Strings don’t always get a lot of love—there aren’t too many demo videos about the best guitar strings, and you can’t flip ‘em on the secondhand market like guitars, pedals and amps—but stringing your instrument with the ideal materials and gauge for your needs is an easy way to improve the sound and feel of your instrument.

Before we get into how to choose guitar strings, let’s talk about what might happen if you play the wrong strings.

If you bought your guitar fresh from the factory, it’s likely been setup for a specific gauge (aka size) of strings. The tailpiece, bridge saddles, tremolo springs, nut slot width and depth and truss rod have been adjusted to the manufacturer’s specs so that the neck relief and action are comfortable to play. There’s no buzzing, no dead spots on the fretboard, the tremolo is balanced correctly and each note rings true.

As you experiment with different types of guitar strings, you might notice that now there’s fret buzz suddenly, or the strings are pulling away from the fretboard, or it’s too hard to fret a note—or not hard enough. Are you playing the wrong guitar strings?

Trick question. There are no wrong strings, only wrong setups. Does that mean you can throw roundwound baritone strings on your heirloom classical guitar? In a word, no. It means that with the correct strings (and usually a setup) you can transform your guitar from a lean, mean twangy hybrid picking machine to a menacing, drop-A djent goblin—if you want.

Types of Guitar Strings

Naturally, you should use strings designed for your instrument. While we’re all about experimenting with the guitar, there are plenty of different options to try out within your instrument’s string family.

Guitar strings come in four main types, and they correlate to the different types of guitar: electric, acoustic, classical, and bass.

Electric Guitar Strings

Electric guitar strings interact with your pickup’s magnets to turn sound into electricity. They’re constructed from a solid wire core wrapped with one of several conductive metal alloys to help your pickups convert mechanical vibrations from your strumming and plucking into sound waves.

Some common electric guitar string materials are:

• Nickel-Plated Steel—balanced between brightness and warmth, more attack than pure nickel.
• Pure Nickel—not as bright as nickel-plated steel, rounder attack.
• Stainless Steel—bright, zingy tone with prominent harmonics, especially under high gain.
• Chrome—typically flatwound, chrome strings have a warm sound and muted attack preferred by many jazz, blues and Americana guitarists.
• Cobalt—bright, modern high output tone with additional touch-sensitivity and increased dynamic range.
• Coated—resists corrosion, but polymer coatings can reduce sustain.

Another important factor in a string’s sound is its winding. In a typical electric guitar set, the first three strings (high E, B and G) are unwound. Some players prefer a wound G string, and saying so out loud still causes online arguments to this day.

An unwound G, being a lighter gauge, is easier to bend—a big advantage for blues players. But a wound G can improve intonation and tuning stability, as well as provide the necessary string-to-string balance for some chordal playing styles. Some guitars even require a wound G depending on the type of bridge on the guitar.

Regardless of material (or a wound or unwound third string), the lower three strings in the set (D, A and E) are wound in one of three ways:

• Roundwound—in a roundwound set, the low strings are wrapped with a grooved heavy metal threading for maximum output, pick attack and sustain. The most popular string by a country mile, roundwounds are heard across rock, metal, fusion, prog, pop, Americana and all the subgenres.
• Halfwound—halfwound (or groundwound) strings are roundwound strings that have been through an extra finishing step in which their grooved edges are ground smooth for a sound that splits the difference between roundwound and flatwound strings. Halfwound strings sound darker than rounds, but retain more attack than flats.
• Flatwound—popular with blues, jazz, soul, rockabilly and R&B guitarists, flatwound strings use a solid core wrapped in a smooth metallic ribbon to produce a pure, organic tone perfect for low-to-mid gain playing. In the rock, country and pop world, session guitarist Matt Sweeney (Superwolves, Adele, Johnny Cash) swears by flatwound strings for fingerstyle playing, even with overdrive.

Acoustic Guitar Strings

Non-classical “steel string” acoustic guitars use softer alloys than electric strings, but still retain the bright and powerful sound that defines rock, country, modern folk and blues music.

Since often times there is no acoustic pickup to worry about (and acoustic/electrics still use acoustic strings), choosing the best acoustic guitar string is a matter of balancing your ideal tone with your guitar’s body style, playing technique and the condition of your instrument’s neck, bridge, bracing and top.

Generally, smaller-bodied acoustics like parlor guitars should be strung with lighter gauge strings to accommodate their reduced size and retain their immediate, snappy presence. Jumbo or dreadnought guitars typically sound their best with standard medium gauge (or heavier) strings to achieve a full, balanced sound.

Players with an intricate fingerstyle technique might prefer lighter gauges for a softer touch and a little extra space between individual strings. And the opposite is true for heavy-handed strummers, as heavy strings are better at holding up to extended plectrum abuse. Or, if your guitar is fragile, lighter strings can prevent putting undue stress on the neck joint, bridge, bracing or top.

To really fine-tune your sound, you can experiment with different string gauges and zero in on the perfect balance of bass and treble. Heavier sets encourage a big, boomy bass response, while lighter strings accentuate treble frequencies, bringing out the subtleties of your picking technique.

The main types of acoustic guitar strings are:

• Bronze—bright and clear as a bell, but likely to wear out quickly, especially if you work up a sweat while you play.
• Phosphor Bronze—similar in tone to bronze strings, but with a longer lifespan and slightly darker sound due to the phosphor mixture.
• Aluminum Bronze—snappier than phosphor bronze, with pronounced highs and lows and a subdued midrange.
• Brass—sometimes labeled as 80/20 bronze, is big, bold, sassy and…brassy. Brass strings are jangly, clanging, metallic and bright.
• Monel—made of nickel/copper alloy, are crisp, but with a mellow attack.
• Coated—like their electric counterparts, coated acoustic strings resist corrosion with less brightness and sustain than uncoated strings.
• Silk and Steel—have a silk core, and are wound with silver-plated copper, with plain nickel trebles. These strings are perfect for delicate vintage instruments and players with a light touch.

Classical Guitar Strings

Prior to the 1940s, classical instruments—guitar included—used strings made from sheep or cow intestines. But don’t visit your local butcher just yet. There are vegan options.

Modern classical or nylon string guitars use an animal-friendly blend of soft metals, nylon and other synthetic materials to produce the same timeless mellow tone as gut strings without the guilt.

But unlike electric, acoustic or bass strings, which are packaged by size, classical guitar strings are sold by tension.

Low tension strings (sometimes called Moderate or Light, depending on the brand) offer easier fretting for smooth legato playing and a softer attack that prioritizes note body and sustain. High tension strings (also called Hard or Strong tension) project louder than lower tension strings with a sharper attack that’s perfect for rhythmic styles like folk and flamenco.

If low tension is too low and high tension is too high, then Normal tension is just right. Normal tension strings split the difference for beautiful tone and a comfortable playing experience across classical, bossa nova, folk, and flamenco. Even country, in the case of Willie Nelson and his guitar, Trigger.

Classical guitar strings are available in multiple materials to help players find their sound:

• Clear Nylon—the most common classical guitar string with a full, balanced and versatile sound for a variety of genres and techniques.
• Rectified Nylon—made from the same material as clear nylon, but with stricter sizing requirements. Each rectified nylon string is sanded to maintain its exact diameter along the entire length of the string. The tone is warmer than clear nylon, perfect for legato playing and other melodic styles.
• Black Nylon—these use a different nylon formula than clear and rectified nylon strings for a brighter sound with more overtones, making them popular for percussive styles like flamenco and folk.
• Titanium—their smooth feel is similar to flatwound strings, typically used to brighten the sound of an overly dark guitar.

