PAF (pickup)
Encyclopedia
P.A.F. or just PAF is the world's first humbucker
guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover
in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson
and began use in mass production guitars in 1956 or 1957. However Rickenbacker and Gretsch
had developed humbucking pickups also. Rickenbacker released theirs in 1953 but discontinued it in 1954 because of the 'distortion' it caused.
The strange name (PAF) of the pickup was not intentional. Gibson and Seth Lover first filed a patent on the design on June 22, 1955. After that, Gibson Les Paul
s were equipped with these new pickups, with a sticker on a bottom plate of a pickup that said Patent Applied For. A patent was eventually issued on July 28, 1959. Since it took more than four years to get a patent number, the unnamed pickup had been dubbed "PAF" by many guitarists in that period during which the pending application and this naming continued even after the patent had been issued.
PAF pickups can usually be identified by their look: they have two internal coil bobbins under a 1.5" x 2.75" metal cover with one bobbin having a row of six adjustable pole pieces, with the other bobbin having non-adjustable pole pieces. Standard PAF pickups had 5000 or so turnshttp://www.gibson.com/magazines/amplifier/1999/1/mainevent1.html of wire on a bobbin and a DC
resistance
of 7.5 kΩ (early pickups range from 7.5 kΩ to 9.0 kΩ).
s in 1956, on Les Paul Gold Top, and Les Paul Custom electric solid-bodied guitars in 1957. They replaced the out-dated P90 pickup(invented after WWII) and the best pickup Gibson offered the P90 "Staple" pickup, which was only offered on the Les Paul Custom and the company's highest end archtops.
These early PAFs tend to differ from each other significantly in terms of output level and tone - many factors are quoted as a reason for such difference:
Early pickups were wound with #42 plain enameled wire
, this wire has a purple color, as opposed to later varieties(which were poly coated). During July 1961, Gibson standardized the PAF construction process, automatic stops were installed in the winders, which did not cause large differences in output between two pickups.The early '61 PAFs are almost exactly identical to the 1957-1960 PAFs. By mid to late '61 a new, smaller Alnico 5 magnetic plate became standard, which is referred to as a "short magnet". In about 1963, Gibson switched to polyurethane
-coated wire to cut costs, changing the wire color from purple to red.In addition these pickups were also given a new sticker that had the "Patent No" written on it, as opposed to "Patent Applied For" About 1965-1968, automatic pickup winding machines came into use, thus making pickups that had a consistent number of turns and a fixed DC resistance. After about 1967, the original PAF design changed. These pickups are referred to as "Pre-T-tops". Gibson began to stamp the patent number on some PAF stickers after they obtained a patent for the PAF pickups. Most humbuckers were labelled with until 1962 and the number shown on the pickups, which actually is a patent for a Gibson trapeze tailpiece bridge and not for a pickup at all. Both true PAFs and incorrect patent marked PAFs are fairly rare today and make an expensive vintage collectors item. By the early 70s Gibson began putting a T-shaped toolmark on their pickups' bobbins. This helped the workers make sure that the bobbin was facing the correct way during assembly. During the production of this pickup many original specifications changed, like the use of a wooden maple spacer (replaced by plastic), and the thickness of the magnet (got thinner). These pickups are referred to as "T-tops". Production of these pickups continued until the late 70s/early 80s.
By 1981, Gibson realized that there was a market and consumer demand for these older pickups. They assigned engineer Tim Shaw to research and create a re-issue of the older PAF pickups. Gibson at the time were now releasing Les Pauls that were built to somewhat vintage specifications for the first time (these guitars would later be called pre-historics, as they were the pre-cursor to the Gibson Custom Shop re-issue line, which built to vintage specifications). Tim Shaw researched and tried to recreate the old toolmarks and other details that made these pickups what they were. Unfortunately, under the strict Norlin owners, many of his ideas were seen as too expensive and not cost effective. However Shaw was able to re tool the bobbin without the "T" that had been used throughout the past decade and re-introduce the correct square hole back into the bobbin, and more importantly use a thicker magnet which was the correct thickness to magnets used in PAFs. He also discovered that the wire used was enamel. Realizing that they used poly-coated wire, he tried to convince corporate that they needed the enamel coated wire. At the time however the enamel coated wire cost about 1 dollar more, and was not approved to be bought or used. He also found old sheets that explained the number of winds used, and even contacted the original designer Seth Lover and spoke to him about parts used on these pickups. Tim Shaw's efforts, even though not reaching the desired end goal he wanted, were a big leap forward in finding out information about these pickups. His efforts were considered by many to be the first in the long journey many would take in re-creating the PAF humbucking pickup.
