True-to-life ’57 Humbucker Tones The DiMarzio PAF 57 pays homage to, you guessed it, 1957 — the magical year that PAF-style pickups became standard issue on one of the industry’s most revered solidbody electric guitars. This Alnico II-loaded humbucker contains scatter-wound, 42-AWG enamel wire, along with computer-matched coils, yielding a creamy tone with a crystalline top end, along with the perfect amount of output to push your high-gain amplifier into a full-bodied crunch. The PAF 57 houses nickel-plated studs and pole pieces, as well as a maple spacer, to ensure spot-on coil alignment between the bobbins. This humbucker is also wax-potted to safeguard against microphonic squeals. There have been countless pickups designed since 1957, but humbucker aficionados unanimously agree: few have ever topped the original ’57 PAF.