Everything you need to know about the best jazz guitar pickups out there.

Picking the best jazz pickups requires a different set of guidelines than choosing the best pickups for a lot of other genres. Jazz guitar players are less interested in output and the unique voice pickups can bring to their instrument. Instead, jazz players often focus on tonal purity and translating their guitar’s natural voice with detailed accuracy.

There are a ton of different pickups to choose from today. But it’s important to remember that all of the first humbucking pickups were jazz guitar pickups. They were created in a time when rock guitar was still getting its legs. Most players were playing electrified jazz and western swing music. And they needed hum-canceling pickups that delivered clarity, warmth, and detail.

These characteristics have made the original Seth Lover-designed, Gibson PAF humbucking pickups the standard for many different genres. But they’re also the same characteristics that define our choices for…

…The three best jazz guitar pickups

• Jazz Model
• Seth Lover Model
• Benedetto S6

Jazz SH-2

The name seems to make this pickup an obvious choice. But the Jazz SH-2 humbuckers are somewhat of a wild-card on this list. Their tight low-end, scooped mids, and detail treble has actually made them go-to pickups for rock and metal guitarists. In fact, a Jazz neck humbucker paired with a high-output JB bridge humbucker is one of the most popular rock ‘n’ roll pickup combinations in the history of Seymour Duncan.

Yet, like the first humbucking pickups, the same tonal characteristics make them ideal for their namesake genre. Place a Jazz SH-2 humbucker in the neck position of your favorite hollow-body electric guitar, and it greets you with incredible articulation and warmth. And best of all, its ability to eliminate wooly low-end will keep your guitar’s natural characteristics front and center.

Yes, the Jazz model humbuckers have built their legacy on delivering outstanding tone in a wide variety of genres. But it’s important to highlight how astounding these pickups sound when used within their original context.

If you’re a jazz player, don’t sleep on these “rock” humbuckers. Instead, install one in your guitar’s neck position and enjoy.

• Alnico 5 bar magnet
• Nickel silver bottom plate
• 4-conductor lead wire for multiple wiring options
• Vacuum wax potted for squeal-free performance
• Also available in a 7-string configuration
• Hand-built in Santa Barbara, CA, USA

Seth Lover SH-55

Seth Lover invented the first humbucking pickups for use by jazz guitarists in the early 1950s. (There weren’t a lot of other guitarists out there at the time.) And not many humbuckers come closer to those holy-grail pickups than the ones named for their inventor, the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover SH-55s.

From the ground up, Seth Lover humbucking pickups painstakingly recreate every detail of Lover’s original design. They feature Alnico 2 bar magnets and an unpotted construction underneath their nickel silver covers. We even use specially manufactured 42AWG plain enamel mag wire, and custom machined metal and maple spacers to ensure accuracy.

On top of the vintage-accurate materials, we put Seth Lover humbuckers through a vintage-correct manufacturing process. This includes using butyrate bobbin molds made by the same factory that built the original PAF mold for Gibson. And we wind them on our original Leesona winding machine from the original Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The SH-55 humbuckers are as close as you can get to Seth Lover’s original pickups without dropping a mint on ’50s originals. So if you’re a jazz guitarist who loves the smooth, articulate top-end and vintage-humbucker warmth, the Seth Lover SH-55s are the best jazz pickups for you.

• 2.5-inch Alnico 2 bar magnet
• Specially manufactured 42AWG plain enamel mag wire
• nickel silver bottom plate
• custom machined metal and maple spacers
• Nickel silver cover

Benedetto S6

Traditional jazz players are passionate about gear that translates an unadulterated sound from their fingertips through their amp’s speaker. That’s why Benedettos are known as some of the best jazz humbuckers in history. It’s also why we had to put the Benedetto S6 on our list of the best jazz pickups.

These humbucking pickups are for the purist. They’re for the guitarist who wants to hear the sound of their archtop’s acoustic voice, only louder. And the only way to truly achieve that is to embrace the Benedetto S6’s floating design.

The S6’s low-profile installation—hidden under your pickguard—secures the pickup in mid-air between your strings and guitar top. This means no unnecessary routing into your beloved instrument. And it lets your guitar’s archtop sing with a pure, acoustic voice, uninhibited by a traditional pickup and pickup ring.

Their pure sound and sleek design aren’t the only beautiful things about the Benedetto S6 jazz humbuckers. They also wear a stunning Ebonova pickup cover that enhances your guitar’s beauty while never distracting from its unique aesthetics.

• Alnico 5 bar magnet
• Beautiful Ebonova covers
• Low-profile, floating pickup design
• Single-conductor co-axial cable
• Hand made in Santa Barbara, CA, USA

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about finding the best jazz pickups for you, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dive deeper 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.

Ever wonder how to choose the perfect pickup for your HSS Strat? You’re not alone. In a previous article, we pointed you toward three of our favorite HSS pickup combinations. But if you want to put your own trio of pickups together, we’ve got you covered.

These five steps are an easy way to sift through the options. Follow them for each pickup, and you should end up with the best HSS pickups for your guitar.

1. Define your tone
2. Focus on the pickup(s) you use most
3. Consider your guitar’s acoustic voice (or tonewoods)
4. Use Seymour Duncan’s online pickup resources
5. Base your following pickup choices on your first

Tech Tips: These steps apply to choosing any pickup configuration. But we get a lot of questions about HSS sets. So we thought we’d help answer them here.

Define your tone

To find the perfect pickups for your tone, you have to define what that tone is. Do you want a balance of warmth and clarity for bluesy cleans? Do you want the touch response of a traditionally crafted PAF humbucker? Or are you looking for something that will push your amp to the extreme? Answer this question, and you’ll have a much easier time finding the perfect pickups for your HSS Strat.

