ThroBak Guitar Lounge

To Clone a Vintage P.A.F., Destroy It? | The P.A.F. Paradox

To Clone a P.A.F., Destroy It? | The P.A.F. Paradox Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups 👉 https://www.throbak.com/ How close can a pickup maker really get to cloning a legendary vintage Gibson P.A.F.? In Episode #055 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast, Jon Gundry and Matthew Quail tackle one of the biggest questions in the world of vintage guitar tone: can a P.A.F. ever be perfectly reproduced? Or does achieving a true one-to-one clone require taking apart—and potentially destroying—the very pickup you're trying to preserve? This thought-provoking Guitargument explores the fascinating paradox at the heart of vintage pickup research, restoration, and reproduction. If you've ever wondered what separates a great P.A.F. reproduction from the real thing, this episode is for you.To Clone a P.A.F., Destroy It? | The P.A.F. Paradox Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups 👉 https://www.throbak.com/ Episode 055 Breakdown 📬 **ThroBak Mailbox** We discuss the continuing fallout from Fender's cease-and-desist campaign and examine how the guitar community is responding. 🎸 **Pickups of the Week** A set of cloned high-output P.A.F. pickups through a Marshall amplifier. Hear the punch, harmonics, sustain, and classic rock authority that define these legendary pickups. ⚔️ **The Guitargument – To Clone a P.A.F., Must You Destroy It?** Can a pickup truly be cloned 100%? Or does complete knowledge require disassembling—and potentially destroying—the very pickup you're trying to preserve? Jon and Matthew debate the limits of reverse engineering, preservation versus discovery, and whether a perfect clone is even possible. ❄️ **The Guitargument Cool Down** After the debate, we put theory to the test by comparing our ThroBak cloned high-output P.A.F. pickups directly against a vintage set of high-output P.A.F.s so viewers can judge the results with their own ears. 🎭 **Rorschach Riffs with Matthew** For the first time on the show, Matthew presents a special Rorschach Riffs segment in Drop D tuning, exploring new sonic territory and riff ideas inspired by this classic tuning. 🎵 **Matthew's Musical Musings** Matthew reviews "The Late Great Paul," the moving presentation by British actor David Kossoff about his son, Paul Kossoff of Free and Back Street Crawler. Beyond celebrating Paul's remarkable guitar playing, the presentation serves as a powerful warning about the dangers of drug addiction and the importance of protecting your dreams, talents, and future. 🔬 **Outro** Jon Gundry closes the show with a brief discussion about the magnetic permeability of ThroBak's custom-made 1008 and 1018 steel pole screws and why details like these matter when pursuing authentic vintage pickup performance. Whether you're fascinated by vintage P.A.F.s, passionate about guitar tone, or interested in the intersection of preservation, history, and engineering, Episode #055 is packed with insights, great tones, and spirited debate. 🎸 Upgrade Your Guitar with ThroBak Pickups: [www.throbak.com](http://www.throbak.com) This episode has a strong central theme: **the P.A.F. Paradox**—the conflict between preserving a vintage pickup and learning everything necessary to clone it. That theme ties together the Mailbox, Pickup Demo, Guitargument, and Vintage-vs-Clone comparison particularly well and should perform strongly with the vintage guitar audience. 👉 Explore ThroBak Pickups: https://www.throbak.com ThroBak Electronics is a world leader in classic reproduction guitar pickups. To learn more visit.: https://www.throbak.com/p90-pickup.html https://www.throbak.com/paf-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/stratocaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/telecaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/alnico-magnets.html https://www.throbak.com/pedals.html https://www.throbak.com/strings.html

Fender vs Influencers – Is Fender Getting Cancelled by the Guitar Community?