Notable pickups include:
Patents related to PAF pickup:— PAF pickup itself, hum cancellation;
Humbucker
A humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover
Seth Lover
Seth Lover is most famous for inventing the humbucker or hum-cancelling electric stringed instrument pickup, most often used on the electric guitar....
in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
and began use in mass production guitars in 1956 or 1957. However Rickenbacker and Gretsch
Gretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
had developed humbucking pickups also. Rickenbacker released theirs in 1953 but discontinued it in 1954 because of the 'distortion' it caused.
The strange name (PAF) of the pickup was not intentional. Gibson and Seth Lover first filed a patent on the design on June 22, 1955. After that, Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
s were equipped with these new pickups, with a sticker on a bottom plate of a pickup that said Patent Applied For. A patent was eventually issued on July 28, 1959. Since it took more than four years to get a patent number, the unnamed pickup had been dubbed "PAF" by many guitarists in that period during which the pending application and this naming continued even after the patent had been issued.
PAF pickups can usually be identified by their look: they have two internal coil bobbins under a 1.5" x 2.75" metal cover with one bobbin having a row of six adjustable pole pieces, with the other bobbin having non-adjustable pole pieces. Standard PAF pickups had 5000 or so turnshttp://www.gibson.com/magazines/amplifier/1999/1/mainevent1.html of wire on a bobbin and a DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
resistance
Electrical resistance
The electrical resistance of an electrical element is the opposition to the passage of an electric current through that element; the inverse quantity is electrical conductance, the ease at which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallels with the mechanical...
of 7.5 kΩ (early pickups range from 7.5 kΩ to 9.0 kΩ).
Timeline
The range of 1956-1961 is usually dubbed the era of early PAFs. These pickups were first used on lap steel guitarLap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
s in 1956, on Les Paul Gold Top, and Les Paul Custom electric solid-bodied guitars in 1957. They replaced the out-dated P90 pickup(invented after WWII) and the best pickup Gibson offered the P90 "Staple" pickup, which was only offered on the Les Paul Custom and the company's highest end archtops.
These early PAFs tend to differ from each other significantly in terms of output level and tone - many factors are quoted as a reason for such difference:
- Gibson pickup winding machines were manually-operated at that time and had no mechanisms to automatically cut the wire after a set number of turns. Thus the pickups had a different number of windings and that lead to variation in the output and tone. For the same reason, the two coils within each pickup unit usually also have a slightly different number of turns.
- Gibson used AlnicoAlnicoAlnico is an acronym referring to iron alloys which in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium , nickel and cobalt , hence al-ni-co, with the addition of copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic, with a high coercivity and are used to make permanent magnets...
magnets in PAFs, the same magnet as used in the P-90P-90The P-90 is a single coil electric guitar pickup produced by Gibson since 1946. Having a more complex architecture and larger dimensions than Fender's single coils, it is occasionally mistaken for a humbucker.- History :...
. Alnico has several different grades and different magnetic properties (grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 are usually used), and Gibson assigned them quite randomly until the end of the era of early PAFs. The most common of these was Alnico IV. British pickup designer Tim Mills of Bare KnuckleBare Knuckle PickupsBare Knuckle Pickups , founded in 2003 by former Elkie Brooks guitarist Tim Mills, is a privately owned business based in the South West of England, UK, specialising in hand-wound electric guitar pickups....
pickups had spoken with Seth LoverSeth LoverSeth Lover is most famous for inventing the humbucker or hum-cancelling electric stringed instrument pickup, most often used on the electric guitar....
