Pure P.A.F.
Experience what a humbucker should really sound like and get inspired by the Pure P.A.F’s beautiful tone. Lindy’s favorite humbucker, the Pure P.A.F. is a 50’s P.A.F. clone, using real Butyrate Bobbins and all USA-Made parts. Featuring a clean, clear tone with incredible versatility and dynamics and expertly crafted using 100% USA-Made materials, we guarantee the Pure P.A.F. will inspire you for years to come.
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The Ultimate In Vintage PAF Tone
Want to learn more about our Pure P.A.F.? Here's all the information you'll need:
Pure P.A.F. FEATURES:
Are you ready to cut through in the mix? The Lindy Fralin-designed Pure P.A.F. is our best-selling humbucker. Based on the specifications of the original 50’s Gibson® P.A.F. pickups, this model features a clean, articulate tone that’s incredibly versatile.
The Pure P.A.F. is a lower output humbucker, which is more dynamic and expressive than higher output pickups. It’s more articulate and cleaner than our Modern P.A.F., but beefier than our P-92. 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., and it’s easy to see why – this pickup sounds incredible.
Features:
- Our Best-Selling Humbucker – low output, vintage tone
- Original Gibson PAF® specifications: low output, with modern clarity
- Clean and clear, smooth grind and a sharp attack
- USA-made Alnico 2 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
Sound
How does it sound? Clean and articulate!
The Pure P.A.F. stays clean and features a late break-up and a smooth grind. This pickup is perfect if you’re trying to restore life to your guitar. Don’t let the term “vintage” fool you – you’ll find that it’s loud and versatile enough to play with modern-voiced pickups; it just features more clarity than modern humbuckers.
Built with USA-Made AlNicCo II and 42-gauge Plain Enamel wire, the Pure P.A.F. pickup is a gateway to instant vintage tone. When playing without distortion, you’ll find that this pickup sings what you put into it: it’s dynamic and warm. Highs are accentuated with a medium attack. With distortion, you’ll find that the grind is nice and smooth.
Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. When Lindy designed this pickup, he wanted it to be as close to the originals as possible. 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, using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique. Doing this gives the pickup a sweet, clear tone, reminiscent of the early Gibson Humbuckers/
Finally, we assemble each pickup one at a time, by hand, which allows us to achieve unbeatable attention to detail. After assembly, we wax-pot the pickup to prevent microphonics and preserve the pickup for years to come.
Tech Specs
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Pure P.A.F..
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading (Stock): | 7.5K |
| Bridge Ohm Reading (Stock): | 8K |
| Neck Polarity: | Reversible with 3-Conductor or 4-Conductor Lead |
| Bridge Polarity: | Reversible with 3-Conductor or 4-Conductor Lead |
| Magnet: | USA-Made Alnico 2 |
| Wire: | USA-Made 42-Gauge Plain Enamel |
| Bobbin Material: | USA-Made Butyrate |
| Baseplate Material: | Nickel Silver |
| Cover Material: | Nickel Silver |
| Slug / Pole Piece Material: | Steel |
| Recommended Pot Value: | 500K* |
| Baseplate Leg Depth: | 6mm |
* You can experiment with pot values for a different tone. This pickup will sound dark and warm on 250K pots
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
Pure P.A.F. Questions And Answers:
Have a question about our Pure 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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Since these are available with a 4-conductor cable, they can be series/parallel switched. How is the sound in parallel?
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Q Since these are available with a 4-conductor cable, they can be series/parallel switched. How is ...... Read moreA
Hey Dale,
- Yes, these can be wired in parallel. I haven't heard them, but I'd imagine you'd get a bit of a brighter, spankier scooped midrange tone.
- We haven't tried that modification as well, but we've heard them out of phase, and they sound great! - Tyler
Hi. I am the happy owner of pure p.u.f. What is the recommended string distance from these pickups?
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Q Hi. I am the happy owner of pure p.u.f. What is the recommended string distance from these pickups?A
Hey Micha, check out our article on that here: How To Properly Set Pickup Height
Would any Lindy Fralin PAF be compatible with a stock fender single coil or would there be other requirements? (Duo-Sonic)
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Q Would any Lindy Fralin PAF be compatible with a stock fender single coil or would there be other ...... Read moreA
Hey Ben, our Pure P.A.F. should have no compatibility issues if you order the Pure P.A.F. with a reversible lead for phasing (3-Conductor will do.) - Tyler
I have telecaster thinline type guitar and I want a hum cancelling P90 on the neck and PURE PAF on The bridge. I mostly play rock and jazz. What specs do you recomend on both pickups ?
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Q I have telecaster thinline type guitar and I want a hum cancelling P90 on the neck and PURE PAF o...... Read moreA
Hey Juan,
We recommend the Stock Output for both - they will match really nicely! Just make sure you select 2-Conductor lead on the Hum Cancelling P90 and 3-Conductor Lead on the Pure P.A.F. - Tyler
What do you recommend for a Gibson LesPaul Standard 2008 that has BurstBucker Pro pickups? I play rock and hard rock.
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Q What do you recommend for a Gibson LesPaul Standard 2008 that has BurstBucker Pro pickups? I play...... Read moreA
Hey Michel, we'd recommend going with our Modern PAFs for Hard Rock - you'll get a bit more bite and output. - Tyler
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These pick ups are magical! They sound very musical yet they get dirty nice and smoothly without any harshness. I was nervous that my reaction would be, Ho hum I guess they sound good. No way, these are head and shoulders above the pick ups that came in my Gibson Explorer. They were also very helpful with my wiring question.
One set of Lindy’s and you are hooked. These PAFs were my fifth set. Sometimes I feel like I’m getting another guitar just to put Lindy’s pickups in it 🙂
Wonderful PAF pickups for Les Paul. Fantastic !!
Absolutely fantastic. This is my third set of Fralins, and I’m hooked. The PAF has very nice dynamic range, and yet feels like a bit of compression (I know! That is a contradiction!). The tone on clean is amazing and I love the attack on crunch. Great pickups.
wonderful clear sound and yet so powerful! I love this pickups. Looks and sounds great! Here you‘ll find a picture of this nice guys:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdWmbJfs50d/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Lindy’s pickups are an addiction. Once you’ve experienced them, it’s impossible to be satisfied with most other pickups.
In this case, I had Pure PAFs – 7.8/8.2 in black chrome installed on a pelham blue Gibson Midtown. As anticipated, it’s the perfect pairing of a gibson semi-hollow and the Pure PAF. Noiseless. Absolutely Sings and plays incredibly well with my pedal board – Mini Volume -> Boss OD -> JHS Screamer -> Timmy OD -> Strymon Flint -> ricochet -> boss synth -> flashback II.
Highly recommended for semi-hollows! Fantastic customer service & consultation.