PAF Humbucker Guide

The PAF humbucker is one of the most influential electric guitar pickup designs. It was introduced by Gibson in the mid 1950s to address the noise present in single coil pickups while preserving musical clarity and dynamic response.

The term PAF comes from the “Patent Applied For” sticker that appeared on early Gibson humbuckers produced between 1956 and the early 1960s. These pickups established the construction architecture that many modern humbucker designs still follow.

For a broader explanation of pickup construction and magnet types, see the Guitar Pickup Guide.

Humbucking Principle

A humbucker uses two coils wired together so that electrical hum induced by electromagnetic interference is cancelled.

The design combines:

two coils
opposite magnetic polarity
reverse coil winding direction

When combined, noise present in both coils cancels while the guitar signal remains.

Coil Construction

Traditional PAF humbuckers use two bobbins mounted on a metal baseplate.

Each bobbin contains one coil wound with fine copper wire.

Typical construction elements include:

butyrate plastic bobbins
nickel silver baseplate
adjustable screw pole pieces on one coil
fixed slug pole pieces on the other coil

Coil Wire

Original PAF humbuckers typically used 42 AWG enamel insulated copper wire.

The coil winding process produced variation between individual pickups because the winding was not perfectly uniform. This contributes to the tonal variation heard between vintage PAF examples.

Magnet Types

A single bar magnet is mounted beneath the coils and magnetizes the pole pieces.

Common magnet types found in vintage style PAF designs include:

Alnico 2
Alnico 3
Alnico 4
Alnico 5

Different Alnico grades affect magnetic strength and tonal response.

Alnico 2
Softer attack and smooth midrange

Alnico 4
Balanced response with moderate magnetic strength

Alnico 5
Stronger magnetic field with more pronounced attack and tighter low end

Pole Pieces

A traditional PAF humbucker uses two types of pole pieces:

adjustable screws on one coil
fixed steel slugs on the other coil

The adjustable screws allow string balance to be adjusted.

Output Levels

Original PAF humbuckers are moderate output pickups.

Typical DC resistance range:

approximately 7k to 9k ohms

Because the coils were not wound to identical turn counts, small imbalances between the two coils often occur. This slight imbalance contributes to the harmonic complexity associated with vintage humbuckers.

Baseplate and Cover Materials

Traditional PAF humbuckers use a nickel silver baseplate.

Many vintage style designs also use a nickel silver cover.

Nickel silver is commonly used because it has relatively low electrical conductivity compared with other metals, which helps minimize high frequency loss.

Identifying Vintage Style PAF Humbuckers

PAF style humbuckers are typically identified by several construction features:

two coils mounted on a metal baseplate
butyrate bobbins
bar magnet beneath the coils
adjustable screw pole pieces and fixed slugs
moderate output compared with many modern humbuckers

Because original PAF pickups were produced with normal manufacturing variation, specifications often differ slightly between individual units.

Choosing a PAF Style Humbucker

Many modern boutique pickup builders recreate the construction methods used in early humbuckers.

Understanding magnet types, coil wire, bobbin materials and winding variation helps players choose a humbucker that matches the tonal characteristics of vintage designs.

If you are looking for vintage style humbuckers, explore the humbucker pickups available from Boutique Guitar Pickups.

Some boutique builders producing PAF style humbuckers include OX4 pickups, Wizz pickups, Sunbear pickups, Ron Ellis pickups and Mojo pickups.