Throbak Pickups

Throback is the American outsider on the rise. They are PAF pros, of which they offer many variations, all very faithful to the original models. And with good reason: the company went so far as to buy the machines that Gibson used in its Kalamazoo workshop to produce the originals! Their set up their manufacturing process according to extremely restrictive specifications, completely "old-fashioned".

Models that are not on this list can be ordered at the same conditions as comparable models. 

At Servette-Music, you don't buy them to try them out. If you are not satisfied, you can swap them.

2 years guarantee from our workshop.

Strat-type: 

’63MXV Strat (Medium output)
ThroBak '63 MXV Maximum Vintage Stratocaster pickups reproduce the distinctive bite and punch of '62/'63 era vintage Fender Strat pickups wound with heavy build Formvar wire. As with our PAF replicas, ThroBak has researched every detail of the vintage originals with the goal of making the best reproduction '63 era Strat pickups available. Details like USA made reproduction A5 Alnico magnets, ThroBak made bobbin flatwork, Heavy Formvar wire and Nylon covers molded with ThroBak's own tooling, assure that the tone and cosmetics are true to vintage.

Tele Type:

T-’59 Set (Medium output)
The ’54 and ’59 sets are hand scatter wound and have flat bridge poles for the ’54 set, and staggered bridge for the ’59.  All pickups have USA made magnets custom cast for Throbak.


Humbuckers:

KZ-115 MXV (Low output)
The KZ-115 PAF humbucker reproductions represent the tonal dawn of the PAF pickups era with an incredible accuracy. Wound on the very KZ/LP-115 winding machine Gibson used for both PAF humbuckers and P90 pickups in 1957 and that was rescued from Kalamazoo by Les Paul himself before Gibson's move to Nashville. ThroBak KZ-115 PAF pickups awaken the elusive early PAF pickup dynamics and low end depth of the originals. The KZ-115 owes its distinct tone to the custom Gibson Kalamazoo winding fixtures, wire guides and set-up of the original vintage winder. The original, non adjustable, 1950's lobeless cam traverse and limiting fixtures, wind what we call the KZ-115 vintage center focused coil. These center focused coils create a fuller bobbin for the same number of turns than coils wound on the other known PAF winders, the Leesona 102, Slug 101 and ME-301. The result is a PAF pickup reproduction with added scatter for a woolly low end and crispy/crunchy mids.

SLE-101 MXV (Medium output)
Classic long A2 vintage PAF humbucker tone with sweet highs, warm lows, scooped mids and great clarity. The flagship pickup that put ThroBak P.A.F. hum bucker reproduction pickups on the map. If you want the best of classic A2 50's vintage PAF pickup tone this set delivers but without the low end mud often associated with modern Alnico 2 humbucker pickups. PE magnet wire is wound on the slug coils with the original Gibson Slug 101 winder and screw coils wound on the Leesona 102. The result is a complex tone with articulate clarity of the best PAF pickups of the 50's . A2 vintage clone sand cast magnets, custom milled Michigan hard maple wood spacer, vintage correct two conductor wire and threaded baseplate complete the picture making these the best humbucker pickups with vintage specs. in their class. Step back in time and get the vintage PAF pickups you always wanted today.

SLE-101 Plus MXV (Medium output)
Vintage PAF pickup tone with great mid projection and neck pickup clarity. Very balanced string to string. The SLE-101 Plus Limited has the same winder configuration as the SLE-101 Limited but with ThroBak custom cast unoriented A5 magnets and extra winds for more mid dominant power and bite. The unoriented A5 has the crunch of A2 plus the added mid projection of A5. Vintage spec. plain enamel magnet wire, Michigan hard maple wood spacer, vintage correct two conductor wire and threaded baseplates. These are among the best PAF pickup reproduction with ummatched vintage PAF humbucker pickup accuracy. Vintage wound on the Slug 101 and Leesona 102.

MT-102B Custom MXV (Medium output)
Taylor/Richards Burst Iconic short A2, vintage PAF humbucker tones. The original pickups in the Taylor/Richards Burst are in fact short magnet P.A.F.'s. Short magnets in a P.A.F. are not typical but not unheard of. And a few years ago I sent a short P.A.F. magnet from one of my personal P.A.F.'s to T&S in Indiana to be cloned. They sliced it in half, did an x-ray spectrograph to nail the metal mix and made me a custom heat of this very unique vintage short A2 variety. Those short A2 clone magnets have been waiting on the shelf for a special project and now they debut in the MT-102B Custom MXV set! Based upon gauss readings and the tone of the Taylor Burst, this vintage beauty very likely has short A2 magnets. The MT-102B Custom set is the result of many test pickups, precisely calibrated Throbak exclusive magnets and specially selected magnet wire, and to top it off, wound on Throbak's time machine 1957 Leesona-102B.

MC-102B Custom (High output)
Fat, mud free bridge pickup with lots of output paired with a clear, articulate neck pickup. One day a customer requested a set PAF humbucker repro set with just this combo using numbers from a famous Burst. The result is the MC-102B Custom set. The overall combination of magnets, wind and output strength makes for a flexible set with a fat, mud free bridge pickup with lots of output with the volume pot dialed full and lots of room to roll back. Paired with a clear, articulate neck pickup you have a very flexible set that will rock as hard as you want in the bridge position. Pro player Justin Derrico, guitar player for Pink and TV show The Voice, loves the flexibility of this combination. Wound on the ThroBak 1957 Leesona-102B winding machine and loaded with Illinois made vintage spec A4 magnets, the MC-102B Custom set is 100% ThroBak Maximum Vintage PAF humbucker reproduction

P-90 :

’55/‘56 SB MXV (Medium output)

Rich, dark neck tone with a rich swell above the 12th fret and a bridge rich in harmonics. Copied from two vintage '56 Les Paul Soap Bar P90 pickups sets the '55/'56-SB set represents a transition in both Les Paul and P90 soap bar specifications. Long A2 neck magnets and long A4 bridge magnets as per the vintage reference pickups were an apparent attempt to balance out neck and bridge tones from the factory. The result is a rich, dark neck tone with a rich swell above the 12th fret and a bridge rich in harmonics.