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Are PAF's supposed to be so mid-heavy?

Dilver

Active member
Joined
Feb 17, 2016
Messages
114
My OX4s, similar wind to yours, do have some upper midrange emphasis. I’ve had 3 A4 PAF style pickups from different winders, OX4, Shed Supernaturals and Wizz. All have that upper midrange push, with the Wizz having the most. I’ve found I prefer A5 pickups. I have a set of Rewind Low Winds, neck A2 and A5 bridge. Much more balance and fatter than the above mentioned A4 pickups. My Throbak PH102s with A5 are fantastic as well. Nice bark and grind and none of the ear grating upper midrange.

My OX4s balance really well with the guitar they’re in, but it’s not the first guitar I reach for.

Glad somebody understands what I was talking about... I’m surprised this thread is still going. I came to the same conclusion... I don’t like the A4 mag tone. It’s not my amp, wiring, pots, caps, guitar, etc,; it’s those friggin’ A4 magnets. Just not for me. A5 and A2 are what I need in bridge pickups.
 

JLee

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
89
I definitely hear it. The Wizz I had were in a Burny RSA with a RS harness. Light and bright guitar naturally. With the Wizz there was a big upper midrange emphasis that caused some ear fatigue. Same guitar previously had Wolfetone Dr. Vintage pickups. Much fatter and more balanced in EQ, but didn’t give me enough push direct to amp. A4s can be great if you want to cut right though a mix.

I installed a Throbak A5 in my Rewind Low Wind bridge, which previously had a A2. Upped the bark and push. Gave me exactly what I was looking for.

May try swapping the OX4 bridge to an A5 as well. I’ve already swapped covers, so I’m not too worried about resale value.
 

rockabilly69

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 29, 2001
Messages
2,872
I see this posted a lot. Makes me wonder how much actual recording studio experience backs up this? Some players with wild, wide and wonderful tonal palettes may use studio wizardry to alter their tone, but by far the vast great majority of recorded paf loaded guitars and classic amps are recorded faithfully.

That great tone the artist have is what identifies them, a signature tone. Producers and engineers do their best to capture it not alter it. I've been involved with recording since my first reel to reel tube tape recorder I got for my 10th birthday in '65, which I still have. I started working in multi-track studios in '72 and had my own for years.

Solo those guitars would open your ears.

I agree, I've been recording guitars for ages and own a pretty nice project studio with some pretty good recording gear. And one thing I found is, if the player has a good tone coming off of his speaker, it's fairly easy to record, with the one exception being high volume which can be problematic sometimes. But once I hear good tone, I know my day just got a lot easier! One mic close to the cone (some kind of dynamic or ribbon) to get the punch of the amp, and a good room mic (Neumann U89 or U87) to catch what I hear as player, and hit the record button.
 

Black58

New member
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
10,139
Just pondering .. The original PAFs were created and tested using strings with a wound G. A wound G is MUCH lower in acoustic volume than a plain G. If you look at the 6 strings as low to high, the G would be mids to upper mids. .. With that in mind, wouldn't it make sense to design the pickup to help the weak link, in terms of balance? .. And remember, these things weren't supposed to have adjustable polepieces. .. :hmm
 

latestarter

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
4,173
I'm using my tone knobs a lot more these days with PAF guitars. There's a such a variance between pickups that I cannot just assume all guitars with the volume and tone cranked will sound the same. I can't change the amp throughout the night, but I can roll off some top end. Some people have an issue with this. If a specific guitar doesn't sound right with an amp set at "X" then they might think there's something wrong. I say set the amp to deal with the darkest instrument and then tweak away on the other guitars. Al and others cover this topic off regularly. Earlier someone said PAFs sound best at 6-7 on the tone/volume. There is some weight to this concept IME (but to be fair, my volume never goes below 8).

In terms of mid heaviness, my early '65 SG, which has an early nickel covered Pat No in the bridge, is the most pronounced. Through an old Fender it's bliss though - the amps emphasis on highs and lows works well to balance the guitar.
 

Sol

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2001
Messages
775
Whenever I've replaced PAF style pups for another PAF style in a customer's guitar, I always encourage them to spend at least two months playing, gigging, and recording with their new set, in order to hear them in as many environments as possible, during which time they benefit from the feedback of bandmates, sound engineers and the audience.
Those that abandon their pickups after a fortnight often find themselves going through set after set in search of the grail becoming exasperated in their search. It's a situation familiar with many , and I speak from experience I'm afraid to say.
 
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