Focus on the pickup(s) you’ll use most

When building your own pickup sets, it’s beneficial to focus on one pickup at a time. And you should start with the pickup you use the most. If your thing is edge-of-breakup from a Strat neck pickup, a Strat-style neck pickup is where you’ll want to start. If you hang out on the bridge humbucker the most, that’s where you’ll want to begin your search.

The reason for this has to do with complementing your main tone. You need to be happy with the pickup you use most. But when you venture outside of that sound, you want your other pickups to support and expand upon it.

Consider your guitar’s acoustic voice (tonewoods?)

In choosing the best HSS pickups, it’s essential to understand your guitar’s natural tonal properties. And tonewoods play a big part in this. Yes, we said it. Tonewoods do matter. And the most commonly used tonewoods do have some generally accepted tonal qualities that can help you narrow your pickup search.

Our friends and tonewood experts at Warmoth.com explain them like this…

• Mahogany: Warm and full with good sustain
• Swamp Ash: A very musical wood offering a very nice balance of brightness and warmth with a lot of “pop”
• Maple: Very bright with long sustain and a lot of bite
• Rosewood: big warm tones with smooth high-end roll-off
• Basswood: A nice, growly, warm tone with focused mids—Its defined sound cuts through a mix well
• Alder: The tone is the most balanced, with equal doses of lows, mids, and highs

So if you have a mahogany guitar, but you want more cut and top-end, you’d select a brighter pickup. If you have a guitar made out of swamp ash with too much treble, a darker pickup is just the ticket.

Use Seymour Duncan’s online pickup resources

We’ve gone to great lengths to help you on your HSS Strat pickup journey. Our site includes a wealth of resources to give you the info you need to make a great choice. This includes sound samples, our Pickup Finder tool, and a ton of in-depth articles about many of our models.

Sound Samples

Nearly all of our pickup product pages feature professionally recorded examples of that pickup in action. You can hear them within multiple contexts and with varying shades of overdrive. It’s the perfect opportunity to test drive each pickup before you buy.

Pickup Finder

Our online Pickup Finder is one of the most powerful pickup selection tools we have. By answering a few simple questions about your guitar and tonal preferences, it can point you to time-tested and popular HSS pickup configurations you’ll love.

Articles, videos, and more

Our site is also full of videos, expert articles, and a vast knowledge base. From tips and tricks to new product info and how-tos, you’ll find it all right here.

Base your following pickup choices on your first

Now that you found your “main” pickup, it’s essential to base the other two on its voice. Think of it this way; a ’60s-style Strat neck pickup may sound incredible. But pair it with a Black Winter high output humbucker, and it will sound anemic by comparison. So, with your first pickup choice in mind, it’s time to head back to step one and find pickup #2. In no time at all, you’ll have a set of HSS pickups that’s perfect for your guitar, your tone, and you.

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about how to choose the perfect pickup for your HSS Strat, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth info, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.

There have been many classic pickup sets throughout the electric guitar’s history: A couple of PAFs, any trio of vintage-voiced Strat pickups, a pair of active humbuckers, even the Nashville Tele setup. But we often overlook the HSS pickup configuration. There are far fewer complete sets of HSS pickups on the market. So we’ve put together three of our favorite HSS Strat combinations to help you find the right one for your guitar.

HSS Strat Pickups

People have used the HSS pickup configuration for decades. Chances are if you do session work, you already own one. By combining a humbucker with two Strat-style single-coils, HSS pickups can offer bell-like single-coil tones, and Dire Straits approved in-between tones. Then you flip to the bridge humbucker for gain-y crunch. And because many modern humbuckers are 4-conductor, you may even have bridge single-coil snap on hand.

Tech Tips: Trembuckers vs. Humbuckers. Many Stratocasters and tremolo-equipped guitars require our Trembucker pickup configuration. They are the same pickups as their standard versions but with slightly larger bobbins and bottom-plate to accommodate wider string spacing. Make sure you measure your guitar to know which you need. Standard humbucker spacing is roughly 50 mm from the low to high E string, while Trembucker spacing is roughly 53 mm.

3 HSS Pickup Configurations

1. Vintage / Classic
2. Hum-Canceling
3. High Gain

Vintage / Classic

• Bridge – ’59 Model Trembucker
• Middle – SSL-1 Vintage Staggered Strat RWRP
• Neck – SSL-1 Vintage Staggered Strat

If you prefer your electric guitars with an old-school tone, then these are the HSS pickups for you. Based around our wildly popular ’59 Model Trembucker, this HSS pickup combo always leans vintage. You’ll experience the iconic clarity and warmth of the ’59’s lower output and slightly scooped mids. And, the ’59 Model is also the perfect engine for your favorite effects.

The SSL-1 Vintage Staggered Strat pickups do for your middle and neck positions as the ’59 does for your bridge. Their vintage output levels, bell-like chime, and their addictive lows are what keeps players drooling over ’60s-era Stratocasters. And when paired with the ’59 Trembucker, they deliver an HSS set that’s versatile, time-tested, and gorgeous sounding.

Hum-Canceling

• Bridge – TB-5 Custom Trembucker
• Middle – STK-S4m Classic Stack Plus Middle
• Neck – STK-S7 Vintage Hot Stack Plus

Great tone should always be important for guitarists. But if you’ve ever played an older guitar under neon lights, hum-canceling performance quickly becomes equally important. So here’s a hum-canceling HSS pickup configuration that we know you’ll dig.

In the bridge, you’ll find our Seymour Duncan Custom Trembucker. This pickup offers a similar tone to the ’59, but cranks up the output to push your rig a bit more. This makes it very versatile. And that’s part of why it has become one of our most popular humbuckers.