Bass Guitar Strings

Bass strings are electric guitar strings with a longer scale, larger diameter and lower pitch. But there’s one extra detail to watch out for: scale length.

Scale length is the distance between the bridge saddles and nut of your guitar or bass. Most six-string sets fit the common guitar scale lengths, so folks on the treble side of the tablature don’t think about it too often. But on bass, scale length plays an important role in the sound and feel of the instrument.

The most common bass guitar scale length is 34”—just as Leo Fender intended. Precision and Jazz basses have this scale length, as do most modern basses. Short-scale basses, like the Fender Mustang or Gibson’s EB-0 have scale lengths of 30” and 30.5”, respectively. Since basses with shorter scale lengths require less string tension to tune to pitch, they have a floppier, more fluid feel compared to a full-scale bass, with a rounder, fuller bottom end.

Basses with five strings or more (or four string basses built for drop tuning) have longer scale lengths to accommodate the increased tension that larger strings and lower tunings require.

The common bass guitar scale lengths are:

Short Scale—30” to 32”

Medium Scale—32” to 34”

Long Scale—34” to 36”

Super Long Scale—36” to 38”

Once you’ve identified the proper scale length for your bass, it’s time to think about materials:

• Nickel-Plated Steel—the most widely used material, softer on the hands than stainless steel but with a bright tone for most modern musical applications.
• Pure Nickel—softer in feel and sound than nickel-plated steel, ideal for the super sounds of ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s pop, rock, country and R&B.
• Stainless Steel—bright and zingy, stainless steel strings first appeared in the ‘70s where they caught on with arena rockers, funk superstars and the new wave of British heavy metal. Their aggressive sound is perfect for playing with a pick, slapping or aggressive fingerstyle playing.
• Polymer Coated—coated strings last longer than their uncoated counterparts, but with slightly reduced brightness and sustain.

And finally, the winding:

• Roundwound—Thank the Ox for roundwound bass strings. The Rotosound company developed the first roundwound bass strings at the request of The Who’s John Entwhistle, who wanted a growling, piano-like tone for his overdriven lead bass playing. They’re also perfect for slapping and popping, thanks to their bright and snappy sound.
• Flatwound—channel your inner James Jamerson or Carol Kaye with flatwound strings. The de-facto string of the Motown sound, ‘60s surf rock and the Wrecking Crew, flatwounds have a deep, thumping sound with a plucky attack and quick decay.
• Groundwound—if you love roundwounds but can’t abide fret noise, groundwound strings provide most of the same bright tone as rounds but with less finger squeaks and a subdued top end.
• Tapewound—to emulate an upright bass with an electric bass guitar, try tapewounds. These strings are made from a wire core wrapped in nylon, giving you the next best thing to a full size acoustic bass but with the added benefit of electric amplification.

How to Choose Guitar Strings

When it’s time to decide how to choose the best guitar (or bass) strings for your setup, refer to the Three Ts—Tuning, Technique and Tone.

Tuning—the tuning you play in will help determine the most appropriate scale length and string gauge for your instrument. Longer scale lengths and/or lower tunings often sound best with heavier gauge strings.

Technique—you might develop a preference for a certain gauge of string based on your genre and playing technique. Nü-metal guitarists who tune down to B (or lower) would likely want a heavier and brighter string for low notes at high gain. Likewise, fusion players, fingerpickers, neoclassical shredders and two-handed tappers tend to favor lighter string gauges that allow them to play accurately and with a light touch at incredibly fast tempos.

Tone—the sound in your head should match the strings in your hand. Players of modern high gain styles should try roundwound stainless steel or cobalt for their edgy, high output tone. Folk rockers, singer-songwriters and old-school chicken pickers typically get their vintage sounds from pure nickel in either round- or flatwounds. Jazz and blues aficionados prefer the smooth sound of flatwounds.

As far as how you should choose guitar strings, there’s no substitute for experience. Consider your instrument’s natural tonal character—is it bright? Dark? Balanced? Depending how your guitar sounds when it’s unplugged, you might pick strings based on materials to accentuate or reduce certain qualities.

On the heavier side of guitar music, low tunings and high gain dictate the need for long strings and high output, pushing players towards longer scale lengths, beefier string gauges and modern alloys. Classical guitarists need to execute intricate licks with precision and choose strings accordingly.

Finding your perfect set of strings takes some experimentation with different gauges and materials, but with time and patience you’ll find your perfect sound. In most cases, moving up or down by a single gauge won’t wreck your setup completely, but if you’re unsure how to adjust your bridge or truss rod in the event that something does need tweaking, it’s best to visit your local luthier for a string change and setup.

Still searching for your perfect tone? Check out our blog for tips and tricks to help you dial in the sound in your head.

Let’s Talk Tone

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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Seymour Duncan, a leading manufacturer of pickups, pedals, and pedal amps, is proud to showcase the best selling: the ‘78 Model, Green Magic and High Voltage humbucker pickups. These are available for order right now at seymourduncan.com and at your favorite dealer. These new guitar pickups for 2022 are quite special and have an interesting story at Seymour Duncan. Let’s dive in and read more about them.

’78 Model

In the late 70s, Seymour Duncan was well known as the go-to guy for the tone-chasers that needed something custom. Sometime in ‘78 he was given a P.A.F. with the instructions to rewind it and make it more sensitive to natural and artificial harmonics. In other words, give it the Duncan “hot wind” with a little extra. 

The Seymour Duncan ‘78 is loaded with an Alnico 2 magnet, wound to the exact same hot specs as that original P.A.F. rewind. The magnet and output combination lend themselves to a warm crunch with biting leads and overtone-laden tapped runs. 

If you’re a tone-chasing player who wants the classic hard rockin’ rhythm crunch, articulate picked harmonics for your tapped solos and whammy bar acrobatics, the ’78 Model is what you need. 

Order the ’78 Model here.

Green Magic

Guitarists have long sought out the lonesome hollow blues rock tones that emerged in the late 60’s. For one guitarist, his signature tone was achieved as the result of a fortunate accident – a pickup with a magnet installed backwards and out of phase.  

With these humbuckers you’ll get the classic neck and bridge tones as expected, but when you activate both Green Magics you’ll get the clarity and expressiveness generally associated with single coils. The Green Magic set recreates this magical out of phase sound by flipping the neck pickup’s magnet to reverse the phase when combined with the bridge pickup. They are also voiced for the classic era, warm and expressive with the perfect balance of clarity. 

For any guitarist wanting to expand the versatility of their guitar and capture the authentic tones of blues rock’s golden era with a touch of the supernatural, get the Green Magic set. 

Order the Green Magic here.

High Voltage

The Seymour Duncan High Voltage pickups were designed for players that are looking for the perfect balance between hard rocking tone and crystal clear cleans. Powerful chords, low end legato riffage and generally expressive tight rhythms on one end and screaming, sustaining leads on the other.  

The High Voltage humbuckers are a nod to the old school with the familiar Alnico 2 magnets, but they are wound for a bit more aggressive voicing that creates a noticeable sonic distance. The bridge pickup is degaussed in this calibrated set that delivers a very balanced tone. 

