Modern P.A.F.
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.
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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.
Tech Specs
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Modern P.A.F..
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading (Stock): | 8K |
| Bridge Ohm Reading (Stock): | 9K |
| 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 |
**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.
Sizing
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:
2-Conductor Lead:
3-Conductor Lead:
4-Conductor Lead
Modern P.A.F. Questions And Answers:
Notice:
Have a question about our Modern P.A.F.? Ask it here. Your Question will be publically visible. If you want to ask a Private Question, please contact us through our Contact Us Form.
If you have multiple questions, please call us at (804) 358-2699.
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Dual humbucker with a 5 way switch. Should I go 3 conductor set or 4 for the modern PAF set.
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Q Dual humbucker with a 5 way switch. Should I go 3 conductor set or 4 for the modern PAF set.A
Hey Chris, I would suggest going with 3-Conductor unless you absolutely need the 4-Conductor Lead. More information here: How To Choose The Right Humbucker Lead
I have a Fender Jazzmaster that I am looking to install these modern PAFs into. What exactly would the process be to having that done? To clarify, the pickups that are currently in the guitar are standard Jazzmaster sized pickups.
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Q I have a Fender Jazzmaster that I am looking to install these modern PAFs into. What exactly woul...... Read moreA
Hey Sam, you would probably need to check your rout under your pickguard to make sure you can accomodate the depth of the humbuckers. After that, you'll need a new Pickguard that will accomodate humbuckers, and the humbucker mounting. That's it!
I can't seem to select raw nickel covers for the Modern PAF pickups, are they not an option?
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Q I can't seem to select raw nickel covers for the Modern PAF pickups, are they not an option?A
Hey Matt, they are showing for us at the shop - make sure you have all options selected in the drop-downs before the covers show. Also, if your still having issues, please try clearing your browser's cache - it should show up then.
How do I or do I need to specify it is for left handed guitar?
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Q How do I or do I need to specify it is for left handed guitar?A
Hey Steve, simply use the "notes" field on the checkout screen, and we'll stagger the pole pieces for a left-handed guitar.
Hi Have the pure PAFs w stock neck and overwound bridge (8.5 I think) Finding the bridge has too much treble and wind the tone off to about 6, Would the modern PAF w say 9k give me less top end or would u say the 9.5
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Q Hi Have the pure PAFs w stock neck and overwound bridge (8.5 I think) Finding the bridge has too ...... Read moreA
Hey Tim, I'd go with the 9K for a thicker and darker tone out of the Bridge.
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Asking a question here will be public to all users of this siteHey!
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Perfect pickup for me
Wow! Sounds better than I expected, and I expected it to sound fantastic. Great note separation and low end detail.
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!
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.
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
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.
I should have gone with the 9k wind. I like some growl with volume pot cranked, then turned down some for less spank.
Customer added no additional comments
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.
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.
Best pickup