Period 1956—1975 Voltage (RMS), V 127 mV at 7.715 kHz | Type Passive Humbucker | |
 | ||
Manufacturer Gibson Guitar Corporation Magnet type 1956-1960: Alnico 2, 3, 4, and 5
1961-1975: Alnico 5 Impedance, kΩ 1956-1961: ~7.5-9.5
1961-1965: 7.25-7.75
1965-1975: 7.5 | ||
A P.A.F. or simply PAF is an early model of the humbucker guitar pickup invented by Seth Lover in 1955. Gibson began use of the PAF on higher-model guitars in late 1956 and stopped in around 1962. They were replaced by the Patent Number (Pat No) pickup, essentially a refined version of the PAF. These were in turn replaced by "T-Top" humbuckers in 1967, and production ended in 1975. Though it is commonly mistaken as the first humbucker pickup, the PAF was the first humbucker to gain widespread use and notoriety. The PAF is an essential tonal characteristic of the now-famous 1958-1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard guitars, and pickups of this type have gained a large following.
Contents
Development
In the mid-1950s Gibson looked to create a new guitar pickup different from existing popular single coil designs. Gibson had already developed the Charlie Christian pickup and P-90 in the 1930s and 40s; however, these designs—like competitor Fender's single-coil pickups—were fraught with inherent 60-cycle hum sound interference. Engineer and Gibson employee Seth Lover spent much of 1954 working on a noise-cancelling or "hum-bucking" guitar pickup design. By early 1955, the design was completed. In June 1955, Lover and Gibson filed a joint patent for the pickup design.
Early use
Gibson began switching from P-90s to PAFs first on the company's lap steel guitars in 1956, and then on electric guitars in 1957. Les Paul Goldtops and Customs were the first solid-body electric guitars to receive PAF humbuckers, and Gibson's ES Series were the first hollow/semi-hollow designs to receive them.
In late 1957 a black sticker with gold lettering was applied to each pickup's underside, that read "PATENT APPLIED FOR." This name was shortened to "PAF" to create the nickname these pickups have been known by since. US patent 2896491 was eventually issued on July 28, 1959. The popular abbreviation "PAF" as used in guitar pickups is now a registered trademark of DiMarzio.
In 1958 the Goldtop model was dropped from production, and the sunburst Standard took its place. These guitars were all fitted with PAF humbuckers, which contributed greatly to the instruments' sound.
1961-1966
Early 1961 PAFs are almost exactly identical to the original 1957-1960 PAFs. In July 1961 Gibson standardized the PAF construction process with the introduction of the SG model. With this, a new, smaller Alnico 5 magnet became standard. Also, a more formal number of wire winds was introduced, causing pickup DC resistance to center around 7.5kΩ. Around 1963, Gibson switched to polyurethane-coated wire from enamel-coated to cut costs, changing the wire color from purple to red. In addition, these pickups were also given a new sticker that had a patent number written on it. However, the stickers were labelled with "U.S. Patent 2,737,842" until 1962, which is the number issued to the 1952 Les Paul trapeze tailpiece design and not the humbucking pickups. In 1966 Gibson began using automatic pickup winding machines, thus making humbucker pickups with a consistent number of turns and fixed DC resistance.
1967-1975
With the reintroduction of the Les Paul Standard in 1967, Gibson began putting a T-shaped toolmark on humbucker bobbins. This helped workers ensure the bobbin was facing the correct way during assembly. Many original PAF specifications changed in these pickups, such as the use of a plastic spacer instead of a maple spacer and the use of thinner Alnico 5 magnets. These pickups are referred to as "T-tops". Gibson ended production of this iteration of the PAF design in 1975.
PAF reissues
In 1981 Gibson realized that there was a consumer demand for the sound of original PAF pickups. Engineer Tim Shaw designed a pickup that aimed to replicate the early design, reversing changes made in the 1960s and 1970s: a new bobbin without the "T", a correct small square hole back in both bobbins, enamel wire, and thicker Alnico magnets. Shaw's efforts are generally considered to be the first of many recreations of the PAF humbucking pickup.
Gibson currently produces several reissues of PAFs including the "'57 Classic" and "Burstbucker".
Other notable companies, such as IronGear Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio, also produce aftermarket PAF recreations as well as different takes on the PAF sound.
Signature sound
Early PAFs are often the most-sought-after vintage humbucker pickups by guitarists, and each individual pickup is unique in terms of output level and tone. Factors that account for their sound are: