson Burstbucker 1 2 and Pros, Gibson 57 classic all theese are PAF replicas and also has AWG42 wire and they sound great, really thick full tone :)
I´ve tried a Gibson 490T in the neck first really open up it was very clear sound a little thin, in the bridge it was just bright thin and lacked power.
Click to expand...

the busrtbucker pro's are alnico V

the burstbucker 1/2/3 & 57 classic and 57 classic + are all alnico II magnets as are the 490 pups
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

SwedishHumbucker said:
Sorry forgot the tone description...
I also got a good driving sound that keeps sort of pushing my guitar playing into wonderfull hard driving kicking rock sound :)
Click to expand...

Sooooooooooooooo many pups can get a hard driving kicking rock sound though. If I was you, though I'm not, I could easily get that hard driving kicking rock sound, and a whole lot more, best with these pups:

1. SD JB
2. DMZ Area T
3. SD/PRS P90s
4. SD 59
5. DMZ Air Zone
6. BL 500XL
7. EMG 85

Plus an excellent amp.

If you are only looking for PAF-ish tones then go:

SD 59 or one of the Customs
SD Brobucker
DMZ Breed
DMZ Air Zone
A slew of other manufacturers PAF clones
 
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Re: HOT brigde PAF

That's cool, you like what you like but numbers don't tell all.

Try this one pickup in your Les Paul just for kicks. You might be surprised. I'm not a fan of it in Strats but in Les Pauls, it's killer.

That pickup is the Custom 5. Yes, it's 43AWG but just try it. It's got the sound of a hot PAF and the attitude. Great pickup in Les Pauls.

If it doesn't work for you, then a Custom Shop order might be for you, perhaps an overwound '59b.

BTW, that neck PAF EVH slapped in the bridge was no different than the bridge pickup from that same guitar. They didn't have bridge/neck models back then.
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

:scratchch

a few guys here have swapped A5 mags into alnico 2 pro humbuckers and really liked them; i haven't had the chance to try this yet but it could be another option. i generally go hotter in the bridge, if you do decide to try 43 at some stage in future the demon may fit your criteria

good luck too, it definitely sounds like you're chasing a pretty specific tone
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

veryhungrycaterpilla said:
Sooooooooooooooo many pups can get a hard driving kicking rock sound though. If I was you, though I'm not, I could easily get that hard driving kicking rock sound, and a whole lot more, best with these pups:

1. SD JB
2. DMZ Area T
3. SD/PRS P90s
4. SD 59
5. DMZ Air Zone
6. BL 500XL
7. EMG 85

Plus an excellent amp.

If you are only looking for PAF-ish tones then go:

SD 59 or one of the Customs
SD Brobucker
DMZ Breed
DMZ Air Zone
A slew of other manufacturers PAF clones
Click to expand...

I guess most of them will sound good but only AWG42 pickups is going in my guitar...
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

dr. ad said:
:scratchch

a few guys here have swapped A5 mags into alnico 2 pro humbuckers and really liked them; i haven't had the chance to try this yet but it could be another option. i generally go hotter in the bridge, if you do decide to try 43 at some stage in future the demon may fit your criteria

good luck too, it definitely sounds like you're chasing a pretty specific tone
Click to expand...

Thanks, i´ll be playing everything throu a Peavey Windsor Studio which i´m getting within 30days i hope.
It´s compatible alot of different tubes such as EL34, 6L6, KT66, KT88 and some more...
Yes i´m chasing a special tone, "MY" tone...
So it´s has to be AWG42, the magnet is easy to change so that ain´t a problem...
Both Alnico 2 & 5 has there qualities...
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

why hasn't anyone mentioned the Dimarzio PAF 36th bridge model? the bridge version is wound to a touch under 9k with 42 awg wire and uses an A5 magnet. I bought one on a whim and it's really impressive. very clear and punchy and surprisingly aggressive given it's specs. I'm not usually a Dimarzio fan but the PAF 36th bridge is a top-notch pickup.
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

CaughtLikeFire said:
why hasn't anyone mentioned the Dimarzio PAF 36th bridge model? the bridge version is wound to a touch under 9k with 42 awg wire and uses an A5 magnet. I bought one on a whim and it's really impressive. very clear and punchy and surprisingly aggressive given it's specs. I'm not usually a Dimarzio fan but the PAF 36th bridge is a top-notch pickup.
Click to expand...

The BKP VHII and Screamin Demon are the hottest vintage winds that I can see being available. The VHII is 9.2 and the SD is 10. They both use the A5 mag....must be the winners.

The Dimarzio 36th Anniversay is supposed to be the VHPAF(Virtual Hot PAF)....but improved.

I have been running the stock schaller Zebra that came in my 84 Baretta....I measure the DC with a Digital Multi Meter and it was like 8.32. It sounds pretty good with the A8 mag in it...but I am thinking it would sound better if it were a little hotter.
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

I have nothing of value to add to this thread, but my head hurts from trying to figure out why magnet is up in the air, but wire gauge isn't.

Best of luck figuring this one out.
 
Re: HOT brigde PAF

BigJoe77 said:
I have nothing of value to add to this thread, but my head hurts from trying to figure out why magnet is up in the air, but wire gauge isn't.

Best of luck figuring this one out.
Click to expand...

It's mostly nonsense. A2 and A5 sound very different in the standard machine-made pickups, sure.

But if you go over a collection boutique pickups you will have a very hard time telling who's A2 and who's A5. The Lollar Imperials in particular are the most mellow sounding pickups I have (mellow as in good mellow, of course I can just kills the highs on something else) and they are (tuned) A5. The Antiquities sound very alive . To be truthful, I cannot even tell you whether my WCR Crossroads has A5 or A2. It should have A5 but the closest other pickups I have are Ant and '78 which are both A2.
 
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