PURE 50’S TONE, MODERNIZED.
The Lindy Fralin Pure P.A.F. humbucker is our best-selling traditional humbucker. We based this model on the specifications of the original 50’s Gibson® P.A.F. pickups. Our Pure P.A.F. humbucker is clean, articulate, and clear. This pickup will give you a clean vintage tone that’s articulate and dynamic. The Pure P.A.F has a lower output, which is more dynamic and expressive than higher output pickups. Lindy’s passion for the sound of vintage 50’s humbuckers led us down the road to design and create the Pure P.A.F. . It’s by far our most authentic-sounding traditional humbucker.
FEATURES:
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Our Best-Selling Humbucker – low output, vintage tone
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Original Gibson PAF® specifications: low output, with modern clarity
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Clean and clear, smooth grind and a sharp attack
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USA-made Alnico 2 Magnets for vintage tonal balance and output
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Compensated Overwound Bridge for even volume across all pickups
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Hand-wound with our “Sectioning” technique for unique, dynamic tone
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Hand-built for unrivaled quality control
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10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects
SOUND:
Clean, clear, and articulate. The Pure P.A.F. will stay clean and won’t break up as early as modern humbuckers. Don’t let “Vintage” fool you – you’ll find that it’s loud and versatile enough to play with modern pickups. Built with AlNicCo II and 42-gauge plain enamel wire, the Pure P.A.F. pickup is a gateway to instant vintage tone. When playing clean, you’ll find that this pickup sings what you put into it: it’s dynamic, clear, and warm. With distortion, you’ll find that the grind is nice and smooth. Expect a pronounced pick attack, pure-sounding plain strings and bright wound strings.
Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. Pure P.A.F.’s consist of USA-Made Butyrate 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. This allows us to achieve unbeatable attention to detail. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to preserve the pickup, and prevent microphonics.
FAQ’s:
- What’s the difference between this model and the Modern P.A.F.? The Pure P.A.F. has less turns per coil and uses a slightly weaker magnet, giving this pickup a clearer and more articulate tone than the Modern P.A.F.. In a nutshell, this pickup has a clearer midrange and snappier highs than the Modern P.A.F..
- Can you Coil Tap this model? Yep! Choose 3-Conductor Lead and use our diagrams here. You may want to use a Partial Tap Resistor as this is a medium-output humbucker.
- What Lead should I choose? If you have a Gibson style instrument with separate volume pots for each pickup, go with the Gibson Shielded Braided lead. Fender style instruments or players with coil tapping or phase reversing needs, go with 3-Conductor. If you want the maximum options, go with 4-Conductor.
- What Output should I choose? Our most popular set is our 7.8K neck and our 8.2K bridge. If you want a stronger and darker tone, go with a higher output. If you want a clearer and more open tone, go with a lower output.
- What Spacing should I choose? Gibson style instruments use 49.2mm on the neck and bridge. Fender style instruments use a 52mm Bridge and a 50mm neck.
Choosing the Spacing:
- 49.2mm: Choose this for Gibson Standard Spacing
- 50mm: Fender Neck Spacing
- 52mm: Fender Bridge Spacing
CHOOSING THE LEAD:
- Gibson® Braided Shielded: Most popular. Use this if you have no special requirements (Coil tapping, Phase Reverse or Series / Parallel).
- 3-Conductor With Shield: Use this if you have Coil Tapping or Phase Reverse needs.
- 4-Conductor With Shield: Use this if you have Coil Tapping, Phase Reverse, Series or Parallel needs.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Sizing Information
Additional Videos
Steve Gambrell –
I just put a set of these in a 2011 Les Paul Traditional–I replaced a set of Gibson’s ’57 Classics–My favorite pickups. But I put the Pure PAFs in–8.2K in the bridge, 7.8K in the neck–Sounds like Classic ’57s with a 4-barrel! The guitar used to scream–But the Pure PAFs allow it to sing–I like singing much more than screaming.
Are the Fralins expensive? Sorta, yeah. But how do you put a dollar sign on tone? If you can’t get your tone, you don’t play as well. I’ll spend a few more bucks, to get a little closer to the tone I hear.
Ting-Rong, Chang. (verified owner) –
Amazing pickups!!
Replaced a set of P.A.F (Neck 7.5k & Bridge 8k) in my ES-335.
The sound is really awesome…
more clear, more chime, more singing, more sensitive!!
After I heard this P.A.F’s sound…
I think…I really have to order a P.A.F(Neck 7.8k & Bridge 8.2k) for my Les Paul Standard too!!
Can’t wait!!