, who revealed that the most commonly used magnet was the Alnico IV. It has also been discovered from order sheets, that Gibson ordered many Alnico IV magnets. - Original pickups manufactured in that time are over forty years old and thus their characteristic may have changed significantly over time, which includes the slow de-magnetization of the Alnico magnets, and also the warping of the bobbins(which changes the placement of the wire, changing the sound slightly).
Early pickups were wound with #42 plain enameled wire
Enameled wire
Enamelled wire is wire coated with a very thin insulating layer. It is used in applications such as winding electric motor coils, speakers and transformers. It is also used in the construction of electromagnets and inductors....
, this wire has a purple color, as opposed to later varieties(which were poly coated). During July 1961, Gibson standardized the PAF construction process, automatic stops were installed in the winders, which did not cause large differences in output between two pickups.The early '61 PAFs are almost exactly identical to the 1957-1960 PAFs. By mid to late '61 a new, smaller Alnico 5 magnetic plate became standard, which is referred to as a "short magnet". In about 1963, Gibson switched to polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
-coated wire to cut costs, changing the wire color from purple to red.In addition these pickups were also given a new sticker that had the "Patent No" written on it, as opposed to "Patent Applied For" About 1965-1968, automatic pickup winding machines came into use, thus making pickups that had a consistent number of turns and a fixed DC resistance. After about 1967, the original PAF design changed. These pickups are referred to as "Pre-T-tops". Gibson began to stamp the patent number on some PAF stickers after they obtained a patent for the PAF pickups. Most humbuckers were labelled with until 1962 and the number shown on the pickups, which actually is a patent for a Gibson trapeze tailpiece bridge and not for a pickup at all. Both true PAFs and incorrect patent marked PAFs are fairly rare today and make an expensive vintage collectors item. By the early 70s Gibson began putting a T-shaped toolmark on their pickups' bobbins. This helped the workers make sure that the bobbin was facing the correct way during assembly. During the production of this pickup many original specifications changed, like the use of a wooden maple spacer (replaced by plastic), and the thickness of the magnet (got thinner). These pickups are referred to as "T-tops". Production of these pickups continued until the late 70s/early 80s.
By 1981, Gibson realized that there was a market and consumer demand for these older pickups. They assigned engineer Tim Shaw to research and create a re-issue of the older PAF pickups. Gibson at the time were now releasing Les Pauls that were built to somewhat vintage specifications for the first time (these guitars would later be called pre-historics, as they were the pre-cursor to the Gibson Custom Shop re-issue line, which built to vintage specifications). Tim Shaw researched and tried to recreate the old toolmarks and other details that made these pickups what they were. Unfortunately, under the strict Norlin owners, many of his ideas were seen as too expensive and not cost effective. However Shaw was able to re tool the bobbin without the "T" that had been used throughout the past decade and re-introduce the correct square hole back into the bobbin, and more importantly use a thicker magnet which was the correct thickness to magnets used in PAFs. He also discovered that the wire used was enamel. Realizing that they used poly-coated wire, he tried to convince corporate that they needed the enamel coated wire. At the time however the enamel coated wire cost about 1 dollar more, and was not approved to be bought or used. He also found old sheets that explained the number of winds used, and even contacted the original designer Seth Lover and spoke to him about parts used on these pickups. Tim Shaw's efforts, even though not reaching the desired end goal he wanted, were a big leap forward in finding out information about these pickups. His efforts were considered by many to be the first in the long journey many would take in re-creating the PAF humbucking pickup.
