PAF in parallel mode or Filtertron

[JoeJack1]

I'm sure there are many people here who have experimented with pickups.

I have a Gibson LP in which I want to replace ENG with passive pickups. I like the brighter sound and the series/parallel pickup switching features in Ibanez guitars.
I've tried series/parallel and I'm very impressed, but I've heard about Gretsch guitars and their pickups, Filter'tron, which are famous for their clear, bright and open sound.

I have 2 ideas.

1) Buy a Filtertron instead of my EMG
2) Buy Dimarzio and install series/parallel switching.

Which will sound better on pure Dimarzio sound in parallel mode or Filtertron?

 

[TBurst Std]

No DiMarzio w/parellel will sound like a Filtertron. If you want articulate and clear , Filters do it and bring something unique to a distorted tone. They don’t get muddy. They stay articulate.

All AC/DC rhythm guitar is Filters. If you go that direction, do yourself a favor and look to TV Jones.

I have 2 Gretsch with Filters, a Penguin and a Country Gent.

 

[rockandroller]

To be honest I have never had much use for humbuckers wired in parallel. Great idea in theory and I have wired it into many many instruments only to have it almost universally unused! YYMV, &etc...

 

[Strat Avenger]

I'm a huge fan of a neck position humbucker wired in parallel. I gotta have the bridge pickup in series.

 

[Floyd_Argus]

I'm sure there are many people here who have experimented with pickups.

I have a Gibson LP in which I want to replace ENG with passive pickups. I like the brighter sound and the series/parallel pickup switching features in Ibanez guitars.
I've tried series/parallel and I'm very impressed, but I've heard about Gretsch guitars and their pickups, Filter'tron, which are famous for their clear, bright and open sound.

I have 2 ideas.

1) Buy a Filtertron instead of my EMG
2) Buy Dimarzio and install series/parallel switching.

Which will sound better on pure Dimarzio sound in parallel mode or Filtertron?

The Ibanez guitars that have the neck humbucker in parallel mode, like position 4 of this RG421EX: https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/detail/rg421ex_1p_05.html), feature neck humbuckers that are higher output than a typical neck position PAF. The Quantum humbucker in the neck position of this RF421EX guitar reportedly has a DC Resistance of 10-11K. Neck position PAFs are typically btw 7-8K DC Resistance. That's an issue for using a PAF pickup in parallel mode, because the nature of parallel mode means that the output of the humbucker drops typically to about 25% of its volume compared to when it's in standard humbucker mode, i.e. wired in series.

Long story short, while you may like the tone and output of Ibanez neck humbuckers in parallel mode, expect a large volume drop if you wire a Neck position PAF in parallel. Most people find it too weak sounding and disappointing for that reason. So, if you're going to pursue parallel wiring in a humbucker, do it with a higher output humbucker than a neck position PAF. Or really, go with the Filtertron in the neck position instead and skip the parallel wiring.

 

[JoeJack1]

I'm just wondering if parallel humbucker will give the same sound clarity as Filtertron.

Filter'tron 100% working history
Series/parallel humbucker is a good and flexible option. but I did not compare it with filtertron.

but as they said in the first answer, filter'tron remains clear even on distortion. the parallel humbucker, as it seemed to me, does not do this.

 

[TBurst Std]

I'm just wondering if parallel humbucker will give the same sound clarity as Filtertron.

Filter'tron 100% working history
Series/parallel humbucker is a good and flexible option. but I did not compare it with filtertron.

but as they said in the first answer, filter'tron remains clear even on distortion. the parallel humbucker, as it seemed to me, does not do this.

No is the answer. It is not even remotely the same the same sound, tone or dynamics.
Going parallel and expecting Filter is like kissing your ugly cousin vs her smoking hot best friend.

Like Strat Avenger, parallel works in the neck position, but it is by NO means a filter neck position sound, tone or dynamics. The attack and decay are also different. Also how they handle OD tones.

 

[Floyd_Argus]

I'm just wondering if parallel humbucker will give the same sound clarity as Filtertron.

Filter'tron 100% working history
Series/parallel humbucker is a good and flexible option. but I did not compare it with filtertron.

but as they said in the first answer, filter'tron remains clear even on distortion. the parallel humbucker, as it seemed to me, does not do this.

No, a PAF type humbucker wired in parallel will not sound like a Filtertron type pickup. Like TBurst Std wrote.

 

[JoeJack1]

do I understand correctly that Filtertron is superior to parallel Paf in every sense?

filtertron has
more clarity
, more dynamics
, more volume
, it is clear even with overload.

is the parallel humbucker just a thin and weak paf?

 

[Hodgo]

do I understand correctly that Filtertron is superior to parallel Paf in every sense?

filtertron has
more clarity
, more dynamics
, more volume
, it is clear even with overload.

is the parallel humbucker just a thin and weak paf?

No. Totally depends on the humbucker. The Steve Morse DiMarzio sounds great in parallel.

 

[Strat Avenger]

My Dimarzio Air Norton sounds great in parallel.
I have no experience with Filtertron, and am not trying to draw a comparison.