HISTORY OF THE PAF - THE MAGIC!!!!!!!!

So that's the components sorted but how does all the magic happen??????????


All of the components inside a humbucker contribute a little of themselves to your tone.

I believe that the biggest part of the paf sound comes from the fact that certain parts of the assembly process did not always have a constant outcome. This is where the beauty of 1950's manufacturing comes in.

Original PAF'S from the 50's can vary massively in terms of their tone and output.

One credible explanation is that the machines Gibson used to wind the coils around the pickup's magnets did not have an automatic cut off, allowing an unknown number of turns. Consequently, the machine's operator would manually stop the process when they judged that it was 'done', most likely by timing the machine, causing some PAFs to have more windings than others.

The tension on the cable was also adjusted by the machine's operator which allowed bobbins to fill up quicker than others. Generally speaking no two coils were the same which means that one side of the pickup could be hotter than the other, making it less efficient at cancelling hum and obviously again changing the tone of the pickup.

Gibson used Alnico magnets in PAFs, the same magnet as used in the P-90. Alnico has several different grades and different magnetic and tonal properties (grades II, III, IV and V are usually used) and Gibson apparently assigned them quite randomly until the end of the era of early PAFs ( roughly 1961 ). The most common of magnet in use though was the Alnico IV, which is backed up by some GIBSON paperwork.

These few facts means that your average PAF pickup could measure at anywhere between 7.0 - 9.5 k ohms and could have been built using any of those grades of magnet.

Obviously having so many variables makes for a problem for pinpointing that PAF sound.

Well chances are, if you use the same materials, the same techniques and used the variables from above, you have got the sound of a PAF that could have been made in the 50s.

Your very own PAF twin, it's just maybe you don't like this one.

HISTORY OF THE PAF - RECIPE FOR A PAF PICKUP

So what makes a paf pickup what it is?

There are many online arguments regarding the subject but I'm only interested in the sound of a vintage paf,
so here's my take on what's needed to replicate the sound of a paf for about four grand less.

Well there's the basic components plus the variables from the manufacturing techniques of the fifties that give each paf its unique voice, so lets start with the basics the raw materials.


COVER-NICKEL SILVER
SLUG COIL POLEPIECES-NICKEL PLATED SOFT IRON
ADJUSTABLE COIL POLEPIECES-NICKEL PLATED SOFT IRON
BOBBINS-BUTYRATE PLASTIC
COILS WOUND WITH-#42 AWG PLAIN ENAMEL WIRE
SPACER-MAPLE
POLE PIECE HOLDER/KEEPER-COLD DRAWN STEEL
ALNICO MAGNET- II/III/IV/V
BASE PLATE-NICKEL SILVER
HOOKUP WIRE-PUSHBACK 2 CONDUCTOR
NOT WAX POTTED

So that's the basic materials covered, so these are the materials I am looking for in my PAF PICKUPS.
Which magnets do I have? Well I don't know yet, more on that later.

HISTORY OF THE PAF – SETH E LOVER THE MAN WITH THE PLAN

The humbucker pickup was invented by Seth E Lover in 1955 whilst he was working for Gibson primarily as a amplifier designer.

Lover worked for Gibson between 1952-1967 as a design engineer and was given the task of sorting out the 60-cycle hum inherent in their P-90 design by the management.

Using his knowledge of amplifiers, Seth Lover realised that by connecting two singlecoil pickups in series and wiring the coils out of phase both electrically and magnetically he could cancel out most of the hum and noise before the signal hit the amplifier. This discovery gave the world the humbucker.

Seth and Gibson applied for the patent of this revolutionary design on june 22nd 1955. The patent wasn’t issued until July 28 1959. Around 1957 Gibson placed a little sticker on the underside of their pickup, the famed “patent applied for” sticker which gave the pickup it's new name - the PAF.

Interestingly Gibson received the patent in 1959 and did not change the patent applied for sticker until roughly 1962 where it now displayed a patent number, not for the pickup but the trapeze tailpiece designed by LES PAUL. No one knows if this was a typo or an attempt to hide their patent from the competition.

So everyone say thank you to Seth E Lover as without him so many classic tones wouldn’t even exist.

VINTAGE GUITAR VINTAGE SONGS!!

Well if like me you struggle with just a tab book for company how about this little gem I stumbled across a few months ago, it's called VANDERBILLY. Basically this is one guys attempt to keep the teaching of music online alive and healthy, you can get to it from my favourite places to go in the side navagation bar.

With so many sites being shut down everyday for providing free tabs and it now being in a giant legal grey area I honestly thought that the teaching of guitar via the internet was dead in the water BUT!! this is the perfect way to work around the problem. Everyone who is a member is able to email a video and if its good enough it might get posted. I find it perfect for brushing up on those tracks you just can't quite get the hang of.

Join up, get involved and help the whole guitar community reap the rewards.

THE GREAT PAF PICKUP

PAF-patent applied for pickups

In my opinion humbucker pickups sound fantastic. When it comes to blues and rock an amazing amount of legendary tones
were created using a paf equipped gibson with almost no help apart from a really loud amp. Just plug in and play anything
from weeping leads to heavy walls of riff all via the same simple machine.
The biggest part of this tone comes from the pickups and the clever manipulation of the controls on the guitar allowing artists to dial in tones, finding sweet spots with volume and tone knobs.
Without the pickups we have very little in the way of sound and the pafs were a brilliant new design which cancelled out all the previous problems with 60-cycle hum, enabling guitarists to turn their rig up a couple more notches and find those magical tones I hear in my head and hope to find when I come to play those well rehearsed riffs I love so much.

So how much of this paf stuff is the real deal? How much does it contribute to my tone? Can I only dial it in on an original paf?

Will nothing else do?

Does a reproduction paf made in almost exactly the same manner even come close?
is it even possible?

I am going to find out what makes it a paf, whether there are any alternatives and try and find out why I should pay £1000 for a set of second-hand pickups without hearing them, in the hope they turn out to be alright?

Reason for my vintage guitar blog

Although I have only been playing guitar for a total of probably 3 years I have found myself sucked into a world which I've personally found all encompassing.

 I can't get enough, it's been constant struggle not to spend all my money and time tracking down rare and desirable guitars, amps and pedals only to find I couldn't afford them even if I sold both of my kidneys.

All was lost, or so I thought until one day I sat down and realised that I can still hit the same tone and dynamics of my favorite artists whilst fiddling around with my basic setup, none of which is vintage, rare or expensive.

So why am I still chasing vintage gear if I can get the sound I want from other gear?????????

Well its like that jumper you should throw out, covered in crap, broken, worn in and so comfortable that you have to put it on because nothing else feels that good. Its all about the feel the vibe you get.

Vintage guitars were made in another time, another world far more exciting than this one, musical genres were being developed and invented, boundaries were being pushed. This gear was part of a revolution and with the simplest tools basic setups pushed to their limits.

Well that's why I like vintage gear, it's all about the feel and the simplicity and that's the reason for my blog.

Getting back to basics, stripping vintage gear back to its bones and trying to discover why and how it does what it does and finding affordable ways to get the same results which I know are possible.