Modern P.A.F.

True PAF Tone, Modern Output

$160$320

  • Hum-Cancelling
  • Thick & Versatile
  • Traditional Appearance
  • Modern Output

Click For New Soundclips

( 56 genuine reviews)

The Modern P.A.F. is our Pure P.A.F. on steroids. It’s great for more modern styles of music that need a little more output and power. The Modern P.A.F. features a thicker midrange with a quick and even breakup.

 

Options

Select options for our Modern P.A.F.:

Select Options Above To Display Add-Ons

Humbucker Cover

Further customize the look of your pickups by adding a USA-Made Nickel Silver cover.

Lead Length

You may need long leads if you have an Archtop guitar, like an ES-335. Check this box below, and we’ll give you some extra lead length.

Partial Split Resistor

Coil Splitting? Grab one (or two) of our Partial Split Resistors. They will give you a stronger single coil tone when split. Installation Instructions Here

Gold Screws

Check here if you want to include Gold Pole Pieces & Mounting Screws for your pickups. Not necessary if buying gold covers.

SPEED UP YOUR ORDER

Since you're buying a single pickup, we might need more information from you. To avoid unnecessary delays in your order, please choose one of the options below:


Notice

Due to the nature of Raw Nickel, Raw Nickel may contain slight cosemetic defects or abrasions.

Recommendation

We recommend using 2-Conductor With Shield Lead when purchasing a single pickup. 2-Conductor lead allows you to reverse the phase should you have phase issues. Learn About Lead Choice

Notice

While we do our best to match double-white bobbins, there may be subtle differences in color due to different dye lots from the manufacturer.

Upgrade To A Prewired Pickguard

Express Checkout

Skip the checkout and buy now. Purchases made through Express Checkout are bound by our Terms and Conditions.

More Payment Options Offered At Checkout:

True PAF Tone, Modern Output

Want to learn more about our Modern P.A.F.? Here's all the information you'll need:

Modern P.A.F. FEATURES:

The Fralin Modern P.A.F. is the second best-selling humbucker we make. We took the specifications of the 50’s Gibson® P.A.F. pickups and added more power and output. We designed the Modern P.A.F. as a stronger, thicker, and warmer version of our Pure P.A.F. This pickup is for those looking for traditional tone only a little thicker and darker. With more turns and stronger magnets, the Modern P.A.F. will break up sooner and sound warmer and beefier than our Pure P.A.F.

  • Our Second-Best-Selling Humbucker – low output, vintage tone
  • Thick, strong while still bright. Features an early, smooth breakup
  • Modernized Gibson PAF® specifications: medium output, with modern clarity and power
  • USA-made Alnico 4 Magnets for vintage tonal balance and output
  • Compensated Overwound Bridge for even volume across all pickups
  • Hand-wound with our “Sectioning” technique for unique, dynamic tone
  • Hand-built for unrivaled quality control
  • 10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects

Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. Modern P.A.F.’s consist of USA-Made bobbins, baseplates, magnets, and wire. We wind each pickup by hand, one at a time. Each pickup is wound using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique. This gives the pickup a sweet, clear tone.

We assemble each pickup one at a time, by hand. Making pickups this way allows us to achieve unbeatable attention to detail. After assembly, we wax-pot the pickup to preserve the pickup and prevent microphonics.

Sound

Thick, strong, yet clear. Expect loud, warm tones with darker treble strings and woolier bass strings. With distortion, this model will break up faster than our Pure P.A.F. and has a smooth and buttery grind. You’ll hear a pronounced midrange, smooth high-end and attack. AlNicCo IV magnets and Plain Enamel wire give the Modern P.A.F. a perfect balance of modern and vintage tone.

Clean tones are warm, round, and full. Single notes have a larger footprint, while bass strings sound bouncy and rich. You’ll be able to get warm jazzy tones out of this pickup with ease. Dirty tones will sound creamier and smoother than our Pure P.A.F, with a smoother attack.

