The History of PU and the Brands That Define It
Seth Lover
A Legend Born from the Battle Against Hum
~The Story of Pickup Designer Seth Lover~
In the 1950s, as the electric guitar burst onto the music scene, guitarists shared a common frustration: “hum,” a noise that grew louder the more they turned up the volume.
There was one engineer who put an end to this inescapable fate and shaped the history of guitar sound that followed. His name was Seth Lover.
This is the story of the man who worked for both Gibson and Fender—the two giants of the industry—and propelled the history of the guitar forward.
The Gibson Era and the Birth of the “P.A.F.”
The Challenge of Noise
After gaining electrical expertise as a radar and sonar technician in the Navy, Seth Lover joined Gibson in 1945. Initially responsible for amplifier development and repairs, he eventually found his true calling in pickup development.
At the time, Gibson had an excellent single-coil pickup called the “P-90,” but as the demand for higher volume grew, the hum noise inherent in its design began to be seen as a problem.
In fact, complaints from customers were on the rise, making the development of a new, noise-free pickup an urgent priority.
Bringing a Revolutionary Idea to Life
While experimenting with various methods to eliminate hum, Seth focused on the principle of “humbucking,” which uses two coils to cancel out each other’s noise.
By placing the two coils side by side and winding one of them in the opposite direction (out-of-phase connection), external hum noise is canceled out.
However, this approach had the drawback of also canceling out the string vibration signal, resulting in a thin, weak sound.
Therefore, by reversing the magnetic poles of one coil (swapping the north and south poles), he succeeded in eliminating noise while allowing the string vibration signals to add together, resulting in a more powerful output.
Development of this groundbreaking pickup began around 1955 and was completed in about six months with the cooperation of President Ted McCarty and others.
Since a patent was pending, a sticker reading “PATENT APPLIED FOR,” or “P.A.F., ” was affixed to the back of the pickup.
This marked the birth of the P.A.F., which is now spoken of as a legend.
The Gibson Les Paul equipped with this P.A.F. pickup captivated many guitarists with its warm, rich sound and had a tremendous influence on the development of music genres such as rock,
blues, and jazz.
The Legacy of Seth Lover
Seth Lover retired from Fender in 1975 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age at CBS, but his legacy remains undimmed.
Seth Lover created the “prototype” of the humbucker at Gibson and its “applied form” at Fender. He dramatically expanded the possibilities of guitar sound and continued to inspire countless pieces of music and musicians. It is no exaggeration to say that nearly all humbucking pickups in existence today are built upon the foundation he laid.
Now that original P.A.F.s are treated as treasures in the vintage market, we should take a moment to reflect on his achievements once again. Seth Lover is one of the true innovators who propelled the history of the guitar forward.