Opinions on DiMarzio PAF 36th Aniv. model

[knh6sn7]

I have a excellent example of a 59 Les Paul re-issue, and it came with classic 57's. I liked the sound of it, but I had the opportunity to compaire it to a real 58 les paul. I went back and forth between the guitars, and the difference was noticeable. The 58 with the real PAF's were smoother, and had a nice bite to them that was mising with the classic 57's. Keep in mind, I was happy with my guitar, but after the compairison, I wanted to get new pickups to try to close the gap between the two guitars. I ended up getting the burstbuckers. a 1 in the neck, and a 2 in the bridge. I didn't look into any other brand, because, quite frankly, most of the aftermarket pickup mfgs have so many choices, I am confused. This brings me to the issue at hand. I liked the sound of the burstbuckers, but I have recently notice two problems. One is that because the burstbuckers are un-potted, I get a nasty squeel when I have my Mesa Mk IV in its high gain modes, and I am too close (I play in small areas, no arena's unfortunatly!), and I have another Les Paul Custom Classic (that I love) with classic 57's, and they are cleaner, distort beautifly when driven, and don't squeel like the burst buckers. I have since sold the classic 57's that came out of the 59 re-issue, and quite franlky, I want to have something a little different from the custom classic. I read something about the Dimarzio PAF 36th Aniv. model, and I went to their site, and was quite impressed at what I read about it, but before I buy them, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them, and if they are what they seem to be, modern replicas that acheive the tone of a good example of a real 59. Thanks

[gmacdonnell]

Welcome to the forum!

This has actually been covered a quite a bit. Here are some threads with a lot of info and opinions:

Larry DiMarzio's 36th Anniversary PAF

Guitar World reveiws The DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary

Dimarzio Anniversary PAF???????????


I think you'll find what you're looking for in those.

They're very nice pickups, and would likely be a nice improvement over your '57 Classics or Burstbuckers.
But no set of pickups will be able to make a new guitar sound like a 50's Burst, (unfortunately.)
They will, however, get you a bit closer.

And again, welcome!

[5F6-A]

Originally Posted by gmacdonnell

But no set of pickups will be able to make a new guitar sound like a 50's Burst, (unfortunately.)

exactly... no pickup can do that unfortunately as macG has pointed out so wisely.

A good LP ( not necesarily a historic though ) with a set of SD VL PAFs will get you real close though.

[gmacdonnell]

Originally Posted by 5F6-A

A good LP ( not necesarily a historic though ) with a set of SD VL PAFs will get you real close though.

You mean these?

You Tube

You Tube

Stephens Design Vintage Lab vs Paf (Video Demo) G0 vs. '60 Burst
Scary, huh?

knh6sn7, what you're going to find is there are literally dozens of pickups that aim to get you closer to that 50's Burst sound. Most are good, some are great. The price ranges from about $75 a pickup, to about $250 a pickup.

It all depends what you want to spend, and what sounds best to you.
Personally, I think the Stephens Designs are really close to the real thing. Will Boggs, (WB Pickups,) is also winding some incredible stuff.

But the 36th Anniversaries are great too, probably one of Dimarzio's best pickups. If you want to keep the price down, they're one of the best choices, and imho, a very significant improvement over the Gibson humbuckers.

Around the same price as the Dimarzio's, Kevin Taylor, (Guitar Force Pickups,) has a promotional deal on some hand made pickups: $125 a set. ($155 for covers.) They come in a few different choices of output and magnets, and they sound fantastic and are very well built. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...%3D4%26ps%3D10

I'd suggest looking at all of those, and then making a decision for what you think suits your guitar and playing best. Good luck!

[knh6sn7]

Thank for the input, it was really helpful. I ordered a DP103 and a DP223, both with cream coils, and vintage bobbins. BTW, I always thought the exposed cream coils looked cool. My first set of aftermarket pickups were a set of dimarzios in a Les Paul standard in the late 70's. They were a Super Distortion in the bridge, and a PAF in the neck. I really didn't know that much about the pickups, other than, 1- they looked cool, and 2- how can you go wrong with a name like "Super Distortion"!!! Anyway, thanks again for the input, and I will post some comments when I install them.