Sound Samples for Modern P.A.F.:
About this Sound Clip:

All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.

Tonal Graph For Modern P.A.F.:

The tonal graph below for our Modern P.A.F. features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.

HIGHS
MIDS
LOWS
OUTPUT

Attack: Dynamic & Full

Videos for Modern P.A.F.:

Humbucker Lead Color Codes

See below for our Humbucker Lead color codes. For help with matching to other manufacturers, check out this resource here.

Gibson Braided Lead:

Gibson-Style instruments

Phase Reversible

Coil Splitting

Gibson Braided Lead
Only select Gibson Braided Lead if you install these pickups as a set into a Gibson-style instrument. Examples of a Gibson-style instrument include a Gibson Les Paul, 335, or Telecaster Deluxe, or any guitar with two Volume Pots and two Tone Pots.

Note: This lead is not intended for Telecasters with a Control Plate. If the braiding touches anything, it will short it out.

3-Conductor Lead:

Phase Reversible

Coil Splitting

3 Conductor Lead Fralin Pickups
Select this lead if purchasing a Single Pickup, wiring this pickup to a Blade Switch (Fender-style Instrument) or need coil-splitting. This lead allows you to reverse the phase and coil split.

4-Conductor Lead:

Phase Reversible

Series Parallel Wiring

Coil Splitting

4 Conductor Lead Fralin Pickups
Only select 4-Conductor lead if you need Series / Parallel wiring. This lead allows you to reverse the phase, wire in series / parallel, and coil split.

Tech Specs

See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Modern P.A.F..

SPECIFICATION VALUE
Neck Ohm Reading (Stock):8K 1
Bridge Ohm Reading (Stock):9K 1
Neck Polarity:Reversible with 3-Conductor or 4-Conductor Lead
Bridge Polarity:Reversible with 3-Conductor or 4-Conductor Lead
Magnet:USA-Made Alnico 4
Wire:USA-Made 42-Gauge Plain Enamel
Cover Material:Nickel Silver
Baseplate Material:Nickel Silver
Baseplate Leg Depth:6mm
Slug / Pole Piece Material:Steel
Bobbin Material:ABS Plastic
Recommended Pot Value:500K
Recommended Cap Value:0.02mfd 2

More Information:

1 Ohm Readings can vary due to a multitude of factors, including ambient temperature, multimeter calibration, different wire batches, and other factors. Due to this, ohm readings are approximate. Learn more about Ohm Readings here.


2 We recommend a 0.02mfd Cap Value on most guitar and bass pickups. The exception is a Magic Cap, which Lindy prefers on the Bridge Pickup of Fender® guitars only. Learn More about Caps Here.


Modern P.A.F. Dimensions:

Fralin Humbucker Dimensions

Modern P.A.F. FAQ's

General FAQs

Here are quick answers to common questions we get:

  • What Ohm Readings does your Modern P.A.F. have?

    Navigate to our Tech Specs Tab for complete Ohm Readings and more useful information.

  • Will this pickup fit my instrument?

    Check our "Sizing" tab for the size of the pickup. No Sizing tab? Check under the product image gallery for dimensions.

  • Is your Lead Time of 3-4 Weeks accurate?

    It really depends on the shop capacity at the moment, and the size of your order. Feel free to give us a call for an accurate lead time. We always try to underpromise and overdeliver.

  • What pickup height do you recommend setting your Modern P.A.F.s to?

    Our recommended Pickup Height is 1/8" (3.175mm) on the Bass Side and 1/16"( 1.5875mm) on the Treble Side. Measure by holding the corresponding side down at its highest fret and measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pole piece.

Get It Prewired

Get our Modern P.A.F. prewired into a Prewired Pickguard!:

Customer Reviews

56 Genuine Reviews for Modern P.A.F.

  1. Joshua Rasmussen

    Verified Purchase

    I replaced the stock pickups in my 2020 Epiphone ES-335 and I was shocked how great these pickups sound. They’re full, clear, defined, and respond well to overdrive/distortion. I play a lot of rock music and I wanted something with the perfect balance of mids, highs, and lows and these were it. When the guitar tech called to let me know my guitar was ready for pickup he could not stop raving about these pickups. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your pickups for some Fralin’s don’t hesitate.

