FRED vs. PAF Pro

[AARRGGHHH]

Ok, so I searched and couldn't quite come across what I want to know about these pickups.

Out of these two pickups which one would work better for metal, I'm after something fairly aggresive with great clarity.

Out of these two which one sounds more aggresive?
Which one sounds thicker/smoother with high gain distortion?

Any opinions about these would be great. Cheers in advance.

[jimmyfingersminion]

if you dont know much about either, why have you decided to find out about those 2? i'm only saying because di marzio have pickups which are much more suited to a 'metal' sound than either of those 2. for sheer presence and full tone, the tone zone is where its at in my opinion. check out as many guitars as you can with different pickups in.

[Dazza1004]

Have you considered a Bare Knuckle Warpig or Miricle Man.

Darren

[AARRGGHHH]

Well, I have been trying out as many guitar around here as I can with Dimarzio pickups, which unfortunatly isn't many. I recently tried out a JS1000 into an identicle amp setup to what I use (Cornford MK50 into a Cornford 4x12 with V30's) and I really liked the tone of the FRED in the bridge. But I just wanted to find out what the differences are like between the FRED and the PAF Pro which is suposed to be very similar.
As I said in my original post, i was just wondering which one sounded more aggresive and which one was the thickest/smoothest in a high gain setting. I'm not looking for anything as thick as a Tone Zone, I want somthing really tight and clear and a bit aggresive, I was considering the Evolution as well, but trying out the FRED made me think twice about that.

At the moment I'm almost about to order a FRED and a PAF Joe for my RG470, but I just want a few opinions on this before I take the plunge.

Cheers

[JJEMMER777]

PAF's have a real deep meaty sound to them....nice for metal! When I pull out my Floral eveyone's like...oh what a pretty guitar! But do flowers and metal go together....then they hear it and no further questions (except where can I get one) I like the PAF's!

[JJEMMER777]

Originally Posted by JJEMMER777

PAF's have a real deep meaty sound to them....nice for metal! When I pull out my Floral eveyone's like...oh what a pretty guitar! But do flowers and metal go together....then they hear it and no further questions (except where can I get one) I like the PAF's!

Sorry bout the punctuation Hex

[Dr. Funkenstein]

I used to have an Ibanez with both a Fred and PAF Pro in it, and both sounded good, although I felt the PAF pro was a little bit sterile sounding in my setup. The Fred sounded great - not what I would call a dedicated metal pickup but that suited me fine, as I was never a dedicated metal player.

However, I would concur with Dazza and try a Warpig instead - For a full on metal pickup it gets great reviews and it looks amazing. You can use it to scare the crowd before you even walk on stage! LOL

Dave

[pedalinbob]

Interesting thread.

I had decided months ago to replace the EMG's in my RG with some good passives. I want clear/articulate pickups, with some warmth and depth, for hard rock (mostly 80's style).
The final contenders were Evolutions, PAF pro or Tonezone.
I rarely use the neck, so I am mostly concerned with the bridge.

The Tonezones seem like they are pretty nice...but, I keep reading that they are extremely thick, and some state they lack definition.

The Evolutions are supposed to be very clear and aggressive, but some state they can be a bit cold, or even harsh.

The PAF pro seems like it may be a good match, though I have never played one in the bridge position.

Last week, I went to GC, and played a JS1000 with Fred bridge and PAF pro neck. The Fred was VERY nice. Smooth, full, balanced, toneful with good bite. Very different from my rather sterile-sounding EMG's.

Now I am considering a Fred, Evolution and PAF pro.
Next week I will try to finally get around to purchasing one for a test run.

Take care,
Bob

[Angelo Guitars]

Between FRED and PAF PRO, I'd choose FRED. It just has a little more than PAF PRO does.

[AARRGGHHH]

Ok, cheers for your replies. I think i'm going to order a FRED for the bridge to go with the PAF Joe in the neck.

[Uthark]

Originally Posted by pedalinbob

The Evolutions are supposed to be very clear and aggressive, but some state they can be a bit cold, or even harsh.

Evolutions are clear, agressive, harsh, hot and cold at the same time.

[JimmyJ]

I have an RG570 with a Fred in the bridge and a PAF pro in the neck, i love that guitar, it has the ability to solo like no other, its not a full heavy pickup, not much gain but boy is it nice

I have some vids of that guitar if you want to see them

But i highly reccomend this combo

[JimmyJ]

awww who cares about bandwidth here are the two vids

just click the link and select 'download file'


http://s32.yousendit.com/e.aspx?id=2...L0GWJ73RSH9U9X
RG550 Tonezone Bridge, Paf Neck

http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1...924N2WYPX8ODS7
RG570 Fred Bridge, Paf Neck

Note in these vids i have my tonezone and fred swapped around (i didnt like this combo, the other way sounds heaps better!)

[hexa-db]

Originally Posted by JJEMMER777

Sorry bout the punctuation Hex

lol I wish I'd never said anything now!

Anyway, back on topic.
I haven't got a huge amount of pickup experience but I've found that while evolutions do sound awesome I find them a bit middy for really hard, modern metal type sounds (but perfect for Vai-ish tones and great for soloing). Mine are in a mahogany-bodied RG620 so I don't know if they'd sound harsh in other guitars.
From what I've read the ToneZone sounds like the thing for metal.

[pedalinbob]

Originally Posted by AARRGGHHH

Ok, cheers for your replies. I think i'm going to order a FRED for the bridge to go with the PAF Joe in the neck.

So...give us an update--how do you like the Fred?

Bob