“Guitarists love new things and innovative design, as long as everything remains the same.” That’s a remark one of my friends once made. It may be slightly tongue in cheek, but it is true to some extent. New technologies aren’t greeted by guitarists as enthusiastically as in other fields. But every once in a while there’s something new, something fresh that does make it through the initial skepticism. One such product is the Parallel Axis series of pickups by Seymour Duncan. 

I’m a huge fan of the Parallel Axis pickups. The look of these pickups is totally unique and serves a huge tonal purpose. Even though the same magnet is being used on the Parallel Axis pickups as it is on ‘regular’ humbuckers, the magnetic field is spread more evenly due to the dual slotted pole pieces. This ensures great string separation which in turn yields a clear, transparent sound that can’t be copied through a conventionally designed pickup.

It’s not as if the tone is drastically different than your ‘run of the mill’ humbucker. It’s just different in an obvious yet subtle way. The highs are softer yet more vocal and pronounced. The mids are less congested and seem to cut through more, and the lows are tight but not boomy. At this moment there are five Parallel Axis pickups available in the line-up of Seymour Duncan. Let’s take a closer look at each of them and how they are different from one another.

PATB -1

Let’s call this one the original. All others have a unique nomenclature, but this one doesn’t really have one! I have no idea if I’m technically correct, but to my ears, this pickup is an offspring of the Seymour Duncan Custom. It has the same bold mids, the same cut in the highs and the same hotrodded PAF feel. The difference is the sparkle in the high end and the sheer transparency of the tone. It seems as if every note is made of crystal. There’s a crunchy feel to the SH-5 Custom, but the PATB-1 doesn’t have that. The Custom can give a dirty, rude tone on an amp with a bit of crunch dialed in (but not as much as overdrive, just a bit of dirt). This dirtiness is something the PATB-1 lacks. It keeps that clarity and transparency even if you dig in hard. That makes the PATB-1 a much more versatile pickup, at least to my ears. Because it doesn’t get dirty you can use it for clean, funky rhythms, complex chord progressions and fluid leads. If your amp has the chops, the PATB-1 won’t let you down!

PATB-2 Distortion

The PATB-2 Distortion has, to my ears anyway, some ‘SH-6 Distortion’ DNA but poured into the original PATB-1. The tone is tighter, more focussed and compressed. Where the PATB-1 roars, the PATB-2 screams. The mids are extremely tight and precise, the highs cut through the mix like a hot knife through butter and the lows are solid and firm but never boomy so you’re never in the way of the bass. Compared to the Distortion, the PATB-2 has less cut and has less ‘sizzle.’ It’s a bit rounder and more airy with a good amount of fluidity. It’s almost like the PATB-2 is the offspring of a love triangle between the SH6 Distortion, SH4 JB and the PATB1!

PATB-3 Blues Saraceno

In the 1990s, Blues Saraceno needed a pickup that made his guitar (for all intents and purposes, let’s call it a Superstrat) sound like a guitar made of a warm sounding piece of mahogany… This pickup was designed to do that. A medium output pickup with beefy mids, softer highs and slightly spongy lows, that’s what the spec sheet suggests and that’s why I was very apprehensive to try this pickup. But as with all Parallel Axis pickups, my fear was completely unwarranted. The PATB-3 beefs up a Strat without sacrificing the sparkle and chime inherent to the instrument. Conversely, you’d imagine that the PATB-3 wouldn’t work in a Les Paul but that idea couldn’t be further from the truth. In a Les Paul, you get the open, warm sound of a PAF humbucker but without the boomy lows, without the sag but with added dynamics, added clarity and slightly more output than usual. Don’t expect the raunchy, dirty tone of a Pearly Gates, or the bold boomyness of the ’59, or the kind gentle smoothness of the Seth Lover. The PATB-3 is a unique pickup in its own right. But if you love (one of) those three PAF style pickups, you’re gone love the PATB-3!

PATB-1 Original Neck 

This pickup is perhaps the most unknown sibling of the Parallel Axis family. Designed to go in the neck position and match the PATB-1, this pickup seems to borrow some tonal DNA of the Jazz and ’59. The Jazz is of course renown for its clarity and immense dynamic response. This pickup borrows those characteristics and pairs it with the warm, lush tone and feel of the ’59. Funnily enough, this pickup works amazingly well in the middle position of a Les Paul (or any three-humbucker guitar for that matters!). It adds a bit of chime and sparkle to the tone and clearly hints to the second and fourth position of a Strat.

PA-STK 1 Single Coil

The line up of Parallel Axis pickups wouldn’t be complete without a single coil would it? Based on the Stacked single coil design,the PA-STK 1 takes that design a step further by adding the Parallel Axis series bobbins, coil geometry and pole pieces. The effect? A beefy single coil for the bridge position with plenty of chime and sparkle. A clear, fluid neck pickup with lots of harmonics. Pair it with the dedicated middle pickup and you’ve got a set that nods to the past but looks to the present and future as well. A great combination of vintage sparkle and quack with modern beef and power.

Even though the Parallel Axis pickups have a totally unique look, the tone works so amazingly well that I couldn’t imagine not using them. My only wish is that there were even more pickups using this design!  To combat that issue, I made a hybrid of the PATB-1 and PATB-2. You can read all about my tonal endeavors with the Parallel Axis pickups here!