PAF Guitar Pickups: How to choose the right P.A.F. for your guitar

ThroBak PAF Repro in vintage ES-335.

Choosing the Right PAF Guitar Pickup for You
The PAF (Patent Applied For) guitar pickup has become one of the most iconic guitar pickups for players that want the classic tones associated with the 1950's / 1960's golden era of Gibson electric guitars. The right PAF or P.A.F. reproduction can bring your guitar to life in a manner that’s both vintage and versatile. However, with a plethora of choices for PAF repros and the variable nature of vintage PAF pickups, how do you select the one tailored for you? ThroBak Electronics makes a wide variety of  vintage PAF reproduction pickups to cover the needs of all players. The guide below will help you choose the right PAF pickups for your guitar. 

1. Understand Your Sound: Before diving into specs, understand the sound you're aiming for. Are you chasing the tone of a favorite artist, a specific year of Les Paul, SG or ES-335, a specific genre of music, or are you looking for the most versatile set of pickups for a single guitar? These details help us here at ThroBak guide you to pickups you and your guitar.
2. Machine wound or Hand Wound?: If you are seeking vintage PAF pickup tone then there is only one correct answer to this question. All vintage PAF pickup were machine wound, none were hand wound from Gibson, ever. The machine winding process is integral to the tone and character of a PAF pickup. We here at ThroBak feel so strongly about the importance of machine winding that we wind all of our PAF repro pickups on 50's era machines as originally used to wind PAF pickups at Gibson inthe 1950's. Click here for more details. P.A.F. pickups need to be machine wound in our opinion.
3. Magnet Type: Vintage PAF pickups came with either Alnico 2, 4, 5 magnets and in rare case Alnico 3. If this is your first PAF pickup repro purchase, we suggest choosing a pickup with either an Alnico 2 or alnico 5 magnets. These are the two magnets most widely used in the vintage PAF era. Alnico 2 gives a pleasing compressed pick attack, slightly scooped mids, with sweet highs and a warm, full low end. Alnico 5 has a faster attack and a more mid dominant EQ and a punchier overall character than Alnico 2. Within the grades of Alnico 2 and 5, ThroBak also offers several different versions of Alnico to fine tune the pickup tone for each model, but the above descriptions still apply with these variations of Alnico magnets. Alnico 4 is also a popular choice and it falls somewhere between Alnico 2 and Alnico 5 in tonal profile.
4. Output Level: Vintage PAF pickups and high quality repros are generally considered low to medium output when compared to more modern humbucking pickup designs. Pickup resistance reading is a generally accepted way of determining the output of a P.A.F. pickup. Lower resistance readings of 7.3k to 7.9k are associated with more clarity and more headroom with a low wattage amp. Medium to higher resistance readings of 8.0k to 8.9k are associated with a fatter tone that drives a lower wattage amp into distortion more quickly. In rare cases PAF pickups can be found in the 9.0k range and these pickups are considered high output and are useful for the player that wants the most aggressive PAF tone possible. For many players a mix of a 7.6k to 7.9K neck pickup with a 8.0k to 8.8k bridge pickup balances the tone and out nicely for lead and rhythm work. However this combination of resistance specs is by no means a hard and fast rule for PAF pickups and repros. Many vintage guitars have a neck pickup of a higher resistance than the bridge pickup and they sound amazing. At ThroBak our pickups are sold in pairs and are matched to balance well with pickup height adjustment regardless of resistance. Mixing and matching of different pickups can potentially create a balance problem between neck and bridge positions. We advise buying matched pairs of PAF pickups for this reason.
5. Brand and Build Quality: Like with any artisanal and highly crafted item you really do get what you pay for and PAF pickups are no exception. Vintage Gibson original PAF's are at the top of the price scale and out of reach of most players. Buying a vintage PAF pickups is also a very risky proposition with many listings on Reverb and Ebay being intentionally faked to deceive the the non-expert buyer. Unfortunately the hunger for PAF reproduction pickups has also created a cottage industry of small one man pickup winding operations that hype their products on forums only to flame out, leaving prepaid customers high and dry with no pickups after months of waiting. The best way to avoid this is to only consider brands that have a history of great customer service over the years. ThroBak is proud to be one of those trusted companies with more that 20 years in business. ThroBak is at the top end of pricing for a PAF reproduction pickup and with good reason. ThroBak offers a 100% USA made P.A.F. reproduction with vintage specs and vintage winding capabilities that are unmatchable by any other pickup maker.
6. Reviews and Recommendations: Lastly make sure you educate yourself before you buy. Check online forums, search videos on youtube. Look at customer reviews and ask your guitar buddies what they like. Often, firsthand experiences from fellow guitarists can be the most insightful.​

In conclusion, the right PAF is out there for every guitarist. By understanding your sound, studying the specs, and educate yourself about what is out there to choose from, you'll find the pickup that resonates with your musical soul. Happy playing!

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