The Gibson "P.A.F." Humbucking Pickup: From Myth to Reality

Listen, would you like the read about the story of the legendary Gibson Humbucker pickup? Well here it is and it’s agood one. You will get a thorough history, interviews and technical illustrations of that classic electric guitar pickupthat has had musicians chasing its tone for decades.The writers, Mario Milan and James Finnerty separate fact from fiction supported by interviews of the people whoinvented, or helped bring the humbucker to market. More history is added by current “winders”, current movers andshakers and some who are attempting to copy the elusive classic humbucker tone.I like the layout of the book; it starts with history, then moves to the parts of the humbucker, (Each humbucker parthas its own chapter); talks about classic tones, the original specs and replicas and clones. Interspersed are over 250photos among the historical text and technical close-ups.You will also see photos of old humbuckers with explanations of the differences between them as they evolved. Inthose chapters, for those of you who enjoy detail, this book delivers close-up photos of old humbuckers and most ofthe parts are minutely detailed.The lovers of Gibson guitars will also enjoy the book due to photos of multiple historic Gibson guitars. The photos areprinted on very nice glossy paper stock so you can enjoy the beauty of those guitars. The book also features thehistory of the solid body electric guitar and has some surprising information that adds to the history of Gibson GuitarsI was not aware of…until I read the book.The appendixes offer even more helpful information. Appendix one, PAF Q&A, has common questions someone mayhave about pickups. The answers are provided by the authors and are quite informative and helpful.Appendix two, Interviews to the Winders, has interviews with modern humbucker manufacturers; some of the namesyou may already be familiar with: David Bowes, Jon Gundry, Jason Lollar, Wolfe Mcleod, Tim Mills, Dave Stephensand Aledsander Vrhovec.All are asked the same questions and their responses are interesting and informative. I especially appreciate the onequestion of which musician has/had that classic humbucker tone. It is interesting to note the differences and thesimilarities of their answers.:: Statistics :::: Cover: Soft:: Paper: Glossy:: Length: 174 pages (including index):: Size: 8.5 in. wide x 11 in. high:: Publisher: CenterstreamThis book is for the historic, the aesthetic as well as the technician. It covers the Humbucker from soup to nuts andthen some. Also, I am not much of a technical person; i.e., electrical or mechanical and still enjoyed reading the book.I give it 5 stars for being a thorough history and equally fun read.

Fascinating read for anyone who is interested in the history and development of Gibson guitars and in particular the pickups that we all know and love. The pictures are full of incredible detail and are by far the closest most of us will get to taking apart these old pickups to understand all the little differences over the years. The interviews and information that it contains are simply incredible, to say it is full of insight is a huge understatement. Its a great read for anyone interested in Gibson's history!

