StewMac Parsons Street Humbucker Review: A2 PAF Tone
Introduction
The original PAF humbuckers have become something of a holy grail in the guitar pickup world. Their appeal goes far beyond their vintage status, encompassing a unique combination of warmth, clarity, dynamics, and harmonic complexity that countless pickup makers have tried to capture over the decades. Yet, recreating that elusive character is rarely as simple as replicating a few specifications or winding two coils around a bobbin.
With the Parsons Street Humbucker Set, StewMac takes its own approach to this enduring pursuit. Inspired by the early humbuckers that helped define the sound of electric guitar, the set promises to bring a touch of that classic PAF spirit into a modern production environment. But how much of that elusive vintage character can actually be captured in a contemporary pickup set? And more importantly, does it deliver where it matters most: in the hands of a guitarist, through a real amplifier, and across a range of playing dynamics? These are the questions I wanted to explore in this review.
This review, just like The Smit’s Classic Coils A3 neck i’ve reviewed lately, is endorsed by my reader Neal Logdahl. After years of seeing the Parsons Street Humbuckers in StewMac catalogs i had received regularly and wondering what they were really like, thus, I finally had the chance to get my hands on a set. This set was also in the box he had donated me. Sending my deepest gratitude to Neal once again, let's get into the review.
Test Guitar
Parsons Street Humbucker Set sits in my hand-made Ibanez Js/Radius formed guitar that has a lightweight korina body, a Q-sawn one-piece Honduran mahogany neck in a chunky neck profile (very similar to the Gibson R8 necks), Pau Ferro fretboard, Hantug titanium fixed bridge, 25” scale, Jescar 55090 (narrow tall) stainless steel frets, CTS 500K long shaft pots, and Black Diamond Nickelwound 10/46 Strings tuned half step down. Its essence (unplugged) tone ranges from balanced to warm.
Although the shape of the guitar is Ibanez JS, the tonal design aimed for a Gibson LP or SG. Therefore, the guitar has a distinct nasal sound due to both the selected woods and the scale. Anticipating the clarity issues on the neck found in some guitars with 24.5” or 24.75” scales, I envisioned the PRS scale to be more favorable. As a result, the guitar combines the comfort of the Ibanez JS/Radius series with the sound of a Gibson LP/SG.
Evaluation
The official info about the StewMac’s Golden Age Parsons Street was as follows back when it was fresh in 2012:
“Golden Age Parsons Street Humbuckers with Restoration Covers
With Golden Age Humbuckers, we nailed the vintage sound. Now they look original, too.
Specs on our Golden Age Parsons Street humbuckers are straight-up raw vintage, from their unpotted coils with original-style enameled wire, to their correct-shape nickel silver covers. Now you can get 'em with our hand-applied Restoration finish, the warm well-played look of hundreds of gigs and countless jams.
Named for the famous Kalamazoo address where the legendary P.A.F. pickup was born, Golden Age Parsons Street humbuckers are closely modeled after a sweet-sounding vintage P.A.F. set from our own collection. Their specs are straight-up raw vintage, from their unpotted coils with original-style enameled wire, to their correct-shape nickel silver covers.
Our distressed "pawn shop" finish is applied by hand to each cover here in our Ohio shop.
Golden Age Parsons Street Humbuckers sweet vintage tone was crafted to vintage P.A.F. specifications:
• Nickel silver cover for tone transparency
• Original 1.97" (50.04mm) polepiece spacing
• Plain enameled AWG42 coil wire
• Black paper coil tape
• Wood spacer
• Choice of Alnico 2 or Alnico 5 magnet
• Nickel-silver baseplate
• Single-conductor braided shield output wire
Your choice of original-style magnets:
• Alnico 2 for warm tone with smooth highs and a soft bottom response.
• Alnico 5 produces a clear tone with more pronounced highs and a tighter low end.
(Original P.A.F.s contained Alnico 2, 3 and 5 magnets at various times.)
