Di Marzio PAF Pro

[vino_buono]

I am planning to modify my Fender Strat American Standard (maple neck) from SSS to HSS. The guitar has a "swimming pool" pickup cavity, so there's no wood work to be done. I just need to get a new pickguard and modify the electronics as needed.

I'd keep the current neck and middle single coils (relatively high output and modern sounding) and put a Di Marzio PAF pro in the bridge (it would become a sort of Sambora strat). The PAF pro doesn't have very high output for a humbucker, it should balance fine with the single coils. Now my question is... do I use a 250k or 500k volume pot? I plan to use something like Suhr's wiring to have the single coils see 250k, just wondering what would be better for the humbucker. Typically you go with 500k, but the PAF pro is relatively bright. Any experience or suggestions? Thanks!

 

[DrewJD82]

I’d go with 500K. PAF Pros were the pickups that originally came with Ibanez JEMs, one of my favorite pickups, but they always came with 500K pots.

If you’re going to split the coils at all, check out MadHatterGuitarProducts.com, he makes solderless kits to drop in guitars and does some great split coil options with stacked pots, so if you split the coils in the PAF, the pot switches from 500k to 250k. I had that setup in my PRS and quite enjoyed it.

 

[HomespunEffects]

The PAF Pro is kinda muddy with the 500k so I wouldn’t put a 250k on it. I generally change all my Strats to 500k, gives it that pop especially in the neck position.

 

[FuzzyAce]

The PAF Pro is kinda muddy with the 500k so I wouldn’t put a 250k on it. I generally change all my Strats to 500k, gives it that pop especially in the neck position.

I agree, 500K pots. I prefer to start from a brighter and snappier base, it's easier to tone down from there as needed.

Your take on the PAF Pro is interesting though, I've never heard the term muddy used before in either neck or bridge position? That's not been my experience with it ever. For me it's always been more lean and mean -- clear and cutting tone, especially in the bridge.

 

[Blix]

Yeah I have to agree, the PAF Pro is anything but muddy!
500k volume pot and 470k resistors for the singles so they "see" 250k does the trick.

 

[HomespunEffects]

I only had one in the neck position of a Carvin DC127. Could have been a fluke. The Tone Zone in the bridge sounded like it had a blanket over it and the PAF Pro just had that low mid mud. I sold it on reverb. Hope it wasn’t messed up. DP151FBK was the model.

Do you think I'm confusing it with a different pickup?

 

[FuzzyAce]

I only had one in the neck position of a Carvin DC127. Could have been a fluke. The Tone Zone in the bridge sounded like it had a blanket over it and the PAF Pro just had that low mid mud. I sold it on reverb. Hope it wasn’t messed up.

DP151FBK was the model.

I've heard that about the TZ. The PP in the neck can be a love/not so much love for me in certain guitars, so I get that. But it's more of that upper filter wah attack kinda thing - which is cool but not always ideal imo. I like it wired in parallel for that position, helps to clean up and scoop a bit of that character.

 

[norminal]

Hmm… I’m currently playing a PAF Pro and to my ears, it’s anything but muddy. If anything, it’s the opposite.

 

[DrewJD82]

The reason I fell in love with the PAF Pro was because I was playing in a band that was tuning to drop B at the time and when I put that JEM in drop B and played it through my rig it was fucking glorious, open sounding with no crazy EQ spikes in one way or the other. The clarity of it was key in that context.

That said, anyone can have different experiences with pickups depending on how they dial in the rest of their rig.

 

[aivoryuk]

PAF Pro is a great pickup - bright but not brittle at all and has good output.

 

[vino_buono]

If you’re going to split the coils at all, check out MadHatterGuitarProducts.com, he makes solderless kits to drop in guitars and does some great split coil options with stacked pots, so if you split the coils in the PAF, the pot switches from 500k to 250k. I had that setup in my PRS and quite enjoyed it.

Interesting! I’d certainly want a split coil option and I’ll check it out. The other option is to wire one of the tone controls to bridge only or bridge and neck (which is exactly as it is wired now), so that I can tame some of the 500k harshness on an already harsh-y single coil.

 

[HomespunEffects]

I've heard that about the TZ. The PP in the neck can be a love/not so much love for me in certain guitars, so I get that. But it's more of that upper filter wah attack kinda thing - which is cool but not always ideal imo. I like it wired in parallel for that position, helps to clean up and scoop a bit of that character.

I will assume it was not wired in properly or it was just a bad example. It was amatuerishly installed by the previous owner. I replaced it with an old OEM Washburn pickup and then sold the guitar.

I have another Dimarzio story. I got an Ibanez RG655 which has a The Tone Zone in the bridge. It was thin and weedy. Everyone told me I’m nuts. Turned out the pot was faulty and it was cutting all the low out because there’s a factory installed Treble bleed in those guitars. I changed the pots and The Tone Zone became its dark and under-a-blanket self again.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I changed the pots and The Tone Zone became its dark and under-a-blanket self again.

The Tone Gone Zone.

 

[HomespunEffects]

The Tone Gone Zone.

Yeah, broski. Tone is in the treble!

 

[FuzzyAce]

Yeah, broski. Tone is in the treble!

Icepick highs for the win!

 

[HomespunEffects]

Icepick highs for the win!

There’s something to be said for Gold Foils.

 

[vino_buono]

If you’re going to split the coils at all, check out MadHatterGuitarProducts.com, he makes solderless kits to drop in guitars and does some great split coil options with stacked pots, so if you split the coils in the PAF, the pot switches from 500k to 250k. I had that setup in my PRS and quite enjoyed it.

Been thinking about this. If you are using a push-pull pot for coil splitting, it usually employs only one pole and it is wired such that north finish and south finish are connected together to the central lug, and the other lug active during pull is shorted to ground. Take the lug shorted to ground in e.g. pole 1, and solder a 470K resistor between that and the corresponding lug in pole 2. Then take the lug corresponding to the humbucker wires in pole 2, and connect that to the input of the tone pot to which the bridge pickup is already connected. If I am not mistaken, this will add the 470K resistor in parallel to the tone control only when the push-pull is pulled, i.e. when the humbucket is split. See diagram below. Better have this checked by an expert before soldering

 

[DrewJD82]

Been thinking about this. If you are using a push-pull pot for coil splitting, it usually employs only one pole and it is wired such that north finish and south finish are connected together to the central lug, and the other lug active during pull is shorted to ground. Take the lug shorted to ground in e.g. pole 1, and solder a 470K resistor between that and the corresponding lug in pole 2. Then take the lug corresponding to the humbucker wires in pole 2, and connect that to the input of the tone pot to which the bridge pickup is already connected. If I am not mistaken, this will add the 470K resistor in parallel to the tone control only when the push-pull is pulled, i.e. when the humbucket is split. See diagram below. Better have this checked by an expert before soldering
View attachment 21808

Yeah, I'm an idiot when it comes to wiring, that's why I just hit the dude up at MadHatter and tell him what I want to do.