Just removed my question on the pickup, found the answer. I had the wrong model numbers. Great video and demo! I take it you used the DP155 on the bridge. This is truly a wonderful discovery for the Master Bridge PAF on the neck! I think it's the Alnico 4 doing it.
Hey Joshua thanks for all the unorthodox demos of these guitar pickups. If you ever get the chance could you try running the gravity storm (neck) or breed (neck) in the bridge position. I think the breed might have a great warm paf tone (something usable). I'm set on the humbucker from hell in the neck it's an awesome sound in between humbucker and strat. Thanks man keep it up
Thanks a bunch Matt, I really appreciate you watching. I'm gonna try the Gravity Storm set in my 1992 RT650, though in their usual configuration. of course I'll post a demo once I get them. Thanks again.
Hey thanks for giving all the details we sometimes forget, as in how does the guitar sound acoustically, how was the guitar made and what affect that has on tone, etc...very helpful in the vast sea of pickup choices
Just finished soldering (and sweating!) today both the PAF Master in neck and Dominion Bridge in bridge of the Sterling Petrucci JP60, and its everything I hoped for, man it is a wicked setup, listen to this video guys, it couldnt have been better said!
CROWjunkie Heck yeah you can! You just wanna make sure your bridge pickup is as hot or hotter. Pickups are called "neck" or "bridge" because of where they were designed to be used, but there's nothing fundamentally different about them. Bridge pickups are generally hotter and compensated for the smaller string oscillation and brighter, more harmonic-laden tones produced near the bridge. Neck pickups are compensated for the warm, darker sound near the neck and the broader oscillation there. That's also why a neck pickup will generally sound reeeeaal bright in the bridge, and bridge pickups can be over loud or dark/muddy in the neck. Let experimentation and experience be your guide.
I had this idea for a guitar... I googled it to see if anyone has done it and thought "of COURSE Josh had already tried it!" 🤣 Thanks for helping to sway another tonal decision of mine brother!
Plus In my other Sterling JP60 I have Tone Zone in bridge and liquifire in neck, wanted to try something besides liquifires/PAF Joes/Air Nortons which are all the necks I have ever used.
So I got a ssh style 150$ Indio guitar , I ordered invader Humber for the bridge , a ssl3 Seymour hot bridge for middle position and a ssl4 Seymour for the neck
Do you think the bridge in the middle position will be fine ? I’ve never soldered pickups on so I’m not sure if I should expect the annoying hum I did make sure to get 60/40 solder to ensure proper connection
Josh...Thanks for not playing a bunch of classic rock lick and showing what this pickup can do under any conditions. I'm totally sold on the pickup and will be purchasing a pair today...Thanks man
+badman37 Heck yeah man! The PAFMB is really a great neck pickup as long as you don't need the truest vintage tone. Gonna be a little compressed for that. Thanks man!
I know this is an old video but I'm thinking of swapping some pups later--what do you think sounds better: paf master bridge, or 36th anniversary neck, in the neck position of an HH guitar? Currently have the paf joe which I really like but it's a mahogany guitar and it sounds a smidge too dark.
@@user-dz8wc9sr5i if PAF Joe is too dark you would probably hate PAFM Bridge in the neck spot. 36th neck will be much more open bright and chimey. Good luck!
Great demo sir. I’m going to switch out the pick ups in a kind of low budget 335 style guitar. I was thinking of putting two of these in there what do you think?
Excellent Video 👍👍👍. Just what I was looking for, my Son just bought a Dimarazio Super Distortion in cream for the Bridge but the Paf Pro in cream had sold out so he bought the Paf Master in cream, could only get a Bridge version, Dimarzio are closed.at the moment which is a first, anyway thank you for sharing your thoughts, sounds Amazing 👍. Take care, Melbourne, Australia.
Dam Josh you are doing something I exactly wanted to try whacky. I have Dominion in the bridge, but wanted to try a PAF MASTER BRIDGE in the neck of my Sterling JP60...since the PAF Master neck is such lower output compared to my Dominion, I wanted to go with the PAF Master bridge in the neck position...have Dominion in bridge already, ordering this right now.