If you’re looking for your full gamut of classic hard rocking tone to come from your pickups and amps more so than pedals, this is the set for you! 

Order the High Voltage here.

Let’s Talk Tone

Founded in Santa Barbara in 1976 by Seymour and Cathy Duncan, Seymour Duncan makes guitar & bass pickups, effects pedals and pedal amps for musicians around the globe.

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

If you’ve shopped for humbuckers or humbucker-equipped guitars, you’ve undoubtedly seen the term “P.A.F. pickups” floating around on product pages. It’s one of the original humbucker designs and remains one of the most popular pickup choices for modern guitarists across a wide variety of genres.

But what makes a P.A.F. a P.A.F.? Unlike Tennessee whiskey, there aren’t staunch rules and regulations on what exactly makes something a P.A.F.-style humbucker. Even Gibson, the original builder of P.A.F. pickups, changed their design over the years.

So, let’s talk about P.A.F. pickups, how they came to be, what makes a P.A.F. a P.A.F. and what’s driving its popularity today, almost 70 years after its invention.

Early Single-Coil Pickups

Though P.A.F. pickups were among the first humbuckers, guitar pickups in general are much older. The very first guitar pickups of the 1920s amplified the vibrations emitted from an acoustic or archtop guitar’s body, but those produced a weak signal and unstable feedback.

The true granddaddy of modern guitar pickups is found in the Rickenbacker Electro A-22, also known as “The Frying Pan.” This metal lap steel guitar featured a pickup designed by George Beauchamp in 1932 which focused on picking up the vibrations of the strings rather than the guitar’s body. This resulted in higher output and less feedback. The magnet-coil-bobbin design eventually led to what we now know as “single coil” pickup, which became the standard for electric guitars in the 1940s and 50s.

Wanting to design their own take on the single coil, Gibson developed the P-90 pickup in the late 1940s. The wide soap bar-style bobbin of the P-90 pickup made for a warmer and mellower sound than Fender’s Telecaster-style pickups—their main competitor at the time.

But whether players preferred the twangy, treble-forward Fender single coils or Gibson’s mellower P-90s, both pickups dealt with the dreaded 60-cycle hum, a noisy side-effect of single-coil pickups.

A pickup acts as an antenna of sorts, creating a magnetic field that converts the guitar strings’ vibrations into amplified electrical signals. But the pickup is sensitive to other electromagnetic sources like lights, radios or amplifiers, causing residual noise and humming in your signal.

Gibson and Seth Lover

By 1954, Gibson wanted to break away from Fender and offer something they didn’t have: a noiseless pickup that “bucked” the 60-cycle hum. The company enlisted employee Seth Lover, a radio engineer and amplifier designer, to drum up such a pickup.

Using his knowledge of common noise-reduction techniques for amps, radios and microphones, Lover found a solution to the humming problem: Instead of using single coils routed in parallel, Lover routed two coils with opposite wind and polarity together in series, which caused each coil to cancel out the other’s hum. The resulting sound wasn’t as bright as a single coil, but it seamlessly eliminated any trace of hum.

Lover completed his humbucker design in 1955, and he filed a joint patent with Gibson that same year. That patent wasn’t granted until July 28, 1959, but Gibson nonetheless started rolling out Lover’s humbuckers on their instruments, first on their lap steels in 1956 and then on the revamped Les Paul in 1957, replacing the P-90s found in earlier models.

During this period, each pickup had a sticker underneath the magnet that read “PATENT APPLIED FOR,” leading to the P.A.F. nickname.

Quick aside: Despite popular belief, the P.A.F. was not actually the first humbucker ever made, or even to be patented. Pickup hum was the hot-button issue in the guitar world at the time, so there were several people working on a solution. Ray Butts invented the Filtertron pickup for his friend Chet Atkins in 1954, a smaller pickup to Lover’s design with a characteristic “twang.”

Leo Fender had his own patent for a hum-killing pickup for lap steels in 1956, but his company wouldn’t formally introduce humbuckers into their models until the late 1960s (with Lover’s help).

The P.A.F.’s real claim to fame is that it was the first humbucker to catch on with a large audience thanks to a sound that inspired countless imitators.

The P.A.F. Sound

Getting rid of hum is great and all, but it doesn’t mean a lot if the sound doesn’t inspire guitarists.

So, what do P.A.F. pickups sound like? In general, P.A.F.s are famous for their full, uncompressed sound that’s slightly less bright than a single-coil. Still, P.A.F. pickups maintain a nice balance of warm lows, clear mids and crisp highs. Being hum-free, P.A.F.s maintain a rich tonal clarity and touch sensitivity even at higher gain, which is what made them a quick favorite of rock and blues musicians.

Also, original P.A.F.s are microphonic since they weren’t wax potted, meaning that they would amplify any knocks, taps or scratches happening on the guitar’s body, which some believe adds to the guitar’s resonance. However, most modern P.A.F. pickups are wax potted.

The P.A.F. Golden Age

The first years of P.A.F.-equipped Les Pauls—from 1957 to about 1961—is considered a golden age for both P.A.F. pickups and Gibson’s signature guitar. The iconic sunburst finish Les Paul, one of the most recognizable instruments of all time, debuted during this period and remains the Holy Grail for many guitar collectors. A quick scan on Reverb shows these instruments going for anywhere between 250 and 475 thousand dollars as of the time of this writing.

Concurrently, when people think of the P.A.F. sound, they’re most likely thinking of this era. A common way to describe tone from these pickups is a “Tele on steroids,” due to its deeper lows, prominent mids and just enough high end to stand out in a mix.

Somewhat ironically, the P.A.F.s made during this golden age vary wildly in tone from one another; two P.A.F.s made in the same year in the same factory could end up sounding significantly different. These inconsistencies were a result of Gibson not having the assembly process down pat quite yet, which led to the factory using whatever materials they had on hand at a given time.

For starters, P.A.F.s during this period used Alnico 2, 3, 4 or 5 magnets at random. The number refers to the magnet’s strength and will result in tonal differences. If that wasn’t inconsistent enough, Gibson also magnetized the Alnicos in groups, which made some magnets more charged than others and thus further affected the pickups’ tones.

The wiring, meanwhile, was done with 42-gauge plain enamel wire on the same coiling machines used for P-90s. These machines automatically wrapped the coils around the bobbins, but workers still had to manually stop the machine once the pickup was ready, which sometimes meant that they were over or under the desired 5,000 turns per bobbin. The result was pickup output ranging anywhere from 7.5 to 9k ohms, with the latter number producing hotter pickups with more bite and midrange.

Even the bobbins had completely random variations. While they were all made from butyrate plastic, Gibson workers freely used black or white bobbins depending on what was in stock at the factory, which sometimes resulted in the “zebra stripe” P.A.F.

While this change was purely aesthetic, rumors long persisted about the zebra pickups sounding different than the all-white pickups, and those sounding different than the all-black ones. To be clear, Lover himself stated that there weren’t any tonal differences caused by the bobbins.

Still, these inconsistencies inadvertently contributed to the P.A.F.’s lore and appeal. Some of the most iconic Les Pauls from this period featured P.A.F.s with specific quirks, from the upside down neck pickup on Peter Green’s “Greeny”—which some sources say was a factory error while others say was the result of a botched repair—to the overwound bridge pickup on Billy Gibbons’ “Pearly Gates.”