In the middle, you’ll find our STK-S4m Classic Stack Plus Strat pickup. As its name implies, this pickup offers classic Strat tones. But, by adding a specially-designed coil underneath the pickup, it eliminates that annoying 60-cycle hum. And who doesn’t want classic Strat tone without the buzz?

A Strat’s neck position pickup offers tubular low end and crystal-clear highs that are positively addicting. And the STK-S7 Vintage Hot Stack Plus found in this HSS combo’s neck position offers all of that and more. Slightly hotter than vintage output is a bit warmer, it’s a bit louder, and it has a bit more sustain than other vintage-voiced designs. This makes it the perfect complement to this HSS set’s Duncan Custom in the bridge.

High Gain

• Bridge – Nazgûl Trembucker
• Middle – SHR-1n Hot Rails Single-Coil Sized Humbucker
• Neck – SHR-1n Hot Rails Single-Coil Sized Humbucker

Not all high-gain guitarists use dual humbucking pickups. There are some brutal tones that also await in a metal-minded set of HSS guitar pickups. Here’s our pick for the best ones.

The Nazgûl Trembucker epitomizes aggressive tone. Though a passive design, this humbucker delivers intense output perfect for driving your amp or favorite dirt pedals. And the Nazgûl is voiced explicitly for the demands of modern metal. We gave it an exceedingly tight low end for extreme clarity and tight punch. And its midrange balances with its high frequencies, ensuring harmonically rich distortion.

If you’re choosing the Nazgûl for your HSS pickups, you need neck and middle pickups that can keep up. And our Seymour Duncan Hot Rails are perfect for the job. They feature a dual-coil rail design, ceramic magnets, and over-wound coils. And they’re our highest-output single-coil-sized humbuckers. So when you switch from your Nazgûl, you’re greeted with an equally full-bodied and ferocious tone.

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about finding the best HSS pickup configurations, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth info, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.

Three Jazzmaster pickups perfect for the wide-ranging sounds of indie and alternative rock.

To choose the best guitar pickups for Alternative Rock, Indie, or Pop, we need to define the sound of the genres. Luckily, ever since these genres’ ‘90s heyday, Fender’s famous offset guitars remain part of the scene’s sonic signature. You’ll find Mustangs, Jaguars, and even JagStangs fronting countless Alt. Rock and Indie bands.

But none of them quite boast the legacy of the Jazzmaster. From the alt-pop of Vampire Weekend to noise pioneers Sonic Youth, this offset gem always delivers its clear and precise, yet massive and untamed voice.

For those reasons, we consider Jazzmaster pickups to be among the best guitar pickups for Alternative Rock, Indie, and Pop.

“But which Jazzmaster pickups?”

Here are three of our favorites.

Our Three Picks

• Vintage Jazzmaster
• Antiquity II Jazzmaster
• Quarter Pound Jazzmaster

Vintage Jazzmaster

New Jazzmaster-style guitars can often sound less-than Jazzmaster. That’s because many companies use pickups not based on the vintage originals. What you often get are pickups that are more in line with P90 single-coils rather than Jazzmasters. They may be great-sounding guitars, but they don’t deliver the vintage character that indie music and alt music requires.

Not so with our Vintage Jazzmaster pickups. They use vintage-correct, hand-ground Alnico 5 rod magnets; Forbon flatwork; and cloth push-back wire. Vintage Jazzmasters are wax potted and the neck pickup is reverse-wind, reverse polarity to cancel 60-cycle hum when the pickups are combined. So if you want the genuine tone of ‘60s Jazzmasters, the Vintage Jazzmaster pickups are the ones to get.

• Hand-ground Alnico 5 rod magnets
• Vintage-correct Forbon flatwork
• Cloth push-back hook-up wire
• Neck model is wound RWRP for hum-canceling in the middle position
• Wax potted for squeal-free performance

Antiquity II Jazzmaster

Are the Vintage Jazzmaster pickups not “vintage-correct” enough for you? Then get ready for the Antiquity II Jazzmaster set.

These single-coils take the jangle, round lows, and clear tone of the Vintage set to the next level. They are hand-made in our Custom Shop, and feature period-correct hand-ground Alnico 5 magnets; vintage-correct gray flatwork; and cloth push-back lead wire. The Alnico 5 magnets are also degaussed and calibrated to emulate the natural aging process that pickup magnets undergo after 60 years of play. Additonally, the Antiquity II Jazzmasters are custom-wound with heavy formvar mag wire.

This equates to the glassy tones, definition, and wide frequency response of the best vintage Jazzmasters. Grab a set and discover why they’re still the standard in Indie and Alternative Rock.

• Hand-ground Alnico 5 magnets
• Custom coil wind with heavy formvar mag wire
• Vintage-correct gray flatwork
• Cloth, push-back lead wire
• Neck model is wound RWRP for hum-canceling in the middle position
• Lacquered and wax potted like the originals

Quarter Pound Jazzmaster

No list of the best guitar pickups for Alternative Rock would be complete without something more powerful. For that, we recommend the Quarter Pound Jazzmaster pickups.

These single-coils use similar Alnico 5 rod magnets to those used in the Vintage Jazzmaster set, but they’re larger. They’re a ¼” in diameter in fact, hence the name Quarter Pound. Add that to the pickups’ custom, overwound coils, and you’re ready for even the fiercest fuzzes.

The Quarter Pound Jazzmaster’s tone lies somewhere between a traditional Jazzmaster and a P90. So you can expect plenty of warmth from the neck. And the bridge will provide a focused midrange punch, ideal for cutting through distorted harmonics. The Quarter Pound Jazzmasters are also wax potted to control their aggressive tendencies.

