LP neck PAF sound

[madguitar26]

whats a gibson les paul PAF neck pickup suposed to sound like?
im talkin about the traditional tones not the souped up better than stock ones.
gibson 57 reissue,490r,pearly gates?
it aint the a2pro for sure tooo dam dark on my les paul.not that i dont like it but i think i took the wrong direction from the sound in my head(LP´s with 490´s)just wanted to try a duncan insteed of a gibson.
any thoughts?

 

[JeffB]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

IMO the BB Pro neck and the BB1 do the best/classic les paul neck sound (57 classic is good too) from pups I've tried in recent years.

In Duncans line, I'm surprised the AP didn't work well...thats usually a great neck pup in a paula, and would probably be my first choice in A2. 59s work well but they lack a bit of mids and can get a little tubby. In some paulas they just don't sound right...in others they are absolutely perfect. I've had them ina few of mine (as well as my heritage and some other Gibsons) and have always been happy with them, but not necc totally satisfied depending on the individual instrument

I'd say go Seth or PG from duncan for your axe..they will give ya a bit more mids like the BB1/BB Pro and they are toppier than the AP.

 

[Tweed]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Antiquities.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Seth Lover or Antiquity. Doesn't get any more "real" or "authentic" then that.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

There is no one "paf" tone...pafs from the 50's could have alnico 2, 4 or 5 for the magnets. But I think the alnico 2 magnet is the one that I associate with classic 50's paf tone...even though by 1959 Gibson was using alnico 5 in alot of them.

I think the Alnico 2 Seth Lover and Antiquity are the two Duncans that remind me the most of the old pafs from the 50's I've owned.

They have more mids and less bass than the Duncan 59 which can sound excellant or a little tubby as someone just said.

The Jazz is not really a copy of any paf, but it's an excellant neck humbucker too.

I think my favorite Duncan Neck paf type pickups would be:

1. Antiquity
2. Seth Lover
3. Alnico 2 Pro
4. Pearly Gates

All of those are alnico 2 pickups and all of them have alot of the tone of the 50's pafs.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

IMHO, the Pearly Gates is THE pickup to have in a LP's neck slot.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

NOTHING beats a Tim Shaw PAF (IMO of course). They came stock in the early 80's Gibson Heritage 80 LP's and they sound amazing. I've got one in my 01' Std that was re-wound by Wolftone pickups. The thing just floors me everytime I use it.

 

[RobD]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Seth Lover works great for me.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Seths are cool but I am liking the PG in the neck position. It has the cut/clarity in the highs of a 59 but doesn't have the boomy bass the 59 tend to have in the neck slot. These days the 59b/PGn is a fave combo for me.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Seths are cool but I am liking the PG in the neck position. It has the cut/clarity in the highs of a 59 but doesn't have the boomy bass the 59 tend to have in the neck slot. These days the 59b/PGn is a fave combo for me.

Agree about the PG/59B combo...I had that in one of my Strats for a long time. I'm trying a neck A2Pro in that guitar...but I may go back to the PGn again. Lew

 

[toneseeker]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

NOTHING beats a Tim Shaw PAF (IMO of course). They came stock in the early 80's Gibson Heritage 80 LP's and they sound amazing. I've got one in my 01' Std that was re-wound by Wolftone pickups. The thing just floors me everytime I use it.

Is that pickup wound back to standard specs, or did you have Wolfe wind it another way?
Everyone I know that has any of his pickups love them, no matter which wind they have.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Well...if you're going to be talking about pickups other than Seymour's, IMO it's hard to beat the Tom Holmes humbuckers I have in my Les Paul. And the Lindy Fralin 7.5K neck humbucker is the clearest and most articulate neck humbucker I've ever used...but it's alnico 4 and dosn't really sound like any paf I've owned.

 

[gripweed]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

There is no one "paf" tone...pafs from the 50's could have alnico 2, 4 or 5 for the magnets. But I think the alnico 2 magnet is the one that I associate with classic 50's paf tone...even though by 1959 Gibson was using alnico 5 in alot of them.

I think the Alnico 2 Seth Lover and Antiquity are the two Duncans that remind me the most of the old pafs from the 50's I've owned.

They have more mids and less bass than the Duncan 59 which can sound excellant or a little tubby as someone just said.

The Jazz is not really a copy of any paf, but it's an excellant neck humbucker too.

I think my favorite Duncan Neck paf type pickups would be:

1. Antiquity
2. Seth Lover
3. Alnico 2 Pro
4. Pearly Gates

All of those are alnico 2 pickups and all of them have alot of the tone of the 50's pafs.

I agree about the Jazz. Most PAF copies are a little too tubby for me. The Jazz has enough of that PAF vibe, and yet it cures a lot of those problems that are in the PAF copies. I don't think a vintage guy (like myself) would have any problems putting a Jazz in the neck. I like the Jazz in the neck of my Paul the more I play it.

The 7.5 Fralin is without a doubt my fav neck humbucker. The Jazz is a close second. I agree with Lew about that PAF sound -- the Fralin is similar to the Jazz in that it is very articulate and not tubby. Don't buy it if you're looking for an accurate PAF tone though.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

My favorite PAF neck clones (in the right wood) are:

Rolph's 7.80K 59 Pretender
Tim White's 7.95K Timbucker
Duncan Antiquity 7.50K
Duncan Antiqyity 7.70K with a3 magnet
8.00K PGb in the neck (stock a2 magnet)
7.50K 59n with an a4 magnet

B

 

[gripweed]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

My favorite PAF neck clones (in the right wood) are:

Rolph's 7.80K 59 Pretender
Tim White's 7.95K Timbucker
Duncan Antiquity 7.50K
Duncan Antiqyity 7.70K with a3 magnet
8.00K PGb in the neck (stock a2 magnet)
7.50K 59n with an a4 magnet

B

Doc,
Have you ever tried an a4 in the PG neck?

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Yes I did. I did not like the results tho. That texas sizzle (that uppermid hump) became too dominant, and the tone ended up being like a HB version of a fender texas special single coil pickup. If that's your thing, by all means go for it. It would be better than a PGn with an a5, because the bass sort of gets too into your face kinda dominant (a la 59s).

I love PG's with a3s and a2s in the neck (while whether or not I go with an a2 or a3 depends on the particular guitar). I love both a2 PGbs and a5 PGs (=PG+'s) even though I think they sound quite different. Soft spongy bass versus that tight attack on the bass with clarity.

B

 

[Big Blue]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Originally Posted by madguitar26
whats a gibson les paul PAF neck pickup suposed to sound like?
im talkin about the traditional tones not the souped up better than stock ones.
gibson 57 reissue,490r,pearly gates?

I've been trying to find something more PAF-ish to replace the 490R and 498T in my '93 LP Std. for a while now, and yesterday I finally ended up ordering an APH for the neck and a '59 for the bridge. I don't have the pups yet, but my research led me to believe that if the APH is too dark for your guitar, then the '59 may be a better fit. If I don't like the APH, I'm putting a '59 in the bridge.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

Is that pickup wound back to standard specs, or did you have Wolfe wind it another way?
Everyone I know that has any of his pickups love them, no matter which wind they have.

yeah...I'm pretty sure he would it close to the original specs.

 

[madguitar26]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

would there be any improved fatness upgrading from the a2pro to a pearly gates?

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: LP neck PAF sound

would there be any improved fatness upgrading from the a2pro to a pearly gates?

No, in my experience (and opinion) the APH is noticably fatter than the PG in either the neck or the bridge.