Neck models: mid 7K ohms
Bridge models: low 8K ohms
Just like the originals, the slug coil has more windings than the polepiece coil, and both coils are unpotted. Old P.A.F.s weren't made in separate neck and bridge-position models, and their DC resistance varied from 7-9K ohms. We give you a choice: Parsons Street neck-position pickups are wound to mid 7K, and bridge-position models to low 8K.”
And today the specs and official info is something like this;
Internal construction of StewMac Parsons Street PAF humbuckers Internal construction of StewMac Parsons Street PAF humbuckers Internal construction of StewMac Parsons Street PAF humbuckers
“StewMac Parsons Street Humbucker Pickups
Straight-up raw vintage tone! Closely modeled after outstanding original P.A.F.s, these humbuckers capture the tone that changed music forever.
Crafted by tone experts
Our own Erick Coleman tracked down priceless original P.A.F. humbucker sets and meticulously studied the materials and construction that gives these pickups their truly timeless tone. Once he cracked the code, that tone was undeniable! We christened these exceptional humbuckers in tribute to the famous Kalamazoo address where the holy grail of pickups, the legendary P.A.F. (Patent Applied For), was born.
We build them like they used to!
Just like the originals, the slug coil has more windings than the polepiece coil, and both coils are unpotted. Old P.A.F.s weren't made in separate neck and bridge-position models, and their DC resistance varied from 7-9K ohms. We give you a choice: Parsons Street neck position pickups are wound to mid 7K range, and bridge position models to low 8K range.
Specifications
Vintage medium output humbucker
Nickel-silver cover for tone transparency
Original 1.970" (50mm) polepiece spread (neck and bridge)
Plain enameled 42 AWG coil wire
Unpotted like the originals
Vintage construction—black paper coil tape, wood spacer, nickel-silver baseplate
Choice of Alnico 2 or Alnico 5 magnet
Single-conductor braided shield lead wires
Your choice of original-style magnets:
Close-up of the rough bobbin surface on Parsons Street humbuckers Close-up of the rough bobbin surface on Parsons Street humbuckers Close-up of the rough bobbin surface on Parsons Street humbuckers
Alnico 2 for warm tone with smooth highs and a soft bottom response. Alnico 5 produces a clear tone with more pronounced highs and a tighter low end. (Original P.A.F.s contained Alnico 2, 3 and 5 magnets at various times.)
Output
Neck positon: 7K ohm range
Bridge position: 8K ohm range”
Want to see the measurements, right here!
Parsons Street A2 Neck Magnet – Alnico 2 Advertised DCR: ~7K Ohm (Series) Measured DCR: 7.7372K Ohm (Series) Inductance @100Hz: 4.3594 H (Series), Q:0.3539 Measured C@100KHz: 117pF Calculated Self Resonance Peak: 7.0472KHz Calculated Loaded Res. Freq w/470pF: 3.1462KHz Output: Vintage EQ (B/M/T) – Gauss: 240G screws, 260G slug (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces) Ambient Measurement Temperature: 26C
| Parsons Street A2 Bridge Magnet – Alnico 2 Advertised DCR: ~8K Ohm (Series) Measured DCR: 8.4570K Ohm (Series) Inductance @100Hz: 5.4726 H (Series), Q:0.4067 Measured C@100KHz: 99pF Calculated Self Resonance Peak: 6.8376KHz Calculated Loaded Res. Freq w/470pF: 2.8521KHz Output: Vintage EQ (B/M/T) – Gauss: 280G screws, 350G slug (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)
|
Let's start with the overall appearance. When the pickups arrived, they were fitted with chrome covers. Naturally, the first thing I did was take them off. By now, you should know me well enough to realize that chrome covers and I don't get along particularly well anymore. ;) And honestly, I really liked what I saw underneath: hello, double-cream bobbins! What a pleasant surprise.