If anything, these inconsistencies added to the sound and personalities of the musicians who played the P.A.F.-loaded Gibsons made in this period: Duane Allman, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Alvin Lee––the list goes on.

Changes Over the Years

Starting in late 1961, Gibson started making changes to P.A.F.s to standardize the assembly process and cut costs. The first adjustment was with the magnets, switching to just Alnico 5s for all P.A.F.s (although you can still find some Alnico 2 P.A.F.s from this period) and reducing their length from 2.5” to 2.25” inches.

In 1963, the “Patent Applied For” sticker was replaced with “Patent 2,737,842” on all P.A.F.s––except that patent number was for their 1952 Les Paul trapeze tailpiece. Close enough!

By the mid-1960s, the Gibson factory had fully-automated wire machines that more consistently wrapped the coils at 5,000 turns per bobbin for 7.5k output per pickup. Other than being more tonally consistent, the P.A.F.s of this period (sometimes called numbered P.A.F.s) don’t vary much from the sound or design of the golden-age pickups.

The T Top

Around late 1965, Gibson standardized their bobbin-making process for humbuckers, which were now slightly taller and included a “T” on top to indicate the right side up for builders during assembly. These bobbins ushered in what is essentially the Gibson P.A.F. 2.0, a more cost-effective humbucker unofficially known as “T Tops” or “T Buckers.”

Along with these new bobbins and the smaller Alnico 5 magnets, the T Tops also used polyurethane coated wires for coiling instead of the plain enamel wire used on the original P.A.F.s. Finally, the maple spacers between bobbins and magnets found in earlier P.A.F.s were switched out for regular plastic.

The result of these changes was a brighter, tighter and more aggressive tone than the original P.A.F.s, and Gibson used the T Tops on all of their guitars from the late 1960s to the 1980s. While the T Top isn’t as sought-after as its predecessors, players like Jimmy Page, Chuck Berry, BB King, Pete Townshend, Angus Young, Peter Frampton, Nancy Wilson, Randy Rhoads, Mick Ronson, and Tommi Iommi all found plenty of use for its hotter sound.

Back to Basics

Hot humbuckers were all the rage through the 1970s, but by the 1980s the mystique and interest around the original, lower-output P.A.F. was building.

In 1981, Gibson took note of the customer demand and enlisted engineer Tim Shaw to recreate the P.A.F. based on its original specs for their upcoming Heritage reissue series. His design essentially reversed most of the changes made to the P.A.F. over the previous two decades, going back to the shorter, non-“T” bobbins and larger Alnico 5 magnets.

The only compromise was with the wiring—Gibson opted to stick with polyurethane wires instead of enamel for budget purposes, despite Shaw’s objections. Nevertheless, the Tim Shaw humbucker was the one of the most faithful and accurate interpretations of the original P.A.F. at the time.

Gibson used the Shaw pickups in its reissue models throughout the 1980s and eventually in its Custom Shop models in the 1990s. Shaw’s work inspired other builders to design their version of the P.A.F. sound around this time, including Seymour Duncan himself. In fact, Guns n’ Roses guitarist Slash was an early fan of Seymour’s Alnico Pro II pickups, which can be heard on the band’s legendary debut Appetite for Destruction in 1987. Other notable players that rocked reissue Gibsons during this time include Eddie Van Halen, Mark Knopfler, Johnny Marr, Neal Schon, and Kirk Hammett.

Modern P.A.F.s

Today, you’ll find a cottage industry of major and boutique pedal companies dedicated to recreating P.A.F. and T Top pickups. True to the incredibly wide array of tones and specs of P.A.F. pickups over the decades, there are also a ton of different modern P.A.F.s to choose from––Gibson alone makes several pickups that are all slightly different but still derive from the original P.A.F., including Custom Buckers, Burstbuckers, ‘57 Classics and more.

Seymour Duncan also makes a total of nine different P.A.F.-inspired models, from the road-worn Antiquity pickups to the vintage-modern hybrid Saturday Night Specials.

In the 1980s, Seymour struck up a partnership with Seth Lover himself, which led to the pair designing the Seth Lover humbucker. A devotedly faithful recreation of the original P.A.F., these humbuckers are even wound with one of the original Gibson coil winding machines at the Seymour Duncan factory. Duncan and Lover remained friends until Lover’s passing in 1997.

While plenty of hotter and more powerful humbuckers emerged in the many decades since Seth Lover’s patent, the P.A.F.’s warm, expressive sound maintained a steady and devoted following over the years. In fact, uncompressed sound is a growing trend in some guitar circles at the moment, which is why you hear P.A.F.s more and more in ambient, shoegaze, church, post-punk and many other genres.

You’re just as likely to see modern rockers like Dave Grohl or Derek Trucks use P.A.F.-loaded guitars as indie stars like Justin Vernon or Jeff Tweedy, while collectors like Joe Bonamassa continue to sing the praises of vintage Gibsons and P.A.F.s. At the end of the day, that’s the beauty of the P.A.F.: a sound that continues to inspire players, no matter the genre or decade.

Let’s Talk Tone

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

SIGN ME UP!

Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

When you’ve run out of playlists to shuffle, it’s time to give these guitar podcasts a listen.

Amplify your commute with interviews with all-time guitar legends like ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, deep conversations featuring boutique guitar, amp and pedal builders, epic documentary-style podcasts about the life and work of your favorite artists, track-by-track breakdowns of your favorite recordings and more.

So, let’s tune up and get amplified to rock with our top seven podcasts for guitarists to listen to on your commute.

The Guitar Knobs

Whether you’re on the hunt for detailed interviews with the latest up-and-coming boutique luthiers and effects pedal builders or hungry for a two-hour deep dive into the annals of Rickenbacker history, The Guitar Knobs podcast goes to eleven.

Each week, The Guitar Knobs podcast talks with the makers, demo artists and players of the boutique gear world to amplify the voices behind the small brands and indie builders doing innovative things in the guitar community.

For vintage gear enthusiasts and fans of handmade guitars, pedals and amps, The Guitar Knobs podcast is a must-listen. From the correct pronunciation of “Rickenbacker,” the unlikely inspiration behind your favorite gear to fascinating behind-the-scenes stories about the musical instrument industry, there’s a lot to learn on The Guitar Knobs podcast.

Get Offset

Tuning into the Get Offset podcast is like sitting down for happy hour with your two closest guitar-obsessed friends to discuss anything (and everything) from craft beer to pickup swaps, gear reviews, music-related social media trends and much, much more.

Each week, hosts Emily Harris and Andrew Rinard sound off on new guitar models, the latest effects pedal releases and the online gear culture (plus some occasional hockey talk) with candor, humor and wit. Nothing is off-limits, as Get Offset’s dynamic duo often dives deep into the YouTube and Instagram comment sections to find the best, worst, funniest and most bizarre guitar opinions on the web.

In addition to weekly podcast episodes, host Emily Harris is a prolific presence on YouTube, where she uploads in-depth gear demos, tutorials, and reviews; plus guitar lessons, reaction videos, home recording tips, full-length podcast episodes and more. If you’re looking for a fun, friendly guitar podcast for guitar players of any skill level, consider adding Get Offset to your “to listen” list.

Song Exploder

On Song Exploder, host Hrishikesh Hirway guides musicians through a step-by-step breakdown of their most popular songs, using a combination of interviews, isolated tracks and groundbreaking podcast production techniques to discover what makes a hit song tick.

