Real PAF's in a Historic ?

[Oranjeaap]

Where do all these paf's come from anyway?

 

[wizard1183]

Where do all these paf's come from anyway?

Customs, byrdlands, Es-335s ect. Not JuST LPs

 

[teleboli]

ES175's.......

 

[Sharky]

Customs, byrdlands, Es-335s ect. Not JuST LPs

this and aftermarket/replacement parts too. Hell, I wrote this a 1000 times, but in the late 70s/early 80s, I saw boatloads of real PAFs flying out of Bursts, ESes, SGs and other vintage guitars into the luthier's drawer (if he was some kind of intelligent) DiMarzio, Bill Lawrence e.a. were the way to go. This plus a friggin brass nut

 

[Darkburst]

I've compared one of my R9's with two replicas loaded with real PAFs. I'd say any of the top tier boutique guys sound just as good... Wizz, Throbak, OX4, Wolfetone etc. My R9 was loaded with Wizz at the time.

 

[rogue3]

I use to feel that way but over my years of playing and owning so many different guitars I've found that acoustic properties with electrics really mean nothing IMO.

To me with electrics it's more about how the individual guitar interacts with the wood it's made of over how it resonates acoustically.

Couldn't agree more.There is an effect on the way the strings vibrate by the wood,and the construction...which the pickups read from the vibrating strings.But not acoustically.Whether its a sound you like or not...let your ears decide.

If you like sitting around and noodling on the couch, sans amp, then you might factor in how it sounds acoustically...but that's a very limited application in my world

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I have access to a pair of '59/'60 (likely '60 ) black bobbin PAF's with same year untouched wiring harness.
I'm trying to decide whether to put them in a LP or sell. I've done a lot of research on this and there's much differing opinion for various reasons.
Anyway, just wondering who's had great results doing this and from those who feel the boutiques are close enough etc.
No biggie. Just something to discuss.

If it sounds good... do it!

 

[JimmyAce2006]

I had three sets in 3 different Historics. All sounded great. Better than the stock pickups. But not so much better to justify the price, at least not for me.


.......

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Any guitar, electric or acoustic, is a synergistic system -- fingers, strings, wood, build-quality, amp, effects, and so on.

Give it a shot and see what happens, I say.

 

[teleboli]

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts. The other thing one of my techs reminded me of was that you'd need to re-solder when re-installing. They're undisturbed at the moment. Too bad about that but necessary I suppose.

After hearing even more opinions via this thread I think the only way to know for sure is to try them.

 

[jcsk8]

You never heard them or had them installed on any guitar? I won´t bet they´ll sound much better than top´s repros, but I wouldn´t forgive myself if i didn´t try them.
If magical, keep if money isn´t needed. If don´t sell.

 

[vortexx]

I went through a bunch of sets of vintage PAFs. Most were excellent. A few were average and one was poor. I did have a set that I was keeping that I think sounded better than anything else I've tried. Part of the PAF thing is that I like them to be slightly microphonic, so in that case wood does matter. The problem is that before you find some magical ones, I can say you'll likely go through a few. They often still sound great though, but nothing like the best. The strange thing is that even though I'm a vintage or boutique pickup guy, I love the Gibson Custom Buckers that came in my 2016 R8. They don't sound like any real PAFs that I tried but I like them for their own sound.
You should definitely try them before deciding to sell. You may have at least one great one.

 

[unlisted]

Where’s the value in a PAF? It’s in the anticipated sound. PAF’s will be worth something just for that, and while aftermarket pups may be more consistent sounding, the synergy of the whole setup will let you know if it’s magical or not. If you want to place them in a drawer and hope the price goes up based upon the anticipated sound, sure, but to know if you hit the tonal jackpot you’ll need to try them.

