I agree, and to me it is because it is one of, if not the most balanced pickup of the aftermarket : it is balanced not only frequency wise but also "output" wise, and it makes for a super versatile pickup, where you can easily play vintage oriented stuff as much as more modern oriented one, and both with credibility. The pro is the anti "one trick pony" , you can make it sing, or you can make it scream, it's all up to the player.
@@ryanmccarter9859 actually I like it so much that I often buy used ones on the after market just to experiment with magnets : a paf pro with alnico 2 reminded me a lot of a cool mixture of Duncan's alnico 2 mixed with pearly gates. With alnico 8 I had a tweaked tone zone, with slightly less bass and not as strong midrange, but instead a much buttery smooth one. With ceramic you've got a metal pickup , but even with all these cool "mods" I always come back to the vanilla pro.
Have any of you used an original Bill Lawrence or Wilde Pickups (NOT "Bill Lawrence USA") L-500R? Though it has a slightly-lower wind and a slightly-lower inductance (7.6kΩ and 4.4H versus 8.1kΩ and 5.2H, as measured by Darth Phineas), its construction minimizes eddy currents such that its output may be more similar than those measurements indicate.
I've used both and that's exactly what the difference is. The Mo'Joe is like a hotter Fred. It's about as hot as any pickup needs to be. I'm not crazy about the newer Satchur8. It's got too much output and it's too bright. I've never tried an Alnico 8 that I liked.
@@angusorvid8840 I'm kinda struggling with the Satchur8 too. I actually have a Mo'Joe lying around, sounds like I should pop it in and see what happens.
The only thing the FRED had over it was those harmonic overtones. Most don't know this but a Fred is one coil of a PAF pro and the other coil is tweaked for more mids.
I have them both in different guitars and I really love the tone of both of them, but the PAF Pro feels, in my guitar, as the most all rounder. The perfect riff maker.
I kinda feel like the PAF Pro has a more "shouty" character that I often prefer. When chords just bark right out and it sounds louder. Obviously one factor here is output levels. Fred is louder so it has more gain and less dynamics when run through the same amount of gain.
In this episode Dimarzio Fred is definitely a winner. It's a great sounding pickup, bright, punchy and tight with rich sounding harmonics and great note definition. I think it's a great neck pickup as well. I use the Fred in the neck position on my Jackson SL2HT in with the Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position. Waiting for the next episode: 'Fred vs PAF Pro neck pickups comparison '.
For an alnico 5 pickup the Fred is very tight, much like the Duncan Full Shred. The PAF Pro is more open sounding, still very harmonically inclined, but not as modern in EQ as the Fred. Both are great pickups. It's a matter of what works best for you. But if you like to play a lot of open sounding classic rock the PAF Pro is a better choice. If you lean more on the tight proggy side the Fred is best. For the neck the PAF Pro is great with either another PAF Pro or a Fred in the bridge.
In some areas i prefer that the Fred pickup pops more and has more clarity and that the lower strings come through better and in some areas I prefer that the Paf Pro has less output and sounds tighter with distortion because there is more silence after every stroke.
Most don't know this but the Fred is a half of the PAF pro. One coil on the Fred is a PAF pro coil and the other is tweaked for more output and midrange. I Prefer the PAF pro in both positions but do like the Fred. Surprisingly the Fred sounds great in the neck! Try it sometime
I have both pickups and tested them in neck position of the same guitar. So in neck position under hi gain FRED sounds more stratty and PAF Pro more Les Paulish. Fred has more attack and sparkle tone, PAF Pro is more smooth and creamy. Also FRED is really close to DiMarzio Chopper (rail single sized pickup)
The Fred sounds better distorted in the bridge than the PAF Pro, to me, but I wonder how they compare in the neck. All the videos comparing the PAF Pro in the neck are fantastic and the PAF Pro sounds great in all of them, but I wonder if the Fred beats it or if it's too fat? Thank you, Mr. Stamper, these are super helpful! I should mention, the PAF Pro sounds AMAZING clean in the bridge!