Anyway, taking a closer look at the bobbins reveals rather rough, uneven surfaces. It's the kind of surface texture I've previously encountered only on certain Schaller humbuckers. Interesting. The reason this caught my attention is that the question of who actually manufactures StewMac's Parsons Street Pickups was a topic of discussion on guitar forums for a while. It may not seem like a particularly significant detail, but I remember some of those discussions quite well. GFS, Artec or G&B, and Schaller were among the names mentioned as possible candidates.
Given that Schaller also has a model called the Golden 50s, and considering the rough surface texture of these bobbins, I couldn't help wondering whether Schaller might be the manufacturer. That said, I had a relatively recent-production Golden 50s in my hands until fairly recently, so I can't draw any firm conclusions from these observations alone. On the other hand, I still believe manufacturers such as Artec and G&B are perfectly capable of competing at a serious level, provided they're given the right specifications and an appropriate budget. Chinese and Korean manufacturers are certainly not players I'd be willing to rule out.
Ultimately, I still haven't come across any information that would allow me to put a name to the manufacturer, even at the rumor level, let alone anything sufficiently credible to support a well-founded conclusion.
Anyway, I couldn't find any paper tape beneath the covers on either pickup, nor could I see any signs of additional wax treatment. Personally, I would definitely put paper tape over the slug pole pieces. The pickups were also unpotted, so I can't say whether they exhibited any microphonic behavior with the covers installed. I'll save my comments on how they behave without the covers for the section where I discuss their tonal characteristics.
On the other hand, quite a few of the features mentioned in StewMac's product descriptions are indeed present here. Not all of them, though. One thing is missing: plain enamel wire. As you can see in the photos, the wire doesn't appear to have the familiar plain enamel insulation. It looks more like poly-coated wire to me.
Close-up of the rough bobbin surface on Parsons Street humbuckers Close-up of the rough bobbin surface on Parsons Street humbuckers Close-up of the rough bobbin surface on Parsons Street humbuckers
The pole screws are conventional, familiar-looking, and long. The bobbins themselves are wrapped in black cloth tape, and once the two coils are assembled, another layer of black paper tape is applied around them. However, this outer layer doesn't completely cover the circumference of the coils. It's a construction detail that might look familiar to anyone who's seen older Duncan '59s, for instance. The neck pickup's coils appear to be roughly half-covered by this outer tape, whereas the bridge pickup looks a little more fully wrapped.
As far as I can tell, the magnets inside the bobbins appear to be the longer Alnico bar type, measuring approximately 63 mm. I haven't taken the pickups apart to measure them, though, so consider that an educated visual observation rather than a confirmed measurement. And, of course, the single most important factor determining a PAF's tone is right there, doing its job: the wooden spacer. :)
Looking at the measurements, it's difficult to point to anything particularly extraordinary. These pickups follow the familiar formula of an A2 PAF-style clone, with a neck pickup in the 7k range and a bridge pickup measuring over 8k. That said, I do appreciate the relatively low capacitance readings, which I consider a positive sign when it comes to clarity. Considering that these figures also include the cable capacitance, I think they're very respectable values.
First Impressions
The moment I plugged these pickups in and heard them through an amplifier for the first time, I immediately started recognizing those familiar A2 PAF tones. There are countless A2 PAF variations on the market, and most of them share very similar construction components. So it's only natural that their tonal characteristics overlap to a certain extent. The real differences tend to emerge in the details.
Personally, when evaluating pickups in this particular category, I focus on clarity in the neck position and the "warm yet clear" balance in the bridge. As for the Parsons Street neck model, I naturally expected to hear a pronounced midrange character. And I got a little more of it than I had anticipated. I'd describe it as somewhat throatier or more nasal than expected. As you can hear in my demo video, I think its clarity is right on the borderline. Since the tone I used in the demo isn't particularly bright either, this might make the pickup sound as though it falls slightly short of that threshold. However, taking both the guitar's natural voice and the characteristics of my amp settings into account, I'd say it still manages to earn a passing grade in terms of clarity, even if only just.
