Seymour Duncan Pickups2018-07-18T19:27:46+00:00
Seymour Duncan Logo

SEYMOUR DUNCAN PICKUPS

Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan founded the company in 1976, in Santa Barbara, California. Starting around 1983–84, Seymour Duncan pickups appeared in Kramer Guitars as standard equipment along with Floyd Rose locking vibratos, and can now be found on instruments from all the big brands. www.seymourduncan.com

ARTICLES

NECK PICKUPS

SEYMOUR DUNCAN ’59 (SH-1N)

The ’59 Model neck pickup is one of our most popular pickups because it’s so versatile. It’s designed in the spirit of the original P.A.F. humbuckers of the 1950s, with sweet sustain, full-sounding chords, clear and bright attack, but we’ve made a few refinements to slightly modernize the design and make it more adaptable to different styles.

The ’59 has a full low end which is great for adding character to your clean sounds and sustain to your leads. The high end is slightly boosted for improved pick-attack clarity and the mids are a little scooped for an open, smooth sound that’s great for preserving the clarity of the individual notes in a chord. Play softly and the mids and highs seem to fade back, but pick hard and the note will be confident and clear. There isn’t a genre that the ’59 can’t work within. It pairs nicely with a high output bridge humbucker like the JB or Custom but is equally at home with more moderate pickups like the ’59 bridge. And it’s a popular choice for those with humbucker-routed Telecasters as well. And if you order a four-conductor version for coil splitting, its single coil mode is crystal clear.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN JAZZ (SH-2N)

Originally designed as the matching neck pickup for the JB Model bridge pickup, the Jazz is an incredibly versatile humbucker that will work for almost any style of music. An Alnico 5 bar magnet and a special coil wind give it a glassy treble response and full, tight bass, while scooped mids help each note to sing clearly even under extreme high gain – or even more extreme speed. It pairs especially well with the JB, Distortion, Invader and Perpetual Burn but is a great all-purpose neck pickup for many pickup combinations. It’s a favorite among the likes of legendary players such as Randy Rhoads, Jeff Beck, Dave Mustaine and Alex Skolnick.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN BLACKOUTS (AHB-1S)

This is a neckbridge set of our original high-output active Blackouts humbuckers. The perfect choice for metal players looking for warm complex chording and singing leads, the original Blackouts neck practically cries out for two-handed shred and thick rhythm playing. Its extended frequency response and organic feel make this a great humbucker for those who demand both responsiveness and the true tonal character of their guitar to shine through.The original Blackouts bridge humbucker delivers all of the power and full bodied punch that todays metal players demand from an active pickup. You get the high output signal level of an active pickup, with more of an organic feel and open tonal response that allows the character of your guitar to come through. The treble and bass response is extended beyond the range of traditional active pickups, and has been carefully balanced with a slightly scooped midrange for the perfect crunch. This pickup excels at screaming pinched harmonics and hyper-speed riffage with responsive dynamics across the entire fretboard.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN ALNICO II PRO HB (APH-1N)

The Alnico 2 Pro Humbucker uses the soft treble attack and low string pull of an alnico 2 bar magnet, combined with a special vintage output coil wind to create a warm, sweet tone that is smooth and full, with tons of natural sustain. The highs will really sing, and sound thick, while the lows will be warm and buttery, giving you a pickup that is very sensitive to pick attack. For over 25 years Slash has been the champion of this pickup, and used them exclusively on Appetite for Destruction, which has gone on to become the biggest selling debut album of all time. Pair with the Alnico 2 Pro bridge model for a perfectly matched set.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN SENTIENT

The Sentient neck delivers a balanced, versatile tone that fits right between the ’59 model and the Jazz neck pickup. You’ll get pristine cleans for intricate chordal and single note runs with fluid leads under high gain. The Sentient is a vintage output pickup with great dynamic response and a wide harmonic range. It works great for low tunings in all humbucker-equipped guitars.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN DISTORTION (SH-6N)

Originally known as the SH-7 Seymourizer, the Duncan Distortion neck pickup is specifically designed for use with the matching high output bridge version. It is hot enough to deliver smooth, fluid solo tones under high gain, while still producing bell-like clean tones. Pair with the Duncan Distortion bridge model for a killer high output setup.