• ¼” diameter Alnico 5 rod magnets
• Custom, overwound coil
• Neck model is wound RWRP for hum-canceling in the middle position
• Drop-in replacements for Fender American Standard Jazzmaster-sized pickups
• (NOTE: pole pieces will not go through the cover)
• Custom flatwork
• Wax potted for squeal-free operation

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about the best pickups for alternative rock, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth info, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.

No matter the tone, there’s a humbucker replacement pickup set that will get you close. There are thousands of them. But a lot of the most popular pickups sell individually, without a matched set. Often, they might not even have a designated bridge or neck counterpart. So if you’ve found the perfect bridge humbucker, how do you find its perfect neck-position complement? How do you know which is the best pickup configuration? How do you mix and match different types of pickups?

We’ll show you!

The Control: Jason Becker Perpetual Burn Humbucker

Let’s use our Perpetual Burn, Jason Becker’s signature bridge humbucker, as an example. It is a hotter pickup designed to push your amp. We’ll pair it with three different neck-position humbuckers, illustrating how each gives your guitar a specific character. While this focuses on the Perpetual Burn, this construction process can be used by anyone looking to find the best pickup combination, humbuckers or otherwise.

Best Humbucker Pickup Configurations

• High-gain Clarity: Perpetual Burn / Jazz
• Vintage Warmth: Perpetual Burn / ’59
• Modern Precision: Perpetual Burn / Sentient

High-gain Clarity: Perpetual Burn / Jazz

So you’re loving the higher output Jason Becker humbucker. But every time you switch the neck pickup, your gain-y tone turns to mush. What you need is a humbucker with a slight bass roll-off and more presence in the top end. You’re the perfect candidate for a Seymour Duncan Jazz Model neck humbucker.

Similar in output to a PAF-style humbucker, the Jazz exudes a voice all its own. By tightening up the low frequencies and retaining vintage-humbucker clarity, the Jazz cuts through high-gain tones with ease. And thanks to how well its liquid-sounding distorted tones still translate picking nuance, it’s easy to see why we included it on this list.

Vintage Warmth: Perpetual Burn / 59

For the best of two classic-sounding eras, combine the ’80s-approved Perpetual Burn bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan 59 model neck. Tonally, the 59 blooms with the clear top end, pillow warmth, and slightly scooped mids characteristic of the best vintage humbuckers. When paired with the Perpetual Burn, it lets you go from clear and warm neck tones to an amp shredding bridge pickup with the flick of your toggle switch.

And while other PAF-style humbuckers go after extreme vintage-detail, the 59 brings the best vintage attributes together with modern design. This includes wax potting and 4-conductor wiring options for vast switching configurations. So if you’re looking for a classic rock sound, the best pickup configuration probably includes a Seymour Duncan 59.

Modern Precision: Perpetual Burn / Sentient

Metal guitarists are particularly die-hard about their pickups. But even in metal, styles change over time. At one point, it was all about high-output, active pickups. And many of these pickups still reign. But, with the advent of modern, progressive metal, players needed something different. They turned to lower-output designs that accentuate very particular frequencies. This gives their tone punishing power while offering a new level of high-gain clarity.

Players like Ola Englund have even created great-sounding metal pickup shootout videos for Seymour Duncan.

The Seymour Duncan Sentient neck humbucker is a perfect example of these future-forward humbuckers. Its voice is tailor-made to deliver low-output clarity and full-throated attack. It also boasts an extremely wide frequency range. So if you’re putting your Perpetual Burn through down-tuned shredding à la Jeff Loomis, we highly recommend you check out the Sentient.

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about how to find the best humbucker set or the pickup configuration, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth info, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.

Your guitar’s tone capacitors (caps) are the most underrated component of your guitar. Tone caps are so underrated, many players never even utilize their tone knobs. Others still settle for the one that came in their guitar and don’t realize how easy they are to customize.

The truth is, a simple swap of your tone cap adds versatility and personalized control to your guitar. These relatively inexpensive, tiny components are the key to taming harsh frequencies, nailing darker, woody tones, and even delivering wah pedal-style effects.

So let’s pull back the curtain on these misunderstood marvels. Hopefully, this will inspire you to try some out and find the right one for your sound.

With subjective things like tone capacitors, it’s extremely easy to get into the weeds. Some players are incredibly focused on the minute details of capacitor construction. Others say that all capacitors are created equal. We’re not picking sides right now. We’ll only explain the different types and ratings to let you draw your own conclusions.

Types and Materials

Electric guitars feature three main types (materials) of tone capacitors. Ceramic, paper-in-oil, and polypropylene. The tonal differences between them is a debate for the ages. But there are some commonly held beliefs. We’ll investigate those differences, where each type excels, and why they’re so popular.

Popular materials

• Ceramic
• Paper-in-oil
• Polypropylene

Ceramic

Ceramic capacitors are the most prevalent type of capacitor in electronics. They’re small, easy to work with, and extremely inexpensive. And, in theory, they do the same job as every other cap out there.

Many players and guitar builders have no problem with ceramic capacitors. But many others avoid them for what they consider a ‘thin sound.’ This bad rap is largely because the quality and tolerances of inexpensive components can vary quite dramatically. Therefore some ceramic caps might sound terrific, while another with the exact same specs might not.

Paper-in-oil

You’ll often hear that paper in oil capacitors are the only way to go. Much of this is because Gibson used them (specifically, the famed Bumblebee caps) during their 1950s golden era. These vintage caps are so desirable that used and NOS versions regularly sell for mind-numbing prices—when they can be found, that is.

Paper-in-oil capacitors are said to have a smoother tone that is essential to the vintage guitar “magic.” The only downside to these capacitors is that they are much more expensive than the other options. Even though many companies are now making more affordable recreations of the iconic caps, they still demand a premium.