Across 224 episodes, artists like Cheap Trick, Lucy Dacus, the Deftones and others de-mix their classic albums in real time, showcasing the lyrical inspiration, wicked guitar riffs, chance gear encounters and studio magic behind the music.

In this context, songs you’ve already heard a million times sound completely fresh. Take the episode about “Closing Time” by Semisonic, for example. Songwriter Dan Wilson shares the unlikely literary influence behind the lyrics’ double meaning—the parallels between last call and the meaning of life. And pedal nerds will want to stick around for the story about how “Closing Time” features the first recorded appearance of the now iconic Z.Vex Fuzz Factory.

Cocaine & Rhinestones

What do bullfighting, renaissance art and Alexander Hamilton have in common with George Jones? Tyler Mahan Coe has all the answers on Cocaine & Rhinestones, his impeccably researched podcast about the secret history of country music.

Cocaine & Rhinestones’ first season debuted in 2017, with Coe using his detective skills along with his country music bona fides to reveal the truth behind such burning questions as “Why did Bobbie Gentry vanish after ‘Ode to Billie Joe?’” In an episode that’s part music history lesson and part physics lab, Coe dissects the Louvin Brothers’ otherworldly “blood harmony” and the sibling rivalry and addiction issues that tore them apart.

In the second season of Cocaine & Rhinestones, Coe dedicates thirteen episodes to the untouchable George Jones, the iconic country crooner whose seven-decade career makes up a large portion of the classic country songbook. But you don’t have to be a No-Show Jones die-hard to enjoy the second season. Coe dives into topics adjacent to The Possum’s career, including recording techniques (ever wonder how to get that tic-tac vibe?), a breakdown of the “Nashville Sound” and more.

The Trap Set

Though initially a drummers-only podcast, Joe Wong’s The Trap Set podcast has in recent years expanded its focus to include “singers, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, harpists, etc.” in wide-ranging conversations about the lives of musicians.

Wong is an accomplished drummer, having occupied the drum throne with indie rock mainstays Marnie Stern, Parts & Labor and Mary Timony (Ex Hex, Helium), but the show’s topics veer away from technical gear snobbery in favor of wide-reaching human interest stories.

If you’ve ever wondered what Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) thinks of Fugazi, how Bully’s Alicia Bognanno balances dual careers as a touring musician and recording engineer or how Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford finished his lost album Magic Window after rediscovering the missing master tapes, The Trap Set is an engaging listen for musicians, non-musicians and fans alike.

Object of Sound

On Object of Sound, the poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib (A Little Devil in America, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us) sits down with artists and songwriters across all genres for eclectic, freeform conversations about the creative process.

In each brief half-hour episode, guests like Sharon Van Etten, Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Brittany Howard, Questlove and others unpack the importance of lyrics, what it takes to make a great cover song, band relationship dynamics and the sad-but-true reality of balancing being a musician with working a day job.

Abdurraqib accompanies each episode with thoughtful observations and personal stories, plus a curated playlist for enhanced context and a deeper insight into the inner workings of today’s top musical talents.

No Dogs In Space

On No Dogs In Space, Marcus Parks and Carolina Hidalgo suit up and explore the outer limits of punk and alternative music.

Through deeply researched multipart episodes, No Dogs In Space chronicles the DIY spaces and dive bars haunted by punk guitar antiheroes like Ron Asheton (the Stooges), Johnny Ramone, Poison Ivy (the Cramps) and East Bay Ray (Dead Kennedys) to unpack the messy, complicated history of punk rock.

In its second season, No Dogs In Space sniffs around the five boroughs of New York City to tell the story of the Beastie Boys and how a scrappy hardcore punk band from Brooklyn pivoted to hip-hop, and the rest is history.

Wong Notes

Okay, we know we said top seven but here’s our favorite bonus pick! Cory Wong is a Grammy-nominated guitarist, bassist, podcast host and producer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a full-time guitarist for Vulfpeck, The Fearless Flyers and has a signature Fender Stratocaster with Seymour Duncan Clean Machine single-coil pickups (pickups available separately in the near future). 

Cory started a podcast, Wong Notes, in May of 2020 presented by Premier Guitar, DistroKid and Fender. Now in its 4th season, Cory has had the chance to speak to players like Yvette Young, Joe Bonamassa, Peter Frampton, Pat Metheny, George Benson and more about their personal tricks of the trade and never-before-heard stories. 

You can find the “Wong Notes” podcast anywhere you find podcasts and at Premier Guitar.

Let’s Talk Tone

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

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

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

If you want to learn about wiring guitar electronics or how to use a soldering iron, you came to the right place. And since you can’t start any project without tools, this first installment of our free Pickup Installation 101 course will ensure you have all the right ones for the job.

From safety equipment to soldering stations, we cover it all. But don’t worry about the thousands of options on the market. We provide links for the tools we recommend. Follow this handy guide, and you’ll have everything you need to get started wiring guitar electronics.

So let’s get you signed up for the free course and start wiring!

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Prefer a video version? Check out our Guitar DIY: How to Solder Pickups Video

Pickup Installation Tools List

• Eye Protection
• Soldering Station
• Solder
• Helping Hands
• Wire Cutters/Strippers
• Needle Nose Pliers
• Electronics Tweezers
• Solder Sucker
• Solder Braid

Eye Protection

As with any project, safety always comes first. And when soldering, the hot solder can fling up into your face if you’re not careful. That’s why we highly recommend a good set of safety glasses or other eye protection.

The last thing you want is a chunk of solder to land in your eye. It’s very painful and definitely can ruin your day. So always be safe and get yourself some safety glasses. They’re affordable, and a worthwhile investment.

Soldering Station

There are a ton of different soldering station options. But when it comes to wiring guitar electronics, there are only a couple of requirements to ensure a successful soldering experience.

First, you want a soldering iron with a relatively fine tip or small chisel tip. In many cases, you’ll be working in cramped electronics cavities that require precision. Larger soldering iron tips can make it much more challenging to be accurate with your connections.

The other requirement is power. “The main thing is, you want to get a soldering station capable of 40 watts or greater. The bare minimum is 40 watts. The reason is because you want to heat the iron enough to bond the solder to the back of a pot. It’s is a big heat sink source, and you need something hot to be able to do that type of work.

Solder

Like soldering stations, there are different kinds of solder for different kinds of jobs. We recommend 60/40 rosin-core solder. Make sure you get the rosin core because the rosin works like a flux. Since metal tends to oxidize, the flux helps the solder bond to the components.

Helping Hands

If you’ve ever soldered two wires together, you know it always seems to take one more hand than you have. That’s why a set of Helping Hands electronics clips is so valuable. Not only will they hold your components in the perfect position, they also keep your guitar safe from any damage.

Let’s say I want to tin a wire; I can clip the wire to the Helping Hands and can now work on that particular wire without placing it on the guitar or even on your mat (Music Nomad makes an awesome instrument work mat here). You can find them relatively inexpensively online. So it’s a nice investment.

Wire Cutters/Strippers

While any wire cutters will cut wire, you’ll want to get a set specifically for cutting and stripping the wire inside your electric guitar. You’ll also want a sturdier set for heavier work.

Make sure you have a robust set of cutters for your guitar strings and something specific for cutting wire. These are nice because they’re small and get into tight corners when you need to clip lead wire.