BRIDGE PICKUPS

SEYMOUR DUNCAN JB (SH-4)

The JB Model humbucker is our most popular pickup of all time. Blues, country, fusion, punk, hard rock, grunge, thrash; the JB has always sounded just right, even as new genres emerged around it. The low end is full and powerful, the highs are crisp and detailed and there’s an upper-midrange bump that adds crunch and chunk to heavy chords but translates to a singing, vocal-like quality when you play single notes or solos. Meanwhile the hot output pushes your amp just that little bit harder for more sustain and harmonics. Use it with a 500k volume pot for great high-end cut, or try a 250k pot to sweeten and soften the tone for smoother styles. It pairs particularly well with the Jazz or ’59 neck pickups, and some players even like to use a JB in the neck position for an extra-fat solo tone.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN CUSTOM-5 (SH-14)

Originally called the Custom Custom Custom this pickup began life in our Custom Shop from players requesting a brighter, alnico 5 version of the popular Custom Custom humbucker. It has a nice, full tone, a scooped midrange, and strikes a nice balance of bass & treble. This even reponse makes it extremely versatile and great for all types of music and playing styles. Match with the 59 neck or Jazz neck model for a perfectly balanced setup.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN JB TREMBUCKER (TB-4)

This is the Trembucker (F-spaced) version of the JB Model humbucker. Designed in the early 70s, the JB Model humbucker adds juice to the bridge position of any humbucker equipped instrument. With its hot coils, and alnico 5 bar magnet, this pickup delivers an unmistakable upper midrange attack, a tight, articulate low end, and harmonically rich highs that can really sing. The JB is the perfect bridge pickup for anything from blues & country to the meanest hard rock & metal. Pair with the Jazz neck model for the ultimate Hot Rodded humbucker set.Trembuckers have wider pole piece spacing, perfect for symmetrical positioning under the strings of guitars with a tremolo or wide spaced hard tail bridge (2 or wider from the center of the Low E to High E directly over the bridge pickup).

SEYMOUR DUNCAN DISTORTION TREMBUCKER (TB-6)

The Duncan Distortion Trembucker is the F-spaced version of our original high output humbucker. It incorporates a massive ceramic magnet and hot coil windings to deliver well-balanced rock and metal tones that have rih upper midrange harmonic content. Great for hard hitting, crunchy rhythms, and searing lead tone. Pair it with the SH-6n Distortion neck pickup, or with the SH-2n Jazz, or SH-1n 59 model for a versatile combo. Pair with the Jazz neck model for a versatile humbucker setup, or use the Duncan Distortion neck model for the a killer high output setup.Trembuckers have wider pole piece spacing, perfect for symmetrical positioning under the strings of guitars with a tremolo or wide spaced hard tail bridge (2 or wider from the center of the Low E to High E directly over the bridge pickup).

SEYMOUR DUNCAN DISTORTION (SH-6B 7S)

The Distortion 7-string bridge incorporates a massive ceramic magnet and hot coil windings to deliver well-balanced rock and metal tones that have upper midrange harmonic content and a focused top-end perfect for keeping your low strings responsive and articulate. Great for hard hitting, crunchy rhythms, and searing lead tone. This passive humbucker comes in a standard open-coil look or black metal humbucker cover, both in a classic passive mount to easily fit in any guitar with that routing. Its also available in a standard active mount size with a black soapbar cover with one row of exposed poles for a modern look. Pair with the Duncan Distortion 7-String neck model for a great high output setup.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN BLACKOUTS (AHB-1S)

This is a neckbridge set of our original high-output active Blackouts humbuckers. The perfect choice for metal players looking for warm complex chording and singing leads, the original Blackouts neck practically cries out for two-handed shred and thick rhythm playing. Its extended frequency response and organic feel make this a great humbucker for those who demand both responsiveness and the true tonal character of their guitar to shine through.The original Blackouts bridge humbucker delivers all of the power and full bodied punch that todays metal players demand from an active pickup. You get the high output signal level of an active pickup, with more of an organic feel and open tonal response that allows the character of your guitar to come through. The treble and bass response is extended beyond the range of traditional active pickups, and has been carefully balanced with a slightly scooped midrange for the perfect crunch. This pickup excels at screaming pinched harmonics and hyper-speed riffage with responsive dynamics across the entire fretboard.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN NAZGÛL

Take your guitar to the center of the earth! By combining a large ceramic magnet with custom winding specs, the Nazgûl offers the perfect blend of note articulation, saturation and one of the most brutal “chugs” you’ll ever hear from a humbucker. It has incredible harmonic content across all frequency ranges, and an insanely tight bass response. The Nazgûl has a seriously aggressive high gain sound that is lively, yet completely controllable.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN ’59 (SH-1B)