Polypropylene

While the term polypropylene isn’t necessarily a buzz word, “Orange Drop capacitor” is. Not only are they some of the most popular polypropylene capacitors on the market, but they even give Bumblebees a run for their money with the tone-hound crowd.

Orange Drops and other polypropylene caps are known for an open tone. And in many ways, they are the perfect balance of high-quality manufacturing, reliability, and affordability. We highly recommend these capacitors to all guitarists.

Ratings

When it comes to guitar tone, capacitor ratings are what matters most. These ratings indicate how the cap will perform as you roll your guitar’s tone back. The higher the rating, the darker the tone. Lower the rating, the brighter the tone. It’s that easy.

While there is a wide range of ratings to choose from, the vast majority of electric guitars feature one of only a few options. We’ll focus on those three. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try others!

Popular ratings

Microfarads = µF. Picofarads = pF

• .015 µF 15,000 pF
• .022 µF 22,000 pF
• .047 µF 47,000 pF

.015 µF

.015 µF capacitors aren’t as popular as the other two in this list. But they’re definitely getting there. They are perfect for fine control of your high-end frequencies throughout the full sweep of your tone knob. They are also fantastic for taming harsh frequencies without muddying up your signal. If your current tone knob gets too dark too fast, .015 µF capacitors are well worth your time.

.022 µF

If there is a default capacitor for electric guitars, the .022 µF is it. While they do interact differently with humbucking and single-coil pickups, they work great on both setups. That said, they are most often found in humbucker-equipped guitars.

And their balance of clarity and ability to get warm and woolly make them the best place to start on a tone capacitor journey.

.047 µF

.047 µF capacitors are the second most popular choice. They are darker than the other two options. That’s why Fender often relies on them for their brighter Stratocaster and Telecaster pickups.

You’ll find your high-end detail will disappear fast as you really roll your tone knob back. But this is why many players love them. Their dark, mid-range focus is especially popular with jazz players and those after Clapton’s “woman” tone.

Tech Tips: Capacitors feature a voltage rating which also indicates the physical size of the cap. Because almost all capacitors will easily handle the voltages produced by your guitar, these ratings are not an important tonal consideration. But you do need to be sure you find a size that will fit in your guitar’s electronics cavity.

Swapping tone caps is an extremely powerful, affordable, and easy-to-accomplish modification – unless you’re looking for a Holy Grail, vintage capacitor right out of a ‘59 burst. So head to your local electronics shop, grab a bunch of different values and materials, and start experimenting.

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about tone capacitors, pickups, or other guitar upgrades, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper 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.

When it comes to guitar upgrades, there are countless options. Some are mechanical and make your guitar play better and more reliably. Others are electronic or focus on improving your tone. So which upgrades are right for you? Here are 10 of our favorites. They’re affordable, reversible, and easy to do. So, get out your soldering iron and let’s go.

Top 10 Guitar Upgrades

• Conversion-style pickups
• Take advantage of needed repairs
• Coil-splitting, tapping, and series/parallel switching
• Standard and ’50s wiring schemes
• Installing a treble bleed
• Upgrading pots and capacitors
• Going active (or passive)
• Eliminating microphonic pickups
• Upgrade your guitar collection
• Upgrade your tuning machines

Conversion-style pickups

Generally, guitarists will stick to either humbuckers or single-coil pickups. Each pickup has its own “thing” and is perfect for the music they play. But what if you’re a Strat guy who wants LP tone? Or what if you want Tele twang from your HSH Schecter?

Conversion-style pickups are the answer.

Conversion-style pickups are single-coils that fit in humbucker-size routes and humbucking pickups that fit in single-coil routes. They’re a great way to outfit your guitar with something from the other side of the tonal spectrum.

Here are a few to check out.

Humbucker-sized single-coil:

Phat Cat

Single-coil-sized humbuckers:

Little ’59

JB Jr.

Red Devil

Take advantage of needed repairs

Things happen, and most guitars will eventually need repair. Instead of dreading the situation, think of it as a perfect time to make the upgrades you’ve had your eye on.

If you wore out your frets, try out some stainless steel frets. Did an old pickup die on you? Head to seymourduncan.com and replace it with a pickup that nails the tone in your head.

Not only will you have repaired your guitar, but you’ll have better performance, better tone, and better reliability.

Coil-splitting, tapping, and series/parallel switching

Conversion-style pickups aren’t the only way to get unexpected tones from your favorite guitar. With our Triple Shot Mounting Rings or couple push-pull pots and the right pickups, you’ll have access to multiple voices on demand. And you can get them all without damaging or changing the look of your guitar.

Coil-splitting

Coil-splitting removes one of the coils from a 4-conductor (4c) humbucker. This leaves you with true single-coil pickup performance.

Coil-tapping

Tapping differs from splitting by bypassing some of the pickup’s copper windings instead of a whole coil. This delivers a lower-output and more chiming tone with a single-coil character. It also maintains a humbucker’s hum-canceling properties.

Tech Tips: Because coil-tapping doesn’t require an extra coil, it works with both humbucking and single-coil pickups. This gives you full and half-power modes.

Series/parallel switching

Like coil-tapping, upgrading your guitar with a series/parallel switch offers humbuckers a unique, single-coil-like tone. The tone is closer to a P-90 single-coil than a Tele or Strat pickup. And, it also maintains the humbucker’s hum-canceling properties.

Tech Tips: These upgrades—except coil-tapping—are specific to 4-conductor humbucking pickups. Nearly all Seymour Duncan humbuckers are available with 4-conductor lead wire.

You can find wiring diagrams for these upgrades and many more right here at Seymour Duncan.

The next three guitar upgrades are admittedly similar. Each is its own take on maximizing the musicality of your guitar’s controls through various wiring methods.

Standard and ‘50s wiring schemes

We’ll start with one of the most impactful, simple, and inexpensive upgrades you can give your guitar, rewiring your electronics from Standard wiring to ‘50s-style wiring.

