DiMarzio Virtual PAF DP197 Humbucker

The Virtual PAF humbucker is obviously from the same cloth as the Virtual Hot PAF. Alas, it’s no longer on the DiMarzio menu. So, you ask, why discuss products that DiMarzio no longer makes?  Well, I say, because it’s a pretty darned good pickup.  Is it just a lower output version of the VHPAF?  My ears give that a big nope.  Let’s take a peek.

It’d be easy to think you can get a Virtual PAF from just using the VHPAF and turning down your gain or volume.  There’s a little bit more going on that just a little more or less sizzle.  What about the all the other ‘PAF’ models that DiMarzio has out there?  Other people have already made the case for the Virtual PAF amid those comparisons, so I’ll avoid stepping through that mine field if it’s all the same to you.  LOL!

All of the “Virtual PAF” humbuckers are using DiMarzio’s Airbucker tech and Virtual Vintage tech. Let’s take a peek at what that means

Airbucker Tech

DiMarzio’s Air technology is literally about putting air between the magnet and the conductive screws and/or poles. For more consistent result, DiMarzio uses that “air” as a way to alter the field of a fully charged magnet.

Virtual Vintage Tech

What’s that? For the most part, they put ”dummy poles” between the normal pole pieces. The installation is in the underside of the bobbin, so they are not visible when looking at your typical operating humbucker. The purpose is to alter the inductance to ”tune” the coil(s) in a way not traditionally possible.

Installation

You can still find a few of these pickups online here and there.  All I could find when I looked was a double cream, so I’m guessing that’s causing a few heads to explode for better or worse.  Haha!  Installation is in a fairly neutral-sounding single hum super Strat, wired for series/parallel operation.  The Virtual Hot PAF and the PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge have been in the same guitar.

Evaluation

Starting with a dirty amp tone, I can smell what the Virtual PAF is cooking.  A very densely rich harmonic palette to work with.  The multi-dimensional quality of the mids and lows just kept me riffing away more and more.  There’s nothing that I can try that this humbucker isn’t up to the task.  Lows are full, yet precise.  The tone is dialed in to avoid the pitfalls of boom and mud and flab as well as rigid and brittle.  Players that hit the rhythm styles of Zakk and Dime and Sykes will enjoy the bliss of the harmonic squeals popping off the lower notes.

There is an excellent responsiveness in the upper mids and the high end that accentuate subtleties in finger style.  You have room for the nuance of a low-to-medium gain bluesy vibe.  Notes respond to being controlled for an almost effortless sustain.  As you’d want with any good pickup, variations in pick attack will result in highs that can be sweet or edgy.

On a clean amp tone, this bad boy has it going on.  Series mode is not at all too strong.  Hit it hard and there’s still plenty of headroom.  Going to the parallel wiring option and things are quite chimey and glassy with plenty of sparkle.  Working these two wiring modes along with the volume pot will get you pretty much any tonal character you’ll need.

Demo

No official video that I can find. If that changes, you can find that update in this spot.

Specs

Conclusion

The Virtual PAF is going to cover a lot of bases for any player.  It is right at home with bluesy and raunchy and riffy and poppy and heavy and even some brutalz.  Of the different DiMarzio ‘PAF’ options I’ve tried so far, this Virtual PAF stands alongside the Virtual Hot PAF, the PAF Pro, and the PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge as ones I’d keep within reach.

Go hit up the internet and see if you can track one down for yourself.  Who cares if it’s not the bobbin color or the pole spacing that you think you need.  The tone is worth it.  Follow up by signing the petition on DiMarzio Forum to put the Virtual PAF and Virtual Hot PAF back in to production and then hit up DiMarzio on social media (links below) with the same message.

For reference, this DiMarzio Virtual PAF DP197 humbucker evaluation was conducted with the following: Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller. ADA MP-1 Tube Pre-Amp loaded with Tube Amp Doctor ECC83 Premium Selected tubes, using the ADA MC-1 MIDI Controller. Fryette LX II Stereo Tube Power Amplifier. Physical cabs use are Marshall 1960B, Mojotone British, and Peavey 6505 cabs loaded with Celestion Classic Series Vintage 30s and Classic Series G12M Greenbacks.

DiMarzio Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram

7 string 16Ω 59 Airbucker Alnico 2 Alnico 3 Alnico 4 Alnico 5 Alnico 8 Bare Knuckle BKP Boot Camp Brown Sound Celestion Ceramic Custom Shop DiMarzio Dual Resonance EVH Fishman Floyd Rose Fluence Gibson Humbucker Ibanez JB Jimmy Page John Petrucci Les Paul MJ Mojotone P90 PAF Pariah Pickup Satch Satriani Schaller Seymour Duncan Singlecoil Single Width Speaker Steve Vai Tech Tip Virtual Vintage