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Below is a short article from Gibson's newsletter that is emailed periodically. The author fails to mention anything about the Leesona 102 and what Seth Lover talks about with Seymour in his interview. My question is, who do we believe, the author and folks at the Gibson factory or Seth Lover in his statments that PAFs were machine wound. 
Gibson Pickups, Part 1: Vintage Humbuckers
Dave Hunter | 03.20.2008
As the original home of the hallowed "Patent Applied For" (PAF) humbucker, Gibson has retained a preeminent place in the strata of noise-free tone since the unveiling of that legendary component in 1957. Today Gibson offers a broad range of accurate PAF-style reproductions in order to capture the variation that arose from some inconsistent manufacturing practices of half a century ago, but the diversity can confuse some players as they plunge into the market. Let's take a close look at what separates some of these vintage humbucking pickup models, and in Part 2 we'll examine other pickups available from Gibson today.
Original PAF pickups of 1956-'62 were wound with the wire guided onto the coils by hand, to "approximately" 5,000 turns of wire per coil, which actually meant-according to reports from workers at the Gibson plant back in the day-simply "until the coils were full." This less-than-precise approach accounts for the wide variation in output strength found among original examples examined today, and genuine PAFs will give DC resistance readings from as low as 7.2k ohms up to as high as 8.8k ohms or so as a result. Higher resistance readings mean more power, but many other factors contribute to the legendary sound of these pickups, and more power doesn't always mean more tone; many players, in fact, are fans of the less powerful, "underwound" PAFs, while others crave the added sizzle that a PAF reading in the mid-8k range offers. Between its three lines of vintage-style reproduction humbuckers-'57 Classics, BurstBuckers, and BurstBucker Pros-Gibson accounts for all tastes in PAF tone.
Incorporating the '57 Classic and '57 Classic Plus, this set is perfectly calibrated to yield accurate PAF tone in the neck and bridge positions respectively. Each design features Alnico II magnets, vintage enamel coated wire, nickel-plated pole pieces, nickel slugs, maple spacers and vintage-style, two-conductor, braided wiring. In a variation from the majority of original PAFs, however, the '57 Classics' coils are wax potted to combat microphony and feedback squeal at high volumes so, while vintage voiced, they are suited to high-gain playing, too. The number of windings in the two coils are also equally matched, an enhancement that provides a creamy, balanced performance that many players enjoy.
The '57 Classic is wound to a DC resistance toward the lower range of the original PAF pickups, for a warm, round, rich tone from the neck position with plenty of definition and clarity, or an open, clear, textured vintage voice from the bridge position. The '57 Classic Plus is wound toward the hotter end of the PAF scale in homage to the originals that received extra windings to fill up the bobbins, and it provides an excellent volume balance with the neck unit, and a little extra bite and sizzle from the bridge position, without sacrificing definition and the legendary smooth PAF treble response. Both carry "Patent Applied For" stickers on the bottom plate just like the originals, and are available with gold-plated covers, nickel-plated covers, or open coils.
As accurate a PAF tone as the '57 Classics provide, the BurstBucker takes things one step further by reproducing some of the inconsistencies that are credited with contributing a certain magic to original Gibson humbuckers from 1957-'62. Available in three output strengths, BurstBuckers are made with unpolished Alnico II magnets and unpotted coils that are wound to slightly different numbers of turns, like the originals. While using two mismatched coils depletes a humbucking pickup's noise-canceling abilities slightly, it also gives the pickup a little more edge-a sound that you could even say comes a little closer to singlecoil bite-than can be achieved with perfectly balanced coils.
The BurstBucker 1 is slightly underwound to achieve an output toward the lower-medium end of the PAF range, an output that brings it in just slightly below the '57 Classic. It is intended for either position, but offers added clarity mixed with vowel-like tone in the neck position, with the added bonus of good volume balance when paired with a BurstBucker 2 in the bridge position. The 2 has a slightly hotter output in the range of the '57 Classic, for more grind and sustain from the bridge position. Or, pair a BurstBucker 2 in the neck with a BurstBucker 3-the hottest of the trio-in the bridge, for a guitar that offers excellent balance and a vintage voice that is still accurate, but biased toward the hotter end of the PAF scale. All are available with gold-plated or German silver nickel-plated covers.
Based on the original BurstBuckers and available in two output strengths calibrated to match neck and bridge positions (with outputs akin to those of the BurstBucker 1 and 2), the BurstBucker Pros employ Alnico V magnets for a little extra sting and punch, and feature wax-potted coils to combat potential squeal and microphony. Like the BurstBucker's they use two coils with unmatched windings to retain a little extra sonic edge in their "enhanced vintage" performance. They are available with gold-plated or German silver nickel-plated covers.