In fact, compared with models such as the Gibson '57 Classic Neck or the 490R, I might even give the Parsons Street PAF neck the edge in clarity.
That said, the neck pickup has a fairly typical EQ profile. Spongy lows, silky-soft highs, and a pronounced midrange. Flutey? Absolutely.
Now, let's move on to the bridge model. I find the bridge pickup quite enjoyable. It does a pretty good job of delivering that "warm yet clear" character. Would I have liked a little more output? Perhaps a touch more compression, too? Honestly, I found myself looking for those qualities. On the other hand, the Parsons Street PAF Bridge never claimed to offer that kind of response in the first place. So this is more about my own habits and the natural tendency to look for a particular type of bridge tone that I happen to enjoy. It's not a matter of the Parsons Street Bridge Humbucker failing to deliver on its promises. In fact, it does a pretty good job of delivering exactly what it's supposed to: a slightly beefy A2 bridge tone. That's what it is.
I'd also love to try this pickup in an HSS guitar paired with more vintage-output single coils rather than stronger models such as the Texas Specials. I have high hopes that it could work really well in Fat Strats. Perhaps I'll get the chance to try that someday.
What I Loved About the Parsons Street Bridge Humbuckers?
When it comes to what I particularly enjoy about the Parsons Street Bridge Humbucker, the very first thing that comes to mind is the sheer pleasure of playing melodic passages through it. Humbuckers with this kind of pronounced midrange character can be incredibly satisfying for overdriven melodies, thanks to their flutey tonal qualities. Think of the legendary melodic introduction to Camel's "Nimrodel / The Procession / The White Rider," or Opeth's "Ending Credits." These are exactly the kinds of musical passages for which I find this pickup particularly well suited. Another aspect I genuinely appreciate is its dynamic response. Being relatively lightly wound pickups, they offer an ideal level of dynamics and responsiveness, something I personally value a great deal.
StewMac Parsons Street humbuckers with exposed double-cream bobbins StewMac Parsons Street humbuckers with exposed double-cream bobbins StewMac Parsons Street humbuckers with exposed double-cream bobbins
I liked their performance under cruch and moderate levels of distortion. Its response feels good. I can also say that it performs very well with clean tones if you are familiar with those A2 PAF clones. Think of Southern Rock style cleans played with a Les Paul or SG, you know.
I also have to emphasize that jazz players are likely to find some very appealing tones in that pickup set.
Another thing I really like is its dynamic response, naturally. Come on you guys, That’s no surprise, but I’ll go into more detail about this in the section where I discuss compression.
And, what kind of guitars would benefit from the StewMac Parsons Street Humbucker set, and what types of players might find it appealing? First and foremost, I'd recommend it to players who know they want an A2 PAF tone but aren't particularly keen on paying boutique pickup prices to get there. I believe they'll find plenty to appreciate here. If the melodic side of Camel or Opeth represents the kind of tonal territory you're after, or if you're looking to take your PRS SE in that direction, I think you'll enjoy these pickups as well. And if you love the tones behind Slash's iconic melodic passages, you're welcome to join the club, too! Players who lean towards lighter jazz and blues styles will also find plenty to like.
However, if you're after a stronger bridge tone but don't want to venture into the JB or the Tone Zone territory, prefer tighter-sounding pickups, or expect a much clearer A2 character from your neck position, you might be better off looking at other alternatives.
Comparisons
So, who are the competitors or closest alternatives to the Parsons Street Humbucker? Actually, I've already mentioned two of them above: the Gibson '57 Classic and the 490R. From what I can recall, I find the Parsons Street pickups clearer than both. When comparing them with the Burstbucker 1 & 2 set, however, I'd give the edge to the Gibson pickups in terms of both clarity and overall tone, at least based on my recollection. Compared with the Duncan Pearly Gates, the Parsons Street neck is darker and less clear, while its bridge counterpart has a less pronounced upper-midrange bite. Which one comes out on top really depends on the guitar and the situation.
