Gibson’s Battle Against Hum

Like its competitor, the Fender single-coil pickup, the P-90 was affected by the interference of 50 or 60-cycle hum, caused by alternating current in electric lines. The intrusion of electromagnetic interference further exacerbated this issue, becoming a well-known frustration among customers, especially professional musicians involved in concerts, TV broadcasts, and recording sessions.

In 1954, the tide began to turn when Gibson president Ted McCarty enlisted the expertise of Seth Lover, an accomplished electronics specialist working under the guidance of engineer Walt Fuller. Lover was tasked with resolving the hum issue, and after a series of experiments, he successfully crafted a prototype by 1955.

The development of the humbucking pickup was spurred by Maurice Berlin, the owner of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), Gibson's parent company. During weekly meetings, CMI Vice President Marc Carlucci and President Ted McCarty expressed their dissatisfaction with the noisy P-90 to Berlin. Carlucci had learned about the issue from the Chicago sales staff, while McCarty had received complaints from celebrity clients visiting Gibson's headquarters in Kalamazoo.

While it may not be entirely accurate to credit Seth Lover exclusively with the invention of the humbucker, his pivotal role in popularizing the groundbreaking design is indisputable. The idea of a hum-canceling coil had been explored as early as 1934, with Electro-Voice's V-1 microphone, inspired by an 1892 wattmeter patent. Additionally, Leo Fender experimented with noiseless pickup configurations in 1953, creating his own humbucker design for lap steel guitars, though it never made its way into his mainstream electric guitars.

However, it was Lover’s humbucker, as implemented by Gibson, that truly revolutionized the electric guitar world. His design provided a practical solution to the persistent hum issues plaguing single-coil pickups, marking a crucial milestone in the pursuit of sonic perfection. Lover's humbucker not only addressed a critical flaw but also ushered in a new era for electric guitar pickups, shaping the sound of countless musicians for decades to come.

 

Pioneers of Gibson’s Electric Revolution

At the heart of Gibson's remarkable journey into the world of electric guitars were two highly influential individuals: Walt Fuller and Seth Lover. Their pivotal contributions played a key role in shaping the company’s legacy. Not only were they responsible for developing groundbreaking technologies, but their innovations also forever altered the landscape of modern music.

Walt Fuller joined Gibson in May 1933, following in his father’s footsteps, who worked as a janitor at the company. Fuller quickly ascended the ranks, transitioning from the machine shop to roles such as cost estimator and timekeeper. By 1935, he had become an electrical engineer, playing a pioneering role in the development of some of Gibson's earliest electric guitars. Over the years, Fuller accumulated five patents for his groundbreaking work, and during World War II, he continued to make significant contributions, overseeing Gibson’s military electrical assembly subcontracts.

In 1941, Fuller brought Seth Lover to Gibson as an amplifier troubleshooter. At that time, department foremen were responsible for hiring staff, a practice that continued until around 1955. Born in Kalamazoo in 1910, Seth Lover’s early experiments with radio technology laid the foundation for his later achievements. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Lover returned with a wealth of knowledge in electronics. He contributed to Gibson's legacy as an amp designer, working on the GA-50 amp and an optical tremolo before briefly re-enlisting in the Navy. In 1952, Ted McCarty convinced Lover to return to Gibson with a compelling offer.

Upon his return, Lover joined a newly established electronics lab at Gibson, where he created the Staple pickup for Les Paul, contributed to the Gibson Amp series, and, most notably, introduced the revolutionary humbucker, along with its mini-humbucker variant.

Lover’s departure from Gibson in 1967, when he answered a call from his friend Dick Evans at Fender, marked the end of an era at Gibson. However, it is worth noting that Lover’s decision to leave was partly influenced by his dissatisfaction with his pay at Gibson, which he felt did not adequately reflect the significance of his work. Nevertheless, his lasting contributions to the world of pickups, particularly the humbucker, continue to shape the sonic landscape of electric guitars to this day.

Seth Lover’s background in radio technology gave him the insight needed to solve the hum issue that had long plagued electric guitars. Drawing from his experience with phase cancellation—a technique used in radio equipment—he knew that when two signals of equal strength but opposite phase are combined, they cancel each other out. While this principle had been applied in various electronics, it had never been successfully adapted to electric guitar pickups until then.

