ThroBak Guitar Lounge

Is Your Guitar STILL Vintage… After All Those Repairs? Vintage Delusions!

• ThroBak Electronics • Season 2 • Episode 42

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Is Your Guitar STILL Vintage… After All Those Repairs? Vintage Delusions!
The Guitar of Theseus – ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast Episode 042
Upgrade your guitar with ThroBak Pickups 👉 https://www.throbak.com/

At what point does a vintage guitar stop being vintage?

• If the finish has been stripped…
• If the neck has been replaced…
• If the pickups have been rewound…
• Is it still the same instrument — or just wearing the costume of one?

In Episode 042 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast, Jon Gundry and Matthew Quail tackle the vintage guitar version of the Ship of Theseus — and along the way explore the tone, history, and mythology surrounding original P.A.F. pickups and unoriented Alnico 5 magnets.

🎙 Intro
Jon and Matthew set up the central question: authenticity versus continuity. In a market obsessed with “all original,” where exactly is the line? And who gets to draw it?

📬 ThroBak Mailbox
A listener writes in asking about the history of unoriented Alnico 5 magnets in vintage P.A.F. pickups.

• Were they used in the late 1950s?
• How do they differ from standard oriented A5?
• And why do they matter to tone chasers today?

Jon breaks down the metallurgy, magnet structure, and tonal implications behind this often misunderstood detail in late-50s humbuckers.

🎸 Pickups of the Week
This week we explore the tonal character of unoriented A5 magnets in:

• ThroBak SLE-101 Plus MXV
• ThroBak JW-102B MXV

Jon demonstrates how these pickups respond dynamically, comparing their attack, midrange texture, and harmonic bloom in two different Gibson Les Paul guitars.

⚡ The Guitargument
The Guitar of Theseus

The big debate:
If you replace the neck…
Refinish the body…
Swap the electronics…
At what point does a vintage guitar stop being vintage?

Is originality about wood and metal?
Or about continuity of ownership and history?

🧊 The Cool Down
How do collectors, players, and builders think differently about originality?
Does tone matter more than untouched solder joints?
And why does this debate refuse to die?

🎶 Rorschach Riffs — Electric Edition
Matthew returns with another electric installment of Rorschach Riffs — interpreting shapes and suggestions into spontaneous musical ideas. Pure instinct. No rehearsal. A tonal stress test for any “vintage” guitar.

🎬 Matthew’s Musical Musings
A follow-up to last week’s discussion: Matthew shares his full thoughts on the Elvis IMAX film EPIC, reflecting on spectacle, mythmaking, and how legacy is constructed — a fitting parallel to the vintage guitar conversation.

Gear used in this video:
Pickups:
ThroBak JW-102B MXV P.A.F. Repros 
https://www.throbak.com/paf-style-pickups-throbak-jw-102b.html
ThroBak SLE-101 Plus MXV P.A.F. Repros
https://www.throbak.com/paf-style-pickups-throbak-sle-101-plus.html

Guitars:
• 2023 Gibson 1958 Reisse Les Paul
• 1952/'57 Vintage Gibson Les paul Conversion
Amp:
• 1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb
Pedal:
• Nobels ODR-1 Overdrive
• Nobels ODR-1 Overdrive

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.