Although it's not exactly a direct PAF clone, I'll soon have an opportunity to make a more up-to-date comparison with the Duncan Alnico 2 Pro, as one of my readers has kindly lent me his A2P Slash set to try (Hi Emre ;) ). However, I've previously reviewed an Alnico 2 Pro neck model with hex-head pole pieces. Based on that experience, I'd say the A2P is clearer, whereas the Parsons Street has a more flutey character. If you're trying to decide between the two, that's probably a good starting point.
The Tonerider Rocksong (neck&bridge), on the other hand, is a fatter-sounding pickup than the Parsons Street Humbuckers. If that's the direction you're heading in, the Tonerider is definitely the beefier, more ballsy option, and it wins through sheer muscle. :)
StewMac Parsons Street PAF humbucker sound demo and tonal evaluation StewMac Parsons Street Alnico 2 bridge humbucker electrical measurements StewMac Parsons Street Alnico 2 bridge humbucker electrical measurements
Dynamic Range and Compression
Now let’s move on to my evaluation of dynamic range and compression. StewMac Parsons Street set has a very little natural compression of its own naturally. Come on, this is a PAF clone set. Of course there won’t be a saturated tone with lots’n lots of compression. Definitely you will have openness, dynamic feel and picking response. Moreover good reaction to the volüme pot manipulations. What else should you go with, right? ;)
Conclusion
The StewMac Parsons Street Humbucker Set is a rather straightforward take on the A2 PAF recipe, and I think that's exactly where its appeal lies. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel or promise something beyond what a vintage-output A2 PAF-style set is supposed to deliver. Instead, it offers a warm, mid-focused tonal character, pleasant dynamics, and an enjoyable playing experience without requiring a boutique-level investment. The bridge pickup is particularly rewarding for melodic playing, overdriven passages, and classic rock tones, while its relatively open response makes it equally enjoyable with moderate gain and clean settings. The neck pickup, on the other hand, delivers that familiar spongy, warm, and flutey A2 character, although its clarity may not satisfy everyone, particularly in guitars that already tend to sound dark or nasal.
I wouldn't necessarily call the Parsons Street set an exceptional or groundbreaking PAF clone, but I do think it gets many of the important things right. Its relatively low capacitance readings, dynamic response, and pleasing bridge tone are all qualities worth appreciating. There are certainly alternatives offering greater clarity, tighter lows, or more output, but those aren't necessarily what this set is trying to achieve in the first place. If you know you want an A2 PAF tone but don't feel like spending boutique money to get there, the Parsons Street Humbuckers deserve a place on your shortlist. And if you're particularly fond of those flutey, singing melodic tones associated with classic rock and progressive rock, I think the bridge pickup alone gives you a pretty good reason to give this set a chance.
Pros
· Enjoyable, fluety tone, particularly for melodic playing
· Warm yet clear tonal character in the bridge position
· Very good dynamics and picking response
· Relatively low capacitance readings
· Pleasant performance with clean, crunch, and moderate-gain tones
· A convincing A2 PAF character without boutique-level pricing
Cons
· Neck pickup could use a little more clarity
· Pronounced mids may sound too throaty or nasal in some guitars
· Bridge pickup may leave players wanting a little more output and compression
· Not the ideal choice for those seeking tight lows, aggressive attack, or a more powerful bridge tone
Please feel free to subscribe my blog & follow my socials. So that you can support me;
Guitar pickup reviews
Oh, thanks, i was so intrigued when buying them, bought in sequence neck a2, overwound a2, bridge a2. And was not impressed. Just meh comparing to my current fevs: pearly gates and 57 classics. Neck is duller than i like, bridge is not impressive. Might need to retest.