Seymour Duncan has announced the arrival of three new additions to its electric guitar pickup range, in the form of the ’78, Green Magic and High Voltage models.
The three new pickups are all humbucker builds that have been inspired by a trio of iconic players, including Eddie Van Halen, Peter Green and Angus Young – though the brand stops short of name-checking them in the product descriptions.
First up, the ’78 takes its cues from a P.A.F. rewind first completed by Duncan in 1978 “with the instructions to rewind it and make it more sensitive to natural and artificial harmonics”.
It seems the brand are alluding to the Alnico 2-based humbucker that Duncan produced for Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Frankenstein Strat build in ’78. As such, it is reportedly “wound to the exact same hot specs as that original P.A.F.” and suited to “overtone-laden tapped runs”.
Next on the list of new additions is the Green Magic humbucker. Here, the clue is in the name as the new pickup pair takes its tonal inspiration from the unusual P.A.F. humbuckers on Peter Green’s ’59 Les Paul, which were out of phase (having been installed with a magnet that was accidentally placed in the reverse position).
Activate them both and you get a more single coil-style out-of-phase sound, courtesy of a flipped magnet on the neck unit. Expect them to produce the sort of neck-tone warmth of late ‘60s-era Fleetwood Mac.
Finally, the High Voltage pickups are all about hard-rocking, long-sustaining lead work and “legato riffage”, which – alongside the units’ name and the SG promo pic – calls to mind the tonal exploits of Australia’s finest rock exports, AC/DC. Expect them to be aggressive and tight, yet clean up nicely when required, utilizing Alnico 2 magnets.
Prices for the ’78, Green Magic and High Voltage humbuckers start from $129 per unit. For more information, head to Seymour Duncan’s official site.
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