A while ago we saw this great photo of some of Chris Letchford’s (Scale The Summit) Strandberg guitars and we just had to know more! We reached out to Chris to ask about the guitars in the pic and here’s what he had to say: Continue reading “Chris Letchford’s Strandbergs”

Seymour Duncan offers many different pickups for many different kinds of players, and a lot of the time those pickups are built with a particular tonal mission in mind: a pickup for blues, for hard rock, for jazz. But perhaps the most specific ‘genre’ pickup in the Seymour Duncan catalog is the Black Winter. This is a humbucker whose entire reason for being is to blast out heavy, aggressive slabs of distortion, as favored by the Black Metal players of Scandanavia.  Continue reading “The Birth of the Black Winter”

It’s impossible to overstate the influence that Slash has had on the world of guitar. When Guns N’ Roses first hit the big time, hard rock players generally favored pointy guitars with Floyd Roses and bright, flashy paint jobs. In contrast, Slash adopted more of a ‘classic rock’ vibe with his choice of Les Pauls and earthy, Marshall-driven tones. Slash’s pickup of choice has been the APH-1 Alnico II Pro humbucker for many years. Continue reading “Inside The Alnico II Pro Slash Signature Set”

By Martina Fasano

Summer NAMM. It’s almost like the overlooked middle child of the family when compared to the “Golden Child” that is Winter NAMM. That being said, many of the company reps I have spoken to over the years will tell you that Summer NAMM is actually a better place to do what they’re all there to do: work and network. It also goes without say that Summer NAMM is not just a re-do of Winter NAMM on a smaller scale, but a place where some companies choose to showcase the instruments and products that weren’t quite ready for the winter version of the tradeshow. Continue reading “Guitars Of Summer NAMM”

SANTA BARBARA, CA July 11,2016 – Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of pickups and pedals, announces the Saturday Night Special, a new pickup set with alnico 4 magnets.

Unlike traditional humbuckers, the Saturday Night Special humbuckers are voiced to be a little hotter and fatter in the bridge position, and a little clearer and less “wooly” in the neck. They’re more aggressive than 50s-style models, but without the compression of most high gain pickups. These bridge the output level gap between vintage 50s and modern humbuckers, making this pickup set perfect for replicating those legendary late-70s arena rock tones.

“Alnico 4 has a generally flatter, more even frequency response compared to other magnets, with less cut in the high end and a sweeter overall tone compared to Alnico 5. It’s great for classic rock when you need a clean or semi-distorted tone with plenty of character.” says Max Gutnik, SVP of Products and CRO at Seymour Duncan.

The Saturday Night Special humbuckers come standard with four-conductor wiring for series/split/parallel configurations, has a maple spacer and metal cover, and is made with short mounting legs. Each pickup is wax-potted for squeal-free performance, and is made in Santa Barbara, California.

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]

Flash back to Winter NAMM 2015: one of the hottest, most talked-about guitars on show was Periphery guitarist Mark Holcomb’s limited edition Paul Reed Smith signature. Here was an instrument that filled a previously un-catered-to niche in the PRS line-up: a 25.5” scale length (compared to the regular 25”), a 20” fretboard radius (against a typical 10”), and Mark’s Seymour Duncan Custom Shop signature Alpha and Omega pickups. And now Mark and PRS present a new instrument that takes those basic specs and makes them more accessible: the PRS Guitars SE Mark Holcomb Signature Model. We caught up with Mark to chat about it.  Continue reading “Meet Mark Holcomb’s New PRS SE Signature”

Tone Report Weekly gives a synopsis of Seymour Duncan’s pickups to pedals story.

Sweetwater reviews the Killing Floor at Summer NAMM 2016.

At this year’s Summer NAMM in Nashville, Reverb was on hand to showcase the Palladium Gain Stage, Forza Overdrive, and Killing Floor High Gain Boost pedals all of which are primed to alter gain stages and shape tone.

Pro-Audio Land reviews our Killing Floor pedal at Summer NAMM 2016.