@@joshoptical kinda dark in the neck it gets bassy almost too ... Flat and wide an then the highs are brittle but thats the dual rails I just got and they are an improvement over the 10 and 11 ohm stock that were init
I was just checkin yours out I dont have a dimarzio but in a hondo from the 80's a paf and its in the neck and it sounds good. Ive been buyin those cheap rail pickups.
I do not know if you'll see this or respond to it,but it's worth a shot: I have the Bridge PAF Master lying around. I have an Ibanez RG bolt on guitar that has, like your guitar, a naturally VERY VERY VERY bright and cutting tone. I have an Air Zone in the Bridge and it is lovely. I want to put the Bridge PAF Master into the neck position of that instrument, but the one thing that is perhaps making me a little apprehensive is how it sounds split or wired in parallel. The Air Zone is FANTASTIC parallel, and when split with the Bridge PAF Master will it lose output? Will it sound weak and anemic? Thanks!
RandomSrini no way. The PAF Master bridge is still in the PAF class in terms of output, but is plenty hot enough to split well when put in the neck position as the string gives so much output there. Go for it and don’t look back. Keep me posted.
I have. Great pickup if you’re playing Satch or lead guitar for Boston or Journey. For rhythm guitar, it’s like you put fine ground coffee in a French press and let it brew for fifteen minutes. So much saturation and honky mids it’s unusable for me.
Stefano Maddalena I don’t know 8 strings but if Seymour Duncan makes a Sentient 8 that should be great. It’s very clear and open which you need to keep it from getting muddy in low tunings with high gain
It... It *does* sound really good. You hi gain players should basically just use bridge pickups in every position. All bridge everything. P.S. Usually cant stand shredding and bending but there were moments where I was like "oh man that was rad." You bent a note like a full perfect fourth or something hahah "what tha faaaaaack!"
Griffin Smith Hell yeah man! That’s really high praise and I truly appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment. Hopefully I’ll get back to doing more of these soon. Thanks again.
Hey Josh, I've been considering switching out the neck Air Norton in my SG for the PAF Master B (deciding between that and PAF DP103). Are you using 500k pots in there?
BT Hellam Yes sir, 500K. I've tried 250K and truly don't understand the point-it limits you to really bright amps & settings. I think the PAF Master Bridge replacing that Air Norton neck is a great idea. The AN is one of those DiMarzios that really tells the guitar how it's going to sound. Which makes it a nice choice if you want a similar sound across multiple guitars. But I think the PAFM set generally let's the guitar do more of the talking. Just be careful with pickup height. It's definitely a little more powerful than the Air Norton, so you may have to lower it some. Not a bad idea in the neck of an SG which can tend to get over wooly anyway. Let me know how it goes!
Thank you, Josh! Yeah, I know what you mean. I have a Super Distortion in the bridge, after starting with the Norton (better in darker guitars) and the Steve's Special (better in fatter guitars) and considering the Tone Zone. The AN went in with the Norton, but after awhile, I realized the SG was warmer up there than I anticipated and the AN's "deep but not muddy" was too deep. Lowering the bass side and raising the poles didn't change it, so the hunt was on. It was down to the DP103 or the DP261, and your video really helped my decision. I'll be mindful of the height adjustment! I watched another video after yours comparing 500k to 250k and that got me agreeing with you. 250k rolls off a little too much. I'll stick to 500k rolled back to 7 to take the edge off, or maybe I need to lower the treble side of the pickup more.
BT Hellam Heck Yeah! I've heard the PAF 36th set is wonderful for a true PAF sound, but if you're like me you want to get a little more mileage out of a pickup. Plus I like things that are a little off the beaten path. The little extra output of the bridge helps me get into that "good fat" singing territory a la Duane Allman, but it keeps the articulation-while being less compressed than the Air Norton. It's also great for singing hard rock and metal type leads where you want that violin like sustain, like for Queen or even Blind Guardian
BT Hellam Can't say how much I appreciate you chiming in. I make these videos not knowing if an when they may help someone, so comments like yours make it all worth it!