  2. Byron

    Verified Purchase

    After consulting with Fralin over the phone I bought a Modern PAF for my norlin era les paul custom. Perfect in my punk band from the first chord. Very happy.

  3. JOHN

    Verified Purchase

    This pickup has a late 70’s style “modern” tone, due to the prominent mids and highs.
    It is a very good blues/rock style pickup. I really like the balanced tone of the 9k bridge pickup. The designer did a good job of the voicing of the bridge pickup. The impressive thing about it is how it sounds good with clean, low gain and moderate gain. With high gain it shows some bright harmonic overtones, which are present from either neck or bridge pickups. The 8k neck pickup has an obvious emphasis on the mids, used in my Strat style guitar. In hindsight I think I’d prefer a lower wind for the neck pickup, while the bridge pickup specified at 9k is very good.

  4. Jestin Puett

    Verified Purchase

    Awesome tones, awesome customer service

  5. Javier Reyes

    Verified Purchase

    A great PAF Style Humbucker

    Don’t get me wrong, this is a great sounding pickup but I really wouldn’t consider it Modern, to my ears it’s still pretty classic sounding, I’ve had other more aggressive pickups that called themselves PAF’s.

  6. Tom Gazella

    Verified Purchase

    Great pickups and customer service! These pickups rule!

  7. Christopher Pachomski

    Verified Purchase

    Just put a set in my PRS 24 CE and all I can say is wow. The brightness is astounding and I’ve never heard clearer chords come out of my amp.

  8. Dave Collins

    Verified Purchase

    Hear The Angels Sing!

    After years of always not quite liking the tones I was getting out my guitar with the previous pick up – I decided it was time for a change. A friend of mine suggested your company as a possible place to look. I’m glad he did!!! This pickup has blown my mind! I mainly use a lot of fuzz pedals and the clarity this pickup gets is like hearing the angels sing. The low end finally comes out of the “mud” and I’m hearing dynamics out of these pedals I’ve never heard before. Roll-off the volume for that dirty nasty tone and every note is crystal clear & crisp – To all at the Fralin company who worked on this pick up… a million thanks!!!! This modern PAF has moved me so close to the tone I’ve been chasing in my head all these years!!!!

  9. Greg Piette

    Verified Purchase

    IF ONLY

    IF ONLY other professionals were as accessible as Lindy and his outfit. I’m a smaller Guitar Shop that recently had a repair/mod on an HH style Strat with S1 switching. Lindy not only recommended the type of pickup [he even allowed our customer to speak with him directly], but he also talked us through some finer points in magnetic theory so that we wouldn’t have the Neck pickup ‘out-o-phase’ when switching through the [10] different configurations! He also recommended GuitarElectronics.com to help us design the new wiring schematics! YEAH so Lindy Fralin is now our Go-To pickup manufacturer for custom pickups over Lollar and the like. Thanks to LindyFralin Pickups from Greg Guitars LLC.

  10. Michael Ramierez

    Verified Purchase

    Perfect name

    I have some Pure P.A.Fs in a guitar but decided to try the Modern P.A.F and I’m glad I did. It’s exactly like the name says, a more modern version with a bit more output. It sounds really great with some higher gain especially.

  11. Gary Hughes

    Verified Purchase

    Perfect pickup for me
    Wow! Sounds better than I expected, and I expected it to sound fantastic. Great note separation and low end detail.

  12. David Adams

    Verified Purchase

    I can’t thank you all enough for the difference the Modern PAF has made in my Ibanez PM200 (the made in Japan version). The guitar is all maple and as such with the OEM pickup had a very acoustic sound. Nice but not for a trad jazz chord melody sound. Jon nailed what i needed and i went from ‘probably gonna sell’ to ‘definitely keeping’! Great sound AND feel!

