ThroBak P.A.F. Repro Showdown: Alnico 4 vs Alnico 2 Tone Battle!

ThroBak P.A.F. Showdown: Alnico 4 vs Alnico 2 — Ultimate Tone Battle!
Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups: https://www.throbak.com/

How much of your tone comes down to magnet choice? In this episode of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast, Jon and Matthew put two classic P.A.F. magnet formulas to the test in a true A/B comparison. Hear the sonic differences between ThroBak USA-cast long Alnico 4 magnets and ThroBak USA-cast “Dry” long Alnico 2 magnets loaded into the new ThroBak ’57 SteelHead MXV low-output P.A.F. reproduction pickups.

We run these pickups through two Gibson Les Paul Goldtops so you can hear exactly how each magnet flavor shapes your attack, sustain, clarity, compression, and vintage sweetness. If you've ever wondered how A2 vs A4 changes your P.A.F. tone, this is the ultimate real-world demo.

🎸 What’s Inside This Episode
🔊 P.A.F. Magnet A/B Test: Alnico 4 vs Alnico 2
•Side-by-side comparison of A4 and A2 ThroBak magnets
•Les Paul Goldtop tone shootout
•Hear the dynamic response, bloom, and midrange differences
•Perfect for vintage tone fans and pickup geeks

💼 Industry Insights
Jon and Matthew discuss:
•The start of the holiday guitar sales season
•What players can expect from retailers this year
•Details about ThroBak’s Black Friday → Cyber Monday sale

⚔️ Guitargument Lightning Round
•Rapid-fire takes on hot guitar topics—fast, fun, opinionated.

🧠 Matthew’s Rorschach Riffs
•Jon and the audience jump into a round of riff recognition. Can you name them all?

🎶 Matthew’s Musical Musings
•Matthew needs YOUR advice:
Should he go see Rush on their upcoming tour?

🎧 Why This Video Matters
If you're researching:
•A2 vs A4 magnets
•PAF pickup comparisons
•Les Paul pickup upgrades
•Best vintage-style humbuckers
•ThroBak SteelHead MXV review

This video gives you live pickup sound samples and direct commentary from the people who build them.

Gear used in video:
Guitars:
2004 Gibson Les Paul Historic Reissue R7
1968 Gibson Les paul Standard Goldtop converted to humbuckers
2020 Fender 70th Anniversary Broadcaster

Pickups:
ThroBak '57 SteelHead MXV P.A.F. Repros with Long A4 Magnets
https://www.throbak.com/paf-style-pic...
ThroBak Nocaster - A3 Classic MXV, NC-A3 pickups

Amp:
1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb
Pedal: Nobels ODR-1 Overdrive

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:45 ThroBak Mailbox
0:05:46 Hear ThroBak '57 SteelHead pickups with Alnico 4 magnets
0:09:21 Hear ThroBak '57 SteelHead pickups with Alnico 2 magnets
0:12:30 Discussion about tonal differences of Alnico 4 vs Alnico 2
0:18:39 Industry Insights: Black Friday deals have begun
0:22:12 Industry Insights: More G&L thoughts
0:29:58 The Guitargument: The Lightning Round
0:36:08 The Cool Down
0:43:35 Rorschach Riffs
0:53:10 Matthew's Musical Musings - Rush sticker shock!
1:00:54 Outro

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-...
https://www.throbak.com/telecaster-pi...
https://www.throbak.com/alnico-magnet...
https://www.throbak.com/pedals.html
https://www.throbak.com/strings.html

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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.