’58 PAF
The classic PAF sound: airy highs, woody mids, 3D bloom.
Five voices, from open and clear to thick and smooth, so there’s one that suits your guitar.
Not sure? Start with the ’58, the classic late-’50s balance. All sets from £230. Tap a clip to hear each one through the same rig.
The classic PAF sound: airy highs, woody mids, 3D bloom.
Or pick by the sound you want
More clarity and openness
Lower wind. Clear, airy note separation. Also opens up darker-sounding guitars.
More body and smoothness
Rich mids and smooth highs. Also fills out brighter-sounding guitars.
A different character, not just more or less open.
The Doug & Pat Show tests PAF-style pickups against the original PAFs in Pat’s 1958 Les Paul. Here’s our ’58 set next to the real thing, so you can judge for yourself.
“Nice bloom on the neck pickup.”
“Lots of bloom… I really love when you go up to the high notes… closer to a violin singing sound.”
Doug, The Doug & Pat Show
We sent The Doug & Pat Show the ’58 set free of charge to review.
“I’ve played most of the big boutique PAF makers – Monty, OX4, ThroBak, Wizz – and in this guitar, these are my favourite.”
Joe Perkins Guitarist, producer and gear demoer, Bristol
Joe was sent the set free of charge to review.
No two original PAFs sounded quite the same. So rather than claim one "accurate" PAF, each Olemy model recreates one of those voices. Every coil is wound on a programmed winder, using patterns modelled on the machines that wound the originals, so every set is accurate to its model and consistent with the last.
Every review comes from a verified buyer.
Often, yes. All Olemy neck PAFs are wound to avoid the muddy neck problem, and the ’57 is the clearest set in the range. But check your pots first: some modern Gibsons use 300k pots, which make any humbucker sound darker. 500k pots and ’50s wiring help whichever pickups you choose. If you’re not sure what’s in your guitar, ask me.
Yes. Fit them and play them for up to 30 days. If they’re not the right voice for your guitar, send them back for a refund or swap for another model. Read the full returns policy
Long legs (standard) suit guitars with deep pickup routes: Gibson Les Paul, SG, ES-335 and other semi-hollows, Explorer and Flying V.
Short legs suit shallower routes: PRS, Strats and Teles with humbucker routes, many Ibanez and Schecter models, and some Epiphones. Just request short legs in the order notes.
Easiest check: look at the legs on your current pickups and match them. Still not sure? Send me your guitar model and I’ll check.
Your choice at checkout: vintage braided, or 4-conductor if you want to split coils.
Yes. Every model is available as a neck or bridge pickup on its own, from £115. So you can mix different sets, for example a ’58 bridge with a ’57 neck.
Nickel or gold covers, or open bobbins in black, cream, vintage white or zebra.
A good starting point, measured from the top of the cover to the bottom of the open string:
Bridge: 2 mm on the high E, 2–2.5 mm on the low E
Neck: 3.5–4 mm on the high E, 4 mm on the low E
Then fine-tune by ear. Vintage-output pickups are sensitive to height, so small changes make a real difference.
Each set is built to order. The current ship-by date is shown at the top of this page and the product pages, and it updates as orders come in. Once despatched:
UK: free 48-hour delivery, or 24-hour for £4.95
EU: UPS, 4–5 days, from £14 to £17
US and Canada: FedEx, 4–5 days, from £24 to £27
Australia and more: shown at checkout
If your country isn’t listed, send me a message and I’ll send you a postage quote. Outside the UK, any import duties and taxes are paid by the customer.
Or the specialist voices: ’60 PAF or PG PAF
Still deciding? Compare them side by side
Tell me what guitar they’re going in and how you play, and I’ll reply personally with the set I’d choose. No mailing list, just an answer.
Thanks for making these Shawn. I’ve been on a very long quest to find the ultimate PAFs and tried all the big name and boutique brands. When I heard these I pretty quickly knew that was it.. they’re still in the same guitars (Les Pauls) and won’t be coming out. The high strings sing and are crystal clear and the low strings have plenty of power and grunt.. also they’re the most affordable of the sets I’ve tried. I have both the ’57 and the ’58 sets.. the ‘57s are the clearest but still sing whilst the ‘58s have a bit more body.. both are equally good. Love this brand.
Thanks for making these Shawn. I’ve been on a very long quest to find the ultimate PAFs and tried all the big name and boutique brands. When I heard these I pretty quickly knew that was it.. they’re still in the same guitars (Les Pauls) and won’t be coming out. The high strings sing and are crystal clear and the low strings have plenty of power and grunt.. also they’re the most affordable of the sets I’ve tried. I have both the ’57 and the ’58 sets.. the ‘57s are the clearest but still sing whilst the ‘58s have a bit more body.. both are equally good. Love this brand.
I have owned them all, and these give me the clearest neck sound ever. Love them. NB