  13. Americo Renzi

    Verified Purchase

    Just what I wanted
    From my first contact with Fralin until my new pups were installed, every thing went smoothly. A quick shoutout to Jon for answering all my questions. Awesome customer service.

    The pickups are just so smooth. Great clean tone that has a nice transition to break up. I put these pups in a Gibson ESArtist and they just woke the old girl up. Bottom line, great company, great products, and the best customer service. Thanks Lindy and crew.

  14. Jonathan Hill

    Verified Purchase

    They sound awesome
    These pickups sound great , really expressive, they put your tone in your fingertips.
    These are my second pair of framing pickups . I love the tones I’m getting from these pickups.
    Lindy is super helpful ,a wealth of knowledge . Everyone I talked to was nice and answered all my question .
    Great people , great pickups
    Thanks Lindy

  15. Doug Wilder

    Verified Purchase

    These are the best , rich full sounding Pickups I’ve ever had. The neck pickup is beautiful sounding without being muddy or mushy, the bridge pickup is amazing and articulate . Together they sound great, there are no bad settings or weakness in tone or output on these pickups. I love these pickups, they are exactly what I’ve been searching for.

  16. Kenneth Bridgeman

    Verified Purchase

    I should have gone with the 9k wind. I like some growl with volume pot cranked, then turned down some for less spank.

  17. Andrew Miller

    Verified Purchase

    Customer added no additional comments

  18. Keith Reed

    Verified Purchase

    Completely blown away. Forever a customer

    I’ve tried many different pickups but these absolutely blew my mind. So responsive. Perfect EQ, actually. Punch when you need them to punch but clean up when you need them to clean up. It gave me the perfect rounded top end I was looking for. And the perfect amount of midrange to stand out properly in a mix. I don’t have to fight being too bright or having that ice picky top end too many boutique pickups have lately. Well done Fralin.

  19. Dino

    Verified Purchase

    I originally bought the set with the neck at 8.5k and the bright at 9.5k for my US made PRS Custom 24 because it was to bright sounding with the original pickup. They sounded good but were not what I wanted.
    When I changed the pickup the guitar immediately sounded better (more lively, more woody). It sounded really more like a Les Paul but with a lot of bass or low mids. After 2 weeks I realized that the neck humbucker was sounding “too dark” or “too beefy” for my liking. I spoke with Lindy and his team and send just the neck humbucker back since I was Very satisfied with the bridge.
    3 weeks after I received the new neck humbucker with Alnico 6 (8.5k output magnet) instead of Alnico 4… And Yes… That’s what I was looking for.
    The PRS Custom 24 now sound like itself. What I mean by that is that it doesn’t sound like a Les Paul but like a very well balanced toned guitar. Enough low, enough mid, enough treble, but not too much of any of these. Which makes it really versatile. The cleans are telecaster and ES335 quacky, the positions 2 and 4 are strato/tele like but with more mid punch. I play reggae, funk, RnB and Gospel quartet with it.
    Now for the lead and dirty tones…. oh my….. It’s Fat and Creamy with all my overdrives and distortions. I great Rock, Hard Rock, Metal tones. (The Dude from J Rockett, Friedman BE OD- Killler tones, Suhr Riot mini, J Rockett Archer) . My amps are a Fender Twin (all the best clean you can dream about) and a Vox AC30 (it gets bright and sound like a strat with it but takes you to heaven with any OD or distortions).
    I don’t regret buying those pickup and definitely do not regret changing the neck humbucker because it was for the best.
    My PRS Cus 24 sounds like a better and different guitar then before. I love it and use it a lot lot more now.
    I highly recommend those pickups, they brought more life out to my guitar.

  20. Chanyang Yu

    Verified Purchase

    Best pickup

More Reviews:

Add a review

Leave a review for our Modern P.A.F.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

STAY IN TOUCH