Iron Maiden’s Dave Murray has been using the Hot Rails and JB Jr. single coil-sized humbucking pickups for years because of their power and versatility. As Dave puts it, “My Seymour Duncan pickups give me everything I need to get the maximum gain and versatility out of my guitar, but still with that classic Strat look.”

Now anybody can easily customize their Strat with Dave Murray’s preferred pickup set with the Seymour Duncan Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard For Stratocaster.

It comes pre-loaded with the neck and bridge versions of the Hot Rails with a JB Jr. in the middle position, as well as high-quality Bourns volume and tone pots and a 5-way pickup selector switch. You can get it in Pearloid, Black and White versions, each with the 11-hole mounting style which fits most post-1964 Strats. Each set comes with personalized with special stickers as well as pickguard installation instructions.

“The SD Hot Rails give a huge output on the neck and bridge, but without losing the clarity, and having the option of the lower output JB Jr. in the center gives a perfect option for clean tones,” Murray says. “Drop this into your Strat and ENJOY!”

These are the same pickups you’ll find in the new Fender Dave Murray California Series Stratocaster and they’ll cover a huge range of tones. The Hot Rails is ceramic humbucker which is very high in output but with plenty of detail to capture your pick attack and fretting-hand phrasing. The neck and bridge models have different outputs and complementary voicings: the bridge model’s DC Resistance is 16.9 k, and the neck is 10.8 k with a higher resonant peak to maintain clarity in a traditionally darker-sounding pickup location. And the JB Jr. is available in separate bridge and neck/middle models too. The Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard For Stratocaster has the middle version, with a DC Resistance of 9.6 k and a resonant peak a hair higher than the Hot Rails, ideal for clean sections which require detail and ‘zing’ in contrast to the Hot Rails’ roar.

Iron Maiden is about to release their new double album, The Book Of Souls. It’s their 16th studio album, and it was made with a new approach compared to the band’s previous records. As bass player (and fellow Seymour Duncan signature artist) Steve Harris explains, “We approached this album in a different way to how we’ve recorded previously.  A lot of the songs were actually written while we were there in the studio and we rehearsed and recorded them straight away while they were still fresh, and I think that immediacy really shows in the songs, they have almost a live feel to them, I think. I’m very proud of The Book Of Souls, we all are, and we can’t wait for our fans to hear it, and especially to take it out on the road next year!” Many of the album’s tracks break the 7-minute barrier, and the album will be available in 2CD deluxe hardbound book limited edition as well as 2CD standard edition, triple heavyweight black vinyl, high-res Audio in Mastered for iTunes and non-Mastered for iTunes versions, and standard res audio.