Needle Nose Pliers

Again, it’s all about space. Having a good set of narrow needle nose pliers will help you position and move the tiny components inside of your guitar cavity. The larger the pliers, the more difficult it is to be accurate. The narrow ones are a little bit easier to get into tight spots, whether on the pot or in the cavity.

Electronics Tweezers

Need something for even finer work? A set of electronics tweezers are the ticket. Their specially designed, pointed tip makes it much easier to do fine work like running wire through pot lugs, soldering wire to switch lugs, and more.

These are really handy because they can get into the small areas of the guitar cavity, or if you need to work with some of these small components here, especially on terminals.

Solder Sucker

A lot of times, people who are new to soldering will put too much solder on the component, so they may need to remove it and start again. That’s where a solder sucker comes in.

Extremely easy to use, solder suckers literally suck up excess solder into a tube to be discarded later. You simply melt the unwanted solder, place the end of the sucker at the joint, and push a button: no more solder, no mess.

Solder Braid

Many people who work on guitar electronics prefer a solder braid to a solder sucker. In essence, these perform the same task; removing excess solder.

Instead of sucking the solder out (like a solder sucker), you lay the braid on top of the solder and heat it. The solder will be drawn to this copper braid. This works better on small terminals and finer work.

Solder braids can take a minute to get used to. So don’t be afraid to experiment.

Let’s Talk Tone

If you have any other questions about how to use a soldering iron or the tools it requires, please get in touch. Also, remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

A new Slash album is headed our way! Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators are releasing a new album ‘4’ on February 11th via Gibson Records. Their most recent single, “Call Off The Dogs” was just released on January 14th and according to Slash: “This one was written pretty much on the fly, and in the spirit of the energy of the whole album 4. You can’t overthink something like this song because it kills the spirit. When we got into pre-production, ‘Call Off The Dogs’ came together fairly quickly – just jam it and that’s basically it. And it was probably the last thing that we recorded in the studio.” You can pre-order or pre-save the new album here.

PRE-ORDER HERE

We had the opportunity recently to do a Q&A with Slash on behalf of our Seymour Duncan audience. Here’s what he had to say:

Seymour Duncan Q+A with Slash

Q: We’re so excited about the release of ‘4’! What was your process trying to write and record an album during the pandemic? Were you able to get the full band in the studio, or was it a situation where you’re sending stems back and forth through email?

A: I did a lot of demos during the pandemic, which is something I don’t normally do, but since everybody was in lockdown I started working on the record via demos. I eventually managed to get the guys into my studio where we did a couple of weeks of pre-production, then we all drove out to Nashville and recorded the album live with Dave Cobb.

Q: What comes first in your process of songwriting? Does the riff come first? Or is that something you typically write after the song structure is finished?

A: It varies, but it’s usually the riff or some sort of hook that comes first. The rest of the song follows.

Q: Your father created some amazing and iconic album covers for artists like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. What’s your relationship with that part of the creative process? Do you like being hands-on when creating the album art?

A: Yeah, I’m a big fan of old school LP album covers, and I like to be very hands on during the process of designing what the package is going to look like.

Q: I know you’re very involved with the LA Zoo and animal preservation. What inspired you to get involved with that kind of work?

A: Well, I’ve always been an animal advocate, and being that I’ve lived in Los Angeles for so long, I developed a natural relationship with the LA Zoo. Over the years I started to get involved with their conservation work, and I’ve been on the board of trustees with the zoo itself for quite some time now.

Q: Now for a couple of fun questions. In the vein of Willy Wonka, we hand you the keys to Seymour Duncan. What would you do, and what products would you make?

A: Well, I guess I would make a whole lot of pickups. I would probably work on making some soap bar pickups even more quiet, I think that would be my first project. To make them even more noise-canceling than they already are.

Q: We love to talk to our artists about the food they love, and we know you’re a big fan of Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles. What was your go-to order there?

A: My go-to Canter’s order was a corned beef on rye with mustard.

HEADS-UP: The exclusive livestream performance of ‘4’ takes place next Friday February 11th at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm GT live at Studios 60. Watch on Facebook & YouTube and join Slash for a Q+A session @ Youtube’s Premium Afterparty.

 

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Let’s Talk Tone

If you’re curious about Slash’s signature tone, check out the Slash Signature Model Humbucker made by Seymour Duncan. The Slash humbuckers are hand built in Santa Barbara the same way we built his originals in the 80s, with a nickel silver bottom plate with long mounting legs, single conductor braided lead wire, maple spacer, paper tape, and wax potting.

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

The quest for perfect guitar tone is filled with obstacles—scales to learn, techniques to master, gear to acquire and so on. But nothing stops curious guitarists from learning their way around the instrument quite like the “tone talk” jargon that sometimes fills guitar forums, and even entire subreddits, with confusion.

While the qualities that make a good guitar tone are subjective, everyone can agree that it’s a lot easier to communicate with your fellow musicians—online or at rehearsal—when everyone has a shared understanding of what makes a guitar “twangy” instead of “woody” or the difference between “sparkle” and “chime.”

We assembled this glossary of fifteen common “tone words” to help you cut through the mix and be heard above the chatter when it’s your turn to talk tone.

Bloom

“Bloom” is the tendency for the amplified sound of certain guitars, particularly Les Pauls, to increase in tonal complexity as a note or chord is sustained with distortion. Popular examples of “blooming” guitar tones include Peter Green’s work with John Mayall, and Carlos Santana’s ‘70s edge-of-feedback tone.

Alternatively, “bloom” is used to describe the softened, violin-like attack of a tube amp experiencing voltage sag in its power section, i.e. “power amp distortion.” Listen for the note’s transient sounds, followed by an immediate dip in volume and finally the sustained note or chord with additional harmonics generated by the amp’s power tubes.

Boomy

When we say “boomy,” we’re referring to the unpleasant low-end buildup caused by speaker and/or cabinet resonances, old strings, improper microphone placement or extreme EQ settings. Typically, these are the tones in the 100—200Hz range.

Brutal

While typically used to gauge the headbang quotient of metal riffs, “brutal” can also refer to a guitar tone’s potential for said gnarly riffs.

Examples of “brutal” guitar tones include the famous mid-scooped “California Smile” of Bay Area thrash legends Exodus and Metallica, Wes Borland’s down tuned nü-metal crunch with Limp Bizkit and the articulate high-gain 8-string tones of Periphery’s Mark Holcomb.

Chime

Not to be confused with “sparkle,” “chime” is the ear-tingling upper-midrange sensation that happens when low-gain pickups with Alnico magnets meet the harmonic crunch of British-voiced amplifiers, like the Vox AC-30 and non-master volume Marshalls. That goes double for 12-string guitars.

Chug

Commonly associated with heavy metal and its numerous subgenres, “chug” is the aggressively saturated and percussive sound of a guitar’s low strings played with a palm-muting technique at high gain.

Grunt

The mid-forward sound of a slightly-to-moderately overdriven bass guitar made popular by players like Green Day’s Mike Dirnt, David Wm. Sims of The Jesus Lizard, Faith No More bassist Billy Gould and Bob Weston of Shellac.

A bass sound with “grunt” is typically light on low-end below 100Hz and treble frequencies above 2kHz. Instead, “grunt” bass tones focus on fundamental harmonics in the 200—400Hz space and the growling upper-midrange pick attack between 800Hz—1.2kHz.