[gmacdonnell]

Originally Posted by knh6sn7

Thank for the input, it was really helpful. I ordered a DP103 and a DP223, both with cream coils, and vintage bobbins. BTW, I always thought the exposed cream coils looked cool. My first set of aftermarket pickups were a set of dimarzios in a Les Paul standard in the late 70's. They were a Super Distortion in the bridge, and a PAF in the neck. I really didn't know that much about the pickups, other than, 1- they looked cool, and 2- how can you go wrong with a name like "Super Distortion"!!! Anyway, thanks again for the input, and I will post some comments when I install them.

Sounds great. Double-creams definitely are nice lookers...
Think you'll really enjoy them; Steve Blucher's a pretty amazing pickup designer.

[Saiko]

I love the DiMarzio PAFs myself and am just waiting to get an R8 or R9 to put some in!

[Josh9114]

Hey guys. Ive been reading threads on this site for a while now trying to get all the info I can on the different kinds of pups that will give me the sound im looking for. I was thinking about the gibson burstbuckers 1,2,3 and pros for a while but ive read some not too flattering reviews on them. I am looking for a versitle, wide range tone from a 4 conductor wiring pick up so I can coil split. The sound I want is like '70s zeppelin and rolling stones but as much as I do want the thinner, treble, lead guitar sound, I also want to have clear cleans and a smooth, creamy sound. Having a good tone and 4conductor wiring for coil splitting is a necessity. Looks are not. I would like as many opinions on which pups will suit me best and get as close to the sound I want. Also if anyone has any experience with gibson burstbuckers 1,2,3 and pros as well as dimarzio tone zones, paf pro and paf joes id love to get your take on them. Thank you very much for all info/opinions given.

[Eggman]

Howdy,

I'm pleased with the 36th Anni PAF in the bridge of my 335. My neck P/U is an Air Classic, btw. The 36th is "middy" and fairly powerful for a vintage voiced bucker. Together these two P/Us allow me to cover alot of ground and with the bonus of enhanced touch sensitivity.

[Bezore]

Originally Posted by Josh9114

....Also if anyone has any experience with gibson burstbuckers 1,2,3 and pros as well as dimarzio tone zones, paf pro and paf joes id love to get your take on them. Thank you very much for all info/opinions given.

Well I got started on my quest for better tone by not being happy with the BB1. I want a really clear clean sound that works with the output tubes driving compression, being real close to breakup, but still clean based on touch.

I really like the 36th Anniv. in the bridge so far. It's not the neck tone I was looking for. But in the bridge it really works well. If you're going to buy one to try out, I would recommend that one. I like the SD Antiquity in the neck best so far. I tried a Pearly Gates, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. OK, but loose in the bass. I want some articulation on the low strings in the neck and it wasn't there. A good sound overall, but not what I'm looking for.

Seth Lover in the bridge is really similar to that Dimarzio, except it's a bit more open on the top (from being unpotted perhaps). The Dimarzio sounds more "together" in a good way.

The Seth Lover comes with 4 conductor wiring. The DM didn't but I bought the covered model, I think uncovered is available as 4 conductor.

best of luck...

[logen99999]

i dont think the 36th anns are much of an upgrade from the burstbuckers, i personally did not like them. in fact i liked the seymour duncans more.

if you arer unhappy with gibsons pickups some of the low priced boutique pickups may be the way to go.

[Ed hunter]

It is a good pu as is the duncan 59,SD VL,throbak,MHD, etc but really YOU have to be the final judge. this is why duncan dimarzio and a few others have the 30 day return or exchange policy so YOU can hear the model in your own gear,guys like me here can tell you "oh yeah it is great yada yada yada" but really until you actually try it you will never really know

[Lowdown]

Give THESE a go...