Standard wiring:

You’ll find Standard wiring on most passive electric guitars currently on the market. This style of wiring is a compromise. While you may lose high end at various volume settings, your controls will work in a predictable and pleasing way.

’50s wiring:

In the 1950s, Gibson utilized a different scheme that delivered its own benefits and drawbacks. For players that demand excellent retention of high-end detail when lowering their volume control, this is the way to go.

It’s important to note, ’50s wiring can make your tone and volume controls very interactive. So, while you retain great clarity, some players find the rest of their electronics’ ever-changing action to be a bit much.

Head here for more on this classic and straightforward upgrade.

Installing a treble bleed

If you want to retain your top-end detail but aren’t ready for ’50s wiring, we suggest adding a treble bleed circuit to your guitar.

Treble bleeds are as simple as adding a capacitor or a capacitor/resistor combination to your volume pots. With some quick soldering and a few minutes work, you’ll be able to roll your volume control to any setting without losing any sonic detail.

The two most popular treble bleed circuits:

Capacitor only

Maintains top-end while allowing lower frequencies to roll off. Offers incredible clarity but can thin your tone as you roll the volume back.

How to: Solder the capacitor of your choice between the input and output terminals of your volume pot(s).

Capacitor and resistor:

Maintains the signal’s low frequencies as well as the highs. Offers a natural-sounding drop in output throughout the range of the pot. This method does affect the pot’s taper, however; offering precise control throughout most of the sweep, then an abrupt shut off at the end.

How to: Solder a .002 capacitor and a 100k resistor in parallel between the volume pot’s input and output terminals.

Upgrading pots and capacitors

Do you wish you could customize your pots’ taper and frequencies? You can. And it’s as inexpensive as it is easy to do.

Every potentiometer and capacitor sports a value that determines how it interacts with your guitar’s signal. And by mixing and matching these values, you can bring out more sonic detail, tame harsh frequencies, turn your tone pot into a pseudo wah, or mellow it only to take a bit off the top.

Common pot values

250k: single-coil pickups

Rounds off some high-end to control brightness

500k: humbuckers

Allows a broader range of frequencies through, giving darker pickups more life in the top register.

1Meg: Jazzmaster and some Tele pickups

Very open frequency response. Perfect for some pickups, way too bright for others.

25k: Mainly used for active pickups

Tech Tips: There is a wide range of pot and capacitor values commonly used on electric guitars. In a passive circuit, they each contribute their own character and won’t damage your guitar. We recommend grabbing a handful and finding the one that delivers your perfect taper and tone.

Going active or passive

If you’re upgrading your guitar’s pickups, the first question you have to answer is, “active or passive?” Which one is best for your guitar is up to you. But, if you need a change, swapping one for the other may be the most powerful upgrade out there.

Passive electronics:

From the very first pickups ever invented, passives have delivered the goods. They are usually lower output than their active counterparts. And they’re often referred to as being more “natural” and “dynamic” sounding.

Active electronics:

Active pickups—pickups that require an external power source such as a 9-volt battery—hit the scene in a big way in the 1980s. By combining a pickup with an onboard powered preamp, actives are capable of massive output. And, they retain their voice throughout their whole volume range. Their design also sends a naturally buffered signal that’s ideal for driving long cable runs and effect chains.

Eliminating microphonic pickups

Do your pickups seem to catch every noise in the room? Or have you ever gotten too close to your amp and received a face full of high-pitch, uncontrolled squeal? If so, there’s a good chance you have microphonic pickups.

Many vintage and vintage-correct pickups are not wax potted. While many prefer this for tonal reasons, it can lead to these microphonic issues. So if you’re tired of vintage-style pickups giving you vintage-style problems, we recommend upgrading to a pickup with a more modern design.

Seymour Duncan offers some incredible vintage-voiced pickups that address the concerns of modern players.

Here are a few of our favorites

’59

Alnico II Pro Strat

Five Two Tele

Upgrade your guitar collection

This one is a bit more of a why upgrade than an upgrade itself. But it is a massive upgrade to your whole guitar collection nonetheless.

Many players have a guitar that doesn’t get as much love as the others. Bad tone, playability, or appearance could all be the reason. That guitar is the perfect one to upgrade!

Throw a new set of pickups in there, tweak its electronics to taste, or fix that repair you meant to get to. You may find that guitar is a level up from the rest of your arsenal.

Upgrading your tuning machines

A guitar can’t sound good if it doesn’t stay in tune. Luckily, you can find a wide range of guitar tuners that will take your guitar to the next level. From locking models to high-quality vintage designs, it’s all out there. So if it’s time to give your instrument more stability, spend the money and get a great set of rock-solid tuning machines. You’ll be glad you did.

Let’s talk tone!

Want to know more about guitar upgrades and swapping pickups? Check out the SEYMOUR DUNCAN ONLINE PICKUP CLASSES. Our expert technicians will walk you through every step of the process and teach you all you need to know to create the guitar of your dreams.

If you have any other questions about guitar upgrades or how to perform them, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper 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.

Changing guitar pickups is one of the most powerful upgrades you can do to your guitar and improve tone. It can breathe new life into an old guitar, fix problems with a defective pickup, optimize the guitar for a specific rig, and much more.

While the idea of changing guitar pickups is overwhelming to some, we’re here to show you how easy it can be. We’ll debunk five misconceptions about the process, show you that you can do it, what to expect, and why it’s all worth it.