Lover’s work on the humbucker design built on previous efforts. The concept of hum-canceling pickups had been explored in the '30s, with some early attempts leading to the filing of three patents. Interestingly, the term "humbucking," which Lover later coined, did not appear in these early filings. Two of the patents proposed impractical methods involving direct current (DC) power.

Early hum-canceling designs struggled because of the noisy amplifiers of the time, which made it difficult to distinguish between different types of hum in '30s guitar and amp setups. Additionally, many pickups produced muddy tones, which Gibson sought to avoid. Lover’s expertise in radio technology proved invaluable as he adapted phase cancellation to the electric guitar. Inspired by the tone control choke in the GA-90 amp, Lover’s design successfully eliminated hum.

A humbucker uses two coils connected in series, with opposing windings and magnetic polarities. The coils are wired so that the electromagnetic hum (noise) is canceled out. Both coils pick up the noise, but due to their opposite polarity, the hum is reversed and canceled, leaving only the guitar signal, free from hum.

After experimenting with three humbucking designs, Lover ultimately prioritized efficiency for mass production. His final design preserved both high and low frequencies, ensuring reliable, consistent performance.

While Gibson’s original goal was to create a noiseless pickup that retained the widely appreciated P-90’s tone, the humbucker offered far more. It shared similarities with the P-90, but its tonal character was distinctly different. The combined coils captured vibrations over a broader area of the strings and the noise-canceling process softened some of the harsher high frequencies, resulting in a warmer, fuller sound—a sound that has since become iconic.

 

Seth Lover's Groundbreaking Design

The humbucker pickup, as introduced by Gibson, borrowed key attributes from its predecessor, the P-90. Both featured an identical Alnico magnet bar and approximately 10,000 turns of AWG 42 magnet wire. Early hand-wound prototypes utilized 1/4" tall coil forms made of celluloid, housing iron pole pieces, and mounted on top of a magnet bar. These pickups were encased in a plain steel cover for protection and noise shielding. Some prototypes even experimented with modified P-90 bobbins and dog-ear mounts, blending established P-90 concepts with new ideas.

Once Seth Lover completed his innovative design, he confidently walked into Ted McCarty’s office, placed the humbucker on the desk, and declared, “Here’s your humbucker!” With that, the pickup was officially named, destined to change the electric guitar landscape. Lover then crafted two additional pre-production humbuckers for installation on a test guitar.

The chosen test guitar was a solid-body Les Paul Model with a Wraparound bridge. Modifications were necessary to accommodate the humbucker's flanged baseplate. The prototype’s cellulose plastic mounting surrounds closely resembled the final production version, and a custom pickguard was cut to fit. This Gold Top prototype was assembled with additional noise-reduction features, such as cavity shielding with paint and foil, as well as a reversed middle toggle switch position—although these enhancements were not included in production models.

In Gibson’s conference room, endorser Rem Walls played the prototype through a GA-55 Ranger amp while Ted McCarty, Seth Lover, John Huis, Julius Bellson, and other specialists observed and tested it. “The guitar worked without any hum and was immediately approved for use,” McCarty later recalled. The flawless performance of the prototype earned unanimous approval, signaling the humbucker’s bright future.

One key consideration during the humbucker’s development was the absence of adjustable pole pieces in the original design. Seth Lover initially believed adjustable poles were unnecessary, thinking they added little value to the pickup. However, Gibson’s sales team and management were concerned that omitting them could be perceived as a step backward, especially since adjustable screws were already featured on the P-90. As a result, the sales team insisted on including them for better marketability.

Some prototypes featured covers engraved to simulate pole pieces, but eventually, Lover incorporated real adjustable screws, adopting the same fillister screws and keeper bar used in the P-90. These screws, however, were not part of the original patent drawings, reflecting their later inclusion in the design process.

The pickups were mounted with the screws oriented in opposite directions—neck pickup screws facing the neck and bridge pickup screws facing the bridge—according to Lover’s preferences. The inclusion of adjustable poles proved practical, allowing for fine-tuning of the pickup’s balance.

With the design finalized, Gibson initiated tooling for baseplates, covers, bobbins, and mounting rings, preparing the humbucker for mass production. The innovative pickup was now poised to revolutionize the electric guitar market.

