Post Type Archives: Faqs

Duncan Performer pickups are a mid-level brand of pickups exclusive to Guitar Center stores. These pickups were designed in our Santa Barbara factory and are built by hand to our spec in Korea’s finest pickup workshop. Because they use Korean materials and labor, we’re able to bring them to market at a lower price point….

Duncan Designed pickups are designed by Seymour Duncan and built in Korea’s finest pickup workshop. Some of these pickups are modeled after current models of the USA line. Duncan Designed pickups are only available as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) direct to guitar manufacturers who produce instruments in the $300-$800 range.

No. It’s correct that some of our single-coil-sized humbuckers (JB Jr., Little ’59, Li’l Screamin’ Demon, Duckbuckers, Hot Rails, Cool Rails, Vintage Rails and the new Classic Stack Plus) have circuit boards on the undersides of the pickup. However, the pickups named above are passive, not active. The circuit board material is used for internal…

Yes, we have many different types of mini-humbuckers that have developed over the years to capture the unique sound of a mini. This article goes through many of different versions available.

You can find a timeline of some of our most requested products here. If you can’t find what you are looking for, come on by the forum.

Identifying Label Codes for pickups built before 2002 We often get this question. There are one or two distinguishing characteristics for our pickups, along with an identifying label underneath. Check out the list below and see if any of these match the description of your pickup. Note that the last letter on your label is…

If you need help identifying your pickup and believe it was built in 2002 or after, here’s the common label codes that you will find underneath your pickup. Label on pick-up  Label Code Description of Pickup SH1N 80031500053 SH-1n ’59 Model Blk 4-Conductor SH1N 80031500054 SH-1n ’59 Model Blk SH1N 80031500055 SH-1n ’59 Model Custom…

Magnet Type Alnico II Alnico V Ceramic Good for Warming up a bright-sounding guitar Adding punch to a warm guitar Adding punch and output to a warm guitar General Tone Warm, smooth, round, enhanced mids, soft and spongy bass, soft attack Bright and glassy, exceptional dynamics and tight bass end, sharp attack Bright with enhanced…

The two most misunderstood specs on the Tone Chart are the DC resistance and resonant peak numbers. The DC resistance refers to the resistance of the coil windings. For humbuckers the DC resistance is the sum of both coils. Generally the more wire that is used in a pickup coil the higher its resistance and…

P.A.F. is an acronym for Patent Applied For and is a nickname given to the original Gibson humbuckers designed in 1955. These pickups had a sticker on the bottom that had “Patent Applied For” on them and years later the name was shortened by musicians to P.A.F. The pickups that Gibson later released had stickers…