5 Misconceptions About Changing Guitar Pickups

1. Changing guitar pickups is hard
2. All pickups sound the same
3. There’s such thing as “good” and “bad” tone
4. Hotter or lower output—which is better?
5. “X” signature pickup will make me sound exactly like “X” artist

Changing guitar pickups is hard

While upgrading your electric guitar’s pickups does require a bit of soldering and wiring know-how, it’s much more straightforward than it may seem at first glance. A wide variety of wiring diagrams are available for free right here; most pickup swaps are simple, drop-in replacements; and soldering is a quick process. Believe it or not, a full pickup swap can take as little as 20 minutes of your time.

And to make things even easier, Seymour Duncan offers in-depth courses that will walk you through every step of the process. Whether customizing an LP, going active, or working with a Strat or Tele, we cover it all. Check it out here.

All pickups sound the same

We all know a tone snob or two that will wear you out about when a company made a specific wire, or about where exactly in the world a specific tone wood is sourced. And, don’t get us wrong, that stuff is all important. But, sometimes it can feel a little bit over the top, right? Well, arguing that all pickups sound the same is just as misdirected.

Different pickups can sound wildly different from each other. Their output, frequency response, and even the amount of magnetic pull they put on your guitar strings deliver unique tonal properties. Even between pickups with similar character traits, such as our Seth Lover and Antiquity humbuckers, there are distinct differences in sound and feel.

So if you’re not happy with your guitar’s tone, there’s a pickup that fixes that. Our advice is to experiment and enjoy the tone journey.

There’s such thing as “good” and “bad” tone

Guitar tone is subjective. We’re all going for something different, using different rigs, drawing from different influences, and are stuck with the fingers we’ve got. Therefore, we’re never all going to agree on what defines good and bad tone. That sentiment directly correlates to electric guitar pickups.

No well-made pickup is intrinsically good or bad. They can only be good or bad at delivering the results you’re after. Do you want to slam the front-end of your high-gain tube amp as hard as possible? Go with a set of Mick Thompson signature Blackout active humbuckers. Want the closest thing to a ’60s Strat pickup as possible? The Antiquity II Surfer Strat set delivers. Get those backward, and you may find yourself with “bad tone.”

Hotter or lower output—which is better?

This misconception ties into the last one. And, like the good and bad tone debate, there is no such thing as “better” output. There’s just what’s better for you. Determining how much output is right for your rig is about how hard you want to drive your amps and pedals.

The Eric Steckel “Candy” humbucker set is a perfect example. Steckel’s high-gain “Bluesmetal” tone is to die for. But, Eric prefers low-output humbuckers.

The inimitable Steve Lukather is another one. For decades, he relied on a high-output, fully active set of pickups. Yet it’s his clean rhythms and in-between tones that drove hundreds of songs to the top of the charts.

And remember, you always have a volume knob or boost pedal if you want a dynamic shift.

“X” signature pickup will make me sound like “X” artist

Did you know that dropping a Joe Bonamassa Amos pickup set into your Les Paul isn’t going to make you sound exactly like Joe? And a Secret Agent Tele neck pickup won’t turn you into Brad Paisley. The point of signature pickups is to give you the same tools the artist uses to perfect what makes them sound unique. The pickups are incredible ways to move your sound in that direction. But, they are also perfect platforms for creating your own signature sound in a similar vein.

But don’t take our word for it

The funny thing about all tone advice is that it’s all subjective. You may disagree with all five of these pointers. That’s why we always recommend taking this—and all—tonal advice with a grain of salt.

Maybe you’ve never been able to master the soldering iron. Maybe you dropped a set of Dino Carzares’s Retribution humbuckers in your 7-string and nailed the Fear Factory punch. Again, tone is subjective. The important thing is that you experiment with changing guitar pickups and find what works for you.

Let’s talk tone!

Want to know more about changing guitar pickups? Check out the SEYMOUR DUNCAN ONLINE PICKUP CLASSES. Our expert technicians will walk you through every step of the process and teach you all you need to know to create the guitar of your dreams.

If you have any other questions about changing pickups or other guitar upgrades, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dive deeper 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.

Seymour Duncan’s three best passive pickups for classic rock tone.

Choosing the best classic rock pickups can be a bit daunting. Some people say Hendrix is classic rock, while others say, Journey. And some people even claim Nirvana has crossed into classic territory. We say classic rock is defined by the iconic ‘passive humbucker into a cranked tube amp’ sound that powered the late ‘60s through the 1970s. Want to know how to get that tone? Read on and discover what we think are the…

3 Best Guitar Pickups for Classic Rock.

• Pearly Gates Humbucker Set
• Saturday Night Special Humbucker Set
• Whole Lotta Humbucker Set

PEARLY GATES HUMBUCKER SET

When we guitarists think about the Pearly Gates, we’re thinking about ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and his legendary ’59 Les Paul. And the LP’s special set of pickups is a critical part of what gave the Billy-Pearly pair their genre-defining tone.

The Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Set are replicas of the original PAFs found in Pearly Gates, Gibbons’s ’59 Gibson Burst Les Paul. Like the original humbuckers, they sing with a unique mid-range and feature a slightly hotter output than other PAFs of the ’59 era. And Gibbons swears by them for the unique way they cut through the band while retaining the response and clarity of classic vintage humbuckers.

We designed the Pearly Gates humbucking pickups with Alnico 2 magnets, which retain the airy top end that make PAFs famous. And they’re even wound on Seymour’s original Leesona winding machine from the early Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It’s the winding machine that made the original ’59 PAFs, history’s best passive pickups for rock.

Combine the voice of those PAF humbuckers with the undeniable ZZ Top tone, and you can see why the Pearly Gates Set made this list of the best classic rock pickups.

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL SET

The Saturday Night Special Set is all about nailing that late ’70s arena rock tone. It was a time when guitarists wanted more gain from their amplifiers. But high-output humbucking pickups, as we know them today, didn’t exist yet. What did exist we’re passive humbuckers that were slightly hotter than PAFs that sang with a fatter tone. This continues to make those ’70s humbuckers among the best passive pickups for rock, ever.

