In this article, we go over 5 absolutely incredible Cheap PAF alternatives.
With each pickup listed, there will be a video (Or two) of it being played.
Thanks for reading!!!
Let’s Get Started.
(Note: After the Top 5 list, we talk about some of the secrets of PAF clone pickups. Pretty cool stuff if you like electronics!)
#1) Seth Lover Seymour Duncan
This is one of my favorite sounding PAFs. They get pretty close to the original sound of a PAF, with a slightly vintage feel and slightly mellow tone…….but only very slightly. In a way, they sound slightly better than original PAFs (remember this is an opinion) don’t hate me in the comments!
They sound very similar to me to the Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAF (A super great PAF – it’s also on this list), a little more airy though. I do think the Dimarzio however has a huge advantage over this pickup because it has a lot of vintage warmth to it.
As with every pickup on this list, each has their own unique benefits that make them sound so great. This one is no exception.
Just take a listen and you’ll fall in love. A TON of people out there say this is their absolute favorite PAF alternative. It’s very very easy to see why.
(More Specs, Pricing, and Info on Amazon)
#2) Stewmac Parson Street
Ridiculously bright PAF. I mean as bright as you’ll hear a PAF clone get.
I’m not HUGE into bright sounding PAF pickups (or really bright tones in general to be frank), but I think that’s usually because a lot of bright pickups lack warmth. Without warmth a bright pickup just doesn’t sound right to me. This pickup just has the perfect blend of warm with all that brightness that makes it shine.
So, apart from the chills you’re going to get when you hear these……
I feel like it’s important to mention – you can find INSANELY good deals on these guys. Especially if you buy them used. It’s crazy to me you can find this type of quality on a budget nowadays. I feel incredibly grateful and ecstatic we live in an age where you can find so much good deals on gear. Absolutely awesome.
NOTE: Not a lot of people seem to know about these for some reason. Very slept on.
#3) Dimarzio 36th anniversary PAF
Like I said before, the Dimarzio reminds me a LOT of the Seth Lover.
The KEY difference is how VINTAGE the tone sounds.
It’s hard to describe, but it’s essentially that vintage warmth that people come to get from pickups after they’ve been around awhile. Very sweet, but not to much and only a little bright. This pickup is an absolute breathtaker.
This one is also another one that has a HUGE following of people that are obsessed…..and for good reason, because this is definitely one of the best inexpensive PAFs out there. Definitely takes on some of the more expensive brands and gives them a serious run for the money. Makes sense of course, Dimarzio is a great pickup brand…….
I wanted to refrain from getting into the technical details until the end of this post………but I will say this: (which I found pretty interesting about these pickups when I was researching them) they have an interesting method of degaussing these pickups. I’ll say a little more about that at the end.
#4) Mojotone 59 PAF Clone
If you’re looking for that heavenly gritty sound with a whole lot of clarity this is the one.
Man, do I love a pickup with that perfect gritty tone. It literally floods my brain with dopamine and I can honestly say I’m becoming tone obsessed. But seriously, this pickup has that gritty sound and clarity that not a lot of other PAF pickups have. There’s a couple higher end PAF clones that do have it, but I’d say this one stands out there with them.
I should mention that the cleans sound great as well, but that gritty tone (especially pronounced in the mid range) just sounded absolutely phenomenal and is really hard to ignore. That’s where this pickup shines in my opinion.
(More Specs, Pricing, and Info on Amazon)
#5) Tonerider Alnico ii classic
Of course, you’ve got to save the best for last right?
This is my personal favorite PAF style clone that there is out there.
It doesn’t have a lot of the qualities the others on this list have, which I know may seem odd because all PAF pickups are basically trying to be the same right?
Well……
Unfortunately it’s just so difficult to make a clone of the ORIGINAL PAF (almost virtually impossible, but we’ll cover that in the next section) that each of the clones vary a ton when it comes to tone (again don’t hate me, these are just my personal opinions)
For this PAF alternative in particular, you find a TON of those very very mellow and relaxed and sweet yet slightly gritty tones that I find are super close to the original PAFs. In this price range I simply don’t think there is a better PAF clone. A lot of people would disagree with this, however there are DEFINITELY some fans who love the tone from this particular pickup.
Anways, go ahead and check it out. This is the best of the best when it comes to that super mellow and sweet PAF style tone.
So, why is making a PAF clone so ridiculously hard to do?
The PAF is a pickup that sounds absolutely incredible, and many people wish they could have a pickup that sounds like it……..so you’d think we’d have an exact replica already right? Shouldn’t it be easy?
The reason making an exact clone of a PAF is so difficult, is that the manufacturing processes that were around back in the day simply aren’t available completely today. This isn’t the only reason, but it’s a major portion of the problem.
For example, the alnico magnets that are in them? They used to be crudely made in sand molds, which haven’t been around for a long time.
Another big reason they’re so hard to make? The information is simply not there.
It’s not like you can simply pull this information off the web, or even out of a book. You have to provide solely on word of mouth and documentation that is RIDICULOUSLY hard to find.
For example. The wiring that went into the originals supposedly had 2% impurities in the metal. Imagine if we knew what those impurities were. It would make a HUGE difference in the tone.
So, next time you wish you had an absolutely perfect PAF replica…….thank everyone who didn’t write down the process.
Another big problem facing creating the perfect replica? Misinformation.
Seriously, the amount of misinformation being construed is absolutely wild. Rumors go around, and suddenly people just start mistaking them for fact. A good example of this is people say that the originals were wound by hand……..when in fact they were not wound by hand, but by a machine like everyone else’s. This type of simple miscommunication has made it extremely hard for people that want to find out the truth about PAF pickups and how they were made.
So, it all sounds like a big jumbled up mess doesn’t it……..
It is.
But, there are some people who are tackling the problem well. Making HUGE strides toward making the almost perfect exact PAF replica match.
Now, these guys do charge a lot of money…….but the products they make are well worth it and are as close as we’ll probably ever come to PAF matches. Honestly the amount of detail these guys go into to make their products…….I bet they could solve world hunger if they put their minds to it. These are some seriously smart blokes.
The People that are making huge strides when it comes to engineering an almost perfect PAF clone are Dave Stephens of Stephens designs, and the guys behind throbak both do more than just redesign PAF pickups.
If you’re interested in some of the work that they do…..
Both have AWESOME Youtube Channels.
I highly recommend checking them out, and starting by watching both of their channels through on your journey to find out more about PAF pickups. These guys have gone to SERIOUS lengths to recreate the legendary PAF pickups.
Here’s a good video just to get you started from throbak.
Seriously just watch a few minutes of it. SUPER interesting stuff. Or spend a few days watching this stuff. Why not? It’s super fun to travel down the internet rabbit hole on this stuff. Absolutely fascinating.
Conclusion:
Hope you enjoyed this article!!! This was a lot of fun for me to write. I absolutely love PAFs, and the more I listen to them…….the more I think maybe I like them more than P90s (my previously favorite pickup)
If you’re interested in other options than the ones I posted……..there are seriously TONS more to choose from. This is only a small portion of the PAF style pickups you can currently find out there.
Each PAF style pickup is very unique, which to many people who are “tone purists” who are just trying to get as close to a PAF sound as possible…..this is a huge bummer.
But, don’t think of it that way. Instead, why not think of it as a bunch of cool different options for tone you’re able to choose from?
For me personally I think all the options we have nowadays are awesome. Even if they’re not perfect exact matches.
Thanks again for reading!!! Hope you enjoyed this article!!!
Please leave a comment if you have anything you think I should improve. I’m not a professional blogger, so I’m sure I can improve a lot!