Custom Shop wall of Fame.

There are so many pickups out there, I want to try them all. P90s, mini humbuckers, all flavors of Fender Single Coils (Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Strat, Tele and many more)… but few pickup designs have been so widely used, duplicated, investigated and reimagined as the humbucker. In this blog we’ve discussed how a humbucker cancels the hum – as Richard Irons explained so eloquently here and here. Richard also talked about the electrical path inside a humbucker here. I want to go a bit further and discuss what’s physically going on inside a humbucker. I’ll be concentrating my attention to regular, full-sized humbuckers, not the single coil-sized or stacked designs. Continue reading “Anatomy Of A Humbucker”

If you frequent guitar related forums and blogs one thing you may see being discussed is ‘note separation.’ So what is note separation, and why would a guitar player be looking for this in a guitar pickup? Continue reading “The Best Pickups for Note Separation Metal Edition”

Zephyr came from a challenge issued to Vice President of Engineering Kevin Beller to come up with a pickup that wasn’t constrained by the usual consideration of costs or materials – just dream it, design it and build it. The resulting Zephyr series uses Silver wire which is the only material that has a lower DC resistance per unit length than copper (5.36%). This results in a pickup with bursting dynamics, more range, lightning attack, powerful harmonics and strong note detail and separation. Not only is it the Silver wire that is special about these pickups but we also use Nickel and Stainless Steel Bi-Metallic Pole Pieces, Glass Fiberfill Nylon Bobbins, and Cryogenic Treatment. The reason and benefits of each of these materials is covered on our product pages but the result is lively clarity, especially in the upper mid to high frequencies. And thus, the Zephyr Silver Pickups were born.

Continue reading “The Zephyr Silver Pickups”

More than 30 years after its introduction, the Floyd Rose vibrato tailpiece is still a divisive little chunk of metal. Some players love it for its expressive qualities and for the tuning stability it provides. Others hate it because they feel it promotes mindless horsie noises and is difficult to set up and maintain. Both sides have a point! In the right hands, a Floyd can add a beautiful, lyrical or otherwise eerie quality to your music. In the wrong hands it can sound like a hideous shrieking disaster. And if you’re used to fixed bridges, a Floyd can be a massive pain to set up (at least at first. You pick up a lot of tricks along the way which make life a lot easier). Continue reading “Five Fun Floyd Rose Tricks”

Can you imagine being a kid again and having a place you could go to get free lessons, to play any instrument for free and record your own music with the help of professionals? When we first heard about the charity Notes for Notes, we got pretty excited. They provide some seriously awesome opportunities for kids. A place where kids can come after school and find their voice, be creative and learn an instrument. Since that initial introduction we’ve gone on to host 3 concerts and help raise over $200,000. In that time they’ve expanded to LA and Nashville with plans in the open up in San Francisco, Detroit, Brooklyn, Austin and Atlanta.  Continue reading “4th Annual Seymour Duncan Notes For Notes Benefit Concert”

Contrary to where modern guitar has gone, it started life as a rhythm instrument, bashing out chords on a large archtop (or larchtop*) in the back of the band. Yes, it is hard to believe that at one time, the idea of sweep picking lydian-dominant arps at 200 bpm was unheard of, and the idea of having a great chord vocabulary (and being able to improvise with those chords) was essential to be considered a great guitarist that could work steadily and support all of those spotlight-stealing brass players. These days, being an amazing rhythm player is downplayed in favor of other aspects of guitar playing, but understanding some small things about chords will only let our solos stand out more, and give us more interesting things to play over. If you haven’t read it yet, I would also suggest reading my article about 7th chords, as this article will build on those concepts. Continue reading “This Sounds Odd: Understanding 9th Chords”

Seymour knows about tone. But not just about tone coming from several Marshall stacks in front of chia-haired rockers. Besides specializing in the perfect sound for electric guitars for over 40 years, Seymour Duncan knows how to get the perfect acoustic tone for your live performances and recordings. Despite not being as well-known as his electric pickups, there is a full line of acoustic pickups that will give you the power to be heard on stage and in the studio. Even if your favorite acoustic already has a factory pickup, you might just want to read through this article, as the current Seymour Duncan line has something to make your acoustic guitar sound, well…more acoustic-er*.

Continue reading “The Seymour Duncan Acoustic Pickup Line”

One of my personal highlights of the NAMM show back in January was the Chapman Guitars stand. Rob Chapman is very well known in the UK as a guitarist for two reasons: his involvement in various bands – currently the excellent Dorje – and his superb gear demonstrations and reviews on YouTube. Continue reading “An Audience With Rob ‘Chappers’ Chapman”

Make some room on that pedalboard, folks, because the Seymour Duncan pedal line is expanding. The new 805 Overdrive joins the Dirty Deed Distortion, Vapor Trail Analog Delay and the Pickup Booster while bringing much-needed updates to the standard overdrive formula. Overdrives are among the most popular pedals sold these days. They occur at many price points yet they all do the same thing: turn a standard guitar into a snarling beast. This is the sound of rebellion! Let’s look at the features that set the 805 apart from the crowded minefield of overdrives, as well as include soundclips and video demonstrating what makes the 805 Overdrive so unique.

Continue reading “The Seymour Duncan 805 Overdrive Review”

In January 2013 Seymour Duncan announced the Black Winter pickup set. Initially only available in Scandinavia, the Black Winters were designed specifically for extreme metal players, providing players with the ability to go from crushing aggressive riffs to super articulate lead work. The Black Winter set created such a swell of interest from players all over the world that Seymour Duncan recently announced a world-wide general release.

Continue reading “The Versatility Of The Black Winter Bridge Model”