I am one of the contributing authors, as well as providing a few of the photos. This book is long overdue. These old pickups have such a mystery around them, commanding insane prices sometimes, its about time someone wrote this book, and Mario Milan really did the subject justice, KUDOS for all his hard work. I am proud to have contributed to the knowledge base and to debunk many of the modern commercialized myths that abound around the PAF mystery.I pioneered the first truly science and engineering-based research on vintage PAF's beginning about 18 years ago, back when no one actually cared about true authenticity, or were even trying to reproduce them as an antique technical product. I also personally brought back rough cast alnico magnets that are now widely available, back in 2007. True reverse-engineering, on a deep dive proccess spanning years, had never really been done before my own work.I was ridiculed by some who told me it was an impossible pursuit, but I persisted anyway, it was a work of pure love and money was never a goal, and even now I don’t mass produce my work. I was fortunate to have mentors in the steel, and magnet wire industry, who analyzed in their high tech modern labs, vintage materials from a 40 year span of vintage Gibson pickups. I was not charged for the help I received and these experts at the top of their fields educated me about the lab data sheet results they sent back to me, and on how these materials were produced all those years ago, with technologies that don’t really exist anymore. Its an education I was blessed to receive. But, numbers on a data sheet doesn't tell you how to make anything. On my own, I did years and years of experiments with various and sometimes exotic ferrous alloys and wire winding experiments to put the meat on the "numbers." I had real vintage PAF's of my own and ones I borrowed and restored, to tell me if I was on track or not, and I had to be brutally honest with myself when things did not work. Nothing about this work was ever “easy,” it was probably around 14-15 years that all of it finally came together to make sense, and my procedures closed the gap as humanly possible with modern materials. As far as “winding” goes, ALL Gibson vintage pickups were machine guided winding, with precise repetitive patterns. There was no sloppiness in this pattern, the winding machines were brand new and the same type of machines used for precision radio coils.Reproducing those sounds is all about engineering and materials, period. PAF's are not "magic." There are real scientific reasons why that kind of “voice” sounds the way it does, thru all the years they were made, though they were not consistent from year to year. It IS possible to get about 98% "there." There ARE many real secrets I learned that I use in my own work that will NEVER published. The real "secrets" about vintage PAF's, lies in the MATERIALS they were made from, but there is more than that. There were no secret materials used, everything was made from off the shelf materials of the times, that Gibson had on hand. Most all of the older books that mention PAF's are full of innaccurate information, because no solid work had ever been done.Now, I have to add the downside of the book that I didn't do before. The book is out of print now. I did contribute much of what I know, but left out details to protect my work from being hijacked and claimed as someone else's work. Mario interviewed a few HOBBYISTS guys who barely had any experience at all in the field of pickup DESIGN, who should not have been in the book. They repeated things they read on forums that have no validity at all, and one of them even quoted things I've shared, without even knowing who they were quoting, and even getting it wrong. Others shared information that just wasn't true at all, and was strictly information with COMMERICAL INTENT to sell products, that have no basis in facts. When I saw those interviews being included it was upsetting because it diluted the credability of Mario's book. I am currently writing my own book on the history and engineering details of the old pickups thats never been published anywhere. The knowledge needs to be set straight, without the contamination of old mythology and theories that just aren't factual.

Great overview for those who are in to it. A little overwhelming for some. If you are into it, you should like it and take away from it.

An informative interesting read. The book beautifully progresses through Gibson's early history & includes a treasure trove of in depth pictures & small excerpts from a wide variety of experts. Worth every penny.

Great editorial on PAF historyThe condition James is very knowledgeable and builds quality PAF out put pickups

A lot of great information on Gibson's revolutionary hum cancelling guitar pickup and today's replacement pickups by other manufacturers. Very useful to players, enthusiasts, and collectors. Although not the inventor of hum canceling pickups, Gibson introduced and has continued to make some of the most successful ones since 1957. The book also covers a wide range of replacement manufacturers' pickups as well.

great read

Interessant

Libro interessantissimo e ben illustrato, dedicato a tutti gli appassionati delle chitarre vintage. Spiega nel dettaglio tutte le caratteristiche dei PAF. Un must da possedere!

Book arrived much quicker than I thought, which is good. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it, mainly in small chunks, as didn't want to finish it too soon! The authors in one way are attempting to demystify what makes a wonderful PAF pickup and what is actually going on if it is not so good.The Q & A sessions with current well known makers of PAF type pickups are very interesting, but in another way their opinions about what makes a great pickup vary, and for different reasons. However, they are bound to vary, as will the requirements of prospective purchasers. Great book anyway.

Great comprehensive book about the P.A.F. and more:The Gibson Factory, Mc Carthy...History of the guitar pickup and the solid body guitar…Then, porns and porns of pickups as well as vivisections of 59's, 60's PAF and T-Top...And what happened next... up to now and the PAF replicas & clones…Great photos, texts, quotes & interviews of this trade well known pros & winders.A must have in your Library if you are a guitar freak as I am…Un livre à avoir dans votre bibliothèque si vous êtes passionné comme moi par la guitare.Tout ce que vous voulez savoir sur le PAF légendaire de la guitare non moins légendaire, la Les Paul de l'âge d'or de Gibson.De l'usine, et son patron de l'époque, le grand Mc Carthy...L'histoire des micros et de la guitare électrique depuis ses débuts, des dissections du PAF pour tout comprendre, et une explications sur les micros "Humbuckers" qui sont venus après celui-ci….De belles photos, des interviews de professionnels du milieu…Tout cela fait déjà que ce livre devient une référence dans ce domaine.