Tune in to Part 2 for a look at other pickups in the Gibson range, and check out this handy Pickup Guide for further information and comparison charts that provide a visual guide to the differences between units.
Gibson Pickups, Part 1: Vintage Humbuckers
Dave Hunter | 03.20.2008
As the original home of the hallowed "Patent Applied For" (PAF) humbucker, Gibson has retained a preeminent place in the strata of noise-free tone since the unveiling of that legendary component in 1957. Today Gibson offers a broad range of accurate PAF-style reproductions in order to capture the variation that arose from some inconsistent manufacturing practices of half a century ago, but the diversity can confuse some players as they plunge into the market. Let's take a close look at what separates some of these vintage humbucking pickup models, and in Part 2 we'll examine other pickups available from Gibson today.
Original PAF pickups of 1956-'62 were wound with the wire guided onto the coils by hand, to "approximately" 5,000 turns of wire per coil, which actually meant-according to reports from workers at the Gibson plant back in the day-simply "until the coils were full." This less-than-precise approach accounts for the wide variation in output strength found among original examples examined today, and genuine PAFs will give DC resistance readings from as low as 7.2k ohms up to as high as 8.8k ohms or so as a result. Higher resistance readings mean more power, but many other factors contribute to the legendary sound of these pickups, and more power doesn't always mean more tone; many players, in fact, are fans of the less powerful, "underwound" PAFs, while others crave the added sizzle that a PAF reading in the mid-8k range offers. Between its three lines of vintage-style reproduction humbuckers-'57 Classics, BurstBuckers, and BurstBucker Pros-Gibson accounts for all tastes in PAF tone.
Incorporating the '57 Classic and '57 Classic Plus, this set is perfectly calibrated to yield accurate PAF tone in the neck and bridge positions respectively. Each design features Alnico II magnets, vintage enamel coated wire, nickel-plated pole pieces, nickel slugs, maple spacers and vintage-style, two-conductor, braided wiring. In a variation from the majority of original PAFs, however, the '57 Classics' coils are wax potted to combat microphony and feedback squeal at high volumes so, while vintage voiced, they are suited to high-gain playing, too. The number of windings in the two coils are also equally matched, an enhancement that provides a creamy, balanced performance that many players enjoy.
The '57 Classic is wound to a DC resistance toward the lower range of the original PAF pickups, for a warm, round, rich tone from the neck position with plenty of definition and clarity, or an open, clear, textured vintage voice from the bridge position. The '57 Classic Plus is wound toward the hotter end of the PAF scale in homage to the originals that received extra windings to fill up the bobbins, and it provides an excellent volume balance with the neck unit, and a little extra bite and sizzle from the bridge position, without sacrificing definition and the legendary smooth PAF treble response. Both carry "Patent Applied For" stickers on the bottom plate just like the originals, and are available with gold-plated covers, nickel-plated covers, or open coils.
As accurate a PAF tone as the '57 Classics provide, the BurstBucker takes things one step further by reproducing some of the inconsistencies that are credited with contributing a certain magic to original Gibson humbuckers from 1957-'62. Available in three output strengths, BurstBuckers are made with unpolished Alnico II magnets and unpotted coils that are wound to slightly different numbers of turns, like the originals. While using two mismatched coils depletes a humbucking pickup's noise-canceling abilities slightly, it also gives the pickup a little more edge-a sound that you could even say comes a little closer to singlecoil bite-than can be achieved with perfectly balanced coils.
The BurstBucker 1 is slightly underwound to achieve an output toward the lower-medium end of the PAF range, an output that brings it in just slightly below the '57 Classic. It is intended for either position, but offers added clarity mixed with vowel-like tone in the neck position, with the added bonus of good volume balance when paired with a BurstBucker 2 in the bridge position. The 2 has a slightly hotter output in the range of the '57 Classic, for more grind and sustain from the bridge position. Or, pair a BurstBucker 2 in the neck with a BurstBucker 3-the hottest of the trio-in the bridge, for a guitar that offers excellent balance and a vintage voice that is still accurate, but biased toward the hotter end of the PAF scale. All are available with gold-plated or German silver nickel-plated covers.
Based on the original BurstBuckers and available in two output strengths calibrated to match neck and bridge positions (with outputs akin to those of the BurstBucker 1 and 2), the BurstBucker Pros employ Alnico V magnets for a little extra sting and punch, and feature wax-potted coils to combat potential squeal and microphony. Like the BurstBucker's they use two coils with unmatched windings to retain a little extra sonic edge in their "enhanced vintage" performance. They are available with gold-plated or German silver nickel-plated covers.
Tune in to Part 2 for a look at other pickups in the Gibson range, and check out this handy Pickup Guide for further information and comparison charts that provide a visual guide to the differences between units.
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