Pickups are always evolving. That’s why you’ll find models like the Seth Lover and the Sentient, the SSL-1 and the Hot Stack for Strat, the P90 and the P-Rails. It’s always been this way, going right back to the dawn of the electric guitar. So how does this relate to the Antiquity series of vintage reproduction pickups? Continue reading “Antiquity & Antiquity II: What’s The Difference?”

A Visit from Saint Seymour

It was the night before Xmas, two days from the gig.
My new band had told me “Your tone we don’t dig!”
My old Strat hummed like a tree full of bees.
My once sparkling Tele now sounded like cheese!
The gutted Les Paul was borderline junk.
My SG wasn’t worthy, even for punk…

“Maybe it’s time to give them a smash,
Run them all over and burn them to ash.
I’ll get all new ones, yeah, that’s what I’ll do!
I’ll charge ‘em and pay until 3002!”
Just as I got out my lighter and gas,
A man with a beard screamed “Stop, you jack*ss!”

The big guy approached and demanded I stop.
I thought to myself,  “Please, don’t be a cop!”
He strummed on my Strat, then on my Tele.
He checked out my Paul, and laughed from his belly-
“These guitars are fine”, he said with a handful of wire.
“Your pickups are weak, THEY belong in the fire!”

He pulled out these boxes from his magical bag,
“Now, these have the mojo and won’t make you gag!”
He wired them up with a wink in a flash.
“You’ll sound like a master, like Jimi or Slash!
Or Eddie or Dimebag, Page, Blackmore or Beck.
Whomever you like, just don’t bounce your check.”

When I plugged in my axes, my tubes glowed with glee.
Magical sounds were finally coming from me!
My power chords sparkled like Grandpa’s new dentures.
My solos now sounded like Slash meets the Ventures!
I could not believe, as I played one more song,
that these perfect guitars had been mine all along!

“Santa,” I said, as I put my axe down.
“Can you set up my band and my friends across town?”
“Of course!” He exclaimed as he boxed up his tools.
“But my name isn’t Santa, it’s SEYMOUR, you fool!”
I heard him shout out as he drove out of sight
“Happy pickups for all, and to all a good night!”

Happy holidays to all from Duncan Land!

A Thousand Horses have been breaking some serious ground in the country scene. Rolling Stone credited them with bringing back southern rock, and their song ‘Smoke’ has set a new Country Aircheck radio chart record for highest debut by a new act. They’re now recording their second album after wrapping up a year long U.S. tour and finishing a live album from London. We caught up with Bill Satcher and Graham Deloach shortly after their trip to the U.K. Continue reading “Talking Tone With A Thousand Horses”

By Martina Fasano

Thanksgiving. Black Friday. The Macy’s Parade. All indicators that the holiday gift-giving season is upon us once again. Musicians have the reputation of being “quirky” individuals that non-musicians have difficulty buying for. I have no idea why this is the case, since I don’t know any guitar or bass players that would ever reject the gift of a new bass/guitar – even a cheap $100 entry-level instrument can be hot-rodded and used for the cottage, work, or travel! But, perhaps your Gear Acquisition Syndrome suffering musician of choice doesn’t really need a new guitar/bass, or the fiddle you want to buy them is out of your price range. That being said, you don’t want to be the friend or relative that buys them another piano-themed mug or a pair of glitter encrusted teardrop treble clef earrings. If that’s the case, we’ve got you covered! Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, here is the 2016 Holiday Gift Guide from the folks here at Seymour Duncan! Continue reading “The Seymour Duncan 2016 Holiday Gift Guide”

SANTA BARBARA, CA November 4, 2016 – Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of pickups and pedals, announces the Jimi Hendrix™ Signature Strat Set and Jimi Hendrix™ Signature Loaded Pickguards.

On March 28, 1968, a young Seymour W. Duncan met Jimi Hendrix at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Jimi was playing two shows at the Field House arena. Seymour brought a gift with him that day; pickups he hand-wound just for Jimi. Roger Mayer installed the pickups in Jimi’s white Stratocaster then and there. He asked Seymour to carry that white Strat up on stage, and that event would set in motion Seymour’s future and legacy.

Now that same tone is available to you! The Jimi Hendrix™ Signature Strat Set and Loaded Pickguards are fully authorized by Authentic Hendrix LLC. Each pickup has a reverse magnet stagger to simulate the effect of playing a right handed guitar upside down and restrung for a lefty.

