I grew up hearing the band Firefall on AM radio. Great 70s mellow music, with terrific harmonies, lush production, and sometimes surprisingly fiery guitar work. After grabbing several of the band’s CDs, I did a deep dive on them. Turns out their lead guitarist, Jock Bartley, has been playing a PRS since the 80s, and Paul himself singled him out in an interview when asked about the Custom 24s pickups:
“It was a slightly overwound PAF but had
magnetic pole pieces on the slug side to give it a little more of that Fender snap. I've only seen one or two people who actually understand how to use them. The guitar player in Firefall, Jock Bartley, used to get that tone - half Fender and half Gibson and he was good at it.”
He sure was, and is. The video quality here isn’t the best, but Jock’s playing is!
“It was a slightly overwound PAF but had
magnetic pole pieces on the slug side to give it a little more of that Fender snap. I've only seen one or two people who actually understand how to use them. The guitar player in Firefall, Jock Bartley, used to get that tone - half Fender and half Gibson and he was good at it.”
He sure was, and is. The video quality here isn’t the best, but Jock’s playing is!
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