Josh, if I made these videos, I would appreciate people's expression of appreciation for them, too! I understand the work it takes setting up a camera, a mic, having the confidence of talking to it and playing to it, and editing.
@@joshoptical my mistake it is a 57 super, it doesn't drive the amp as much as the jackson ceramic, but I still haven't got a push pull pot to complete the install!
Joshua Shelton I'm putting a warmoth guitar together, that's what the tone zone/paf master b are going in. My amp is a Marshall tsl60 head with a Marshall 4x10 cab
@joshoptical Hey I already pulled the trigger on an Evolution Bridge and a Satchur8 for the neck in a Jackson Dinky... thoughts? They're on thier way to me
@@larrydj549 I don’t know those personally! I just released my signature pickup with Tom Brantley Rewinds, the OPTIBUCKER set! Check out my newest videos demoing them.
fyrcrack1 Thanks for watching! If you check out the single note runs starting at 7:20 I think you'd be hard pressed to say it sounds muddy. It is definitely FAT- it's a bridge pickup after all so it has much more output than a neck pup typically would. One man's muddy is another man's fat, and that's probably the case here especially if you're used to shred style leads where guys need to hear every pick click in their 100 notes-per-minute runs. The notes definitely blend when playing multiple notes at once (not usual to play power chord riffs on the neck pickup anyway, so generally that's going to be muddy no matter what), but I like that. If you're thinking something more like Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" or other 70's rock stuff like Mountain, this could be a great thing. No pickup does everything. Generally one benefit comes at the cost of another detriment. In the case of this one, you get smoothness and fatness at the cost of being a little overcompressed and maybe a bit muddy (this is all talking about it in the neck position).
I had decided on this pairing too, but in the opposite positions. I think I like your setup even better. Thanks for sharing!
Sam Luna the balance will be better this way- wnjoy!
Dimarzio 59 PAF bridge pickup is also very good neck pickup, pretty much perfect because it doesn't go too bass heavy and have nice clarity.
Can’t wait to try.
Just removed my question on the pickup, found the answer. I had the wrong model numbers. Great video and demo! I take it you used the DP155 on the bridge. This is truly a wonderful discovery for the Master Bridge PAF on the neck! I think it's the Alnico 4 doing it.
I think that may be it.
Hey Joshua thanks for all the unorthodox demos of these guitar pickups. If you ever get the chance could you try running the gravity storm (neck) or breed (neck) in the bridge position. I think the breed might have a great warm paf tone (something usable). I'm set on the humbucker from hell in the neck it's an awesome sound in between humbucker and strat. Thanks man keep it up
Thanks a bunch Matt, I really appreciate you watching.
I'm gonna try the Gravity Storm set in my 1992 RT650, though in their usual configuration. of course I'll post a demo once I get them.
Thanks again.
Hey thanks for giving all the details we sometimes forget, as in how does the guitar sound acoustically, how was the guitar made and what affect that has on tone, etc...very helpful in the vast sea of pickup choices
Yes, they all contribute! The higher output the pickups, the less other factors matter.
Just finished soldering (and sweating!) today both the PAF Master in neck and Dominion Bridge in bridge of the Sterling Petrucci JP60, and its everything I hoped for, man it is a wicked setup, listen to this video guys, it couldnt have been better said!
That's awesome! Give us updates.
so i can use a bridge humbucker in neck Position on my HH strat?
CROWjunkie Heck yeah you can! You just wanna make sure your bridge pickup is as hot or hotter.
Pickups are called "neck" or "bridge" because of where they were designed to be used, but there's nothing fundamentally different about them. Bridge pickups are generally hotter and compensated for the smaller string oscillation and brighter, more harmonic-laden tones produced near the bridge. Neck pickups are compensated for the warm, darker sound near the neck and the broader oscillation there. That's also why a neck pickup will generally sound reeeeaal bright in the bridge, and bridge pickups can be over loud or dark/muddy in the neck.
