The term ‘indie’ has been used and misused over the years. What is ‘indie’ anyway? Fifteen years ago, nobody even heard of the upcoming new wave of ‘indie’ music from the UK, with for example Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys, or a couple of years later, the Belgian group Triggerfinger. In those days, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, R.E.M. and other bands were considered indie, though Pearl Jam and Nirvana could also be included under that tag, I suppose? 
So… what do those styles have in common, guitar-wise? The guitars are often inexpensive. The amps are often a mishmash of whatever is available and that is often a beat up Marshall or old Vox or Fender amp. Or similar! Here in Europe we had Sound City and London City amps which were Marshall-clones (to some extent) as well as imported Russian amps called Sovtek (Marshall esque amps with cues from Fender, if I’m not mistaken). The guitars were often older, relatively less popular Fenders like the Jaguar, Mustang, Jazzmaster as well as the semi-hollow guitars like the Coronado and Tele thinlines. The pickups were really not that often changed. I’ve also seen the occasional ’52 style Tele coming up as well as the classic LP Junior. One P-90 and just GO! Another popular instrument, despite its hefty price tag, was the Rickenbacker. I am not really sure why, but for some reason the Rick really lends itself to go all-out in terms of sonic lunacy. It’s got a gnarly jangle to it which makes it that the Rickenbacker 330, 360 and 325 are the ‘perfect’ choice for a style of rhythm guitar where a poignant, dare I say even slightly ‘stringent’ tone was needed.
Now we have the instrument that was being used down, we start to get some understanding of the pickups needed. As stated before, most pickups weren’t swapped. That means that you could buy a guitar in 2014 that may look like an instrument of old but with substantial differences underneath the hood.
The finest example of pickups that look correct but are quite different ‘under the hood’ compared to their vintage counterparts are the pickups in the Tele Deluxe. These so called ‘Wide Range’ pickups may look like their historical progenitor but are in fact standard humbuckers under a special cover. Wide Range pickups are structurally quite different from humbuckers, despite using two coils to ‘buck’ the hum. Thankfully, the Custom Shop offers Wide Range pickups just as they’re supposed to be. Originally they were made with threaded CuNiFe magnets as polepieces, but CuNiFe magnets pose a myriad of problems so the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop chose to use Alnico magnets to combat the issues. They charge the magnets manually and individually to get the magnets as close as possible to CuNiFe magnets. These pickups truly capture the tone, vibe and mojo of those old pickups. An amazing choice to retrofit your modern Tele Deluxe or maybe to install in your newly built, bespoke Tele Deluxe by one of the amazing luthiers the world has to offer?

Or you can fit two WideRange buckers in your mustang… Why not?

The Mustang has also proven itself a popular choice for the lo-fi, indie music industry. Also a relative cheap guitar (though vintage specimens have seen a slow yet steady increase in value), the Mustang offers a jangly tone with a slight bark to it. It’s got a tele style vibe to it, but with less of a ‘bark’ in the low end, and a lot less sparkly and twangy in the top end. I’ve seen a few amazing Mustang pickups in the Seymour Duncan lineup. For example, the Antiquity pickup. Made to sound, look and ‘feel’ like a vintage pickup, crafted with historically correct wire, flatwork etc., this pickup allows you to truly go to that ‘Mustang’ place, musically speaking. I’ve even seen guys stick it in a strat to get a bit more ‘jangle’ going on.

This Jaguar has been modified to quite a degree. The original pickups were replaced by lipstick pickups, which Seymour Duncan also offers, as well as an addition of a middle pickup. An old ‘Gold Foil’ pickup in this case.

The Jaguar was another popular guitar! It’s got quite a cumbersome electronics department going on and most guys tore the complicated switching away. To boost the power of their guitar some would install a humbucker of some sorts. Others relished the spikey, slightly sharp bridge pickup and honky, nasal neck pickup so they didn’t mod their guitar. Johnny Marr, famous from the band The Smiths, is a complete Jaguar fan and loves the sparkle and honkyness the Jag offers. Just listen to his tones and him explaining it all.


If you want to get that pure, vintage tone, get the Antiquity set. If you still like your vintage tone but you need more power but are unwilling to go the ‘humbucker route’, go for the Quarter Pounds. Pure, unadulterated power without the sacrifice of the single coil vibe and feel. Or fit your Jag with two Lipstick pickups (just make sure to double check the measurements).

Two humbuckers and just one volume… Could you consider this to be a hotrod?

The Jazzmaster. Ah, my personal favorite! It’s got so much potential. The neck pickup is smooth, allowing for amazingly smooth yet clearly defined notes and tones. For me the bridge pickup often lacks power, and a neat swap is to put in the Wide Range ‘bucker I talked about earlier. Yes, just like Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth… But if you don’t want to extensively modify your guitar you can take a look at the Quarter Pound. Yes, the Jazzmaster’s got a Quarter Pound of its own! It’s got more punch and a thicker midrange than the Hot for Jazzmaster, which in turn is also a sweet choice for the Jazzmaster. The Hot for Jazzmaster is more jangly than the Quarter Pound. In other words, reminiscent of a ‘vintage’ voiced pickup but with more power. The Antiquity is also a sought after option and is used by many people including J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.


There are so many great tones to be created, so many amazing guitars. If you’re simply not sure anymore how to get the tone you want just give the guys at Seymour Duncan a call or go to the Forum and ask the tone-chasers there what you want and more often than not, before you can grab a cup of coffee you’d have gotten a reply.