Decades later, in 1998, vintage guitar collector Gil Hembree of Vintage Guitar magazine—guided by a strong intuition, perhaps even a “vision”—placed a local newspaper ad in Kalamazoo in search of the elusive instrument. The ad led him to the son of the original owner, who, despite not being a Gibson factory employee, had come into possession of the guitar through other means. After carefully verifying its authenticity, Hembree acquired the remarkably well-preserved 1955 Les Paul prototype. The guitar would later appear on the cover of Ted McCarty’s biography.

In recent years, this historic instrument became part of the renowned collection of Dirk Ziff, who in 2025 donated his entire archive—over 500 guitars—to the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. Today, the prototype stands not only as a singular piece of musical history but also as a testament to the innovation that redefined the sound of the electric guitar.

On June 22, 1955, Gibson filed a patent application (number 2.896.491) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, listing Seth E. Lover as the inventor. Titled "Magnetic Pickup for Stringed Musical Instruments", the patent outlined an ingenious solution to eliminate the hum caused by nearby electrical devices interfering with amplifiers. Ted McCarty consistently ensured that his employees received credit by listing them as inventors on company patents.

The details submitted to the lawyers were based on the prototype, with illustrations showing a pickup featuring a magnet bar and two bobbins wound with magnet wire. These coils were connected in series, with perpendicular iron cylinders in direct contact with the Alnico magnet bar, polarized along its length. The description explained how the pickup effectively neutralized undesirable currents while generating an electrical impulse from the vibrating string.

In 1956, the first production model humbucker appeared in Consolette lap steel guitars. These eight-string models featured larger bobbins and several different components. Marketed as "new, powerful hum-bucking pickups that eliminate all electronic disturbances," Gibson initially hesitated to extend the humbucker to other guitar models until the patent was secured. However, after Gretsch filed for a patent on January 22, 1957, for their Filter'Tron humbucker—developed by Ray Butts for Chet Atkins—Gibson realized the urgency of moving quickly. To stay competitive, they accelerated the production and integration of the humbucker into many of their higher-end models.

By 1957, Gibson added a "Patent Applied For" decal to protect the design, which led to the famous "PAF" nickname. The patent was officially granted on July 28, 1959, though delays were likely caused by seven other related claims. Despite Ray Butts receiving confirmation on June 30, 1959—about a year and a half after his own application—the originality and significance of Seth Lover’s design remained undeniable.

Ultimately known as PU490, the humbucker made its official debut in Gibson's product catalog in 1957, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of electric guitar pickups.

 

The Humble Beginnings of an Iconic Pickup

On February 17, 1957, an entry in the Gibson logbook marked a turning point in electric guitar history: the debut of the first ES-175 equipped with humbucking pickups. The notation "A-25000 H.B. starts here" signaled the start of a new era. These early humbuckers, known as "Pre-PAF," lacked the iconic "Patent Applied For" decal that would later define the model.

A distinctive feature of the early humbucker pickups was their use of stainless steel covers, which were brushed to resemble nickel plating. This approach was a solution to the difficulty of plating stainless steel directly. Gibson did experiment with painting the covers to match golden hardware, but the paint wore off too easily, making it impractical.

Seth Lover, ever the innovator, turned to his chemistry books for a solution. His research led him to discover German silver—an alloy made from copper, zinc, and nickel. Known for its low conductivity, German silver was ideal for pickup covers. It not only simplified the plating process but also preserved the high-frequency response of the pickups.

By 1957, PAF humbuckers began appearing on Les Paul Goldtop guitars, with serial numbers ranging from 7-13XX to approximately 7-38XX. In mid-1957, the "Fretless Wonder" Les Paul Custom was introduced, featuring three golden PAFs instead of the traditional P-90s. Gibson used automated winding machines for the PAF bobbins, though the process lacked precision. Operators determined the stopping point based on judgment, leading to variations in resistance. Ohm readings typically ranged from 7kΩ to over 9kΩ, although values above 8kΩ were not particularly common, except for examples made in 1959 and 1960. Additionally, the two bobbins in each pickup often exhibited different readings. At this stage, there was no distinction between bridge and neck pickups, meaning the neck pickup could have a higher reading, contrary to what we’re used to today. By the '60s, bobbin winding became more consistent as production methods improved.