Ben Mueller (verified owner) –
I upgraded an old Mexican Strat I had with a Pure PAF in the bridge, and a couple of Vintage Hots in the middle and neck positions. This thing totally sings now. Nice and glassy, but still with a nice bottom end. Before the upgrade, I felt like I could only really use the bridge or bridge+mid setting on the guitar. The mid and neck pickups by themselves were too muddy. But now, every pickup position offers tone as clear as a bell. So much more versatile than it was before. Thanks guys!
Bruce (verified owner) –
excellent advise and super fast service – GREAT pickup!
thank you very much – keep up the fine work!
Bruce – guitar player for Modzilla, a Philadelphia legend for over a decade
Matt McGowan (verified owner) –
I received my Pure PAF pickups a few weeks ago and had them installed by Harry Eibert. When i picked up my Les Paul, Harry said he thought my set of pickups were some of the best he’s heard in a long time. Well…, the Les Paul in which they were installed was my backup…..Not any more! They sound fantastic. They are full, round and with just enough bite for commanding leads. I want Lindy to know how happy I am with the purchase and congratulate him on his good work.
I bought a set of hum cancelling P90s in 2010 and am very happy with them. So, I thought maybe a new set of pickups could help my old horse guitar. It certainly did, and now the old horse is in the main stable. Thanks again
Cheers,
Matt
Steve (verified owner) –
HOLY MOLEY these Pure P.A.F. pickups sound amazing! After researching the forums and shootout videos I noticed Fralin Pure P.A.F.s were consistently at the top of people’s lists. Warning-the reviews and online videos just can’t capture the tone and fullness coming from my amp right now. Clean, articulate, balanced and extremely responsive are just a few words that come to mind. Seriously, I was thinking about selling my Gibson es-347 because I was tired of fighting my amp to dial in the tone I wanted. But I really love the way it feels in my hands so I decided to swap out the pickups – so glad I did. I jacked straight into the amp and strummed an open E chord that buckled my knees…THIS was the lush tone I’d been searching for.
I’m not famous…just another gigging sideman but whether you have hundreds or thousands of dollars wrapped up in your gear please don’t overlook what Fralin Pure P.A.F. pickups will do for your tonequest.
Peace,
Chaz –
Hands down my favorite PAF style pickup. I have tried these in may different guitars from vintage Gibson’s to inexpensive imports and the Pure PAF’s have dramatically improved tone in all. Absolutely no mud here… just clear and pure vintage PAF chime. Cannot recommend them more. Bravo Lindy!
Thorsten (verified owner) –
Put a set of Pure P.A.F. (7.8/8.2) in my ’82 Les Paul Heritage Series. Already sounding good, original PUs and some other “classic” replacements never seemed quite capable of converting the guitar’s great acoustic properties into electric signal (always a bit muted like listening through a closed door). The Guitar has really opened up now, neck PU gives a swet & balanced tone, bridge PU is well defined and articulate. Feels like hearing what the guitar is really capable of for the first time, glad I bought ’em. Thanks to Lindy & the whole team an Fralin Pickups!
Ron Collier –
Lindy has installed his Pure PAF pickup sets in several of my Epiphone Les Pauls (Standard Pro, Juniors, Specials). In every case dramatic sonic improvements were heard. To my ears my Epiphones now sound better than equivalent Gibson Les Pauls, at least the ones I have played. Lindy has done other work on my guitars such as special wiring, new pots, setups, etc. His work is always done right the first time. He has performed work on over a dozen of my instruments and I have yet to encounter any problems with any of his work. In addition he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He has freely given me very helpful advice that has greatly expanded my understanding of how guitars work and what can be done to improve their sound. I now consider him a friend.
Chuck –
Either I don’t like PAF pickups or these things just sound bad. I installed them in my Les Paul and gave them a run through my Marshall 2525 combo. First thing I noticed is that they were very dull. I then increased my treble quite significantly and they became very harsh. In any case they seemed to completely steal my basic Les Paul tone. I tried to work with them for a couple hours but they just weren’t going to work out. My 490/98 stock Gibson pickups went back in and the day was saved – they sound miles better. The True PAF pickups are on their way back to the seller for a full refund.
As a side note, I really became sceptical of Lindy when he thought it would suffice to demo the pickups with distorion by using a stomp box pedal during his True PAF youtube demo video. I was like …???
H.A. (verified owner) –
I think most of us guitar players are “Tone Chasers”.
Amps, pedals, guitars….and PICKUPS of course!
Not a cheap or easy journey sometimes.
And we all know that feeling when you finally hit it….it’s a feeling only guitar players understand.
