Tech

Seymour Duncan Review

About Seymour Duncan

 Seymour Duncan Review

Ask any real guitarist about Seymour Duncan and they’ll undoubtedly have an opinion. After all, the brand boasts an impressive roster of devotees. 

Some of the most distinctive guitarists in the world rely on the brand’s equipment. I’m talking about heavyweights like Slash, Matt Bellamy, Wes Borland, and the late Dimebag Darrell.

They have over 590k followers on Instagram and a portfolio nearly 50 years long. In this Seymour Duncan review, I won’t examine their lineage in full, but I will look at what all the hubbub is about with their pickups.

Overview Of Seymour Duncan

 Seymour Duncan Review

Seymour Duncan is the product of Seymour Duncan (duh) and his wife Cathy Carter Duncan.

The former learned how pickups can affect and improve a guitar’s sound from none other than Les Paul, and opened a pickups shop with his wife after moving to California in 1976.

Word soon spread that the Duncans had a knack for drawing the best sounds out of people’s guitars, and the company began developing custom pickups for other types of guitars. 

Their hand-developed pickups gained traction among major guitarists. Eventually, Seymour Duncan earned a spot in the Vintage Guitar Hall of Fame.

As you’ll see later in this Seymour Duncan review, their pickups have a way of helping people transfer the sounds in their heads into real notes.

I’ll go into which styles some of their pickups are best suited for after covering a few of Seymour Duncan’s highlights.

Highlights

  • Offers sublime pickups, tuners, and more
  • Custom-made products available
  • Many of their items are hand-made 
  • Close relationships with many guitarists
  • Products are available internationally
 Seymour Duncan Review

In this Seymour Duncan review, I will focus primarily on the brand’s pickups. That being said, that’s not all they have to offer.

There are troves of other guitar-related items on their shelves like pedals, pedal amps, onboard electronics, and straps.

Seymour Duncan JB Model Pickups Review

I may as well give the first spotlight of this Seymour Duncan review to their most popular pickup of all time. 

Seymour Duncan JB Model Pickups have appeared in nearly every genre of rock music and it’s little surprise why – these pickups can enhance nearly every aspect of your guitar sound.

Lows, high, mids, and even single notes can all benefit from this style of pickup.

Each item was constructed by hand in the company’s Santa Barbara factory, giving them the human touch necessary for such an instrumental attachment. 

These are the pickups you’d want if you need versatility in your playing. You can grab the Seymour Duncan JB Model Pickups for $99.

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Pickups Review

With an easy installation and a sound that ages like wine, I just had to talk about the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Pickups

The open pastures, cloudless nights with the moon hanging high, tumbleweeds roving across wide open fields, these are all images that your Les Paul can conjure with these Seymour Duncan pickups.

The reason I’m including them in my Seymour Duncan review is because of how easily they can transport a Les Paul guitar back to the 1950s when country ruled the radio and Felina lived down in El Paso. 

These pickups have plenty of history, and it all comes through in their sound.

Expect breezy notes and hints of twangy when you attach the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Pickups to your guitar. They can be yours for $119.

Seymour Duncan Invader Pickups Review

There’s a reason that this pickup is named the Invader. It invades your guitar’s sound system and turns it into a monster. 

If you want loud, crunchy, and overwhelming tones that can pummel mortals into a paste and turn boys into men then you’re going to want the Seymour Duncan Invader Pickups.

Thankfully, these pickups aren’t all about raw power. They also add depth so that your guitar rings out with equal parts warmth, bite, low-end rumble, and definition. It shouldn’t strangle your notes so much as embellish their nastiest tendencies.

You can pick up the Seymour Duncan Invader Pickups (I can’t believe I made it this far without making that pun) for $109.

Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat Review

The last item I’m going to speak about in my Seymour Duncan review is probably my favorite, though that’s likely due to my listening preferences.

The Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat is as large as one coil but can totally rework your guitar into a heavy metal machine.

