shood Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I am about to pull the trigger on a 9k ohm Fralin P.A.F. for my Strat. Anyone have any experince with these or other similar P.A.F.-style pickups? I know there are cheaper alternatives (e.g., Seymour '59), but that is not my chief concern. Thanks, Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarzan Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 check out harmony centrals user reviews, remember to take what you hear in context with who said it. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Another really good place to lurk and browse for PAF stylee pickup suggestions is the Les Paul Forum . Take the occasional snobbery and ultra hair-splittin' geekery there with a grain of salt, though! In general, it's a great place for such info. I imagine that James-Italy will be along here sometime soon... he won't steer ya wrong, either! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James-Italy Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Hmmmm...... PAFs were all hand wound and each different, so there really is no exact PAF sound. Everyone has an idea of what it is though, but many opinions are different. I agree with Kev's suggestion to check out the LesPaulForum. There must be 5000 posts there about which is the best PAF pickup. The problem with buying pickups is that you can't try them out first. You won't know how they will sound till you install them in your guitar. And of course, each guitar will react differently to the pickup... and even little adjustments to height and which tone pots and caps you use will all influence the end result. I've got a set of boutique "Fillmore" pickups which emulate the Duane Allman Fillmore sounds. These are not generally considered true PAF pickups, but great for classic rock tones. http://www.crcoils.com/New_PIckups/Fillmore_Set/fillmore_set.html I would reccommend them. I've got 57 Classics in the ES335, 490/498 in the Custom, and had Burstbuckers in the Goldtop before the Fillmores. Each pickup is quite different and I like them all. Guess my advice would be to play a few guitars that already have pickups installed to get a general idea of what you like. Then roll the dice and hope that what you buy is gonna sound like you want in your guitar. The comments I've heard on the Fralins are that they are very good pickups. Good luck with your search! My Gear My Attempts at Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shood Posted June 8, 2004 Author Share Posted June 8, 2004 James (or anyone), I have settled on Kinman Woodstocks for the middle and neck. They are 7.5K-ohms. Should I order my Fralin 8.5K-ohms or 9K-ohms for volume-balance purposes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Aaah... I think I missed the boat here... When you said, "P.A.F." (for your Strat), did you mean a single-coil sized pickup that replicates traits of a P.A.F. humbucker? Or, a full-sized P.A.F. humbucker? Mr. Fralin may be best known for his single-coil style offerings, but I'm sure that all of his products are top-knotch. Anyways... On a Strat, I'd think that you'd want to go with the hotter (at least the 8.5K-ohm, if not the 9K-ohm) model for the bridge-slot. Strats are notorious for needing more "oomph" in the bridge-position. P.S.- PLEASE post about the Kinmans once you get to try them out! And, good luck! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shood Posted June 8, 2004 Author Share Posted June 8, 2004 No, Caevan, you were right, I was referring to Fralin's PAF humbucker for use with Kinmans in my H-S-S Strat. I will definitely report on them once they are installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Hmmn... a full-sized humbucker might be balanced well enough with the Kinman Woodstocks in the lower res. rating (8, 8.5, whatever), as it will be picking up a longer segment of the string's vibrating length; this also influences the perceived "loudness" of a pickup. Double check; ask the folks at Kinman, Fralin, etc. when ordering! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarzan Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 also check out Fralins Unbucker, it has unbalanced coils for more clarity and i would imagine it would split nicely if you use the coil with the extra winds. quote from Lindy Fralins site: UNBUCKER This is our newest model of humbucker. It was developed because of the noticeable loss of high end on the wound strings of most side by side two coil pickups. This is caused by the fact the string is picked up in two places rather than one. We have made a humbucker that looks normal but sounds brighter and clearer on the wound strings. This is done with unevenly wound coils. (5k screw coil, 3K slug coil) It has a second benefit in that when it is tapped it retains two-thirds of its power. The down side is that it is only two-thirds hum-cancelling. We recommend that it come in a metal cover for shielding purposes. Shielding will help reduce the hum and excess high end. These are offered from 4-2K to 5-4K. The most popular being 4.5-3 Neck, 5-3.5 Bridge. (Combining the two coils gives a total ohm reading or approximate output to compare to normal humbuckers) http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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