After installing a Pure PAF in the bridge of my 335…the perfect tone alarm sounded!
What a great moment hahaha!
I would recommend these pickups to anyone! Fantastic!
Seem like cool people too…….The search is over….gonna load up my Strat with the Blues specials now…….
Kevin Sweeney (verified owner) –
I had 57 Classics in my Gibson SG 61 Reissue. The bridge pickup was okay but it just seemed lacking of any definition or pick attack. After talking with Lindy, I decided to go for a Pure PAF with an ALNICO 5 magnet (as I like brighter pickups). It has much more character and definition now. The clarity and pick attack are superb. I paired it with a Fralin Bluesbucker in the neck. They make a great pair by the way.
Thanks to Lindy and his crew for the great craftsmanship and customer service. Highly recommended.
Brian Baker –
My Les Paul Classic turned sixteen this year and wanted new pickups as a present. I bought the 7.5/8 set and could not be more pleased. The pups are capable of a very clean tone from which to build on. I play the guitar through a made in Britain Marshall DSL 50. The red channel’s first stage now pumps out pure classic rock. Sweet singing overdrive. The neck puts out chords without a hint of mud while the bridge has just the right amount of bite. My review is overdue, to say the least,(got them on 3/28/17) but I wanted to wait for the honeymoon period to expire. Makes for a more sincere review. These pickups have given my guitar the voice I wish it had to start with.
Chris Hagerty (verified owner) –
I built a Les-Paul inspired Telecaster with 24.75″ scale and two of these pure PAF pickups with 50 and 52mm spacing for neck and bridge, respectively. They sound really great and they look beautiful.
I ordered zebras with chrome covers to have an option for cover-no-cover. The covers were soldered in place as received so I left them alone.
This detail should be shown on the options, to be clear. I am happy with the covered look in any case.
It was not clear to me which end of the pickup is up but I guessed that screws are up based on views on the site and views of guitars.
This should also be detailed without ambiguity. Minor complaints overall. The items themselves look great and sound great.
Jordan James (verified owner) –
I was looking for replacement pickups for an old Les Paul. Being a full-time session guitarist, I have been thankful to have many incredible guitars and pickups in my hands over the years; including several magical example late 50’s PAF’s. A good friend suggested I reach out to Lindy and I called to discuss what I was looking for. The phone call was awesome – the attention to the detail and depth of knowledge in helping find the tonality I had in mind was second to none.
I ordered a customized set to my desired specs and the results were outstanding.
The pickups brought new life to a very sentimental instrument. Gorgeous cleans to very musical overdrive when pushed, excellent note separation while retaining midrange complexity, excellent note bloom and responsiveness – all the buzz words you hear about but don’t always find.
The pickups enhanced everything great about the guitar and brought it to full potential. It’s now one of the most inspiring tools I have in the lineup.
You cannot go wrong with the Pure PAF.
Steve Husting –
I put a set of these into a Dot beater and all of the sudden I was doing a teenage girl imitation – OMG! OMG! – they turned the cheap beater into a seriously good-sounding guitar. I’m ashamed to say the high-end stuff hasn’t been getting much playing time any more. I liked it so much I went ahead and replaced all the other junk on the guitar with decent stuff. Now I have the most expensive cheap Dot in the world.
And I’ve never really been a humbucker guy. But I sure do like these.
Gary Bonadio (verified owner) –
Just finished Upgrading my Epi 339 with a set of your Pure PAF Humbuckers, Emerson CTS Pots, a Bone Nut and a Graphtech Resomax Bridge.
I am completely blown away by the sound of this guitar and I find it difficult at times to put it down .The articulation ….the clarity…the balance and the tone is just amazing. I’m a chord-melody guy and always reached for my D’Angelico arch top for that style of play, but now my inexpensive Epi is filled with body, warmth and clarity that I never thought I could get with a Semi Hollow body Guitar. I don’t believe that a $3000 Gibson 339 has anything over this Epi. Do yourself a huge favor and pick up a set of these PAFs
Thank you Lindy & Tyler for the great work.
Dean Vusikas –
I bought a Pair of these Pure PAFs over a year ago from Lindy. I was looking for some AlnicoII magnet pickups that had a warm sounding Neck and special Bridge tone , and after speaking to Lindy decided on an overwound pair of these.
WOW ! These pickups were exactly what I was looking for in tone !
I had them installed in a beautiful All Solid Woods ES 335 type Carvin made Semi Hollow body that was sitting in a closet for 7 years because the stock pickups were so poor to my ears.
With the edition of these PAFs the guitar is now perfect , exactly what I was looking for. The Neck pickup holds it’s tone even with the tone knob turned all the way down , it doesn’t get muddy. That is a hard quality to achieve in a neck pickup. So the Neck pup has a great Jazz and Blues tone and very versatile with the tone knob.
The Bridge pickup is also stellar. Very crisp , clean high end Blues and Rock tone with no shrillness , and again lots of range with the Tone knob.
I compared these pickups with the Duncan Seth Lovers and I have to say my Fralin overwound pair are better sounding to me in the Neck and Bridge. More warm , clean range in the neck and more clarity and personlity in the Bridge.
As always , very happy with my Fralin pickups and the customer service is The Best !!
Thanks Lindy and the Fralin family.
Dean
Donald Meyer (verified owner) –
Absolutely Fantastic! Amazing tone, better than I imagined. Thank you Luke for deciphering my cryptic note with the order and walking me through the wiring options I was looking for. I paired a four wire Pure P.A.F. in the neck, with an overwound High Output Telecaster bridge pickup in a semi-hollow Thinline body. I wired them up with a 5 way “super switch” (thanks again Luke) with 500K Ohm pots and a .02 Capacitor. First off the full neck pickup sings with a clean sustain that puts my Gibsons to shame. Next position is the screw coil alone and it’s sweet and smooth. The middle position is both pickups full on and the added bite of the overwound bridge pickup makes solos cut through even the thickest live mixes. The next position is the screw coil and the bridge pickup out of phase but hum canceling for a super usable tone. Not quite the Peter Green tone but still super pleasing. And the coup de grace, the bridge pickup alone, absolutely killer rock and blues tone for days! This was my second set of Fralin pickups. I got started on a Blues Special Telecaster replacement set, I’ll never put another brand of pickups in a guitar. Thanks again!
Jon Staton (verified owner) –
Gentlemen, I just wanted to write to let you know how happy I am with the new pickup. I’ve had a Fralin Unbucker in the neck of my custom 22 for years, and it’s been great. I love the single cool tone so much that I basically use it exclusively split. The humbucker I had in the bridge didn’t pair well with the split unbucker (too middy), so I decided to try the pure PAF 8.2 in the bridge. Amazing. It has such a subtle mid push compared to the split unbucker that the cleans are beautifully open with no annoying midrange honk/muddiness. Running the paf and split unbucker together sounds like a good tele in the middle position. The prs is bright, so I run 25Ok pots, which pair great with the two fralins. It’s great dirty as well. I like more of a smooth Mesa, two rock type dirty sound which sounds great with the split unbucker. The paf is great here as well, as the midds don’t muddy up the sound, and all the notes come thru beautifully. Thanks for a great product! Jon Staton
Joe Siracusa (verified owner) –
Pure P.A.F installed in an Eastman El Rey
I recently installed a Fralin Pure P.A.F in my Eastman El Rey and it is everything I had hoped it would be. The pickup is warm sounding, articulate and extremely responsive to my playing style. Since the pickup upgrade, I have used the guitar on a couple of recent gigs and find that my playing is more expressive and free-flowing. I primarily play straight ahead jazz using archtops and have been playing for approximately 45 years. This pickup makes the little Eastman sound like a larger archtop without the inherent feedback issues of a full size carved instrument. Will be purchasing additional Fralin Pure P.A.F pickups in the near future
Steve Heckman (verified owner) –
Turned my Epi Les Paul into a fire breather! I recently ripped out the wiring, pots, switches, jacks and pick ups on my epiphone. Put a jonesy blues 21 tone rig in there along with pure pafs 8.5k bridge and 7.5k in neck. Both with albino 4 mags…………. my guitar now has everything and more of what was lacking. These pure pafs are so clear and articulate on the cleans and the magic really happens when you hit them with overdrive and gain. Greasy quacky with all the bottom end bang and top end Kerrang.
Fredrik Svensson (verified owner) –
Totally Tonal Triumph- Not much to say. Bigger, warmer and more responsive than many HBs I´ve tried over the years.
Jeffrey Whitehead (verified owner) –
The Pure P.A.F. brings that classic HB tone that rings like a bell, then cuts through with incredible clarity in overdrive. I love to install it with a pot to adjust coil tapping, giving the player a broad range of tone: http://www.charleston.guitars/
Michael Loffredo (verified owner) –
Awesome!
These pickups are awesome. I put them in my LP Custom and can’t put it down. I highly recommend them!
Richard Hetland (verified owner) –
The tone quest stops here!
Over the years I’ve had the good fortune of playing some real nice vintage guitars, thankfully. It’s hard for me to imagine a P.A.F. style humbucker that could sound any better than this one. You can stop looking now, and start playing. Thank you, Mr. Fralin and crew!
