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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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.
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.
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.
Awesome tones, awesome customer service
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.
Great pickups and customer service! These pickups rule!
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.
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!!!!
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.
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.