Throbak Electronics....Interesting Read

[ftwizard]

This site http://gundrymedia.typepad.com/throbak_electronics/ is quite interesting, if you're interested in pickups, and the history of PAFs.
Scroll down the page to the pickup section.

[the_bleeding]

looks like a gimmick

[HTH AMPS]

why do you think it's a gimmick? - seems like the guy has gone to great lengths to recreate the PAF magic just like Tim and other pickup winders have.

proof is in the pudding of course, just that pudding is a bit too rich for my tastes - $349 at today's exchange rates means a pair will set you back £240 (ouch!!!)

[MrBump]

Looks interesting.

I can definitely believe that different winding machines produced different sounding pickups - probably explains why some guitars are great and some are just so-so.

Bloody pricey though.  Rather get them hand made by Tim.

Like the effects range.  They looked interesting.

Mark.

[Twinfan]

I thought they sounded interesting and could be tempted to try a pair in my McCarty maple top...

[HTH AMPS]

I thought they sounded interesting and could be tempted to try a pair in my McCarty maple top...

I'm really curious too - you should get some Dave and let me know how they sound  :lol:

[Twinfan]

:lol:

[Will]

DO IT!
They seem to be well thought of at the LPF

[the_bleeding]

there are just too many well made paf copies out there for me to consider spending a pile of money on pickups that  are somehow justified in their price because they were wound using old machines. Great he uses old machines, and lets them do all the work for him. It looks to me like he doesn't put the love, sweat, research and design into them like Tim does. And tim's pickups are less expensive? I say gimmick.

oh, the other thing that really threw me off was charging 150$ for a rewind.  :?

[Denim n Leather]

The Tone Bender clone is a very nice drive in its own merit, judging by the clips, but it sounds NOTHING like a real Tone Bender.

[Twinfan]

Gimmick or not, I've emailed the guy with a few questions  ;)

[Elliot]

Well I have a Fuzz Haze and its the best germanium fuzz i've heard (and i've heard a few!).

Personally, I think a lot of the marketing is due to the fact that Jon Gundry has original Gibson factory Leesona 102s so can make PAF exactly like the originals.  He has put alot of time, effort and research into it and I don't think Leesonas are any easier to use than hand scatterwinding.  Whether this makes the pups sound better is another story.  The thing about certain patterns only being possible with Leesonas is, I think, marketing and not correct.

As  to a very long debate about things with many pickup gurus including Jason Lollar, SD pickups dude, the guy from Shed and Mr Gundry himself see http://music-electronics-forum.com/showthread.php?t=10706

[HTH AMPS]

I'm not sure that the part about the original winding machines having some inherent mojo is BS, I really don't know enough about winding pickups and how the wind really effects the tone. 

IF the machines have a repeatable winding pattern that can't be copied with other machines (or by hand), then there is some merit to using the original PAF machines. 

The tough part is that very few people have real PAFs to compare AND PAFs varied alot, so there is no definate PAF tone.  All I will say it that there are a number of people doing some very nice PAF type pickups.

[ftwizard]

I'm glad some of you found the site interesting, I know I did.
There has to be something pretty special about a pickup, wound on the very same machine that wound the original PAFs. I don't think that provenance can be equaled, and if the exchange rate wasn't so dire, I think I might shell out on a pair.
I know Tim's work is good, but without trying others, you'll never know how good.
 

[Denim n Leather]

I know Tim's work is good, but without trying others, you'll never know how good.

Okay. Next time you need some dental work done, I volunteer to do it.

Then you'll really appreciate your own dentist!!! PDT_008