Description
Seth Lover’s original PAF humbucker ran on a surprisingly weak magnetic field, and that’s exactly what let those old pickups breathe, sing, and clean up under a light touch. DiMarzio chased that same softness for the 36th Anniversary set, using Larry DiMarzio’s personal 1959 cherry sunburst Les Paul as the reference point rather than a spec sheet. The result isn’t a clone — it’s a re-engineered take on why those vintage units sounded so alive in the first place.
Both pickups use Alnico 5 magnets and 42-gauge custom-coated wire, wound on computer-controlled machines for consistency the 1950s couldn’t offer, then wax-dipped to keep squeal and microphonics out of the signal. Nickel-silver covers are plated to stay magnetically transparent, so the tone underneath isn’t choked off.
- DP103BK Neck — 250mV output, 7.31k DC resistance, smooth and articulate without turning muddy, works equally well in neck or bridge.
- DP223BK Bridge — 285mV output, 8.60k DC resistance, hotter than the neck with the low-end weight of a Virtual PAF and the push of a Virtual Hot PAF, plus bigger, smoother highs than either. Splits cleanly to a bright, musical single-coil voice on the 4-conductor wiring.
Both come 4-conductor (1-conductor optional) for full coil-split or phase flexibility, and both wear matching black covers for a stealthy, no-fuss look on any Les Paul or bolt-on with a trem.
Rounding out the set: a free pack of D’Addario NYXL1046 regular light strings, so you can drop these pickups in and hear them fresh out of the box, on strings that won’t fight back.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.