Let experimentation and experience be your guide.
I had this idea for a guitar... I googled it to see if anyone has done it and thought "of COURSE Josh had already tried it!" 🤣 Thanks for helping to sway another tonal decision of mine brother!
Ha! Amazing. Good for a hot but not too too hot neck option.
cheers! I love the tone..i put a 57 classic plus in the neck of a epi les paul. Great paf tone!
Josh M awesome! Thanks for watching.
Plus In my other Sterling JP60 I have Tone Zone in bridge and liquifire in neck, wanted to try something besides liquifires/PAF Joes/Air Nortons which are all the necks I have ever used.
That would be a good combo.
So I got a ssh style 150$ Indio guitar , I ordered invader Humber for the bridge , a ssl3 Seymour hot bridge for middle position and a ssl4 Seymour for the neck
Awesome! With a good setup you’ll be spitting fire
Do you think the bridge in the middle position will be fine ? I’ve never soldered pickups on so I’m not sure if I should expect the annoying hum I did make sure to get 60/40 solder to ensure proper connection
I did same thing with my DIY tele, put les paul bridge pup in neck position and i kind like it. Great video btw.
Thanks!
Wow, just changed my mind - Thanks
On what in particular? Thanks!!
Pickup choice.
@@xocnibor nice! How you liking it? What guitar is it in?
Josh...Thanks for not playing a bunch of classic rock lick and showing what this pickup can do under any conditions. I'm totally sold on the pickup and will be purchasing a pair today...Thanks man
@badman37, Whoa! Thanks man! That makes me feel like all these silly videos are worth it.
Mind if I share your comments on social media?
+Joshua Shelton please do...people need to know man. This video really sold me on these pickups
+badman37 Heck yeah man! The PAFMB is really a great neck pickup as long as you don't need the truest vintage tone. Gonna be a little compressed for that. Thanks man!
That sounded great dude. I love all the tones that got, just amazing. You've convinced me to try something similar.
FoxByt3 Thanks a ton! I miss my Fender 75 amp. it was responsible for those beautiful cleans.
That actually sounds really cool!
I really enjoyed it too! Glad you found this old video. Considering some DiMarzios?
@@joshoptical Yeah I was watching some videos with DiMarzios and I found this!
Mr.Shelton, you ROCK!
radZspacely Thanks man! I try to be the cure for the common pickup video.
Higher output and well balanced.
It is! Nice handle.
I know this is an old video but I'm thinking of swapping some pups later--what do you think sounds better: paf master bridge, or 36th anniversary neck, in the neck position of an HH guitar? Currently have the paf joe which I really like but it's a mahogany guitar and it sounds a smidge too dark.
@@user-dz8wc9sr5i if PAF Joe is too dark you would probably hate PAFM Bridge in the neck spot. 36th neck will be much more open bright and chimey. Good luck!
@joshoptical
You were right. Thank you for saving me from having to do another pickup swap. Paf 36th sounds fantastic.
Great demo sir. I’m going to switch out the pick ups in a kind of low budget 335 style guitar. I was thinking of putting two of these in there what do you think?
I’d get the normal set, bridge in bridge and neck in neck. Unless you just want crazy thick neck tone.
Hello from the UK. Nice playing and great sounds mate.
Ronnie Nose thanks a ton! Use any DiMarzios?
Excellent Video 👍👍👍.
Just what I was looking for, my Son just bought a Dimarazio Super Distortion in cream for the Bridge but the Paf Pro in cream had sold out so he bought the Paf Master in cream, could only get a Bridge version, Dimarzio are closed.at the moment which is a first, anyway thank you for sharing your thoughts, sounds Amazing 👍.
Take care,
Melbourne, Australia.
So no glad it helped! Pardon the delay! How’s it going with the guitar now??