Modern variants
Nowadays, the PAF is considered a vintage humbucker with relatively low output and soft, mellow tone. However, original Gibson PAFs are scarce and very expensive, so most major pickup manufacturers produce copies of original PAF design.Notable pickups include:
- Seymour DuncanSeymour DuncanSeymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
SH-55 Seth Lover Model. A modern pickup that reproduces Seth Lover's '55 prototype design in great detail: a nickel silver cover (not brass one), long bottom plate, plain #42 enamel wire, Alnico 2 magnets, wooden spacer, and black paper tape. Seth and Seymour were great friends, and Seth gave Seymour all of the original specs. In addition, Seymour owns Gibson's pickup winding machine from the '50s, and all SH-55's are wound on it. - Seymour DuncanSeymour DuncanSeymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
SH-1 '59 Model. A replica of late '50s PAFs, gives a slightly fatter sound, more known as a signature tone of famous blues/rock guitarists of the 1960s. - Seymour DuncanSeymour DuncanSeymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
Antiquity Humbucker (11014-01 and 11014-05). An as-close-as-possible replica of a late '50s PAF, complete with a patented aging technique. - Kent Amstrong (son of Dan ArmstrongDan ArmstrongDan Armstrong was a guitarist, luthier, and session musician.-Biography:Dan Kent Armstrong was born on October 7, 1934 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started playing the guitar at age 11, and moved to New York in the early 1960s in order to work as a studio musician and guitar repairman...
) makes a variety of PAF models. - GibsonGibson Guitar CorporationThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
"'57 Classic" Gibson's most regular take on the PAF. Not scatter wound, wax potted. Since the mid-'80s this is the standard pickup on most higher level guitars. - GibsonGibson Guitar CorporationThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
Burstbucker. Gibson's newest take on the P.A.F. Scatter wound, not wax potted, these are the closest replicas Gibson makes. These pickups come stock on the Historic line of Reissue Les Pauls. - DiMarzioDiMarzioDiMarzio, Inc. is an United States manufacturer best known for its revolutionary direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces miscellaneous guitar accessories, such as cables, straps and hardware.DiMarzio became known for its Super Distortion model, which was the first after...
PAF (DP103). One of the earliest PAF replicas, wax potted with Alnico 5 magnets, 4-conductor cable for split and series/parallel wiring. - DiMarzioDiMarzioDiMarzio, Inc. is an United States manufacturer best known for its revolutionary direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces miscellaneous guitar accessories, such as cables, straps and hardware.DiMarzio became known for its Super Distortion model, which was the first after...
PAF Classic Bridge (DP195) and Neck (DP194). PAF pickups with pre-installed covers, wax-dipped twice (before cover installation and after). - DiMarzioDiMarzioDiMarzio, Inc. is an United States manufacturer best known for its revolutionary direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces miscellaneous guitar accessories, such as cables, straps and hardware.DiMarzio became known for its Super Distortion model, which was the first after...
Virtual Hot PAF (DP214), Virtual PAF Bridge (DP197), Virtual PAF Neck (DP196). Pickups built with patented Virtual Vintage technology that gives a more balanced pickup characteristic. - Bare Knuckle PickupsBare Knuckle PickupsBare Knuckle Pickups , founded in 2003 by former Elkie Brooks guitarist Tim Mills, is a privately owned business based in the South West of England, UK, specialising in hand-wound electric guitar pickups....
The Mule. An accurate scatter wound PAF replica: The Mule uses a solid nickel baseplate and cover, #42 AWG plain enamel wire, unpolished Alnico 4 magnets, maple spacer and butyrate bobbins. - SKATTERBRANESkatterbrane-History:Skatterbrane LLC was founded by Rod Kinkade, a life long Les Paul enthusiast, in 2006. They offer several variations of the P.A.F. style humbucking guitar pickup. Skatterbrane enjoys a strong underground following by people seeking vintage blues, classic rock and jazz P.A.F tones...
Earthbrane. An accurate PAF clone which features German silver baseplate and cover, individually rough sand cast AlNiCo magnet, 42awg PE coil wire, butyrate bobbins and maple spacer. Hand winding techniques offer complex overtones, attack and decay reminiscent of PAFs from the 1950's.
External links
Patents related to PAF pickup:— PAF pickup itself, hum cancellation;