The ’59 bridge model is great for all types of rock and blues. We designed these vintage style coils to give it an airy quality that keep this pickup planted firmly in the P.A.F. family. The alnico 5 bar magnet, and vacuum wax potting have been added to compensate for lighter guitar strings and louder amplifiers than were ever used in the ’50s. The result is a pickup with tons of old-school tonal character, but with a brighter top end, and a more compressed sound. Pair with the ’59 neck model for an evenly balanced output and tone.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN DIMEBUCKER (SH-13)

Crunchy pick attack, scooped mids, and just the right amount of saturation are what this pickup is all about. Dime wanted his signature humbucker to have a thick crunch that sags just a little when you really lay into it. Combine that with a full, tight, low end response, a ceramic magnet, with dual stainless steel blades, and you have the Dimebucker. Huge and straight from the brain of the late great Darrell Abbot. In a 2004 interview Dimebag described the tone of the Dimebucker, “Its very saturated not to the point where its overly fuzzy but it has a smooth and crunchy distortion tone. It will give you some extra gain, but it wont go so far that your sound breaks up and is going crazy. You get that warm tone with the distortion mixed in and it has the low end thats kicking you in the butt while the top end is cutting your face off in the right way, but not ripping your face off. If you ever listen to a Pantera record, that’s what you’ll hear through this pickup”. Combine with a 59 Model (bridge) in the neck position for the setup that Darrell himself used, or get our Dimebag Set for neck and bridge.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN ALNICO II PRO HB (APH-1B)

The Alnico 2 Pro bridge humbucker uses the soft treble attack and low string pull of an alnico 2 bar magnet, combined with a special vintage output coil wind to create a warm, sweet tone that is smooth and full, with tons of natural sustain. The highs are articulate and smooth, and the lows are warm and spongy. This is a great pickup for all types of blues and rock.For over 25 years Slash has been the champion of this pickup and used them exclusively on Appetite for Destruction, which has gone on to become the biggest selling debut album of all time. Pair with the Alnico 2 Pro neck model for a perfectly matched setup.

SIGNATURE PICKUPS

SLASH SIGNATURE SET (APH-2S)

SEYMOUR DUNCAN SLASH (APH-2S)
When Slash was given the honor of having a Gibson Les Paul Signature model built, we sent over the same Alnico 2 Pro humbuckers that he has used for decades. Turns out, the new guitars sounded noticeably different than the original. So we accepted the challenge to make him a new pickup that would make all of his new signature guitars sound just like the original AFD Les Paul. The result is the Slash Signature Model humbucker. We used a different mag wire and winding spec, that, when combined with the alnico 2 bar magnet, provided exactly what was needed to push a stock Les Paul toward that familiar sustain, crunch, and midrange that was so characteristic of the tone of Slash’s original Derrig Les Paul copy.

ALEX SKOLNICK SIGNATURE SET

During his tenure in Testament, Alex Skolnick helped pioneer the Bay Area Thrash sound – and he has continuously expanded his repertoire of styles following his departure. Whether playing solo, with his jazz trio, or in the re-united Testament, his playing and tone continues to inspire us.

Designed in conjunction with Alex, this humbucker set is tweaked to perfectly recreate his tone, from expressive melodies to aggressive palm muting. The neck is a vintage output, PAF style humbucker with an Alnico V magnet; the tone is rich and articulate. The bridge is wound hot, with a voicing that emphasizes punchy midrange, and rich harmonics.

DAVE MUSTAINE SIGNATURE SET (LW-MUST)

For years Dave Mustaine, the legendary charismatic leader of Megadeth, relied on our passive JB and Jazz humbuckers to record some of the most influential riffs in the history of Metal. But like most extreme players, eventually you just want more.We worked with Dave to voice a set of active humbuckers that deliver the distinct tonal character of the JBJazz combo but with extra ferocity and gain. The Dave Mustaine LiveWire set is perfect for players who want to try active pickups without drastically changing the tone of the passive pickups theyve become accustomed to. The smooth upper midrange crunch of the JB and the articulate warmth and clarity of the Jazz neck remain intact while the custom tuned active preamp delivers the increased output and touch sensitivity only an active pickup can provide. A unique covered passive humbucker look embossed with Daves signature.

Title

Go to Top