Dam Josh you are doing something I exactly wanted to try whacky. I have Dominion in the bridge, but wanted to try a PAF MASTER BRIDGE in the neck of my Sterling JP60...since the PAF Master neck is such lower output compared to my Dominion, I wanted to go with the PAF Master bridge in the neck position...have Dominion in bridge already, ordering this right now.
Man that's awesome! Really glad my work helped you decide something. I truly appreciate you watching and commenting.
Im thinkin bout the swichup cause the last pair I bought I didnt like the neck ones tone.
What did you want to be different about it?
@@joshoptical kinda dark in the neck it gets bassy almost too ... Flat and wide an then the highs are brittle but thats the dual rails I just got and they are an improvement over the 10 and 11 ohm stock that were init
I was just checkin yours out I dont have a dimarzio but in a hondo from the 80's a paf and its in the neck and it sounds good. Ive been buyin those cheap rail pickups.
I do not know if you'll see this or respond to it,but it's worth a shot: I have the Bridge PAF Master lying around. I have an Ibanez RG bolt on guitar that has, like your guitar, a naturally VERY VERY VERY bright and cutting tone. I have an Air Zone in the Bridge and it is lovely. I want to put the Bridge PAF Master into the neck position of that instrument, but the one thing that is perhaps making me a little apprehensive is how it sounds split or wired in parallel. The Air Zone is FANTASTIC parallel, and when split with the Bridge PAF Master will it lose output? Will it sound weak and anemic?
Thanks!
RandomSrini no way. The PAF Master bridge is still in the PAF class in terms of output, but is plenty hot enough to split well when put in the neck position as the string gives so much output there. Go for it and don’t look back. Keep me posted.
@@joshoptical AYYYY thanks for the reply! I am currently mid-transit to my home, I'll reach Monday or so. I'm going to try this. EXCITED.
Have you tried a Norton in the bridge??
I have. Great pickup if you’re playing Satch or lead guitar for Boston or Journey. For rhythm guitar, it’s like you put fine ground coffee in a French press and let it brew for fifteen minutes. So much saturation and honky mids it’s unusable for me.
I bought a bridge pickup for my 8 string guitar but it sounds with a lot of lows and mids, should I put it on the neck place?
Stefano Maddalena I don’t know 8 strings but if Seymour Duncan makes a Sentient 8 that should be great. It’s very clear and open which you need to keep it from getting muddy in low tunings with high gain
What kind of guitar is that? I couldn't figure out what you said.
lying to the moon Jack Dent Guitars our of NC.
@@joshoptical awesome! Sounds great!
It... It *does* sound really good.
You hi gain players should basically just use bridge pickups in every position. All bridge everything.
P.S. Usually cant stand shredding and bending but there were moments where I was like "oh man that was rad." You bent a note like a full perfect fourth or something hahah "what tha faaaaaack!"
Griffin Smith Hell yeah man! That’s really high praise and I truly appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment.
Hopefully I’ll get back to doing more of these soon. Thanks again.
Hey Josh, I've been considering switching out the neck Air Norton in my SG for the PAF Master B (deciding between that and PAF DP103). Are you using 500k pots in there?
BT Hellam Yes sir, 500K. I've tried 250K and truly don't understand the point-it limits you to really bright amps & settings.
I think the PAF Master Bridge replacing that Air Norton neck is a great idea. The AN is one of those DiMarzios that really tells the guitar how it's going to sound. Which makes it a nice choice if you want a similar sound across multiple guitars. But I think the PAFM set generally let's the guitar do more of the talking.
Just be careful with pickup height. It's definitely a little more powerful than the Air Norton, so you may have to lower it some. Not a bad idea in the neck of an SG which can tend to get over wooly anyway.
Let me know how it goes!