This item is particularly suited to bringing out the best of the sounds you’d want for heavier rock music.

Your chords should punch like Mike Tyson, your singular notes can pierce the ear like a bullet through drywall, and your riffs should have a bit more weight behind them.

You can buy the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat for $99.

Who Is Seymour Duncan For? 

 Seymour Duncan Review

Seymour Duncan is best suited for guitar enthusiasts with years of expertise under their belts.

Seymour Duncan Reviews: What Do Customers Think?

 Seymour Duncan Review

To give you an idea about what customers think about this brand, I’ve included the scores from the pickups I mentioned in this Seymour Duncan reviews and compiled them into a list. All of these numbers are from the brand’s own website:

  • Seymour Duncan JB Model Pickups: 5/5 stars based on more than 70 ratings
  • Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Pickups: 5/5 stars based on more than 40 ratings
  • Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat: 5/5 stars based on more than 99 ratings
  • Seymour Duncan Invader Pickups: 5/5 stars based on more than 25 ratings

I looked around at some other customer scores from a few more review hubs for a more balanced opinion. Here’s what I found on a couple of other websites:

  • Sweetwater: 4.6/5 stars based on more than 20 pieces of customer feedback on the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Model Bridge Humbucker Pickup 
  • Amazon: 4.8/5 stars based on more than 50 pieces of customer feedback on the Seymour Duncan SH-5 Duncan Custom Humbucker Pickup

As you can see, most Seymour Duncan reviews were quite glowing. In fact, many customers heralded the brand as their first choice when shopping for pickups.

Many fans were lifelong devotees because of how the company’s products altered the sounds of their guitars.

Here’s what one buyer wrote in their Seymour Duncan review: “I have tried them all over 35 years of playing. Perfectly balanced to play anything from metal to EVH and cleans up nicest. Sounds great in any guitar.

Another customer wrote that many of Seymour Duncan’s pickups were versatile yet easy to use. They said that “It sounds great in whatever application I”ve used it in. Rock, metal, country rock. It works because the tone is clean and usable.

Plenty of Seymour Duncan reviews went into detail about how the pickups altered the sounds of their guitar. 

The main takeaway is that nearly every customer could find the right tool for the job, regardless of whatever that job was. I’ve included one more buyer testimonial to drive that point home:

Overall it handles all styles you can throw its way very well ie: metal, jazz, funk, blues, fusion, pop, etc. I thought they all sounded great. Again I was very impressed with this pick up and if you’re looking for something to cover several styles and do it smoothly this would be the pup for you.

Is Seymour Duncan Legit?

 Seymour Duncan Review

I couldn’t find any information that made me think that Seymour Duncan is not legit.

Is Seymour Duncan Worth It?

 Seymour Duncan Review

Based on their legacy, their expertise, and their rousing reception with fans, I believe that Seymour Duncan is worth checking out if you’re a serious musician.

Seymour Duncan Promotions & Discounts 

 Seymour Duncan Review

Unfortunately, there weren’t any promotions or discounts on the brand’s website when I wrote this review.

Where To Buy Seymour Duncan

 Seymour Duncan Review

You can buy the products I wrote about in this Seymour Duncan review on the brand’s website, seymourduncan.com, as well as on Amazon and other music shops.

FAQ

 Seymour Duncan Review

Who owns Seymour Duncan?

Seymour Duncan (the brand) is owned by Seymour Duncan (the man) and his wife Cathy Carter Duncan.

Does Seymour Duncan ship internationally?

You can find local distributors of Seymour Duncan products on the brand’s website. 

What is Seymour Duncan’s Shipping Policy?

All shipping times and fees will be calculated at product checkout.

What is Seymour Duncan’s Return Policy?

You’ll have 21 days to exchange any Seymour Duncan item that isn’t custom-made for one that you prefer.

How To Contact Seymour Duncan

I’ll end this Seymour Duncan review by telling you how you can contact the brand. You can either call them at +1(805) 964 – 9610 or you can live chat with their workers through their website.


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