The Fred sounds like the Pro where they goosed the hell out of a narrow band upper-midrange frequencies, while the rest has a l hollowed out/slightly out of phase thing going on. It's definitely a specific sound, but I dig it. It sounds like it works well im the bridge position, but I wonder if it wouldn't sound better in the neck. I know I've probably installed these a number of times for people but I just can't remember it.
The fred seems to havepre saturation in the mids but thats my only criticism and even then its not even a problem its just taste!they both sound incredible
Thank you so much for this great video! I clearly prefer the PAF PRO!!!! ;-) From a friend I got an old Ibanez SA160QM (early 2000s), Mahogany body, quite thin (at least thinner than an RG for example). Nothing special, but nice guitar, so I want to get a new pickup for it. I think about putting a PAF pro in it, but I'm not sure, if it works with the thin mahogany-body. And I ask myself, if the FRED would be a better choice... suggestions anybody? ;-)
The older I get and the more pickups I try, the more I feel that the PAF Pro is the best pickup ever made.
I agree, and to me it is because it is one of, if not the most balanced pickup of the aftermarket : it is balanced not only frequency wise but also "output" wise, and it makes for a super versatile pickup, where you can easily play vintage oriented stuff as much as more modern oriented one, and both with credibility. The pro is the anti "one trick pony" , you can make it sing, or you can make it scream, it's all up to the player.
@@SociopatheAssume It's just right: bright and clear without being sharp or thin, a little extra muscle without being too loud or too dark.
Holy words
@@ryanmccarter9859 actually I like it so much that I often buy used ones on the after market just to experiment with magnets : a paf pro with alnico 2 reminded me a lot of a cool mixture of Duncan's alnico 2 mixed with pearly gates. With alnico 8 I had a tweaked tone zone, with slightly less bass and not as strong midrange, but instead a much buttery smooth one. With ceramic you've got a metal pickup , but even with all these cool "mods" I always come back to the vanilla pro.
Have any of you used an original Bill Lawrence or Wilde Pickups (NOT "Bill Lawrence USA") L-500R? Though it has a slightly-lower wind and a slightly-lower inductance (7.6kΩ and 4.4H versus 8.1kΩ and 5.2H, as measured by Darth Phineas), its construction minimizes eddy currents such that its output may be more similar than those measurements indicate.
In this demo the FRED sounds exactly the way DiMarzio describes it: like a PAF Pro with more mid range growl and strong harmonics.
I've used both and that's exactly what the difference is. The Mo'Joe is like a hotter Fred. It's about as hot as any pickup needs to be. I'm not crazy about the newer Satchur8. It's got too much output and it's too bright. I've never tried an Alnico 8 that I liked.
@@angusorvid8840 I'm kinda struggling with the Satchur8 too. I actually have a Mo'Joe lying around, sounds like I should pop it in and see what happens.
The only thing the FRED had over it was those harmonic overtones. Most don't know this but a Fred is one coil of a PAF pro and the other coil is tweaked for more mids.
FRED! At last! Can't wait FRED vs Evolution 🤘
Available in a few days!! :)
Both are great pickups. The Fred is fuller sounding and has more sizzle.
I've been going back and forth on all these, so I think I'm gonna go PAF Pro in the neck and Super Distortion in the Bridge!
I have them both in different guitars and I really love the tone of both of them, but the PAF Pro feels, in my guitar, as the most all rounder. The perfect riff maker.
That was the winning decision for me the PAF pro feels great under the fingers.
I kinda feel like the PAF Pro has a more "shouty" character that I often prefer. When chords just bark right out and it sounds louder. Obviously one factor here is output levels. Fred is louder so it has more gain and less dynamics when run through the same amount of gain.
In this episode Dimarzio Fred is definitely a winner. It's a great sounding pickup, bright, punchy and tight with rich sounding harmonics and great note definition. I think it's a great neck pickup as well. I use the Fred in the neck position on my Jackson SL2HT in with the Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position. Waiting for the next episode: 'Fred vs PAF Pro neck pickups comparison '.
The FRED has bloated low-mids, making it less articulate than the PAF Pro.
