You can't talk about pickups without mentioning Seymour Duncan, it's like a burger without the fries. As one of the foremost names in the replacement pickup industry the past few years have seen him develop many 'new' models mainly for old standard guitars like the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Les Paul and of course the Precision and Jazz basses. By analysing the best of the old pickups Seymour Duncan has developed a unique range of units which incorporate many of the old features but with many of todays hi-tech production techniques.

Contrary to the popular image of one man and his winding machine the pickups may be hand finished and individually tested but they are wound on very expensive (10 grand) computer controlled Swiss winding machines. It is this attention to the smallest details that give his units that special ingredient. The pickups, for example, are still hand waxed to reduce microphonics which is a rather messy process but guarantees success. Each of the units come with four-conductor wiring allowing all the typical options if desired.

Armed with my soldering iron I took a look at four pickups from the range including the latest addition, a high output humbucker to fit a Strat without any modification.

DUNCAN CUSTOM SH-5

RRP: £69.95

This is a standard humbucking size pickup, with two black open coils. The coil nearest to the bridge has slot head adjustable poles. It's designed to give a bit more bite to the PAF sound, but without losing the warmth and response of that pickup.

The design incorporates a thin, ceramic magnet which enhances the brightness, but doesn't destroy the tonal qualities. As with all Seymour Duncan pickups, it comes with a four conductor wiring, allowing many sound possibilities.

I fitted this to my guitar with a standard series/parallel wiring. Certainly, bite is what this pickup has in plenty — at low volume in the series mode, the pickup has a great deal of clarity and a full tone, although not as warm as a standard PAF type. In the parallel mode, the unit takes on quite a Fenderish tone, almost a Telecaster character. At high levels, it comes into its own with the sound really cutting through whilst retaining a clear tone. In the parallel mode at high levels we have quite a refined Telecaster sound.

The increased top end of the pickup makes false harmonics and tap notes easy to execute and the high output — in the super distortion bracket — allows the harmonics to really sing.

This is the unit that Eddie Van Halen uses on his Kramer and while it won't make you play like him, his style aptly describes the potential of the pickup.

Primarily a unit that would suit the rockers among you, I imagine, although the clear character of the pickup could give it a lot of other applications as well.

THE JB SH-4

RRP: £69.95

Another humbucker — this one has zebra coils, again with a single row of adjustable poles. It's designed to be a hotter PAF and is modelled on a pickup from Jeff Beck's late '50's Les Paul, as is the '59 model.

Seymour Duncan quotes this as being his favourite bridge pickup and it's not difficult to see why. In the series mode with a clear amp setting, we have what is an unmistakably classic sound of a typical PAF — clear and warm. This model seems to differ, however, in that it has a definite edge, contributing to a great depth in tone. Once again, it's ideal for false harmonics etc.

Cranked up, the pickup really suggests those sounds from the past and it really suits a few well timed Blues phrases. Although there is a noticeable difference between this and the Custom in terms of high treble, this JB has plenty of bite, which I think would be adequate for most applications.

In the parallel mode, we have a characteristically thinner tone as well as reduction in volume, but the tone here is nicely transparent without being overtly thin. It's a great rhythm sound, especially for Funk playing, and cries out for a stereo chorus.

It's probably the most versatile Seymour Duncan, especially if wired in Series parallel and it performed extremely well when placed out of phase with the neck pickup. I think where this pickup scores most highly is in the careful balance between power, tone and clarity of which there is all three in equal abundance.

I have a nasty suspicion that this unit won't be returned...

THE HOT STACK STK-S2

RRP: £55.95

The principal of the Seymour Duncan Stack design pickup is to provide a noise cancelling pickup by stacking two coils on top of each other, whilst retaining the size and more importantly the sound of a single coil unit.

This Hot Stack is a higher output version of the Standard model and is designed as a direct replacement for a Strat in the bridge position.

The magnet used is Alnico II as opposed to the cheaper Alnico V which is more commonly used on this type of pickup. It also has a soft character which allows the pickup to be positioned closer to the string than those with the Alnico V type, without the problems caused by string pull.

The pickup has a viable blade pole piece and comes with a rather unfashionable yet distinctive mauve cover to protect the unit.

In use, the pickup sounds excellent — totally different in character to a regular humbucker, producing a sound that is immediately Fender, (but without the noise). That unmistakable presence and brittle tone is very evident, especially in the parallel and thinner mode. The tone in the series mode has an increase in volume as well as added middle contributing to the bell-like tone which is so typical of a Strat. It was very easy to imagine I was playing a particularly special Vintage Strat. Certainly, of all the replacement Strat pickups which offer 'the original sound' this one to my ears, is by far the most accurate.

If you can't afford an original Strat — and let's face it, who can these days — I think this pickup will go a long way to make a dream sound come true. This isn't going to please Fender at all when I say that this Hot Stack sounds more Fender than Fender.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN HOT RAILS

RRP: £72.50

This is the newest addition to the Seymour Duncan range and there's nothing like leaving your trump card to last, is there!

The Hot Rails is a side by side, twin coil humbucker that fits in a single coil Strat hole! It really is quite something, featuring twin blade pole pieces round which the coils are wound. In appearance, the unit looks quite vintage and totally belies the sound. It's 1985 Heavy Metal — a really nasty sound — its raw and nasal with an output higher than any other in the range.

At clean amp settings, the Hot Rails falls somewhere between the JB and the Hot Stack and isn't particularly spectacular, although it's still perfectly good. It's just when you crank up the amp that the unit really sparkles. Whilst being powerful and dirty, it's a tight distortion that the unit creates, different from that of the Custom. I thought harmonics were easy on that pickup, but compared to this they're hard work! Chords too sound especially good, not mushy but tight, and you can get away with far more complicated chords without the usual unsympathetic vibrations occurring. If Mr Van Halen likes the custom then I strongly suggest that he has a go with this chap.

It's quite difficult to see how much power has been packed into such a small pickup, but that's really what this unit will provide. If you're into Heavy Rock but you like using a Strat-type guitar then try out this unit now — I can guarantee you won't be disappointed in the least. Certainly, the thought of having three of these on a Strat guitar is a frightening prospect; that is — frighteningly good!

Conclusions

I don't think I've had as much fun for ages, although both my guitar and me are suffering severe personality problems. One minute we're emulating Jeff Beck, the next it's Van Halen. Certainly each of the pickups tried here has an unmistakable character that will undoubtably change your guitar's sound. The trouble is, of course, choosing the right one! Thankfully Labtek have come up with an answer — if you buy a Seymour Duncan anywhere in the UK they'll allow you 21 days in which to try the pickup and, if you're not happy you can return it for another model. Mind you, Labtek told me that they've only had two pickups returned in the last 18 months!

Of course we can't leave any review without a thought for the price of the product, and these pickups have never been cheap. But, and it's big but, these are extremely fine. Of the many I've tried over the years both on mine and other people's guitars I've only had doubts about one unit, something I can't say about any other pickup manufacturer.

Mind you, one must consider the other manufacturers too, Di Marzio, EMG and Kent Armstrong, all of which make superb pickups fora wide range of sounds and prices. It would be wrong for me to pitch any of these makes against each other — the choice is yours. All I'll say is that I doubt if you'll be disappointed with a Seymour Duncan unit on your guitar, the only problem is picking the right one!

For: Accuracy of sound
Against: A little expensive

SEYMOUR DUNCAN PICKUPS — RRP: See Copy