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.

 

[Floyd_Argus]

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. Referencing my earlier reply: not all humbucker are PAF voiced. Some are higher output
Higher output humbuckers handle parallel wiring better. Like the Steve Morse Dimarzio that member Hodgo just mentioned. Its got 9.4 DC resistance - higher than a PAF type humbucker.

 

[JoeJack1]

No. Referencing my earlier reply: not all humbucker are PAF voiced. Some are higher output
Higher output humbuckers handle parallel wiring better. Like the Steve Morse Dimarzio that member Hodgo just mentioned. Its got 9.4 DC resistance - higher than a PAF type humbucker.

Good.
using the term PAF was my mistake.
Bridge - Dimarzio Super Distortion
Neck - Dimarzio Super 2/PAF PRO

Can these pickups in parallel mode give me a similar sound to filtertron?
Clear, clear sound and distortion like AC/DC, the Malcolm Young sound that is often talked about when it comes to gretsch.

If such Dimarzios replace filtertron in parallel mode, it will be an excellent solution.

If filtertron doesn't replace Dimarzio, I'll take filtertron.

 

[Floyd_Argus]

Good.
using the term PAF was my mistake.
Bridge - Dimarzio Super Distortion
Neck - Dimarzio Super 2/PAF PRO

Can these pickups in parallel mode give me a similar sound to filtertron?
Clear, clear sound and distortion like AC/DC, the Malcolm Young sound that is often talked about when it comes to gretsch.

If such Dimarzios replace filtertron in parallel mode, it will be an excellent solution.

If filtertron doesn't replace Dimarzio, I'll take filtertron.

Sounds like you really want the sound of a Filtertron pickup, but you don't think there's a way to get a Filtertron pickup to fit into a Les Paul style of guitar's humbucker sized pickup routes? Well, TV Jones makes pickup adaptor rings for this. Should work as long as it's a TV Jones brand of Filtertron pickup that you use.

EM1 Gibson-style Pickup Ring with Mounting Screws

TV Jones EM1 Rings are made to American Gibson humbucker footprint but filtertron opening. Fits most guitars with humbucker routes like Les Pauls, SG's, and more.

tvjones.com

To answer your question directly: certain types of humbuckers will sound good when wired in parallel, but they will sound good in their own way, not ever just like a Filtertron pickup.

 

[JoeJack1]

I think that's what I wanted to hear.

What I hear from a parallel non-standard humbucker
is it quieter than usual
, it's clearer than usual, but not as clear as a split humbucker
, it's definitely fuller and better (IMHO) than a split humbucker

probably the last question.

what will be the difference between the Filtertron sound and the quieter and brighter parallel humbucker in ibanez?
by the way, a parallel humbucker does not improve readability at high gain, as it seemed to me when I last compared it on the same guitar.

 

[Floyd_Argus]

I think that's what I wanted to hear.

What I hear from a parallel non-standard humbucker
is it quieter than usual
, it's clearer than usual, but not as clear as a split humbucker
, it's definitely fuller and better (IMHO) than a split humbucker

probably the last question.

what will be the difference between the Filtertron sound and the quieter and brighter parallel humbucker in ibanez?
by the way, a parallel humbucker does not improve readability at high gain, as it seemed to me when I last compared it on the same guitar.

You said in your first post that you are already familiar with what a higher output humbucker sounds like wired in parallel in an Ibanez.

Now go listen to demos of Filtertron pickups on Youtube and/or goto your local guitar store and try some guitars that have Filtertron pickups in them, like some Gretsch guitars. Either way, you can get familiar with how Filtertrons sound, how they spund different than humbuckers.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Dimarzio Air Norton: 12.58k, AlNiCo 5.
I tried a Duncan JB (16.6k) wired in parallel and it really didn't sound all that good, so I put the Air Norton back in.

 

[Hodgo]

One thing I have wanted to try is getting a much hotter than usual Filtertron (Powertron+) and putting a Wilde Q Filter in the control stack to “roll off the windings” as they describe it. Those apparently approach PAF territory, and you could dial in precisely as much brightness as you want.