PAF pick ups.

[WhiskeyJack]

Why are PAFs considered to be the gold standard pick up? Versus alternatives that I guess aren't PAF?


Saw this article this morning and the price tag seems exepctedly Gibson gross. Hence my question.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gibson ... dition-set

[Greg_L]

Why are PAFs considered to be the gold standard pick up? Versus alternatives that I guess aren't PAF?

They were the original Gibson humbuckers that came in the earliest guitars like Les Pauls and 335s and SGs and stuff up till about 65-66 or so.

They set the tone...pun intended...for the what humbuckers sound like. To this day they are still generally accepted as the gold standard, even though PAFs themselves varied wildly. They have punch and clarity and sensitivity in a really nice combination. But other pickups are great too. PAFs don't meet everyone's needs. They're pretty mild by today's rock and roll standards.

[Greg_L]

Saw this article this morning and the price tag seems exepctedly Gibson gross. Hence my question.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gibson ... dition-set

That price is stupid but it's not too far off from what custom pickup builders charge for a truly accurate PAF set.

[Lt. Bob]

yeah but lots of good pickup guys make really closely accurate PAF's.
Lollars would be 400 bucks ........ still pricey but not stupidly so. And there are plenty of others.
https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-hu ... -humbucker

I think I'd like some low output PAFs with the clean-based sound I like .... I think they'd work well for that.
I have a couple of gits I'm thinking of changing out p'ups in.

Another p'up I'd like is the Fender Wide-range ..... I had an original Starcaster and those were some freakin' AWEsome p'ups.
Never got them outta my mind.
That's one guitar I really regret not having anymore.

[muttley]

Saw this article this morning and the price tag seems exepctedly Gibson gross. Hence my question.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gibson ... dition-set

That price is stupid but it's not too far off from what custom pickup builders charge for a truly accurate PAF set.

That pricing is way off what I would ever charge. Many winders charge what they can get away with but I would feel like a crook if I charged that much. With the access to pretty accurate replica parts and the actual winding and assembly is well documented and isn't rocket science. I can get a classic PAF done for way less than that. The market is there because there are players with money and young kids who think it will make them sound better.

[muttley]

Why are PAFs considered to be the gold standard pick up? Versus alternatives that I guess aren't PAF?


Saw this article this morning and the price tag seems exepctedly Gibson gross. Hence my question.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gibson ... dition-set

After over 40 years building and making guitars and pups my firm view is that guitar players come in two types. Those that will make a decent noise with what they have and those that think getting as close to whatever their fav rocker used will make them sound and play like that. Truth is that the reality is in the middle of the two, you need decent reliable gear but you also need to spend time and effort on your ears and fingers.

Gerg is correct though, PAF humbucker was the only game in town for a while and it stole a march on all others. Plenty of iconic sounds and tunes were recorded using them and they pretty much self promoted. That is no longer the case.

[Greg_L]

That pricing is way off what I would ever charge. Many winders charge what they can get away with but I would feel like a crook if I charged that much. With the access to pretty accurate replica parts and the actual winding and assembly is well documented and isn't rocket science. I can get a classic PAF done for way less than that. The market is there because there are players with money and young kids who think it will make them sound better.

I totally agree. I'm no pickup winder but I know what's inside of them, and so does everyone else, and there's no way a pickup set needs to cost anywhere near quadruple digits.

It's the same with amps. People just clone the classics and charge vintage prices for them because they can.

[WhiskeyJack]

People just clone the classics and charge vintage prices for them because they can.

That's gross though. I don't understand how a person just schill "because they can" and not be worried about the legacy they leave behind you know.

I think i expect too much of people maybe.


Thanks dudes. I was mostly just curious about the math of that article. I knew what a PAF was... i just didn't truly know what established them as like the front runner gold standard pick up.

Will be interesting to keep an eye on comment sections once the review and comparison videos start rolling out.

[muttley]

People just clone the classics and charge vintage prices for them because they can.

That's gross though. I don't understand how a person just schill "because they can" and not be worried about the legacy they leave behind you know.

..............

It's Gibson.

[muttley]

It does look like they come with a nice toiletries bag though so there is that.

[Lt. Bob]

That's gross though. I don't understand how a person just schill "because they can" and not be worried about the legacy they leave behind you know.

..............

It's Gibson.

it's capitalism

[WhiskeyJack]

It's Gibson.

it's capitalism

[Lt. Bob]

well I've been told, ( we do have international folks here and I've never heard them use this term ), but I've heard that outside the US what we do is called extreme capitalism.

[Armistice]

I'd say what the US does is closer to pure capitalism than anywhere else and what the rest of us do are our own versions, through a few filters.

I wouldn't have said extreme capitalism. That can be applied to particular companies perhaps. Mebbe not entire countries.

[Greg_L]

Anyway PAF style pickups do sound good and if you're gonna clone a pickup those are good ones to do.

[Lt. Bob]

Anyway PAF style pickups do sound good and if you're gonna clone a pickup those are good ones to do.

like I said, I'm betting they'll work real well with clean sounds which is sorta where I live

[muttley]

I'd say what the US does is closer to pure capitalism than anywhere else and what the rest of us do are our own versions, through a few filters.

I wouldn't have said extreme capitalism. That can be applied to particular companies perhaps. Mebbe not entire countries.

Post Thatcher what we have practiced here is mostly monetarism. Most of the larger projects are government driven sponsored by private investment and gov bonds. The rest is left to the money markets.

All the definitions aside, I stand by my original comment. When you buy a Gibson product 80% of it is the brand. They are not alone, for many idiots, nothing but the "name" will do it.

[muttley]

Anyway PAF style pickups do sound good and if you're gonna clone a pickup those are good ones to do.

Thing is, as I'm sure you know, that has been done to death already. There isn't really anything more to add. Anything more to improve. There isn't really anything more to know.

[Greg_L]

Thing is, as I'm sure you know, that has been done to death already. There isn't really anything more to add. Anything more to improve. There isn't really anything more to know.

I agree and guitars and amps have been that way for decades now. That's why brands like Gibson and Fender and Marshall rely on bluetooth speakers and lifestyle products and rehashing their classics because they haven't been innovative since the 70s. They can't. Their own success in the glory days has limited them to being only that now. The majority of stuff that we as musicians generally go for was perfected in the 50s 60s and 70s. Everyone wants a Deluxe Reverb. No one wants a Fender M-80.

[WhiskeyJack]

Anyway PAF style pickups do sound good and if you're gonna clone a pickup those are good ones to do.

like I said, I'm betting they'll work real well with clean sounds which is sorta where I live

I've watched a few videos now of guys doing some paf stuff and in the clean world they seem pretty cool. The touch response was really cool. I can see the appeal of that to clean players for sure.