The use of Alnico magnets in PAFs was somewhat random. Alnico 2, 3, 4, 5, and unoriented 5 grades were used, with Alnico 3 being rare and mostly found in P-90s and early PAFs. Magnet lengths evolved over time, with shorter magnets becoming standard by mid-1961, typically made from Alnico 5, although some still used Alnico 2.

Most PAF bobbins were black, but in 1959 and early 1960, some pickups featured white bobbins, possibly due to a shortage of black pigment. "Zebra" PAFs, which featured one black and one white bobbin, were more common than the rarer double-white PAFs. Gold-plated PAFs, although less common, were used into the mid-'60s due to slower depletion of inventory, particularly those with an inverted magnet made specifically for Varitone-equipped guitars, such as the ES-345. Though gold-plated PAFs aren’t as sought after as their nickel-plated counterparts, those with white bobbins are especially valuable. Double-white PAFs can fetch up to twice the price of black-bobbin versions, often reaching five-figure sums.

From late 1962 to 1969, the "Patent Applied For" decal was replaced with one bearing the patent number "Patent No 2.737.843," signaling the end of the PAF era. Interestingly, this patent number referred to the Les Paul trapeze tailpiece, likely a mix-up rather than a deliberate attempt to mislead competitors. By 1960, Gibson had a surplus of unused patent number decals from the discontinued ES-225 trapeze tailpieces, which they began using on some gold humbucker baseplates—and eventually, on all of them.

The same incorrect patent number continued to appear engraved on the baseplates of subsequent pickups, including the T-Tops, and remained in use until the late '80s.

 

The Legendary Tone of the PAF Humbucker

The tone of the PAF humbucker is nothing short of legendary—massive, rich, fat, and full, yet with a remarkable level of intricate detail. It's as though a wall of sound envelops the listener, yet an underlying openness allows every note to breathe freely. The harmonics are complex, providing a richness that makes everything—from distorted power chords to delicate arpeggios—sound layered and dense. Even in its cleanest form, the PAF’s detail feels almost unreal; every note stands on its own, with an ethereal separation between them. There’s a certain breathiness to the sound, as if it’s alive, constantly evolving and reacting to the subtlest nuances of touch.

In its purest form, the PAF humbucker achieves the perfect balance of warmth and clarity. Its fullness never compromises articulation, even at its most saturated. It’s as if you're hearing the guitar’s tone across a full spectrum—every harmonic and overtone present without being overwhelming. Punchy yet smooth, the PAF captures every subtle shift in playing dynamics, delivering both elegance and power.

The late '50s Gibson Les Pauls equipped with PAF humbuckers revolutionized the music world, leaving a lasting impact on rock, blues, and hard rock. Known for their rich, warm tone and harmonic complexity, these guitars shaped the sound of the '60s, '70s, and '80s, becoming essential to the era’s most influential guitarists. The PAF pickups were key in defining the expressive range of electric guitars, allowing everything from crisp, articulate leads to thick, powerful solos and expanding musical possibilities across genres.

One standout example is Peter Green’s 1959 Les Paul, which defined his distinctive sound on tracks like Albatross and Black Magic Woman. Green’s tone is considered one of the most expressive in rock history. The PAFs enabled him to extract a vocal-like quality from his guitar, offering a unique dynamic range, whether with a clean, mellow tone or through powerful distortion.

Duane Eddy’s twangy rockabilly sound, shaped by his 1959 Les Paul, was instrumental in defining early rock music, with tracks like Rebel Rouser showcasing deep, resonant tones that became iconic in the genre. Similarly, Eric Clapton’s iconic Beano album, recorded in 1966 with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, owes much of its signature tone to his 1959 Les Paul. The PAFs gave Clapton a warm, singing lead sound that laid the foundation for blues-rock and cemented his place in music history.

Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band also harnessed the power of PAF pickups in his 1957 and 1959 Les Pauls to shape his soulful slide guitar tone. These guitars provided a deep, rich sound that balanced power with subtlety, perfect for tracks like Statesboro Blues and Dreams. Leslie West of Mountain also relied on the thick, aggressive midrange of the PAF pickups to create his gritty sound on Mississippi Queen, a crucial element in the development of hard rock and proto-metal.

