In honor of Women’s History Month, we got to recently ask a few of our artists from the Seymour Duncan artist roster if they had any tips for budding guitar players, as well as how they got started using Seymour Duncan.

“More than ever, it seems important to let others know that yes, women musicians (especially in jazz) have always been an integral part of the Music World.” – Carol Kaye

Lari Basilio

Lari Basilio, born in São Paulo, Brazil, started studying organ at the age of 4 and later, her father taught her first chords on an acoustic guitar. That’s when she fell in love with the guitar. In 2011, Lari started working on her instrumental five-song Extended Play (EP), named, simply, Lari Basilio, which features Felipe Andreoli, bass player of Angra. The EP was produced by five-time Latin Grammy winner Lampadinha.

Her second original work, the CD and DVD “The Sound of My Room“, was released in August 2015 at Cine Belas Artes in São Paulo. “The idea of taking instrumental guitar music to a movie theater proved (to be) a creative initiative (equal to) the compositions of Lari Basilio,” said Guitar Player Brazil magazine in its October 2015 issue. The 10-song package includes a mini-documentary and behind-the-scenes footage on the DVD.

Lari won the instrumental category of the Samsung E-Festival in 2014 and performed for a crowd of 15,000 alongside Keb’ Mo’ and Quinn Sullivan at the Samsung Best of Blues Festival in Brazil. Lari’s most recent original work, “Far More” album, was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles with an all-star band: Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Nathan East (bass) and Greg Phillinganes (keys/piano). Also bringing two very special guests: Joe Satriani (on the track Glimpse of Light) and Siedah Garrett (on the track Man in The Mirror, for which Lari created a new arrangement).

In January 2021 Lari Basilio released her first signature guitar, the Ibanez LB, designed in collaboration with Ibanez Guitars. The guitar also features Lari Basilio signature pickups, developed in partnership with Seymour Duncan. Currently, Lari Basilio is working on her new album, which was recorded at United Recording Studios in Los Angeles. The album features once again Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), and also the bass players Leland Sklar and Sean Hurley, and Ester Na (keys and piano).

How did you get started using Seymour Duncan products?

I remember the day I played a Seymour Duncan pickup for the first time. It was a Hot Rails on a beautiful sparkle telecaster from a friend of mine. It was just the perfect combo! I loved it so much that I told him that whenever he wanted to sell that guitar, he should sell it to me. I bought it – haha! That Hot Rail was definitely what presented Seymour Duncan to me and from that point on all my guitars had to have Seymour Duncan pickups, and I’m so proud and honored to work closely to the brand I grew up admiring!

What’s one piece of advice you would like to give guitarists who are trying to find their sound?

I believe that our musical identity is already within us. The challenge is how to put it out, how to translate everything that’s in our head to the guitar.

That’s when the search and research begins. It’s not only a search for gear but also a search for ways to put out our musical personality. So what really makes your sound it’s you, but I also believe that it has to be combined with the right gear that will allow you to achieve your sound and show to others your identity. Guitar pickups can truly be your voice on the instrument, and I’m glad I’ve found my voice through SD pickups.

April Kae

After sharing a video playing bass, April went viral, receiving praise from Willow Smith, Jaden Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Questlove, Chaka Khan, Flea, and tens of millions more on her refreshing musicianship and charming authenticity. She’s been profiled in Nylon, Vogue, and She Shreds, among many others, and recently was on the covers of Bass Player Magazine and Guitar Girl Magazine.

April is passionate about working toward a more just and loving world through creativity and community building. For five years, April has nurtured a vibrant digital community of diverse Millennial and Gen-Z creatives and change-makers.

As a musician, April is a fierce new voice, honed over decades of music-making and community organizing. Today, as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, April and her sister Nikki perform as IMANIGOLD and lead an art collective under the same name. They are releasing new music throughout 2022. April also creates music as a solo artist and collaborator in the studio and as a touring bassist.

How did you get started using Seymour Duncan products?

I didn’t have a lot of money, and wanted to give my relatively inexpensive bass more power and presence, and so I picked up the Quarter Pounds and fell in love! I also regularly reach for my Studio Bass Compressor Pedal to keep my bass sitting nicely in rehearsals and when I’m creating bass lines in my home studio. 

What’s one piece of advice you would like to give guitarists who are trying to find their sound? 

Try everything. Make a fool of yourself. Embarrass the living hell out of yourself. And never stop. I’ve found that what people register as ~cool~ is often what I create when I feel most uncool—when I’m being genuine and going all in and am deeply uncomfortable. So, try lots of things! Feel the fear! And don’t stop. (And you won’t want to. It’s an addictive feeling to be so alive.) 

Annie Shred

ANNIE SHRED is the frontwoman of Shadow Cliq, guitarist & vocalist.