The resulting clanging and percussive timbre allows the bass guitar to sit in a dense mix overstuffed with fuzzy multi tracked guitars and powerhouse leadfoot drumming.

Honk

A nasally distorted guitar sound with an abundance of midrange frequencies between 800Hz—1kHz is what we like to call “honk.” Depending on the instrumentation and mix, “honk” may or may not be desirable. Speaker and cabinet resonances may also emphasize these frequencies. Varies with wah pedal usage.

Jangle

“Jangle” is a compressed and treble-boosted clean (or edge-of-breakup) guitar sound typically employing a 12-string guitar and EL34-equipped amplifier as heard in the upbeat guitar pop groups of the ‘60s—’80s, including The Byrds, R.E.M. and The Beatles.

Open

Also see: “edge-of-breakup.” Open is the opposite of compressed. An open guitar sound is one where with a light touch, the amplifier has clean headroom to spare but can be pushed into overdrive with little more than a heavy picking hand. With an “open” guitar sound, the player’s choice of strings, pickups and pedals can drastically alter the amplifier’s dynamic range.

Rude

A fuzz guitar characterized by odd-order harmonics and stiff top-end response might be described as “rude.” In some cases, “rude” guitar sounds may include the gated, “zippery” tone of a voltage-starved fuzz pedal running on a dying battery. Notable examples of “rude” guitar tones include Ron Asheton on The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and Mudhoney’s album Superfuzz Bigmuff.

Quack

Noun.

1. The sound of a Stratocaster when the pickup selector is set to position two or four.

2. Electric guitar sound produced when two parallel-wired single-coil pickups are used in conjunction with a clean amp tone.

3. Mark Knopfler on Dire Straits— “Sultans of Swing.”

Shimmer

In guitar-speak, “shimmer” is the harmonically rich sound of a clean guitar with a stereo time-based effect—typically reverb or chorus.

In a contemporary context, “shimmer” describes a reverb where harmonics are introduced to the wet signal via pitch-shifter or subtle distortion—such as the Dark Sun’s “Saturation” control— to produce a reverb effect with an unmistakable sparkling sustain.

In vintage terms, “shimmery” guitar sounds are the stuff of single-coil pickups and solid-state powerhouse amps like the Roland Jazz Chorus.

Sparkle

Unlike “chime,” which refers to the upper-midrange harmonics generated by a slightly overdriven British-voiced tube amplifier, “sparkle” is the crystalline treble sheen of a germanium fuzz pedal paired with a single-coil equipped guitar with the volume rolled back—typically in the 4-6kHz range.

Players like Jimi Hendrix and John Frusciante use this trick to great effect, manipulating the Stratocaster’s volume control to fade seamlessly from quacky rhythm tones into searing lead sounds without ever turning off the fuzz pedal.

Twang

Telecaster + Compressor + Twin Reverb = Twang

Twangy guitar is the sound of country music. To keep their tic-tac rhythms and chicken pickin’ licks spicier than a roadside hot chicken shack, many of Nashville’s best-known six-stringers stick with the original recipe of a Telecaster, compressor pedal and a 6L6-equipped tube combo amp like Fender’s Deluxe or Twin Reverb.

In the modern era, players like Brad Paisley introduced overdrive and distortion to the mix, giving country twang guitar a sharp cutting edge. To achieve his unmistakable tone, Paisley relies on his signature set of La Brea Tele Pickups and the natural overdrive of his Dr. Z amplifiers, which recreate the snappy bell-tones of his favorite Vox AC-30.

Some country (and country adjacent) styles like honky-tonk and rockabilly also use short analog delays to accentuate the hard-driving rhythms powering the outlaw attitudes of country’s brightest stars.

Woody

The organic, mid-forward earth tones of a vintage-voiced pickup with Alnico magnets paired with a low-wattage amplifier and Greenback speakers. Woody guitar sounds have a powerful bassy thump on the low strings and a throaty, viscous midrange.

Let’s Talk Tone

Still searching for your perfect tone? Check out our blog for tips and tricks to help you dial in the sound in your head.

Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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The Seymour Duncan ’59 Model and SH-5 Custom humbucker pairing is a favorite around Seymour Duncan. And we know a thing or two about pairing versatile pickups. From our prepared sets to our loaded pickguards, we’ve been combining great pickup tones for years. In fact, you can read about another ’59-combo in Part 1 of this series, The JB and 59 – A Classic Combination. But this time around, we’re going to focus on adding the SH-5 Custom’s punchier attitude to the ‘59’s PAF-style tone.

SH-1 ’59 Model

The ’59 Model humbucker is one of our most popular pickup designs. It’s also one of the longest-lasting models in our company’s history. And though times and styles have changed, the Seymour Duncan ’59 has not. It’s still one of the best replacement humbuckers for PAF tone and modern construction. 

Place it in the neck position of your guitar, and the ’59 Model delivers a clear, warm, and slightly scooped tone. It sounds highly detailed, even with plenty of distortion. And it never gets too muddy. This makes it one of the most versatile humbuckers we offer, as comfortable with jazz as it is metal. 

There are plenty of other vintage-voiced humbuckers on the market. But the ’59 Model has stood the test of time, offering those old-school tones with modern construction reliability. It’s even spawned a ton of other models, like the one we’re going to talk about next. 

SH-5 Custom

Many guitarists consider the ’59 Model’s vintage, passive humbucker tone to be like a “Tele on steroids.” If that’s the case, then the Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom is like a ’59 Model on steroids. It has all of its predecessor’s clarity and old-school character, but with more output and attitude. 

That increased output is perfect for players wanting vintage tone with more flexibility. It’s great for driving your amps and pedals a bit harder. It helps the pickup balance with a lower-output neck humbucker (like the ’59). And because the Custom’s voice adds more to the upper mids, it cuts through overdrive while always sounding full. 

If you like your HH guitar pickups more in the ’50s and ’60s-sounding era but also need the benefits of more power, then the SH-5 Custom is sure to be a favorite.  

The Custom and ’59 – A Rocking Combination

When selecting HH guitar pickups, some players live and die by “matched sets” of PAF clones. But utilizing two similar-output pickups can cause some problems in the balance department.  

Problems with balance

Because your guitar string has a wider vibration over your neck pickup, that pickup will seem louder than a similarly voiced bridge humbucker.  The neck pickup’s location also captures much more low-end. That means, if you dial your rig for a sweet-sounding neck tone, you may find it too thin and weak when switching to the bridge position. The inverse is true as well.  

So how do you solve this? 

You install the ’59 Model and Custom Model humbuckers.

From the day we designed the SH-5 Custom humbucker, the goal was to offer a ’59, but with a hotter output. Not only does that output drive your amps, but it minimizes the dropout when switching back and forth between pickups. It also retains a fuller sound, all but eliminating drastic loss of tone when switching pickups. 

High-gain Tones

This pickup duo isn’t just for the classic rock guys. It’s a popular setup for hard rock and metal players as well. Due to the Custom’s punch and upper-midrange cut and the ’59’s clarity and full sound, the pair loves high-gain tones. Keep it on the Custom for your aggressive riffs and tight rhythms. Then switch to the neck for articulate leads and beautiful clean passages. 

Work those controls

Are you a player who likes working your guitar’s controls for your various tones? These pickups are for you, too! 

