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Topics - JackGriffiths

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / 36th Anniversary PAF Bridge
« on: January 14, 2013, 09:19:05 AM »
Hi all,

I was surprised to see that there was no topic for the DP223 and I couldn't resist spouting a little bit about it  :D

Take your standard PAF and add some appropriated 'beef' for the bridge position and that's essentially what you end up with here. It retains the openness and clarity of a PAF (using the DP103 as a reference), yet adds some warmth and punch that isn't to be found in the typical boutique shed-built PAF replica. This pickup has met with mixed reviews, with tone aficionados claiming that it doesn't quite have the singing, rich vintage quality of the more expensive replications. That's true, and that's perhaps why the price is able to be so much lower than those examples.

However, the lack of complete authenticity opens up a different market for this pickup to adapt itself to. For example, I'd like to suggest that this pickup can nail that vintage PAF vibe and feel to 85% - plenty good enough for busting out the Koss, Page, Gibbons, Clapton, Joe Walsh licks, etc. However, that remaining 15% (particularly the added output and warmth) allow it to slip in to the harder rock territory and stay there with considerably more credibility than a typical PAF could manage. Though the bottom end is not as tight as a PAF Pro, its midrange grind gives you powerful, clear and dynamic crunch all over the gain spectrum, with zero feedback or squealing issues.

On top of this adaptability, there is no harshness or mud, and I've got this pickup in a VERY heavy Les Paul chunk-o'-Mahogany, which is of course what this pickup is tailored to. That being said, I also have it wired in Parallel in the neck of an Alder bodied Telecaster - versatility is a plenty in this little bundle of metal and wire.

Though I personally favour the PAF Pro for some things, particularly tighter hard rock rhythms and real screaming leads, the DP223 is my favourite all-round sounding pickup and it's one of the very many reasons that I love that particular Les Paul to death. With some high quality volume and tone pots, the range is unbeatable, and the colour options are just a bonus (nothing is better to me than a pair of cream HBs!) :D

From what I can tell, this and the Norton aren't worlds apart, but I've never played a pickup that sounds quite as interesting as this, considering that it's designed for a specific purpose and to replicate a particular vibe.

Jack

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