For an alnico 5 pickup the Fred is very tight, much like the Duncan Full Shred. The PAF Pro is more open sounding, still very harmonically inclined, but not as modern in EQ as the Fred. Both are great pickups. It's a matter of what works best for you. But if you like to play a lot of open sounding classic rock the PAF Pro is a better choice. If you lean more on the tight proggy side the Fred is best. For the neck the PAF Pro is great with either another PAF Pro or a Fred in the bridge.
In some areas i prefer that the Fred pickup pops more and has more clarity and that the lower strings come through better and in some areas I prefer that the Paf Pro has less output and sounds tighter with distortion because there is more silence after every stroke.
Most don't know this but the Fred is a half of the PAF pro. One coil on the Fred is a PAF pro coil and the other is tweaked for more output and midrange. I Prefer the PAF pro in both positions but do like the Fred. Surprisingly the Fred sounds great in the neck! Try it sometime
Surprisingly similar!
I feel that the PAF Pro is tighter and easier to control though.
I have both pickups and tested them in neck position of the same guitar. So in neck position under hi gain FRED sounds more stratty and PAF Pro more Les Paulish. Fred has more attack and sparkle tone, PAF Pro is more smooth and creamy.
Also FRED is really close to DiMarzio Chopper (rail single sized pickup)
The Fred sounds better distorted in the bridge than the PAF Pro, to me, but I wonder how they compare in the neck. All the videos comparing the PAF Pro in the neck are fantastic and the PAF Pro sounds great in all of them, but I wonder if the Fred beats it or if it's too fat? Thank you, Mr. Stamper, these are super helpful! I should mention, the PAF Pro sounds AMAZING clean in the bridge!
agreed! Mike, pls do this again in the neck position??
Funny enough, I heard that the fred sounds great in the neck.
Fred did not work for me in the neck, but the paf pro is the best sounding neck pickup with my super distortion bridge.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc funny, I've settled on a PAF Pro in the neck and a Super Distortion in the bridge! Amazing combo.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc What guitar did you put the Fred in the neck position in? What was it about the Fred that didn't work for you?
The Fred sounds like the Pro where they goosed the hell out of a narrow band upper-midrange frequencies, while the rest has a l hollowed out/slightly out of phase thing going on. It's definitely a specific sound, but I dig it.
It sounds like it works well im the bridge position, but I wonder if it wouldn't sound better in the neck. I know I've probably installed these a number of times for people but I just can't remember it.
I really enjoy your comparisons, thank you for the amazing content. Which exact Kemper profiles are you using?
The Paf on the Celan is actually cleaner with more depth in the bass, however the Fred sounds warmer on more saturated distortions.
The fred seems to havepre saturation in the mids but thats my only criticism and even then its not even a problem its just taste!they both sound incredible
Thank you so much for this great video! I clearly prefer the PAF PRO!!!! ;-)
From a friend I got an old Ibanez SA160QM (early 2000s), Mahogany body, quite thin (at least thinner than an RG for example). Nothing special, but nice guitar, so I want to get a new pickup for it. I think about putting a PAF pro in it, but I'm not sure, if it works with the thin mahogany-body. And I ask myself, if the FRED would be a better choice... suggestions anybody? ;-)
You're doing God's work. Thank you
Wow, this was difficult. For clean sounds I prefer the fullness of the FRED, but distorted it gets too much and the PAF Pro works better.
Please! Do these pickups comparison for neck position too!
There are PAF PRO neck videos on my channel! Try here:
www.youtube.com/@mikestamper/search?query=%22DiMarzio%20Paf%20Pro%20neck%22
TheFRED is actually incredible sounding in the neck! Reminds me of a very fat single coil tone. Seymour Duncan screamin demon is the same way👍
@@These_go_to_eleven_1959 Thanks! I already bought FREG and tested it in neck. It really has some single coil characteristics.
@@OrkhanJulfa 👍 Great harmonics too!
Really like your vids! Wish you would include a medium gain/crunch section as well.
I'm including them in the new in-depth pickup videos. I can't include them in comparisons because it would need to re-record all the pickups.
@@mikestamper Cool! Thanks for the response.
These sound impressively acoustic for magnetic pickups.
What about Fred vs Mo Joe?
how about fred vs super distortion?
Available now! :)
Fred
Surprised that I like the PAF Pro a bit better…fatter