Late 50’s Vintage PAF
This faithful reproduction of a late 1950s PAF aims to capture the iconic tone that has shaped the world of rock music. Its primary goal is historical accuracy, faithfully recreating the sound and experience of the original pickups. While it does have its limitations, it offers a genuine guitar experience that delivers on all expectations.
In terms of tone, it boasts a rich sound with just the right amount of top-end to handle moderate levels of gain. It's a pickup that requires minimal tweaking of amp settings - simply plug in and instantly achieve that classic rock/blues rock sound.
Vintage humbuckers are known for their brightness, thanks to their low resistance, low inductance, and weak magnets. They offer a beautifully balanced tone, although they are not high-output pickups. When you introduce some dirt through amp pushing or pedals, it responds exactly as you would expect, without muddying up your distorted sound.
To maintain transparency, I feel it's important to mention a few limitations of this pickup. Due to popular demand, I’ve now decided to offer a wax potted version of this simply because I get asked so much!
If you choose the unpotted version, there’s potential for microphonic feedback if you push your volume or gain too hard.
Limited choice to black or Ivory bobbins, Nickel poles and covers, Alnico 2 magnets and 49.2mm spacing.
You may need some extra routing if you’re going to put it in a strat style guitar.
Another interesting aspect to consider is the bobbin mismatch, a characteristic that was present in the original 1950s pickups. The screw bobbins had a smaller internal size compared to the slug side, resulting in a longer length of wire on the slug side. This unique design element creates a small section that remains unbucked, producing a subtle hint of high overtone. It's not the same as a handwound humbucker, which can have negative effects. Instead, it adds a sparkling chime that sets it apart from standard humbuckers.
Specs:
Butyrate bobbins (49.2mm spacing)
3/16" mild steel slugs
5/40 UNC mild steel pole screws
Long legged German Silver base
62mm long Alnico 2 bar magnet (neck and bridge pups didn't exist then)
22AWG Metal braided hookup wire.
42 AWG Plain enamel wound just below 8k
Maple spacers
Un-plated german silver cover (if purchased)
Paper coil tape
Resistance- 7.7k (+/-10%)
Inductance- 5.4H
42AWG Plain Enamel wire