What a bargain!! PAFs on Ebay

[hariossa]

PAFs on Ebay

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

If he is the first to unsolder it, how does he not know which year they are? Call me crazy, but when you ask $6k for something, you need something more than a few broken sentences in a big font. I expect more information on a bag of chips before I buy it.

[Jag]

I'm not an expert on PAF's but, shouldn't the screws holding the bobbins on be slot head?

[David Schwab]

I'm not an expert on PAF's but, shouldn't the screws holding the bobbins on be slot head?

No, they are phillips head.

[Kazooman]

Here's a link to a good article on PAFs and some of what to look for in counterfeits.

Gibson PAF Humbuckers Pickups Patent Applied For Pickups M69 M-69 pickup rings - Vintage Guitars Info

[copperheadroads]

I must have 10 or more of those old Paf Gibsons pickups in my parts drawer .are they any good ?

[WolfeMacleod]

A treasure trove of misinformation!

[David Schwab]

...M-69 pickup rings...

I can't understand why people make a fuss about pickup rings!

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

I can't understand why people make a fuss about pickup rings!

Same thing with vintage acoustic guitar saddles - I guess the idea that they could break something expensive at any minute is thrilling.

[Sweetfinger]

A treasure trove of misinformation!

care to elaborate?

[salvarsan]

When do they stop being old guitar pickups and turn into unpleasantly-priced fetishes?
What does owning such a pickup achieve?
Proof of the buyer's delusional mindset?

Why haven't you all learned how to make distressed-looking PAF replicas and
flooded the market with fakes that out-perform the originals?

It'd sink the antique PAF market quickly, a very agreeable prospect.

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

When do they stop being old guitar pickups and turn into unpleasantly-priced fetishes?
What does owning such a pickup achieve?
Proof of the buyer's delusional mindset?

Why haven't you all learned how to make distressed-looking PAF replicas and
flooded the market with fakes that out-perform the originals?

It'd sink the antique PAF market quickly, a very agreeable prospect.

How much is serious and how much is sarcasm I'm not sure; if it is sarcasm then I agree completely. I'd say flooding the market with fakes, even if they are superior, would only make the real ones more sought after.

People always are blown away/disgusted with the prices of vintage gear. I say watch Antiques Roadshow or something like that some time, and see how ridiculous prices are on old crap that has absolutely no practical value. At least with the old pickups you can argue that they will perform their main duty better than a new one, erroneously or not. An old cheesy watch with Mickey Mouse on it that doesn't work? Star Wars figures in their original packages? Stamps that you'll never use to mail a letter? Comic books wherein you could buy a reproduction that you won't be nervous reading, and where the colors are probably much more vivid? Function drops off of the map, and form exists only as a hollow shell and a story.

No one who buys a set of PAFs these days really cares about putting them in their guitar to sound good, and the only chance most people I know would buy a set is if they are trying to restore an old guitar that someone else messed up. If I had a '59 Les Paul that some dope put mighty mites into, I MIGHT consider buying an original set of PAFs so I could restore it and resell it... but probably not. I'd guess that sort of thing is what drives the PAF market more than anything else.

[Sweetfinger]

If I had a '59 Les Paul that some dope put mighty mites into, I MIGHT consider buying an original set of PAFs so I could restore it and resell it... but probably not. I'd guess that sort of thing is what drives the PAF market more than anything else.

That is probably not the thing that is driving that market. There simply aren't enough '59s or any other old Les Pauls without their original pickups. How many '58 through '60 LPs were made? Not nearly as many as you'd think- about 1,700 TOTAL. Remember, That guitar was DISCONTINUED for 7 years! The thing that is driving the market is tone freaks who just know deep in their hearts that only the real thing will do and they're installing them on their reissue guitars, or custom replicas.

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

That is probably not the thing that is driving that market. There simply aren't enough '59s or any other old Les Pauls without their original pickups. How many '58 through '60 LPs were made? Not nearly as many as you'd think- about 1,700 TOTAL. Remember, That guitar was DISCONTINUED for 7 years! The thing that is driving the market is tone freaks who just know deep in their hearts that only the real thing will do and they're installing them on their reissue guitars, or custom replicas.

Well no, but I'm saying it is people seeking it for the antique value - the same reason people buy all sorts of other crazy old things. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the people buy them and just put them on display somewhere to show the neighbors, "Check it out Edna, betcha never saw a pair of these before..."

There is this weird movie called Interstate 60 where a guy is traveling cross country and stops at an art museum. They have a whole bunch of original high profile paintings, and they put them out on display once a day to try to sell them for $50 a piece, saying they are replicas done by a young art student. No one buys any, because they look and think they are no good - something is wrong, it "lacks soul" or whatever, they all just scoff and walk by. Every time I see that, I think of the PAF market. Every real PAF set I've played sounded like crap. I'm sure there are good ones out there... I've just never played them.

[salvarsan]

How much is serious and how much is sarcasm I'm not sure; if it is sarcasm then I agree completely

It is not sarcasm.
The extravagantly inflated PAF prices and, more irritating, the mystery ascribed to sloppy manufacturing has created a market for fraud.

I assert that the buyers should be ruthlessly exploited in the name of public mental health.

In short words, My Les Paul forum and their ilk are your prey.
Don't do anything stupid like injecting factual data into their discussions.
If you wake a dreamer from their pleasant opioid dream, they are anything but pleasant.

The usual sign of genius is that it is attacked by mediocrity.

It is with as much venom for True Believers as affection for Duncan's creativity
that I laud SD Zephyr Silver Humbuckers.