TJ Fletcher (verified owner) –
Sounds good! Replaced my stock pickups from my 1980 ES-347. Sounds clean. I’m happy.
Dirk Mautes –
I put these pickups into my 1984 and my 1990 Tokai Love Rocks, the difference between the stock pickups and the Pure PAFs is impressive. Much nicer tone, better clarity, beautiful highs, perfect mids and enough lows. I play them through a Soldano, and it just sounds amazing. They are definitely a huge improvement and beat the stock pickups by far.
lloydwarren (verified owner) –
I wanted to let you know how unbelievably happy I am with my latest purchase from you. I recently purchased a PRS CE 24 that had their standard 85/15 humbuckers in it. Many people like these. Not me. I have many Fralin’s, so I talked to Lindy and he suggested the Pure PAF’s. I ordered them with the nickel covers. I took the guitar to the PRS dealer here and they seemed skeptical to swap out “PRS pickups” until I told them they were Fralin’s. They had told me it would take a week, but he said he wanted to hear the Fralin’s in the PRS so he’d get it done quicker. I’m not kidding. He called the next day to tell me it was done and that it “sounded amazing!”…and…”looked great too”. Not making this up.
He wasn’t kidding. These pickups brought this guitar to life. The clarity and tone and warmth they bring to the guitar is amazing. It’s like a brand new instrument. Even the single coil option sounds better. These pickups have brought out the tone wood and snap of the guitar. It’s unbelievable. Before, the neck pickup was almost unusable with gain. Now, even with gain the neck sounds warm, but clear. These may be the best PAF’s I’ve ever heard.
James Lanier (verified owner) –
Great replacement for stock pickups!
I replaced the stock pickups on my 18-year-old G&L ASAT Deluxe with Lindy’s Pure PAF set. A perfect choice. Original pups were Duncan ’59 and JB combination. They were decent enough, but the JB bridge pickup was a “one-trick” pony. It did one thing extremely well, but nothing else was satisfying to my ears. With Lindy’s PAF’s I immediately noticed the broader frequency response of neck pickup. Better low-end and no more artificial upper-mid bump. But the really shocking thing is the incredible increase in dynamic range — particularly in the bridge pickup. Now I know what a PAF is supposed to sound like! Especially since my G&L ASAT Deluxe is mahogany body with maple cap. And with a rare ebony fretboard, in many respects it should be voiced a lot like the Les Paul Custom. Now it is, and I could not possibly be happier with the switch. Also, a personal thanks to Lindy Fralin. He answered my original phone call to inquire about pickups, and he courteously guided me thru everything to consider, options, etc. If I could give a “ten star” rating I would! Thanks again, James
Babak Khodabandeh (verified owner) –
It’s alive!! A true Frankenstein story. After gutting my guitar and putting it under a white sheet. A flash of light hit and all of a sudden it started playing itself. No human necessary. What an investment!
Jason Whiting (verified owner) –
These pickups are amazing!!! Before buying I called to discuss the options on Pure PAFs and was pleasantly surprised to get a call back by Lindy himself! We spoke for about 15 minutes discussing the various options and how they would affect tone. I had recently purchased a used Heritage H575, and it’s tone was very dark. I decided on the Pure PAFs with the neck at 7.5 in hopes of hearing more of the acoustic properties of the archtop. After ordering and putting in these Pure PAFs, the guitar has come alive. It’s tone is now balanced, and it sounds incredible.
Nice work to Lindy and everyone at Fralin Pickups!!
Matt Boren (verified owner) –
I have to say that yes, Lindy you are correct in that saying the pure paf pickup you engineered is as close as you can get. Well what that means to me is not only thru the design and engineering phase did you come as close as you could get, but you actually ended up equaling the best original paf’s and then took it a step further in that they are better than the best, so yes, you went further than they did, and I couldn’t be happier…I’m completely blown away every time I play them in my R8 Les paul. ?
Christopher Godwin (verified owner) –
My Herirage 150 came with Duncan Vintage ‘59s, which were good but just not quite hot enough. I installed the standard “hot” set of Pure PAFs ind they did the trick. Great vintage tone and just the right growl when wide-open.
One thing though: the pickup covers were just a little big for the pickup body routes so I had to re-solder the sides of the covers while squeezing them with a pair of pliers so that they’d fit inside the routes. Once I did that they dropped into place no problem.
All in all the Pure PAFs were a fine investment.
Don Lessnau (verified owner) –
Excellent! Lovely, warm and clean. Like butter on popcorn. Love those AlNiCo 2 magnets.