Best Boutique PAF for the Gibson Historic Tone

Niallseroreilly

Have a Les Paul Standard 2013 with BB Pros. I don't mind them, but was wondering if anyone has any experience in changing them out and putting in something a bit more boutique. Any insights.

Ive heard good things about Lindy Fralin Pure PAF.

guitars4you

so many to choose from

Lollar as you mentioned are worth looking at - I find them more crisp - Not thin - almost a single coil snap/clarity about them and more of a 335 voice than LP - open rich smooth and clear

Not tried them yet but Monty p/ups - http://www.montysguitars.com/ - they are getting many rave reviews

Maybe no specific answer and on FB you'll get plenty of suggestions - truth is that until you fit them and like/dislike them, you'll never know

For know other reason that I've not tried them and heard so much fuss about them I'd go down the Monty line - but it is only a hunch

impmann

Mojo

Strat_a_tat_tat

guitars4you said:

so many to choose from

Lollar as you mentioned are worth looking at - I find them more crisp - Not thin - almost a single coil snap/clarity about them and more of a 335 voice than LP - open rich smooth and clear

Not tried them yet but Monty p/ups - http://www.montysguitars.com/ - they are getting many rave reviews

Maybe no specific answer and on FB you'll get plenty of suggestions - truth is that until you fit them and like/dislike them, you'll never know

For know other reason that I've not tried them and heard so much fuss about them I'd go down the Monty line - but it is only a hunch

Mark, how do Throbaks compare with Lollars? (I know you've had a few of each on various Collings)

Adam_MD

Niallseroreilly said:

Have a Les Paul Standard 2013 with BB Pros. I don't mind them, but was wondering if anyone has any experience in changing them out and putting in something a bit more boutique. Any insights.

Ive heard good things about Lindy Fralin Pure PAF.

Good luck I've spent a lot of money in that rabbit hole

NotNowJohn

If you can get hold of some, I recommend Shed of Wales.
I had some in a Les Paul Std and they totally transformed the guitar.
Haussel are also worth a try.

meltedbuzzbox

Mojo is always my first port of call 

Saying that Seymour Duncans are usually good and you have a wealth of choice both new and used. 

RiftAmps

I swear by SD Antiquities, but Mojo has a stunning range of stuff also

mgaw

OX4 pickups..

IvisonGuitars

As @guitars4you rightly says, there are times to choose from, it all comes down to which 'brand' you prefer I think. Personally I'm a big Mojo Pickups fan.

That said, I have heard from a couple of people who's opinions I really respect that Monty's PAF's are the closest to original PAF's currently available.

markj

Its a tough one, and a costly one. Went through a couple of sets of Bareknuckles without finding what I wanted.

Sassafras

Calling @customkits ;

Voxman

Trying to recommend a pick-up is like trying to recommend a guitar amp speaker - there are so many, and everyone likes different things.  

Years ago, there was a guitar design (originally John Birch I think, and then IIRC Hamer or Shergold?), who made a guitar where the p/ups were 'modular', and encased in a resin 'holder' that could be popped out of the guitar and other types popped back in in 5 secs flat with no need to solder - the connection points were built in.  It was a brilliant concept that just never seemed to catch on - but the idea was you could go into a store and pop in a dozen or more different p/ups to hear them in your guitar, & then buy the ones you liked.  

guitars4you

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

guitars4you said:

Mark, how do Throbaks compare with Lollars? (I know you've had a few of each on various Collings)

I think that Throbaks sound better and more realistic in an LP style than on  a 335 style - Not sure why - maybe to throaty on a 335 and I prefer the articulation of a 335 - on a 335 style they maybe work if you like a thicker Clapton/Cream tone, but for more of a Larry Carlton open clean voice they are to much for me - This might help 

- Can't find the link straight away but a good shoot out with Pat and Doug as well

Yet I've just fitted a set of Throbaks on a 2004 period LP Standard and they have that velvet voice with a single coil clarity that ensures good articulation on gain channels and a Pete Green open voice with excellent clarity when you use less gain

Danielsguitars

Have fun and listen to lots of clips

guitars4you

here is a great article via Tone Quest a couple of years ago 

http://www.tonequest.com/files/TQRJan09_proof.pdf

Can't find the exact part of the feature, but I love the quote that effectively states 'how do you accurately replicate something that was built on an ad hoc basis, with different ingredients and different tolerances almost each time they made them

Strat_a_tat_tat

guitars4you said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

guitars4you said:

Mark, how do Throbaks compare with Lollars? (I know you've had a few of each on various Collings)

I think that Throbaks sound better and more realistic in an LP style than on  a 335 style - Not sure why - maybe to throaty on a 335 and I prefer the articulation of a 335 - on a 335 style they maybe work if you like a thicker Clapton/Cream tone, but for more of a Larry Carlton open clean voice they are to much for me - This might help 

- Can't find the link straight away but a good shoot out with Pat and Doug as well

Yet I've just fitted a set of Throbaks on a 2004 period LP Standard and they have that velvet voice with a single coil clarity that ensures good articulation on gain channels and a Pete Green open voice with excellent clarity when you use less gain

@guitars4you. Thanks for the info.

Panama_Jack666

OX4's.

JD swears by them...

guitars4you

guitars4you said:

here is a great article via Tone Quest a couple of years ago 

http://www.tonequest.com/files/TQRJan09_proof.pdf

Found it - great quote from above Tone Quest article

 The truth is, no one may ever be capable of reproducing the exact tone, dynamic and vocal character, clarity, bloom and rich harmonics found in a great set of PAFs, which were, after all, essentially happy accidents created by the convergence of extremely varied and largely undocumented materials and components, assembled by relatively unskilled factory workers laboring with flexible specifications and imprecise equipment

Adam_MD

guitars4you said:

guitars4you said:

here is a great article via Tone Quest a couple of years ago 

http://www.tonequest.com/files/TQRJan09_proof.pdf

Found it - great quote from above Tone Quest article

 The truth is, no one may ever be capable of reproducing the exact tone, dynamic and vocal character, clarity, bloom and rich harmonics found in a great set of PAFs, which were, after all, essentially happy accidents created by the convergence of extremely varied and largely undocumented materials and components, assembled by relatively unskilled factory workers laboring with flexible specifications and imprecise equipment

Or they're easily repeatable by a lot of companies these days.  I really don't think there's any secrets left for the mighty pAf to tell.

p90fool

There is no correct answer because it's a moving target, not all PAFs sound the same.  

You can probably find at least as wide a variation between real PAFs as between new replicas. 

If you're really trying to hit a specific sound I'd recommend buying any properly made PAF clone then experiment with magnets to fine tune it. 

You may even find exactly what you want by changing magnets in your existing pickups, it only costs a few quid and the SD forum is a mine of useful info.