With the Saturday Night Special Set, we took these punchy classic rock pickups a step further. By removing some of the neck’s wooly low-end, we keep the pickup’s fat, classic sound without it getting muddy. This also balances the neck and bridge pickups to perfection.

These pickups bridge the gap between vintage humbuckers and modern power. So if you like classic rock pickups with plenty of punch, put a set of the Saturday Night Specials in your guitar today.

WHOLE LOTTA HUMBUCKER SET

We’re guessing you already figured out the artist that inspired the Seymour Duncan Whole Lotta Humbucker Set. And while we know that these pickups capture this player’s classic rock tone (Seymour wound the originals), it’s the story behind them that’s the most fascinating.

During Seymour Duncan’s time working at Fender Sound House in London, he befriended some of the most legendary electric guitarists in history. One of these icons was the lead guitarist for The Yardbirds. Through that friendship, Seymour rewound one of his faulty pickups. That pickup remains in the guitarist’s most recognizable guitar to this day.

Thanks to Seymour’s meticulous note-taking on the pickup’s construction, that same pickup can now be yours!

The soul of the Whole Lotta Humbucker Set is a vintage-style humbucker. But it boasts a hotter output than most pickups from that era. Players love them for the slight compression and sustain they add to your tone. So, if you love the sound that powered the “Hammer of the Gods,” you can thank these classic rock pickups.

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about finding the best pickups for classic rock, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper 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.

The Seymour Duncan Brad Paisley Secret Agent Tele neck pickup is a revolution in twang. It gives Esquires the Telecaster’s flexibility while retaining the unique tone and punch of Esquire pickups. It can also give your Telecaster the sleek and minimalist style of an Esquire while still delivering the Tele’s wide breadth of tone. Best of all, guitar pickup installation is a breeze. And no-one even has to know it’s there.

But how can a pickup meant for Esquires be a great-sounding Telecaster neck pickup? Is there even such thing as an Esquire neck pickup? And won’t this require complicated and irreversible mods to my guitar?

Yes, it can. There is now. And chances are, you’re guitar’s already ready to go. So let’s get to work.

As you can imagine, the Secret Agent guitar pickup installation is different from mounting a traditional Telecaster neck pickup. Since there are no holes in your pickguard, there’s no way to hang the Secret Agent. Since there are no mounting screw holes in the pickup, you can’t mount it to the body the way you usually would. Then how do you do it?

All it takes are five easy steps.

1. Prepare guitar
2. Install Mounting Foam
3. Pickup Installation
4. Electrical Connections
5. Reinstall Pickguard and Strings

Tech Tips: This Secret agent pickup installation guide assumes you don’t already have a pickup in your neck position route. If you do, you’ll find step-by-step instructions on pickup removal here.

Tools you’ll need

• Seymour Duncan Brad Paisley Secret Agent Tele Neck Pickup
• Foam mounting pad (included with pickup)
• Soldering iron and proper solder
• Screwdriver
• Esquire pickguard with no neck pickup route

1. Prepare Guitar

Step one is to remove your guitar strings and unscrew and remove your pickguard. If you have an Esquire-style guitar, you may be surprised to find a Tele neck pickup route already hiding under your pickguard. Most T-style electric guitars have this route from the factory.

Tech Tips:

It’s not 100% necessary to remove your strings for the installation. But we recommend it as it makes the procedure much easier.

 

2. Install Mounting Foam

There are no mounting screws, springs, or rubber tubing included with your Secret Agent single-coil pickup. There’s no need for them. Instead, you’ll find a foam pad sporting gripping adhesive for connecting it to the pickup. This foam sits between your pickup and the guitar body, providing optimal height and stability.

To attach it to the bottom of the pickup, simply expose the adhesive strip, ensure correct alignment, then press the Secret Agent down onto the adhesive with equal pressure across the pickup and the foam.

3. Pickup Installation and Electrical Connections

Other than the mounting foam, the Secret Agent installs much like other Telecaster neck pickups. But first, you have to make some tonal decisions. The Secret Agent gives you vast wiring options for different T-style tones. It does the Tele thing incredibly well. But there are a million more ways to wire the Secret Agent, including out-of-phase, tone control bypassed, even hum-canceling operation. You can find wiring diagrams for a lot of them right here. So don’t be afraid to experiment.

Once you know how you’ll be wiring your Tele, feed the pickup’s lead wires through the body cavities per your chosen wiring diagram (more on this in the next step). Make your correct electrical connections. And place the pickup, foam down, in the neck pickup cavity.

4. Reinstall Pickguard and Strings

Time to put your guitar back together. When you reinstall your pickguard (we recommend the sleek good looks of an Esquire pickguard), you’ll find your Secret Agent sticks out above the top of your guitar. Don’t worry, that’s how we designed it. When properly installed, the Secret Agent should touch the bottom of your pickguard, securing the pickup into place. It also keeps the pickup’s magnets as close to the strings as possible. So go right ahead and screw your pickguard back into place, pressing the Secret Agent down into the body route.

Now restring your guitar, and you’re ready to go!

“Wow! Sounds like and easy guitar pickups installation is easy, and the pickup is a cool idea. But can a pickup sound good when buried under a pickguard?”

We’re glad you asked. The Secret Agent marks a collaboration between two of the most respected names in electric guitar tone: Brad Paisley and Seymour Duncan. And neither put their name on anything unless it lives up to their meticulous expectations. So when Brad sticks the Seymour Duncan Secret Agent in his personal Esquires, we think that says enough.

Brad Paisley Secret Agent Tele

Buy Now

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about any Seymour Duncan pickups or installation, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth info, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.