Thank you, Josh! Yeah, I know what you mean. I have a Super Distortion in the bridge, after starting with the Norton (better in darker guitars) and the Steve's Special (better in fatter guitars) and considering the Tone Zone. The AN went in with the Norton, but after awhile, I realized the SG was warmer up there than I anticipated and the AN's "deep but not muddy" was too deep. Lowering the bass side and raising the poles didn't change it, so the hunt was on. It was down to the DP103 or the DP261, and your video really helped my decision. I'll be mindful of the height adjustment! I watched another video after yours comparing 500k to 250k and that got me agreeing with you. 250k rolls off a little too much. I'll stick to 500k rolled back to 7 to take the edge off, or maybe I need to lower the treble side of the pickup more.
BT Hellam Heck Yeah! I've heard the PAF 36th set is wonderful for a true PAF sound, but if you're like me you want to get a little more mileage out of a pickup. Plus I like things that are a little off the beaten path.
The little extra output of the bridge helps me get into that "good fat" singing territory a la Duane Allman, but it keeps the articulation-while being less compressed than the Air Norton. It's also great for singing hard rock and metal type leads where you want that violin like sustain, like for Queen or even Blind Guardian
BT Hellam Can't say how much I appreciate you chiming in. I make these videos not knowing if an when they may help someone, so comments like yours make it all worth it!
Josh, if I made these videos, I would appreciate people's expression of appreciation for them, too! I understand the work it takes setting up a camera, a mic, having the confidence of talking to it and playing to it, and editing.
lol sounds great man, was that a little dream theater I heard in there?
just put the Dimarzio Liquifire and Crunchlab pups in my guitar, still playing around with them, haven't found the right tone yet
Always!
Through the wrong amp they can be very stiff. But that suits johns playing
Yea this sounds good in the neck i kinda dont like when its dark and dont have cut so yiu did goid.
It’s still “dark” compared to a super clear pup like a PAF pro, but has a lot of bite and definition so it works if you like a meaty neck pup
wow my name is also josh and im gonna do the opposite and put a classic 57' in the bridge position of my jackson
Gintokitoki heck yeah let us know how it gors
@@joshoptical my mistake it is a 57 super, it doesn't drive the amp as much as the jackson ceramic, but I still haven't got a push pull pot to complete the install!
Oddly enough, I had already decided on this same pickup set. Now I know it's the right decision. Fat and snappy! (much like my ex)
Dillard Filth Right on! What’s your guitar & amp setup?
Joshua Shelton I'm putting a warmoth guitar together, that's what the tone zone/paf master b are going in. My amp is a Marshall tsl60 head with a Marshall 4x10 cab
Dillard Filth Nice. I built a Warmoth Soloist a couple years back and it was a great experience.
I know true love when I see it ❤😂
It’s a great option for a hotter than average neck pickup.
@joshoptical Hey I already pulled the trigger on an Evolution Bridge and a Satchur8 for the neck in a Jackson Dinky... thoughts? They're on thier way to me
@@larrydj549 I don’t know those personally! I just released my signature pickup with Tom Brantley Rewinds, the OPTIBUCKER set! Check out my newest videos demoing them.
The high gain setting sounds like Mud.
fyrcrack1 Thanks for watching!
If you check out the single note runs starting at 7:20 I think you'd be hard pressed to say it sounds muddy. It is definitely FAT- it's a bridge pickup after all so it has much more output than a neck pup typically would.
One man's muddy is another man's fat, and that's probably the case here especially if you're used to shred style leads where guys need to hear every pick click in their 100 notes-per-minute runs.
The notes definitely blend when playing multiple notes at once (not usual to play power chord riffs on the neck pickup anyway, so generally that's going to be muddy no matter what), but I like that. If you're thinking something more like Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" or other 70's rock stuff like Mountain, this could be a great thing.
No pickup does everything. Generally one benefit comes at the cost of another detriment. In the case of this one, you get smoothness and fatness at the cost of being a little overcompressed and maybe a bit muddy (this is all talking about it in the neck position).
Actually, your are right. You have a very mature position.
+fyrcrack1 I appreciate it man. Hope you enjoy the demo.