Shadow Cliq is the evolution of the modern rock band. They have pioneered their own sound they brand as “Future Metal;” an amalgamation of dynamic vocals, EDM production, virtuosic guitar, and live drums. She is supported by DJ/Producer Danny Dodge, and Johnny Tuosto on drums.

Annie’s musical journey started out as a technical death metal player on the East Coast playing all over the Connecticut + and Boston underground scenes. Her desire to innovate genre and expand her sound led her to join forces with aspiring metal guitarist & producer Danny Dodge, and thus Shadow Cliq was formed.

Shadow Cliq now resides in Los Angeles and 2022 marks their first year of live shows, repped by United Talent Agency. Whether you experience them playing their full live set or DJ set, you’ll see it’s a movement you won’t want to miss. Welcome to the Cliq.

How did you get started using Seymour Duncan products?

My first “metal” guitar was a Jackson KVX10 that came with Duncan Designed humbucker pickups (HB103B and HB-102N). I fell in LOVE with the tones I could get with these pickups and basically put all Seymour Duncan pickups in my future guitars. In 2013, I placed top 10 in a guitar solo contest put together by Seymour Duncan & Keith Merrow, which ultimately connected me to their team. I’ve been an SD player ever since.

What’s one piece of advice you would like to give guitarists who are trying to find their sound? 

Digest the musical tricks + themes of the players you love – they all have secrets that make them stand out. Once you find those secrets…learn them, but don’t forget to spin them in a new way…over time the adaptation of these tricks will become your sound! Remember there is nobody like you so the way you interpret something will always be unique. Also don’t overthink this whole process, it takes time and a lot of it happens naturally if you just keep practicing and adding new songs to your repertoire. I also recommend putting a lot of time into learning how to improvise… this way you become very in tune with your instinctual voice, that’s where originality is born!

Carol Kaye

Carol Kaye was born in Everett, Washington to musician parents, Clyde and Dot Smith, both professionals. She has played and taught guitar professionally since 1949, played bebop jazz guitar in dozens of nightclubs around Los Angeles with top groups (also in Bob Neal’s jazz group with Jack Sheldon backing Lenny Bruce, with Teddy Edwards, Billy Higgins, etc.), accidentally got into studio work late 1957 with the Sam Cooke recordings and other big recordings on guitar for the first five years of studio work in Hollywood.

In 1963 when a Fender bassist didn’t show up for a record date at Capitol Records, she picked up the Fender bass (as it was called then) and augmented her busy schedule playing bass and grew quickly to be the no. 1 call with record companies, movie & TV film people, commercials/ads, and industrial films. She enjoyed working under the direction of Michel LeGrand, Quincy Jones, Elmer Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, David Rose, David Grusin, Ernie Freeman, Hugo Montenegro, Leonard Rosenman, John Williams, Alfred & Lionel Newman, etc. as well as the numerous hits she recorded for hundreds of recording artists.

Carol’s credits are extensive but include work with Ritchie Valens, The Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, Ike & Tina Turner, Simon and Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, Sonny & Cher, The Monkees, Neil Young, Glen Campbell, Joe Cocker, tv shows like Mission Impossible, Brady Bunch, Bonanza, Green Acres, Addams Family, Wonder Woman, Lost In Space, tv specials for Bob Hope, the Frank Sinatra Special, and movie scores like Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, In the Heat of the Night, Top Gun, Goodfellas and many, many more. Carol has played on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over fifty years and her extensive biography is available at CarolKaye.com, with her autobiography available for retail sale.

Could you tell us a little bit about your favorite Seymour Duncan products?

“I started using your pickups 30-35 years ago…I still use my Ibanez bass (gets the earlier Fender sounds easily!) and older modified Ibanez electric slab-bodied guitar with a custom neck and custom humbucker Seymour Duncan pickup (I use the neck pickup only). The Seymour Duncan Fender [bass] replacement pickups might be needed for Fender [Precision bass] sounds, they’re excellent.”

What’s one piece of advice you would like to give guitarists who are trying to find their sound? 

You can play the Blues for 30-40 years and not know the basic good education you need for other forms of music playing. I’ve written about this many times, that as a lifelong educator (guitar jazz since 1949, bass – all styles, since 1969), as well as being a very active and top live professional in both stage-playing (big-bands, jazz groups, pre-rock styles of music in all venues as a guitar player, and later as a bass player in top iconic groups in real Jazz, Fusion, Soul-Jazz 1970s on – as well as the Golden Years of all recordings) you need at least the “basics” of music education to follow your heart’s dreams and desires of broadening your musicianship, and it’s not only easy to learn with good tutors, it’s fun!

Let’s Talk Tone

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