Dimarzio PAF Pro .....tell me about it!

[jimmyohio75]

Is this a good humbucker? Tell me why you like it! Would this sound good in the bridge of a strat?

[Rod]

didn't care for it...missing mids..very odd sounding...I'd put a 59 Dimarzio PAF in your Strat

[jimmyohio75]

didn't care for it...missing mids..very odd sounding...I'd put a 59 Dimarzio PAF in your Strat
You mean a Seymour Duncan '59?

Dimarzio doesn't make a PU called a '59 PAF

[RockStarNick]

The PAF Pro is very articulate, modern sounding pickup. It has the traditional Dimarzio voice. I hate to use the word sterile, but it was specifically designed with a voice that would cut thru all the processing on rack equipment. (Dimarzio's words, not mine)

For a shreddy, detailed neck pickup, it's a great choice. Pair it up with a Tone Zone, and you're in Paul Gilbert heaven. Both have that dimarzio AWWW sound to them.

For a bridge pickup on a strat... eh. It COULD work. But I could think of a ton of better options. Especially if you've got vintage tones in mind.

I see that you've got a Fender Deluxe Lonestar Strat, which came with the Duncan Pearly Gates Special in the bridge. What is it about that pickup that you DONT like. That would help us reccomend a better one for you.

I mean, the Duncan 59 is a great, woody sounding pickup, for a great price. Duncan Jazz Bridge would match up VERY well with Single Coils. For something smoother, Duncan AlnicoII PRo is great too.

Duncan makes a slew of relatively low output bridge buckers that would match well with single coils in the neck and mid.

[buddastrat]

It works great in a strat. Blends great with single coils and 250K pots. Does not sound weird at all and not missing mids. It has vocal mid sing to it actually. Fender used them for a long time in the Floyd Rose Classic USA strats, MIM and the Sambora strats. They're great in strats and don't totally overpower the singles, but have good crunch.

[jimmyohio75]

The PAF Pro is very articulate, modern sounding pickup. It has the traditional Dimarzio voice. I hate to use the word sterile, but it was specifically designed with a voice that would cut thru all the processing on rack equipment. (Dimarzio's words, not mine)

For a shreddy, detailed neck pickup, it's a great choice. Pair it up with a Tone Zone, and you're in Paul Gilbert heaven. Both have that dimarzio AWWW sound to them.

For a bridge pickup on a strat... eh. It COULD work. But I could think of a ton of better options. Especially if you've got vintage tones in mind.

I see that you've got a Fender Deluxe Lonestar Strat, which came with the Duncan Pearly Gates Special in the bridge. What is it about that pickup that you DONT like. That would help us reccomend a better one for you.

I mean, the Duncan 59 is a great, woody sounding pickup, for a great price. Duncan Jazz Bridge would match up VERY well with Single Coils. For something smoother, Duncan AlnicoII PRo is great too.

Duncan makes a slew of relatively low output bridge buckers that would match well with single coils in the neck and mid.
I love the Pearly Gates! I just want something different in my new strat. Maybe a '59 is the way to go!!

[Rod]

You mean a Seymour Duncan '59?

Dimarzio doesn't make a PU called a '59 PAF
Hi...The Dimarzio would be a PAF....the 59 is Seymour Duncan...I like the Dimarzio's better...they also make a Virtual PAF that's cool:jo

[plain-boy]

Missing mids? Hmm...I remember it being very mid focused. Not very bassy and not much sparkle. That being said, it worked very well in my main strat that I used in college. I remember really liking it for medium to heavy distortion. It does have a vocal quality to it.

[jcoloccia]

I have several PAF pros is various guitars. It's exactly what you want to have if you need versatility. I can do everything from passable jazz to passable metal, and all in between.

It's not really good at any one thing, though. They're extremely bland and non-descript, in my opinion, and it doesn't seem to color the tone very much. I think someone used the word "sterile", and that's a VERY good description.

Personally, unless you're playing out and want something very neutral to cover a lot of styles, I wouldn't use the PAF. I can think of 10 pickups off the top of my head that would compliment the strat better in the bridge position the PAF, but that's just my opinion and not really worth didly squat since you're the one that's gotta like it! :D

I do kinda' like them in the neck position, though, for whatever reason.

[paulscape]

It will work fine in a strat. I have PAF pro's in a Sambora strat and an ibanez Jem77FP and I haven't considered swapping them out because they work with the versatility and woods of those guitars. I haven't found them bland - harmonics are good and to my ears they are reasonably well balanced between bass, mid and treb. Like some other dimarzio models I find them to be quite scorching in sound which is good for 80's metal, but not necessarily having a lot of depth like seymour duncans for example can have.

It kinda depends on what woods are being used on your strat too. You could also check out the WCR hercules pickup.

[buddastrat]

Totally agree paulscape. The PAFpro is not bland at all. That's crazy to call a pickup bland. It is bright and clear so the wood, fingers etc..shine through. I don't want a pickup with a one dimensional, lopsided personality like a JB or tone zone. The PAF pro is bright and crunchy and clean. It'll show any clams in the playing, and I like that. If that's bland, then I like it.

[Michael T]

Missing mids? Hmm...I remember it being very mid focused. Not very bassy and not much sparkle. That being said, it worked very well in my main strat that I used in college. I remember really liking it for medium to heavy distortion. It does have a vocal quality to it.


Same here, I have one in the neck of a Brian Moore guitar and it has a really cool midrangey vibe. Mine has a decent treble too.

I like them as a neck pickup.

[jcoloccia]

Maybe bland isn't the right word. I didn't mean it as a shot at all...I LIKE the pickup! I have 4 guitars with PAF Pro's in them. 2 are in neck positions, and 2 are in bridge positions (I think it really shines in the neck position, btw). Maybe "neutral" is a better word. It's just not very Strat-like, which isn't a bad thing if that's what you're looking for.

Anyhow, I just didn't want anyone to think I was trashing the PAF. It's a very versitile pickup. The Fred works really well in the bridge position too (I have one setup with a Fred in the bridge and PAF Pro in the neck). I also have one setup with an Evolution in the bridge, and a PAF Pro in the neck, and that's my favorite "do everything" combination, especially with a cheap single coil in the middle that lets you do the fancy switching with a 5 way switch. There's a LOT of great tones you can do with that combination!