The search for the perfect PAF continues.

[CarlosG]

i find the split paf useful for live stuff at times. i usually have the amp turned up enough that, while it does thin out, it isnt too bright or weak. thats not always the case of course.

I Has great results with partial split coil (between 1-2k resistor)

 

[marcello252]

36th are to me like Aspartame compared to sugar.

wow, you actually visualized the exact feeling I got using the 36ths

 

[marcello252]

IMHO , reading the OP needs, he should try some PAF like PU with a A4 magnet , I have for example a Tonerider which comes with that magnet with all the good quality of a '59 and some useful added mids too, sometimes A4 PAF are considered 'flat', I tend to classify them 'even' instead.

 

[hamerfan]

There perfectly fine PAF offerings on the market:
1. The Suhr DSV. I had a DSV neck for a short time, it was great.
2. Zhangbucker offers for all his humbuckers the Sweet Heat option.

 

[ErikH]

IMO, IME, can't go wrong with a set of 59's for all that. They can be aggressive and they can be sweet. Need a little warmer, roll back the tone knob a little bit.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I think '59's are a good starting point. They're good-sounding all-around. You can realize what works from there and what you want to change. Sadly, you can do all the research you want, and that should throw you in the ballpark, but it's when you try different pickups out that you realize whar works for you and what doesn't.

 

[beaubrummels]

For the OP, sounds like the Green Magic set would be the place to start - that is the PAF Gary Moore had.
Pearly Gates are bright and have a bit more and a tighter low end than a 59 IME. You can't go by the magnet to guess what a pickup sounds like.

For me, there are still PAFs I haven't tried, like ThroBak, some Bare Knuckle offerings, Lollar, Sheptone, etc.

Of the PAFs or PAF variants/offshoots I have experience with I really liked the following:
BareKnuckle Black Dog bridge, 59/A4 neck (favorite so far)
​​Brobucker bridge, Seth neck
Gibson Custombuckers
Duncan Skinnerburst
Jazz set
59 neck in the bridge, Jazz neck (closer to T-Top than PAF, but does the job really well)

 

[ErikH]

Ya know, if the OP wants a "little" more than what the 59's set has output wise, the Whole Lotta Humbucker set would probably be about perfect.

 

[Hank-]

I Has great results with partial split coil (between 1-2k resistor)

The way PRS does theirs in the DGT model.

I haven't had great results with it though in getting SC tones but I did have good results in aiming for P90 tones with specific value resistors for specific pickups.

Are you sure its not the LP P90 tone thats in your head but are attempting to achieve it with HBs instead?

 

[Mincer]

Ya know, if the OP wants a "little" more than what the 59's set has output wise, the Whole Lotta Humbucker set would probably be about perfect.

Also, the Saturday Night Special. I generally use PAF-type pickups and if I need 'more', I use a boost pedal.

 

[freefrog]

Perhaps I will digress a bit.
I have read several times on the forum that Custom/59 Hybrid, has higher power, but still has dynamic.
Does this mean it has more power and dynamic range like PAF, or does it lose dynamic?

Delayed answer to this specific question: the Custom coil has twice more resistance and inductance than the other. How would the whole pickup react in the same way than a 59?
Electrically, the Custom coil is 2dB louder than the other. But it has a slower response, as expected (by me, at least).
So and not surprisingly, the whole pickup is half way between a P.A.F. clone and a Custom when it comes to DCR, inductance, resonant frequency, EQing and... "dynamics".

It's certainly a valid option, that said. Recently, I had to deal with an Explorer that its acoustic resonance was making terribly picky with transducers : normal neck HB's were systematically muddy, normal bridge HB's were all too thin and bright.

A covered Hybrid fulfilled the needs of this guitar in bridge position - albeit it was not easy to find the "good" magnet: I had to try half a dozen of bar mags and finally selected a low gaussed RC A5. The pickup as it is now has not much more power than a P.A.F. clone. It's mainly a bit bassier in chords and more mid focused in single notes.

To make it sonically closer to a P.A.F. clone on request, I've paired it with a custom home made inductive / resistive filter : this filter lowers the inductance and resistance of the Hybrid through a TBX pot and gives slightly less output. Hence a cleaner sound, in the P.A.F. fashion. But not quite like the covered boutique P.A.F. clones that I've in other guitars, of course: those keep having more chime without harshness and this nice "ping" that I identify as a trait of "perfect P.A.F. clones" (if such a thing exists).

Good luck again in your quest but I'd stop speculating if I was in your situation: I'd just order a pickup, I'd try it, and would return it if it doesn't work. Then I'd rinse and repeat until it works...

Do what you want and be happy.

 

[Supernautilus]

I agree with votes for the 59. And I have come to realize the perfect PAF for me is a 59 UOA5. I put one in the bridge of an Epi LP and it's just, well...perfect. It can do literally everything, and do it well. Absolute goat of a pickup.