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
Tonal Graph for Pure P.A.F.:
The tone graph below for our Pure P.A.F. features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack:
Sound Clips for Pure P.A.F.:
About this Sound Clip:
All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.
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.
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:
Select This Lead If...
- You are wiring a set of pickups to a Gibson® Style Instrument, like a Les Paul or 335.
Avoid This Lead If...
- You need Coil Splitting
- You are purchasing a Single Pickup
- You need to Reverse the Phase
3-Conductor Lead:
Select This Lead If...
- You need Coil Splitting
- You are purchasing a Single Pickup (You can reverse the phase)
- You are wiring pickup(s) to a Blade Switch, like a Fender-Style instrument.
4-Conductor Lead
Select This Lead If...
- You need Series / Parallel Wiring
Avoid This Lead If...
- You have limited space in the wiring cavity (wire can be bulky).
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 1 |
| Bridge Ohm Reading (Stock): | 8K 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 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 |
| 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.
* You can experiment with pot values for a different tone. This pickup will sound dark and warm on 250K pots
Pure P.A.F. FAQ's
General FAQs
Here are quick answers to common questions we get:
-
What Ohm Readings does your Pure P.A.F. have?
Navigate to our Tech Specs tab for complete Ohm Readings and more useful information.
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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.
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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.
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What pickup height do you recommend setting your Pure 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.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
218 Genuine Reviews for Pure P.A.F.
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STAY IN TOUCH
The Pure PAF is exactly what I was looking for. This pickup turned my guitar into a magic guitar. One of those rare guitars, I’ve only played a couple in my life, never owned one, one of those rare guitars that sounds good no matter what I play. I never feel like I’m fighting to get the tone I want. It’s just there. Way to go Lindy Fralin and crew!!!
Thank you for taking care of my pickup! I’m the guy who’s new pickup got lost in the mail. At first, the shipping company was going to reimburse me for the pickup, but a day or to went by and they found it. It took a long to time to get to me, but it was well worth the wait. I love it. The pickup plays just as the reviews said. It has a clear, clean sound, yet it is very responsive. I get a lot of compliments on it. But, because of the shipping situation, It was also about the Fralin team. They took good care of me. Thank you. I’ll be back for more.
I replaced the pickups in a 2007 high-end Gibson “reissue” with these and…boom! I liked playing that guitar a lot before. Now, I can’t put it down!
Put in my Murphy Lab 64 SG. Had to dial them in like any other pu, but when dialed in, WOW.
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.