Fender vs Influencers – Is Fender Getting Cancelled by the Guitar Community? Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups 👉 https://www.throbak.com/ Episode 054 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast steps directly into one of the biggest controversies in the modern guitar world: Fender vs Influencers. After Fender reportedly sent aggressive cease and desist letters to boutique guitar builders over the Stratocaster body shape—demanding massive financial penalties and the destruction of guitars—the backlash from the guitar community was immediate and explosive. Major voices in the guitar world, including Phillip McKnight, Rhett Shull, and Tim Pierce and many others have publicly criticized Fender’s actions, igniting a debate about intellectual property, guitar culture, and whether the world’s most iconic guitar company is turning against the very community that helped build it. Is Fender protecting its legacy—or risking cancellation by the modern guitar audience? Jon Gundry and Matthew Quail step into the ring for a heated Guitargument that tackles one of the most divisive guitar industry stories of 2026. Plus, in Pickups of the Week, the guys fire up a real pair of vintage high-output P.A.F. humbuckers through a roaring Marshall amp to explore the aggressive, harmonically rich tones that helped define classic rock guitar history. From raw vintage pickup tone to one of the hottest controversies in the guitar world, Episode 054 is packed with the kind of debate, tone, and guitar obsession that only the ThroBak Guitar Lounge can deliver. Episode 054 Breakdown 📬 ThroBak Mailbox – Matthew Quail opens the show by clarifying a viewer question. 🎸 Pickups of the Week – Jon Gundry plugs a 1958 Gibson Historic Reissue Les Paul loaded with real vintage high-output P.A.F. humbuckers into a Marshall amp to explore the powerful, harmonically rich tones that helped shape classic rock history. Hear what happens when genuine hot vintage P.A.F.s meet classic British tube amp grind. 🔥 🥊 The Guitargument – Fender vs Influencers – One of the hottest guitar industry controversies of 2026 takes center stage. After Fender’s reported cease and desist actions against S-style guitar builders sparked outrage across the guitar community, major influencers like Phillip McKnight, Rhett Shull, and Tim Pierce have spoken out publicly against Fender’s actions. Jon and Matthew debate whether Fender is protecting its legacy—or risking serious backlash from the modern guitar world. 🎭 Rorschach Riffs with Matthew – Electric Guitar Edition – can you guess Matthew's riffs? 🎶 Matthew’s Musical Musings – Matthew reflects on Paul McCartney’s recent SNL performance and what it reveals about legacy artists, performance, and the enduring spirit of rock and roll. 👋 Outro – Final thoughts, wrap-up, and a look ahead to the next episode of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast. 🎸 Gear Featured in This Episode Vintage high output P.A.F. Pickups in a 1958 Gibson Les Paul Reissue Marshall SV20H Studio Vintage 20-watt Amplifier Head 👉 Explore ThroBak Pickups: https://www.throbak.com ThroBak Electronics is a world leader in classic reproduction guitar pickups. To learn more visit.: https://www.throbak.com/p90-pickup.html https://www.throbak.com/paf-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/stratocaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/telecaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/alnico-magnets.html https://www.throbak.com/pedals.html https://www.throbak.com/strings.html