Jimmy Page, renowned for his groundbreaking work with Led Zeppelin, embraced PAF-equipped Les Pauls for much of the band's iconic sound. His 1959 Les Pauls, featured prominently on albums like Led Zeppelin II and III, contributed to his complex, harmonically rich tone, enhancing his riffs and solos with a dynamic quality that became synonymous with the band’s legendary style.

ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons crafted his signature creamy overdrive and bluesy phrasing with several 1959 Les Pauls. These guitars provided sustain and clarity, helping Gibbons create distinctive solos that balanced smoothness and bite, central to albums like Tres Hombres and Eliminator. Gary Moore’s fiery solos on Still Got the Blues were shaped by his 1959 Les Pauls, where the PAFs provided the perfect blend of warmth and bite, essential to his emotional and precise playing.

Mark Knopfler, known for his intricate fingerpicking style, benefited from the clarity of PAF pickups in his 1958 and 1959 Les Pauls. These pickups highlighted his clean, precise playing, giving his tone a bright, articulate quality that became a hallmark of his sound. Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, a pioneer of heavy metal, also used PAF pickups in his early years to craft his iconic doom metal riffs. The dark, heavy tone of the PAFs was central to his signature sound and the development of the genre.

Although Slash’s famous Appetite for Destruction guitar is equipped with Seymour Duncan humbuckers, it still nods to the classic PAF sound. Similarly, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, who used an original 1959 Les Paul with PAFs, crafted a raw yet refined tone, particularly on albums like Toys in the Attic and Rocks.

Few modern players have embraced vintage guitars and PAF humbuckers with as much passion as Joe Bonamassa. A devoted collector and historian, Bonamassa has amassed a notable collection of original 1957-1960 Les Pauls and Flying Vs. His playing, featured in albums like Blues of Desperation and Royal Tea, highlights the expressive power and tonal complexity of PAF pickups, which continue to be central to his soulful blues-rock sound.

Other vintage guitar enthusiasts and collectors, such as Kirk Hammett of Metallica—who owns Peter Green’s iconic 1959 Les Paul—and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, whose arsenal of vintage guitars helped shape the band’s sound, have contributed to the preservation and celebration of the PAF legacy. Joe Walsh of The Eagles, famed for gifting Jimmy Page his own 1959 Les Paul, and Jeff Beck, whose use of vintage guitars helped define his unmistakable tone, are also crucial figures in keeping the vintage tone of the PAF pickups alive.

These legendary guitarists, each with their unique style and contributions, have solidified the PAF humbucker’s place as the benchmark for tonal excellence. Whether shredding or refining their craft, these players shaped the distinctive sound of the PAF pickups, creating timeless music that continues to influence musicians across genres. The PAF humbuckers remain the gold standard for anyone seeking the rich, harmonically complex tone that defines rock, blues, and beyond.

 

The Evolution of Gibson Humbuckers

From 1962 to 1965, Gibson transitioned from the original PAF humbuckers to the early "Patent No." pickups. These pickups retained much of the late PAF’s sonic character while introducing subtle refinements. Around 1963, the bobbin wire shifted from the dark enamel to reddish poly-coated copper, and the lead wires were standardized to one black and one white. The slight bowing of the bobbins from wire tension, seen in earlier PAFs, was also less present. Most pickups still featured the signature "L"-shaped tool marks, though these gradually faded from production. Throughout this period, nickel covers remained standard, preserving both the aesthetic and tonal essence of the PAF era. During this time, some guitars left the factory with one PAF and one Patent No. pickup.

By 1965, however, Gibson began implementing more noticeable changes. Nickel covers were replaced with chrome, aligning with the rest of the newer guitars. The bobbin wire adopted a bright orange (sometimes green) coated wire, and the "L"-shaped tool marks became increasingly rare, though some can still be found as late as 1972. Output readings stabilized around 7.5kΩ, ensuring greater consistency as production shifted to the Meteor ME-301 machines, where most PAFs were wound using Leesona 102.

From 1965 to 1975, Gibson introduced the T-Top pickup, named for the small "T" molded into its bobbins—visible only after removing the cover. These bobbins where slightly thicker, but they were still made of butyrate. Although it retained the "Patent No." sticker, the T-Top marked a departure from its PAF roots. The orange bobbin wire remained, and baseplate screws were now a mix of slotted and Phillips-head. Despite their sonic differences, T-Tops became a defining sound of late '60s and '70s rock, solidifying Gibson’s humbuckers as a central force in electric guitar history. By 1978, possibly influenced by the popularity of the DiMarzio Super Distortion, Gibson introduced double-thickness ceramic magnets. However, all Gibson pickups remained unpotted until the '80s, except for the early-'70s 'Tarback' humbuckers, named for their black epoxy coating.