 

[lessdrop]

always made me wonder. People shell out big money buying RIs, booteek PUPs, while a nice vintage amp can be had for much less. I paid around 1k USD for my 1961 Tweed Champ and it sounds dripping sweet as honey. I bought the EC Tweed Champ RI before and returned it right away. Totally disappointing in my book. Was even 200 Euros more expensive than the real deal. Do your math

Howdy! I bought an EC champ and.didn't.really care.for the tone also. Then I thought(duh) here is this beautiful hand wired amp in a very.nice wood cab, and it hums and sounds iffy, but I paid no attention to the tubes. After some research and removing the tumorous stock tubes, put some tube store preferred series pre-amp and a tung sol 6v6 in the right holes, this is my favorite amp, the "go too" choice in a room full of very nice amps. Thank God I gave I a chance!
Thanks for listening to my long winded ramblings about my little friend! Had to share the joy.
Lessdrop

 

[alnico59]

I went through a bunch of sets of vintage PAFs. Most were excellent. A few were average and one was poor. I did have a set that I was keeping that I think sounded better than anything else I've tried. Part of the PAF thing is that I like them to be slightly microphonic, so in that case wood does matter. The problem is that before you find some magical ones, I can say you'll likely go through a few. They often still sound great though, but nothing like the best. The strange thing is that even though I'm a vintage or boutique pickup guy, I love the Gibson Custom Buckers that came in my 2016 R8. They don't sound like any real PAFs that I tried but I like them for their own sound.
You should definitely try them before deciding to sell. You may have at least one great one.

Bingo!

The guy who is winding mine is pretty well known, but not particularly with PAF's. And he's too busy with the other things to go in deeper. A run here and there. Kind of makes them even more special. And yes, they have that slightly microphonic quality to them.

 

[vintageguitarz]

I have late 70's, early 80's Les Paul Standards with original non-PAFs and a 2016 RI LP 2-HB "Custom" with "new" factory PAF's. I have the best PAF "copies" from Seymour Duncan in a '90 LP Std and NONE of them sound anywhere are good as my 1962 all original Les Paul Custom (SG Style) with 3-PAF's. It's a rare guitar with an even more rare honey sweet sound. Yeah, give me a PAF any day and those who Poo-poo PAF are just jealous they don't have a vintage LP with real PAF's in it.

 

[bblooz]

I am fortunate to have a pair of early PAT # sticker PUs in my 335, but Throbaks & OX4s is a couple Historics. Hard to gauge which is better. They all sound great. I would try them first, but make sure you're comparing to a comparable setup as stated before (i.e. boutique PUs, top quality pots, PIO caps, etc.). You may want to hang on to them, just in case you happen to acquire a genuine vintage LP someday that someone has modded and just needs the right parts to make it whole again. Regardless, let us know how it works out - and post some samples of your test results.

 

[BBD]

I use to feel that way but over my years of playing and owning so many different guitars I've found that acoustic properties with electrics really mean nothing IMO.

I've had so many acoustically dead sounding guitars that were amazing plugged in and so many great acoustically resonant guitars that sounded poorly plugged in, I've pretty much dismissed that theory all together.

Just my preference but to me how a electric sounds acoustically doesn't always translate through amplification.

IMO the only way to tell if it's great or not is to plug it in.

For me some of the acoustically deadest sounding guitars have been monsters plugged in.

To me with electrics it's more about how the individual guitar interacts with the wood it's made of over how it resonates acoustically.

Completely different animal compared to a actual acoustic guitar.

+1

I've had so many acoustically dead sounding guitars that were amazing plugged in and so many great acoustically resonant guitars that sounded poorly plugged in, I've pretty much dismissed that theory all together.

As you should, because it's a counterfactual. Acoustical resonance on an electric means that energy is being lost from the vibrating string to the body way too efficiently. This means that the amplitude of string vibration above the pickups is rapidly reduced, which reduces loudness and sustain through an amp.

As you have discovered for yourself:

For me some of the acoustically deadest sounding guitars have been monsters plugged in.

But if I had a penny for every time someone's told me that such-and-such a guitar is great because acoustical resonance I'd be a happy bunny indeed...