 Both the Custom and the ’59 have an open tone without loads of compression. They both clean up beautifully when you roll back your guitar’s volume knob. And if you play a Gibson-style guitar with dual volume and dual tone controls,  dial in a great drive tone on your amp, pedal, or modeler, then roll back the ’59’s volume knob. With your Custom full-up, you can now switch from crystal cleans to screaming overdrive with the flick of your pickup selector. 

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about combining the 59 Model neck and Custom bridge as a set or finding the most versatile humbuckers for your guitar, don’t hesitate to reach out. And don’t forget to dig into the Seymour Duncan blog. There’s a ton of in-depth information on all of our different designs, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more. 

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

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Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!

With so many PAF-style pickups on the market, it can be hard to tell them apart. Nearly every pickup maker offers these simple combinations of wire, bobbins, and magnets claiming to capture that 1959 Gibson Les Paul mojo. We offer a variety of pickups that deliver that Kalamazoo-era mojo, right down to the wire. To clear the waters a bit, we’ll take a look at nine of our PAF pickups & PAF-style pickups and explain what makes each different and which one might be right for you.

But first… 

What is a PAF-style Humbucker?

PAF stands for “Patent Applied For” and is the common designation for the very first Gibson humbucking pickups. The original PAFs, or Gibson humbuckers, featured alnico magnets for low output, warm low end, scooped mids, and clear treble, a tone that set the standard for every humbucker to follow. Some refer to them as more of a “Tele-on-steroids” than the modern humbucker tone we know today. All of this, along with driving countless guitar-defining records, make them the holy grail of tone for guitarists worldwide.  

Seymour Duncan PAF-Style Pickups

• Seth Lover
• Antiquity
• ‘59 Model
• Jazz
• Alnico II Pro
• Slash
• Pearly Gates
• Whole Lotta Humbucker
• Saturday Night Special

Seth Lover

If you want authentic PAF replicas, with vintage specs, as if they came off the line today, the Seth Lovers are the pickups for you. These are spot-on recreations of the original pickups Seth Lover designed in the 1950s. We use the same factory that built the original PAF mold for Gibson for the butyrate bobbin molds. We wind every Seth Lover humbucker on Seymour’s original Leesona winding machine from the early Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI, and the unpotted, nickel silver covers create an almost piano-like tone and percussive feel. Finally, the Alnico II bar magnet smooths the highs and brings out rich harmonic content. The Seth Lover humbuckers are all about vintage tone and are a time machine for your guitar. 

Antiquity

If Seth Lovers are like factory-fresh PAFs, the Antiquity Humbuckers are the same pickups after 70 years of tone. They use the same butyrate bobbins, wiring machines and wire, and non-potted design as the Seth Lovers. But the Antiquity Humbuckers make your Les Paul look vintage and sound like a perfectly aged, priceless piece of rock ‘n’ roll history. We age each Antiquity humbucker in our Custom Shop in a process that simulates the tone and look of a perfectly broken-in and mellowed pickup. And they still deliver that open, airy tone of the great PAF humbuckers Seth Lover designed in 1955.  

‘59 Model

The ’59 Model humbucker is one of our most popular and longest-lasting designs. It blends the tone and character of genuine Gibson PAFs with modern construction techniques making it a go-to option for professional players. For example, as with all of our PAF-style pickups, we wind the ’59 Model on Seymour’s classic Leesona 102 pickup winding machine from the old Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI. It also utilizes an Alnico 5 magnet and vacuum wax potting. This keeps it stable and squeal-free when hitting gain and volume levels way higher than were ever used in the 1950s. You can even opt for a 4-conductor version for coil-splitting and other wiring options.   

Jazz

The Seymour Duncan Jazz humbucker

is PAF-inspired. It has the lower output and gorgeous top-end detail that make those pickups so popular. But we gave the Jazz a unique coil wind to deliver a tone with a nice tight bottom and a hushed midrange. Along with its Alnico 5 bar magnet, that special coil wind lets the Jazz sing clearly even under extreme high gain. The result is an incredibly versatile humbucker that works for almost any style of music.  

Do you love the Jazz but want the benefits of the Antiquity aging process? You’re in luck! The Jazz is also available in the Antiquity line, hand-aged in our Custom Shop for the perfect broken-in look and feel. 

Alnico II Pro

For decades, when guitarists think of the Alnico II Pro, they’ve thought of Slash. He has been the champion of this pickup since his early days. He even used them exclusively on Appetite for Destruction, the biggest selling debut album of all time! So if you want to know what the Alnico II Pro sounds like, just put on the album. Rock’ n’ Roll perfection!  

The Alnico II Pros get that fat, singing sustain through the soft treble attack and low string pull of their namesake Alnico II bar magnets. These magnets are fantastic for a warm, sweet tone with plenty of sustain. But their real claim to fame is the fat highs that sound thick all the way up the fretboard. Again, just throw on the record for proof.  

Slash

Slash loves his Alnico II Pros so much that he wanted them installed in his Gibson Les Paul Signature models. Surprisingly, he found that his new signature models sounded way different than his original Derrig Les Paul copy. So it was up to us to make Slash a new pickup that would make all of his new signature guitars sound like the original AFD Les Paul. The result is the Slash Signature Model humbucker. It pushes any stock Les Paul with the familiar sustain, crunch, and midrange that make up the Slash tone.

Pearly Gates

Billy Gibbons’ 1959 Les Paul, lovingly named Pearly Gates, is nearly as famous as the Texas guitar slinger himself. Tasked with creating a pickup that captures Gibbons’ iconic tone, Seymour discovered Pearly Gates’s bridge pickup has slightly more output than most PAFs. That’s why it had a bit more sonic muscle. We recreated that magical pickup and its added midrange punch in the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker. Though it cuts through with stronger mids, it still has the Texas sizzle and airy treble attack of the Alnico 2 bar magnet and a warm, full low-end. If you’ve ever wanted a classic humbucker tone with a little more teeth, this is where you’ll find it.

Whole Lotta Humbucker

Before Seymour built his own business, he worked for Fender Soundhouse in London. There, Seymour befriended some of his favorite musicians and rewound pickups for them. Thankfully, Seymour has always kept meticulous notes and details of his winds. So when a particular player from the Yardbirds at the time – we’ll leave you to guess who it is – needed a rewind, Seymour delivered and wrote it all down.  

Today, we call that pickup the Whole Lotta Humbucker. Its roughcast Alnico V magnet, plain enamel wire, and Seymour’s unique winding pattern culminate in vintage-hot 8.78k and 8.20k DC resistances making everything sound bigger. Though not high output, they’ll push your amp with slight compression and sustain.  

Saturday Night Special

Maybe the Saturday Night Specials aren’t traditional PAF-style humbuckers. But they are the perfect bridge between the real thing and modern designs. Voiced to be a little hotter and fatter in the bridge position and clearer and less “wooly” in the neck position, Saturday Night Specials offer more tonal balance than real PAFs. They’re also more aggressive than vintage-correct models but maintain their uncompressed, natural feel. These pickups are perfect for guitar players replicating those late-‘70s, classic arena rock tones. 

Let’s Talk Tone

If you have any other questions about PAF-style humbuckers, don’t hesitate to reach out. And don’t forget to dig into the Seymour Duncan blog. There’s a ton of in-depth information on our different designs, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

SIGN ME UP!

Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!