As original PAF-equipped guitars became rarer and more valuable, demand for their sound led to a surge in aftermarket pickups. Seymour Duncan, for example, worked with Seth Lover—the PAF’s inventor—to recreate its iconic tone, ensuring the PAF's legacy endured. At the same time, companies like DiMarzio sparked controversy by trademarking the "PAF" name and cream-colored bobbins, a move seen by some as savvy marketing and by others as a dilution of history.

For modern players seeking vintage tones, nickel-plated Patent No. pickups remain hidden gems, offering much of the depth of PAFs at a fraction of the cost. Chrome-covered Gibson pickups from the late '60s and early '70s can vary—some house the earlier, more desirable model, while others contain a T-Top. Yet for collectors and purists, nothing surpasses the original PAF, still one of the most coveted components in vintage guitar history. Late-’70s T-Tops, however, are largely inconsistent.

Starting in 1969, Mini-Humbuckers gained prominence, offering a tighter sound, particularly in models like the Les Paul Deluxe (with PAF mini-humbuckers also found on Epiphone guitars from 1960 to 1962). In the early '80s, Tim Shaw Humbuckers marked Gibson’s first serious attempt to recreate the original PAF tone, paving the way for later reissues. Since then, Gibson has introduced several key humbuckers, including the high-output Dirty Fingers and the 490R/490T, which modernized the PAF sound. The ‘57 Classic and 498T pickups offered vintage-inspired tones with Alnico 2 and 5 magnets. The Burstbucker series and Custombucker have become staples for PAF-style tones, while the MHS (Memphis Historic Spec) and T-Type pickups continue to offer vintage-inspired sounds with modern refinements. These models remain central to Gibson’s humbucker lineup.

The PAF Today

Today’s reproduction market continues to thrive, with companies—including Gibson itself—striving to capture the elusive tone of the original PAFs, allowing players to experience that iconic sound without the need to hunt down a rare vintage piece. Gibson’s most faithful recreation is the Custombucker, introduced for the Historic Reissue line in 2013. Designed from the ground up to mirror vintage specifications more closely while still meeting the expectations of a modern audience, the Custombucker reflects Gibson’s intention to balance historical inspiration with modern manufacturing realities.

Additionally, boutique makers have emerged, and among the many, a handful of them have managed to get very close to the real deal. A special acknowledgement goes to Seymour Duncan, whose work has been instrumental in preserving and understanding the PAF legacy. Not only did he examine countless vintage units, he also personally interviewed Seth Lover while he was still alive—an invaluable contribution that helped clarify the origins, intentions, and technical nuances behind the first humbuckers. His early PAF recreations, developed directly under Lover’s guidance, remain some of the most historically informed interpretations ever produced.

Equally important are researchers and builders whose dedication to studying original components has shaped much of what we now know about vintage Gibson pickups. Figures such as Terry Mueller, Gil Hembree, Tom Doyle, Jol Dantzig, and Tim Shaw provided essential historical and technical insight, from magnet metallurgy to winding patterns and early manufacturing methods.

Among contemporary boutique makers, several stand out for their depth of research and uncompromising approach. Jon Gundry (Throbak)—who owns and operates original Gibson winding machines like the Leesona 102 and the Geo-Stevens 115—has contributed significantly to the modern understanding of PAF-era production techniques.
Side by side, James Finnerty (ReWind Electric) and Mario Milan, whose collaborative research culminated in one of the most respected publications on the subject, have contributed rigorous, data-driven analysis of vintage coils, materials, and manufacturing tolerances. Their joint work remains a reference point for anyone seeking factual, laboratory-level documentation of the PAF sound.
Similarly, Stephens Design has long pursued historically faithful recreations grounded in direct study of original examples, adding his own perspective to the ongoing exploration of authentic PAF tone.

Thanks to the combined efforts of these researchers, builders, and historians, the sonic DNA of the original PAF—once considered almost mythical—has become better documented, better understood, and more faithfully reproduced than ever before.

 

Written by Giuseppe Fumuso​