[jimmiboots]

Which PAF style pickup comes closest to Jimmy Page's tone on the Zepplin BBC tapes? That's pretty close to what I'm trying to get. I'm not sure what's in my guitar now, but they're way to high gain for my tastes. Any advice?

[Paul in Colorado]

Seymour Duncan sells a Jimmy Page set. They are the same pickups that he winds for Jimmy. His agreement doesn't allow him to advertise them. They sell for around $300 and are sold only from the factory. There's a set on ebay right now.
Other boutique PAF style pickups include, the Fillmore, Crossroads and Goodwood from www.crcoils.com, Fralin, Voodoo and Timbuckers.
You'd better have an above average Les Paul to put them in! There's a rumour that Gibson will be coming out with a limited edition Jimmy Page Les Paul this year that will be a lot closer to #1 then the production JPLP.
Good luck!

[randy_mc]

pickups. I've heard nothing but good reviews on them. They are pricey, but they'll do the trick. Antiquitys would also be really good. I use an Antiquity bridge humbucker, and have a friend that put a set in his Custom. Fabulous sound. Can't really speak for the other brands. They probably offer some great tone as well, but Duncan has always hit the spot with me.

[kludge]

Originally Posted by jimmiboots

Which PAF style pickup comes closest to Jimmy Page's tone on the Zepplin BBC tapes? That's pretty close to what I'm trying to get. I'm not sure what's in my guitar now, but they're way to high gain for my tastes. Any advice?

I don't know about the BBC tapes, but for a lot of the classic Zep studio stuff, he used a Tele! That huge Jimmy Page studio tone is generally a Tele into a little Supro combo amp. The Les Pauls and Marshalls were for stage use (try "The Song Remains the Same" for that sound - you'll hear it's different).

Really, it depends on whether you're trying to get the sound live, or recording. Try a P90! A fat-sounding single-coil sounds better than a PAF for a lot of that stuff.