You sir, are a treasure for making all these demos. Helped me out so many times. Big thanks!

I USE THE PAF PRO AS A NECK PICKUP AND IT'S AWESOME!

Thanks Mike! Best pickup comparisons on the tube!! I think I've watched them all 2 or 3 times and the PAF Pro keeps winning.

After the Super Distortion and before the Tone Zone the PAF Pro was DiMarzio's most popular OEM pickup, used in many guitars including the Ibanez Jem. I still think it's a better fit for most players than either pickup. It's medium output but sounds great with overdrive, has just enough responsive low end, terrific harmonics and sustain, and great parallel and coil split tones. I've used all of these pickups including the Fred, X2N, MegaDrive, Norton, Super 3, etc. All very solid. But the PAF Pro is great if you want something that will fit into any genre of music. It will scream if you want it to, but it's not overwhelming without output and too much distortion. You can play Andy Summers one minute and Satch with screaming whammy dives and shredding the next. It does it all and it does it all well. The main issue players have with the Tone Zone is that it has too much low end. It will beef up a weak shred stick but will otherwise have too much low end for other axes. A JB is easier to work with. But if you're going the DiMarzio route, try the PAF Pro. It's a great choice.

This confirms my own experience with an Ibanez RG I bought with the Tone Zone in the bridge - it's just an awful muddy mess. The PAF Pro has exceptional clarity and note separation even with distortion.

Great video man . Tonezone user here decade or more ... At first i preferred the clean tone of the PAF PRO as it had a bit more treble but ehwn the gain came on im like , Theres my Tooonnezzzooonnee . Might buy a PAF PRO and give it a whirl but def a tonezone man for gain !

PAF Pro is probably the most balanced pickup DiMarzio has. I think lack of promotion really hurts the PAF Pro, you never hear about it anymore. Surprisingly, it provides a sound as iconic as a JB, and is very comparable, but with more harmonics. Honestly, A LOT of the newer DiMarzio pickups are bass or mid-bass focused, boomy, and lack clarity; I play Floyd rose equipped guitars and even then, the Tone Zone is so boomy the pick attack feels like I'm picking with a damn sponge.

I have both. I put the DiMarzio Paf Pro in the neck with a tap coil and the tone zone in bridge in my Gibson V and I love what it puts outs. Very good clean tones from it and can go heavy!

Back in the day you needed a hot pick up in order to push the amp harder. There weren’t any true High gain amplifiers. Now that we do, you let the amp do the work. A PAF style pick up has far more clarity and definition, all your chord notes ring. All of my favorite guitar players Steve Lukather, Steve Stevens, Phil X, Neil Schon, Pete Thorn ALL use a PAF And they’re known for their great tones.

I was hoping to see these too soon. I think I'm digging the Tonezone more but it's close.

You should get an EVH Frankenstein pickup and shoot it out with the Tone Zone. If you order from the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop, you can get a Trembucker version, covers, and whatever. Short leg only. 👍🏻 I just played the $2k Frankenstrat at the store the other day and it sounded really really good (I'm a Tone Zone guy usually), even though I wouldn't get the guitar because it's visuals don't fit me. 😂

Las comparaciones, aunque odiosas, son especialmente de utilidad. Me encantan tus videos. Me suscribo......👍👍👍👍👍👍

Well you convinced me the paf pro is an amazing pickup. It beats almost everything. Could we possibly get a comparison to the DiMarzio FRED? it's supposed to be a hotter version of the paf pro. I'm curious if they ruined some of the amazing qualities of the paf pro when making the FRED or if it really is just more output

I am just discovering your channel, and I can't thank you enough for all these demo's! I am on the quest to load up my LTD Mirage Deluxe 87'. I am not a fan of the stock SD pickups so I am thinking possibly a PAF pro in the bridge and the cruiser in the neck. Thoughts? Thanks again!

Paf pro v 36th anni please.

As someone who's been a proud user of Tone Zones in two of my favourite Ibanez RGs over the last 10+ years, I thought I'd throw my hat into this discussion: The Tone Zone will be thicker-sounding than the PAF Pros due to the higher DC resistance and ceramic magnet (most likely), and has more windings than the PAF Pro - though not by much. Spec-wise, the Tone Zone should be wiping the floor with the PAF Pro, what with 75 more millivolts and all of that DC resistance allowing for a thicker tone, but the PAF Pro can certainly hold its own as evidenced here, and can seemingly be pushed to distort more "openly" with its different alnico 5 magnet vs. Tone Zone's ceramic one. I'd assume that less pull = closer string reaction and better, clearer distortion? I could be wrong. All I know is that my next pair of humbuckers is a set of PAF Pros. :3

The thing that is confusing me about this comparison is that the PAF Pro sounds like it has more gain.. But Dimarzio says: PAF PRO O:300 B:5.0 M:5.0 T:6.0 TONE ZONE O:375 B:8.5 M:8.5 T:5.0 Maybe I need to listen in different speakers.. Or maybe I'm getting some compression somewhere.. Either through KZfaq or something.. The big bass of the TONE ZONE might be hosing everything and bringing the mids/treble down along with it. TONE ZONE O:375 B:8.5

The perfect pickup combination is the Tone Zone in the bridge and the PAF Pro in the neck. With that said. overall the PAF Pro sounds better...it's brighter...more bell iike...better dynamics.

Paf pro is just more full sounding all around in my opinion.

Dimarzio clearly states on their site that the PAF Pro is primarily a neck pickup, but I can't find one review where this is the case.

The PAF sounds fatter and rounder than the Tone Zone which sounds thinner and more penetrating highs. But they are both great pickups. Btw, nice sound clips, Mike 👌🏻

I replaced the paf pro that came stock in my 90s fender Floyd rose classic with a tone zone. The paf pro was weak and anemic when plugged into my jcm800 2304. The tone zone is way hotter and gives me a thick heavy crunch with lots of sustain that the stock paf pro just didn't have. It could also be that the fender branded paf pro is wound to different specs though.

please neck position DIMARZIO Air Norton play

I love how these are all so "standardized" and yet you use non-standard tuning!

man f the tone zone it sucks azz. I just got a new Prestige and second day took it in to Repair Zone and had them throw a Super Distortion in there. Stupid Ibanez needs to get with it, hate the Tone Zone big time.

Il tone zone "sbrodola" nel distorto.... Pessimo