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Klein 1959 Vintage PAF Humbucker

This is the first I've heard of them. But, at $425/ea. for "vintage" PAF replicas, it's unlikely I'll be running into them very often.

When I think back to how many of those old Gibson pickups we destroyed... <sigh>
 
actually you get a whole set of 2 humbuckers for $425 bucks...lol  I think Im in love with the 1959 Paf's though.....I gotta have em....
 
If you gotta have 'em, you gotta have 'em. Happiness with your instrument is paramount.
 
I have not heard his pickups so I cannot comment on them but I have a set of ThroBak in my Les Paul and they are really good. I have also had a set of Over The Pond Guy PAF's and they are the best I have heard compared to real PAF's. I used the set I had in a trade for a Vintage 59 ES350T which has real PAF's so I no longer have them and they are very difficult to get your hand on. I hope to get another set this year.

There is a huge amount of discussion of PAF's on the Les Paul Forum so that would be a good resource for opinions regarding the different PAF makers.  You will find ThroBak are highly regarded by many on that forum, especially the short magnet version. Tom Holmes PAF's are also highly thought of but I have not heard them.
 
Thank you Tonar8353,

I am always interested in top quality parts, especially some of the more vintage sounding pickups, I like the sound of some of the main stream pickups out there, but theres just something extra special about some of these boutique pickups on the market these days, may be that they use the old stock type materials and have that total vintage vibe, kind of a magical combination though prices may be outrageous, I only build a guitar on here every 2 or 3 years so its got to be the best I can get or Im not happy, so thank you for the heads up on other brands, as I just love to do the comparisons and get into the whole process, as an artist of sorts my creative process is an obsession and love and having more options is a wonderfull thing.

This guitar is going to be a Tele "Custom Deluxe" or "Deluxe Custom" lol...Custom my way, and I want it to sound like the best Les Paul's out there thus the Classic pickup search.

Can I get a Humbucker that sounds all ringing shimmery sweet clean, and down right thick muscular and dirty when I lay on the mustard ?

Thats the goal, was gonna go with Lollar Imperials but just as I couldnt find many comparison clips on the Lollar's I also couldn't find anything hardly at all on the Klein's but damned if what I did find made those Klein 1959's sound shimmery and bell like when clean and for a Humbucker that is pretty hard to live up to so I ruled out the Lollar's and am now "inclined" (if you will...lol) to go with the Klein's.

I use "You Tube" quite often for gear comparisons as Im a bit of a shut in, so I always appreciate being informed by those in the know on these forums.

This is the Klein 1959 PAF set Im going to use as of present:

http://www.kleinpickups.com/p-271-1959-vintage-paf-humbucker-pickups.aspx


I will say Jason Lollar is one of the best of the boutique pickup makers out there so here is his link for those that are interested in the best of the best:

http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=humbucker-pickups

I will check out that LP forum and see what I can drum up.
 
if you are looking for PAF's also look at Skatterbranes. I put a set in a guitar I built for my dad. I think they sound great. I think they were in the 3-4 hundred dollar range for the pair.
 
Your description of what real PAF's do is very accurate and for what you are describing I would look into both the ThroBak and the Over The Pond Guy in addition to the ones you are looking at already. John from ThroBak has the original winding machines from the Gibson factory and has gone to many of the original part makers to have his parts stamped, plastic made, and magnet reproduced. The Over The Pond Guy's stuff is so accurate that I know some unscrupulous guys have sold them as original PAF's. He even has the stamp on the inside of the plastic that no onewould ever see unless they totally unwound the pickup. His attention to detail is insane.

Have fun on your quest and I'll be very interested in what you choose.
 
Thank you guys for your interest and response....

I have heard of the Skatterbranes but was a bit turned off by the weird name descriptions on his sight and I had heard of the Over The Pond Guy but havnt checked into his offerings..the ThroBak also is now on my Classic tone alert so I will let you all know my findings as I go, for anyone interested.

Feedback is appreciated.
 
Very nice, an awesome vid of your dad, do send him my regards, some very nice playing and a great bluesy tone no doubt about it.

                            Thanks for sharing that with us.
 
Well so far as it goes I plan on having a pair of his 59 Paf's in my build here shortly,

I did check out the throbak sight and the Skatterbrane sight and both have some very sweet offerings but so far I still feel smitten by the Klein 59's the Over the Pond Guy is raved by all who mention his pickups but there is no sight to go to for info that I found, (only his e-mail) so I havnt gone that route and probably wont as so far the Klein Paf's feel and sound right to me for my taste.

Because we all hear different things and have different taste in music and style's Im including the revised LP forum Pickup Directory link

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/pickups/169141-updated-pickup-directory-thread.html#post3239361

 
Yes the Over The Pond Guy's pickups are so hard to come buy that there is someone actually building copies of his copies and selling them on Ebay as OTPG pickups.  :doh:

The first set I bought for 1/3 of the current price and turned around and sold them for double that thinking I would have no problem getting a few more sets. Boy was I wrong. If you ever find a reliable source for some jump on them.
 
Appreciate that tip, and Im not surprised this guy is raved to no end, love to hear a set for sure.
 
If you do go with Shatterbranes send a e-mail to Rob and he will work with you on the sound you are looking for. He is awesome to work with and has a real passion for his pickups. Great guy all around.
 
Yeah I think thats probably the best way to go with these boutique pickups, I just E-mailed Klein Pickups and asked Chris Klein what he recomended for the Neck and Bridge pickups after I described what type of sounds and tones I wanted to get from each and what I would use each pickup for as far as style and so on, so it will be cool to hear a response and recommendation, I also described the woods that Im using on my build so he will know how the guitar itself may color the tone, ie bright or dark etc.etc. I tossed in that I would be able to drop $475 for both pickups delivered (relic'd) should be interesting to see what that buys these days.

I may also contact Rob as you suggest and see what his thoughts are, I have to give it to Skatterbrane for a really nice web sight and clips as well as quite a few user clips on the web to choose from, so I do appreciate you alerting me to their pickups, alot of the clips I have heard of their Paf's certainly do sound sweet and musical.

                                                    Thanks ocguy106
 
Awesome yeah he just got back to me....from what I can tell so far I think I 've got my pickups but I will check others just to make sure....Hey Super Turbo you must have a truck load of guitars by now huh....you've been on this sight forever, between you and Tonar you guys must have stock in the company...lol
 
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