“We are thrilled to welcome Seymour Duncan as an official licensee to the Authentic Hendrix family,” said Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Authentic Hendrix LLC. “With the foundation of a rich historic past, we embrace and celebrate our future in sound.”

These are also available in a standard pickguard and voodoo style pickguard, for guitars with either a swimming pool or humbucker route. The pickguards are preloaded with the Jimi Hendrix Signature pickup set and come in 3-ply white with 250K pots, a 5-way pickup selector switch and .047 caps.

The Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set is offered at $279 and the loaded pickguards are $379, regardless of route option. Each comes with a commemorative book and stickers. To learn more, please visit: seymourduncan.com/Hendrix

About Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan celebrates a rich history as the world’s leading pickup and pedal manufacturer. Since 1976, Seymour Duncan has helped the world’s artists develop their own unique, signature sounds. This is accomplished through a dedicated team of craftsman at their Santa Barbara, California office. For more information, please visit seymourduncan.com.

Experience Hendrix, L.L.C.
Owned and operated by members of the Hendrix family, Experience Hendrix is the official family company charged with managing the name, likeness, image and 100% of the music of Jimi Hendrix’s legacy. Formed in 1995 by James ‘Al’ Hendrix, Jimi’s father, Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix oversee the daily operations of the Hendrix legacy on a worldwide basis.

Media contact:

Elysse Miller
Seymour Duncan
[email protected]

By Martina Fasano

Halloween. The candy-lover’s Christmas. The sinfully sinister holiday that gives us chills, tricks, and treats. What better way to pay tribute to one of the coolest, most fun days on the calendar, than to play some guitars that are spooky, hellish, or downright mean? Here are five guitars featuring Seymour Duncan pickups that will make your Halloween squeals complete – whether they be delightful or blood-curdling. Continue reading “Five Fiendishly Frightful Halloween Shred Machines”

SANTA BARBARA, CA October, 13, 2016 – Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of pickups and pedals, announces the High Voltage humbucker set from the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop.

The High Voltage humbucker set was developed for one of rock’s most iconic and devilish guitarists. It’s a very bluesy, clean-sounding pickup set with tight low end and just a hair more output than traditional 50s humbuckers.

One of the keys to the High Voltage sound is the selection of specifically calibrated Alnico II magnets to provide an even response between the bridge and neck pickups. The neck pickup is wound to a DC resistance of 7.7k, with the bridge wound a little hotter at 8.6k for a little more sonic T.N.T.

The High Voltage humbucker set features lightly aged chrome covers prepared with a unique process that differs from the aged nickel of our Antiquity humbuckers. Other options are available, with the aged chrome set offered at $330.00.

Drop a set in an SG, plug it into a Marshall, flick the switch and prepare to rock.

About Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan celebrates a rich history as the world’s leading pickup and pedal manufacturer. Since 1976, Seymour Duncan has helped the world’s artists develop their own unique, signature sounds. This is accomplished through a dedicated team of craftsman at their Santa Barbara, California office. For more information, please visit seymourduncan.com.

Media contact:

Elysse Miller
Seymour Duncan
[email protected]

By Martina Fasano

The 1970s and 80s were a hotbed of lean, mean, gorgeously dirty guitar tones that would go on to inspire millions of musicians in the decades that followed. Many of those legendary tones we try so hard to emulate every time we plug our guitars into an old school stack are a direct descendant of a once “revolutionary” pickup that cancelled out the familiar hum that was heard on so many recordings of the 1950s: the humbucker.  Continue reading “Top 5 Humbucker Combos for 70s & 80s Rock”

September 24, 1991 was an historic day for music: it was the day that both Nirvana’s Nevermind and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik were released. Along with Metallica’s self-titled album and Pearl Jam’s Ten – both of which were released the previous month – these records inarguably shaped the musical path of the decade to follow. To celebrate the anniversary of these landmark records, let’s take a look at their place in rock history. Continue reading “Nevermind & Blood Sugar Sex Magik 25 Years On”

Every pickup we make tells a story, and our line of vintage pickups is particularly stocked with interesting tales. We asked our sales manager, Alex Semple, to share the stories behind some of our most popular vintage-style models.  Continue reading “Vintage Humbucker Stories”