We Restored a Forgotten Fender Pickup Winder… and Discovered Something HUGE

We Restored a Forgotten Fender Pickup Winder… and Discovered Something HUGE | Ep. 052 Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups 👉 https://www.throbak.com/ Welcome to Episode 052 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast — a very special episode marking one full year of weekly podcasts from ThroBak! 🎉 To celebrate, Jon Gundry and Matthew Quail unveil the fully restored Fullerton 457 pickup winder, the historic vintage Fender-era winding machine purchased from the Jim Irsay Collection auction. Is it Fender's first pickup winding machine? In this episode’s feature presentation, Jon presents an in-depth 19-minute “ThroBak Home Movie” documenting the restoration process and explaining why he believes the Fullerton 457 Winder may be one of the earliest Fender pickup winding machines ever discovered. Even more surprising, this historic machine appears to possess unique mechanical characteristics that directly influence the sound and feel of the pickups wound on it. For vintage Fender enthusiasts, pickup historians, and tone fanatics chasing true early Fender sound, this is an episode you do not want to miss. 🎸⚡ Episode Breakdown 🎉 Celebrating One Year of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast Jon and Matthew kick off Episode 052 celebrating a full year of weekly ThroBak Guitar Lounge episodes and reflect on the incredible response from the guitar community. 🎞️ ThroBak Home Movie – The Fullerton 457 Pickup Winder Restoration A detailed 19-minute feature presentation documenting the restoration of the historic Fullerton 457 Fender pickup winder. Jon Gundry explains the machine’s unusual construction details, early Fender-era design characteristics, and the evidence suggesting this may be one of the earliest surviving Fender pickup winding machines. Along the way, Jon reveals several unexpected features that may actually affect pickup tone and winding behavior. 🎸 Pickups of the Week – NEW ThroBak T-’52 MXV Telecaster Pickups Episode 052 also marks the debut of a brand-new ThroBak prototype pickup model: the T-’52 MXV Telecaster Set — wound on the Fullerton 457 itself. Based on an original 1952 Telecaster pickup set that came through the ThroBak shop for repair, these pickups aim to capture the raw snap, dynamic response, and harmonic character of the earliest blackguard-era Telecaster tones. ⚡ Hear the T-’52 MXV Telecaster Pickups in Action Jon and Matthew plug the new T-’52 MXV set into a Fender Telecaster and put them through their paces, exploring the touch sensitivity, clarity, attack, and vintage character produced by pickups wound on the restored Fullerton 457 machine. 🔥 The Guitargument – Good, Great & Exceptional Aftermarket Pickups Are premium aftermarket pickups really worth the cost? Jon and Matthew debate what separates “good” pickups from truly exceptional vintage-accurate reproductions. This segment offers a deeper look into the philosophy behind ThroBak pickups — where absolute vintage accuracy in tone, winding techniques, materials, construction, and cosmetics comes first, and the cost of achieving that level of authenticity follows naturally from the process. 😎 The Cool Down Jon and Matthew unwind after a massive episode with more guitar talk and reflections. 🎸 Rorschach Riffs with Matthew – Electric Guitar Edition Matthew returns with another electric guitar round of riffs to identify. 📀 Matthew’s Musical Musings – Matthew closes the episode with a discussion on the legendary Michael Bloomfield. ThroBak Electronics is a world leader in classic reproduction guitar pickups. To learn more visit.: https://www.throbak.com/p90-pickup.html https://www.throbak.com/paf-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/stratocaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/telecaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/alnico-magnets.html https://www.throbak.com/pedals.html https://www.throbak.com/strings

We Plugged a Telecaster Into a Marshall… This Happened!?

What happens when a classic Telecaster meets a roaring Marshall amp?  Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups 👉 https://www.throbak.com/ In Episode 051 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast, Jon Gundry and Matthew Quail dive headfirst into one of the most unexpected tone pairings in electric guitar history. Known for its snap, twang, and cutting clarity, the Telecaster isn’t usually the first choice for Marshall-driven rock tones—but what unfolds might just change your mind. From sparkling cleans to gritty crunch and full-on overdrive, we explore how this iconic guitar responds when pushed through a legendary British amp, revealing tones that blur the line between country, blues, and classic rock. If you think you know what a Telecaster can (or can’t) do, think again. 🎸🔥 Episode 051 Breakdown: 📬 ThroBak Mailbox – A look at ThroBak’s growing global reach 🌍 and a discussion around a recent rig rundown featuring Jack Ruch. 🎸 Pickups of the Week – The spotlight is on the ThroBak T-'59 MXV Telecaster pickups, paired with a Marshall for a tone test that challenges expectations. 🔊 Hear the Pickups – Listen to the T-'59 MXV Tele pickups in action through a Marshall—clean, crunch, and driven tones that redefine what a Tele can do. 🎲 Rorschach Riffs (Electric Edition) – Matthew reacts in real time with spontaneous riffs and tonal explorations. ⚡ The Guitargument: Lightning Round – Fast, fiery takes on hot-button guitar topics—no time to overthink, just pure instinct. 🧊 The Cool Down – Slowing things down with reflections, takeaways, and tone talk after the storm. 🎶 Matthew’s Musical Musings – A spotlight on Charlie Sexton, exploring his tone, style, and influence. 👋 Outro – Wrapping up the episode and final thoughts on this surprising Telecaster + Marshall pairing. 🎸 Gear Featured in This Episode ThroBak T-'59 MXV Telecaster Pickups  https://www.throbak.com/throbak-t-59-telecaster-pickups.html Fender Jimmy Page Signature Telecaster Marshall SV20H Studio Vintage 20-watt Amplifier Head Thanks for watching Episode 050 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast—be sure to like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments: Which P.A.F. tone wins for you… high output or low output? 👇🔥 👉 Explore ThroBak Pickups: https://www.throbak.com 🔔 Subscribe for more deep dives into vintage tone, pickups, and guitar gear. ThroBak Electronics is a world leader in classic reproduction guitar pickups. To learn more visit.: https://www.throbak.com/p90-pickup.html https://www.throbak.com/paf-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/stratocaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/telecaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/alnico-magnets.html https://www.throbak.com/pedals.html https://www.throbak.com/strings.html ThroBak Electronics, located in Grand Rapids Michigan, was established in 2002 to bring the best of vintage tone back to the guitar player of today.Make sure to watch the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast each Saturday on YouTube.

