What is a PAF pickup?

Re: What is a PAF pickup?

blueman335 said:
Not quite. The resistance on PAF's was pretty wide over the original years, and the range included much higher and lower than 8K.
Click to expand...

Never said 8.00 ...as to the sub-7 and over-9 PAFs, it is my uninformed and extremely biased opinion that these were QC cockups and winders asleep at the wheel (for originals) or misleading exploitation of an unrelated product's reputation by unprincipled marketers for later products advertised as PAFs
 
Re: What is a PAF pickup?

Adieu said:
Cutting to the chase... A PAF IS AN 8k TWO-WIRE (hot & ground) PICKUP WITH ALNICO MAG AND DUAL COILS WIRED FOR HUM CANCELLING.
Click to expand...

Unless my eyesight is failing, it would appear that you did say 8K. As far as the resistence range, original PAF's were 'wound until the coils were full' with no resistence goal, so depending on the pattern and the tension, there was a lot of variation. Gibson wasn't aiming for 8K; that definition came much later. They met the quality control standards at the time and were considered just as valid as any others. They certainly weren't rejected.
 
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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..?
 
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".
 
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
 
Re: What is a PAF pickup?

thespricket said:
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
Click to expand...

^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.
 
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.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
 
Re: What is a PAF pickup?

stringbender11 said:
^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.
Click to expand...

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