[choppedcadillac]

good luck on your search...I spent so much money trying different things out i finally bought vintage pafs....although im pleased with what i got, im to the conclusion that stock pickups are just fine....

[exPFCWintergreen]

Originally Posted by Saiko

I love the DiMarzio PAFs myself and am just waiting to get an R8 or R9 to put some in!

Why? Why would you buy a guitar built to historic specifications, then de-historic it?

[Cpt_Gonzo]

Well, you can buy them with the correct baseplate, correct Bobbin shape (well not 100% correct, yeah...) and single conductor cable. E-e spacing is right on the "vintage bobbins" aswell so you could even fit an aftermarket cover.

[stargroves]

I just put a set in my 2012 trad+. I love the way the classic 57's sound, don't get me wrong, just a little "modern" sounding (I did not know till I did the swap that the trad has a 57+ in the bridge - I thought these past few months that they were just standard 57 classics). The 36th is an amazing pickup. I put a standard spaced 103/223 set in and I was up all night playing. The standard spacing is a perfect fit. My 57 covers are a perfect match if I wanna go back to nickel. With all the "to boutique or not boutique" goin on in forums, I was sweating the purchase. I needn't have.
These pickups deliver.

[politenessman]

Originally Posted by Josh9114

Hey guys. Ive been reading threads on this site for a while now trying to get all the info I can on the different kinds of pups that will give me the sound im looking for. I was thinking about the gibson burstbuckers 1,2,3 and pros for a while but ive read some not too flattering reviews on them. I am looking for a versitle, wide range tone from a 4 conductor wiring pick up so I can coil split. The sound I want is like '70s zeppelin and rolling stones but as much as I do want the thinner, treble, lead guitar sound, I also want to have clear cleans and a smooth, creamy sound. Having a good tone and 4conductor wiring for coil splitting is a necessity. Looks are not. I would like as many opinions on which pups will suit me best and get as close to the sound I want. Also if anyone has any experience with gibson burstbuckers 1,2,3 and pros as well as dimarzio tone zones, paf pro and paf joes id love to get your take on them. Thank you very much for all info/opinions given.

bareknuckle blackdog in bridge and mule in neck.

[Josh9114]

I want to thank everybody very much for the info. It's been very helpful. I think im gonna go ahead and get the 36th anniversary pair and put the 103 in tge neck position, the 223 in the middle position and im gonna get the norton 160 for the bridge to start out and see where that gets me. Now since this will be my first time doing a pup swap I am wondering what else about the electronics I need to change to make this work. I have an epiphone black beauty '97 im putting these into and I was wondering since its not coil split as is do I need to change the stock pots to make it coil splittable? And since its a different brand and all shoul I change them anyway? Also I was told that since the string spacing is above 53mm on the bridge & 43mm on the neck I should get f spaced pickups for those positions. So should I also get an f spaced pup for the middle?

[2001standard]

Thje Dimarzio 36ths will get you all sorts of great tones.

ZZtop, Led zepp, Santana etc...

They do lots of things well and for the price can't be beat.
But you also may want to upgrade pots.
I'd go RS Guitar works for the volume pots.
they have a special taper and worth the money bigtime!!!

Good luck, I had the 36ths and they were Great.

I switched to Lindy Fralin Pure PAFS and they are also Fantastic Pickups!!!

David

[Ed hunter]

Originally Posted by gmacdonnell

You mean these?
Stephens Design Vintage Lab vs. Paf Demo (close mic only) - YouTube
Stephens Design Vintage Lab vs Paf (Video Demo) G0 vs. '60 Burst
Scary, huh?

OH no you didnt! Now i HAVE TO buy these!

[Ed hunter]

Originally Posted by gmacdonnell

Around the same price as the Dimarzio's, Kevin Taylor, (Guitar Force Pickups,) has a promotional deal on some hand made pickups: $125 a set. ($155 for covers.) They come in a few different choices of output and magnets, and they sound fantastic and are very well built. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...%3D4%26ps%3D10

His work is OUTSTANDING! i have a eruptor model by him and it is amazing!

[Ed hunter]

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