High Output vs Low Output P.A.F. Pickups – Which Sounds Better Through Fender?

High Output vs Low Output P.A.F. Pickups – Which Sounds Better Through Fender? | ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast Ep. 050 Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups 👉 https://www.throbak.com/ Welcome back to the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast! This week, Jon Gundry and Matthew Quail put two very different P.A.F. pickup recipes head-to-head through a killer 1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb to answer one big question: do high output P.A.F. pickups deliver the ultimate rock tone, or do low output P.A.F.s reveal the sweeter, more dynamic side of vintage humbucker tone? We compare the powerful ThroBak MC-102B Custom P.A.F. Repros against the articulate ThroBak ’57 SteelHead MXV A4 low output P.A.F. Repros, exploring clean tones, dirty tones, touch sensitivity, and what really works best with a classic Fender amp. If you love vintage guitar tone, boutique pickups, and real-world pickup shootouts, this episode is for you. 📬 In ThroBak Mailbox, we tackle the issue of counterfeit ThroBak ’64 Strat pickups showing up in the market—how to spot them, why it matters, and how to protect yourself when buying boutique pickups online. Then we bring you another exciting update on the legendary Fender/Irsay Pickup Winder, the historic machine tied to Charlie Davis, Fender history, and the Jim Irsay Collection that continues to spark major interest in the vintage guitar world. 🔥 Pickups of the Week features a full tone shootout between the high-output ThroBak MC-102B Custom P.A.F. Repros and the low-output ThroBak ’57 SteelHead MXV A4 P.A.F. Repros. Hear both sets through a killer 1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb and decide for yourself—which P.A.F. recipe gives you the best clean tones, breakup, and dirty rock sounds? ⚡ We break down amp settings on the ’79 Fender Deluxe Reverb before comparing: • MC-102B Custom P.A.F. Repros – Clean & Dirty Tones • ’57 SteelHead MXV A4 Low Output P.A.F. Repros – Clean & Dirty Tones 📸 Paul Hudson shows us what he is working on this week and shares his homemade chocolate cookies with the Jon & Matt.  🎙️ In this week’s Guitargument: *The Vintage Guitar Steal: What Would You Do?* If you stumble across an unbelievably underpriced vintage guitar… do you tell the seller the truth, or quietly walk away with the deal of a lifetime? Ethics vs opportunity—this one gets spicy. ❄️ Then we hit The Cool Down before Matthew takes over with another electric edition of Rorschach Riffs 🎸 🎼 Finally, in Matthew’s Musical Musings, we explore Open Reel Ensemble and ask: Is this the future of music? Tape machines as instruments, experimental performance art, and where creativity meets technology. 🎸 Gear Featured in This Episode ThroBak MC-102B Custom  P.A.F. Repros ThroBak '57 SteelHead MXV A4  P.A.F. Repros 1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb Nobels ODR-1 Gold Edition 2023 Gibson 1958 Historic Reissue Les Paul 2004 Gibson 1957 Historic Reissue Les Paul Thanks for watching Episode 050 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast—be sure to like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments: Which P.A.F. tone wins for you… high output or low output? 👇🔥 👉 Explore ThroBak Pickups: https://www.throbak.com ThroBak Electronics is a world leader in classic reproduction guitar pickups. To learn more visit.: https://www.throbak.com/p90-pickup.html https://www.throbak.com/paf-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/stratocaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/telecaster-pickups.html https://www.throbak.com/alnico-magnets.html https://www.throbak.com/pedals.html https://www.throbak.com/strings.html ThroBak Electronics, located in Grand Rapids Michigan, was established in 2002 to bring the best of vintage tone back to the guitar player of today.Make sure to watch the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast each Saturday on YouTube.