57 Legend
The basic clean thing
Trademarks: Flat spectrum. Typical clean, early-era PAF sound.
Styles: blues, roots, jazz, pop, 60's rock
Output: Low (57N), Medium (57B)
Retail price: From 320 Euros (without VAT) per set
Inspired by and based on the archetype PAF sound of 1957, the PAFoid '57 Legend set features that basic, clean sound of the end 50’s, however with a moderate attack due to the selected A2 magnet. It is more or less what the first Gibson® humbucker was designed to be: A P-90 without hum.
Both pickups have unbalanced coils with the screw bobbin being on both overwound. The 57N has a very small offset for a warmer, jazzy sound. The 57B has a deeper offset for a more twangy tone.
It can be delivered wax-potted for the true, loud rocker's attitude or non-wax-potted for the ultimate purist's experience.
Highly recommended for semi-solid-body guitars (ES® series, etc.). As every Legend set, it can be delivered in open coil look or with a German silver cover.
Neck Rdc range 7,1 kOhms Neck Resonance frequency 6,7 kHz Bridge Rdc range 8,0 kOhms Bridge Resonance frequency 6,5 kHz Bar magnet alloy A2 Pole screw alloy 1010 Slug alloy 1215 Hookup wire Single braided Winding wire (AWG, Coating) 42 Plain Enamel (50's specs) Coils winding Unbalanced -
Greek Jazz Legend Takis Barberis plays some jazz licks with his Legend 57N
Nikos Arvanitis (Guitarspot.gr) demoes the 57, our basic Legend set (initially named PAFoid N & B)
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Introduction
For the proper installation and wiring of your GAS Pickups, we strongly recommend letting a professional luthier or electrician perform this job in order for the pickups to be installed correctly and with no damage, which would harm the pickup’s functionality and warranty.
Delivery
All GAS Legend PAFoids are delivered with proper height adjustment screws and springs. GAS Legend PAFoids accept long US 3-48 thread screws.
Wiring
GAS Legend PAFoids come with the typical single braided hook-up wire. The pickup wiring and phase are compatible with Gibson® humbuckers. All Legend PAFoids metal parts are grounded on the braided hook-up wire.
For the desired wiring diagram of your guitar, please refer to the dozens of specialized websites with such diagrams, depending on the desired pickup configuration.
Pickup height or string distance
There is a lot of conversation on this item. The fact is, there is no absolute guidance for a generic pickup height adjustment! The distance of a pickup to the strings is dependent on countless factors, such as pickup output, pickup position, string gauge, the guitar itself, the guitarist’s overall playing technique (string hitting, etc.), and the musical styles that are about to be covered. In the case of a pickup set, usually the pickup height is adjusted so all pickups show a similar output level, but this is not a rule. Our recommendation: The desired pickup height adjustment is a procedure that may last longer than you think; just start with a generic distance of 2mm on the e strings and repeat the procedure (adjust, play, listen, re-adjust) until you are satisfied. Don’t forget to adjust in small steps (e.g., one full turn of the height adjustment screw each time) in order to easily come back one step if you are not happy with the new situation. And, trust us, if you just repeat the whole thing a couple of weeks later, you will probably find yourself re-adjusting the height again. It is something that each musician should go through by himself.
Dimensions
GAS Legend PAFoids are direct replacements for Gibson® guitars and similar models. They come in 49,2mm spacing and with the traditional long-leg base plate. If you intend installing your Legends on a guitar with a shallower profile, please let us know so we may deliver your Legends with short-leg base plates.
The dimensions for the Legend PAFoids (with and without a pickup cover) are as follows (sizes in mm):
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Legend PAFoid sets are mainly named with a year (e.g., 57, 59, 60, etc.). Do the relevant Legend models actually correspond to the original models of those years?
Following our main philosophy, GAS Legends are more "based on" pickups than exact reproductions. To create pickups that offer specific sound qualities, we use specs from particular eras of old, original pickups (we had the opportunity to measure and analyze many old PAFs, PAT sticker- and PAT number pickups in our lab) and finally design them with our own specs. Some sets are closer to the original (as our 59 PE set), and some are more individually designed (as our 58 set).
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Are Legends available with covers?
All Legend sets are available in "open coil" look (double black, zebra, and double cream) or with an unpolished German silver cover. In any version, Legend PAFoids are direct replacements for original Gibson® humbuckers.
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What are the main differences in quality between Legend PAFoids and Standard Humbuckers?
Standard Humbuckers offer our standard GAS quality by using top parts, design, and craftsmanship. Legends offer the same high quality but a higher dynamic range due to the use of exclusively ordered magnet bars, which refer to specific MMPA standards. Further on, we mostly use the standard Poly 155 wire in our standard Humbuckers, whereas in our Legends we use Heavy PVA, red Poly, and Plain enamel wire (with 50’s and 60’s specs).
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