Seymour Duncan

Seymour Duncan

Type	Private
Industry	Pickups and effects pedals
Founded	1976 (1976)
Founder	Mr. Seymour W. Duncan and Ms. Cathy Carter Duncan
Headquarters	Goleta, California, United States
Products	pickups effects pedals
Number of employees	120
Slogan	"for tone that sets you apart"
Website	seymourduncan.com

External video

Oral History, Seymour Duncan talks about his first experience making a pickup using an old turntable to wind it. Interview date July 19, 2002, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library

Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan founded the company in 1976, in Santa Barbara, California. Starting around 1983–84, Seymour Duncan pickups appeared in Kramer Guitars as standard equipment along with Floyd Rose locking vibratos, and can now be found on instruments from Fender guitars, Gibson guitars, Yamaha, ESP Guitars, Ibanez guitars, Mayones, Jackson guitars, Schecter, DBZ Diamond, Framus, Washburn, and others.

History

Seymour Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan

Seymour W. Duncan became interested in guitars at a young age, and after lending his guitar to a friend who accidentally broke the pickup, Seymour decided to re-wind it, using a record player turntable to hold the pickup in place and rotate it while spooling wire around the pickup bobbin. He was then inspired by how the tone of the guitar had changed for the better, and started learning more about pickups from guitarist/inventor Les Paul, and later mentor and humbucker inventor Seth Lover. After having developed considerable skill working on guitars, Seymour gained employment at the Fender Soundhouse in London, where he started working on the instruments and pickups of artists including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. After having moved to California he met Cathy Carter Duncan and decided to start a pickup rewinding service. With demand for his services growing, Seymour and Cathy eventually expanded into offering their own Stratocaster, Telecaster and humbucking pickups, and within two decades had a full assortment of pickups for electric, bass and acoustic guitar as well as electric guitar accessories. In 2012 Seymour Duncan was inducted into the Vintage Guitar (magazine) Hall of Fame for contributions to the music industry, and he continues to create pickups in the Seymour Duncan factory in Santa Barbara, California.

Products

The company produces a large range of pickups for electric, acoustic, and bass guitars in several formats including single coil, humbuckers, and P-90. Some of their most popular guitar pickup models include the SH-1 '59, SHR-1 Hot Rails, SH-2 Jazz, SH-4 JB, and SH-1PG Pearly Gates. As of 2013, the company has moved into the 7/8 string guitar market with the Nazgûl, Pegasus^[1] and Sentient. They also produce a line of active pickups in their Blackouts series which they make in 6/7/8 string versions as well as in single-coil. In addition to their standard American-made product line, Seymour Duncan also produces a line of Korean-made "Duncan Designed" pickups intended for OEM use on mid-level guitars and basses.^[2]

The Dirty Deed distortion pedal, released in late 2013.

Seymour Duncan has also produced guitar effects pedals, to include the Seymour Duncan Dirty Deed distortion pedal, released in 2013. Seymour Duncan produced a small line of guitar amplifiers during the 1980s and 1990s.^[3] Although the effort was short-lived due to the company's lack of reputation as an amp builder, Seymour Duncan amplifiers are well respected and sought after today.^[4]

Over the years the Seymour Duncan company has invented numerous new products and holds a number of patents. Several of these relate to designs which cancel (or "buck") hum (thus, "humbucking") in single-coil pickups. These designs include Seymour Duncan's P-Rails series of P-90 pick-ups which provide both single-coil and humbucker tone in a single hum cancelling pickup.

Seymour Duncan also has artist signature products for Slash, Dimebag Darrell, Gus G, Joe Bonamassa, Synyster Gates, Jerry Donahue, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mick Thomson, Warren DeMartini and Steve Harris.

Famous users include Slash,^[5] Eddie Van Halen, Arlen Roth, Jeff Beck, Thurston Moore, Andy Summers, David Gilmour, Billie Joe Armstrong, Billy Gibbons, Scott Ian, Steve Harris, Synyster Gates, Dave Mustaine, Mark Hoppus, Ehsan Keramati, Tom Delonge, Blues Saraceno, Aaron Aedy, George Lynch, Kurt Cobain, Willie Adler, Tommy Kessler,^[6] Wayne Static, Zacky Vengeance, Mick Thomson, Johnny Ramone, Paul Rose, Mark Morton, Yngwie Malmsteen, Warren DeMartini, Dimebag Darrell, Dino Cazares, Michael Wilton, Marty Friedman, After The Burial, Gus G, Nuno Bettencourt, Monte Pittman, Corey Beaulieu, John Frusciante, Gary Moore, Eric Johnson, Steve Morse,^[7] Jimmy Page, Joe Bonamassa, and Bradley Nowell.

Custom Shop

Seymour Duncan pickup types

Seymour Duncan also maintains a Custom Shop that has been active since 1976. The Custom Shop is currently managed by Derek Duncan who has spent decades learning from his father Seymour W. Duncan. It also features Maricela Juarez "MJ" who has been winding pickups for over 30 years for countless famous musicians. The Custom Shop is known for building pickups for musicians who need something special, these include: humbuckers, single-coils, single-coil sized humbuckers, stacked pickups, Telecaster pickups, Gretsch pickups, Ripper and Mustang bass pickups, P-90 pickups and Charlie Christian reproductions as well as a full repair/rewind service. During the 80s and 90s certain employees did special winding. The Pickup code reflects this with an additional letter following the pickup code.^[8]

References

External links

• Seymour Duncan Audio Interview on Guitar Jam Daily
• Seymour Duncan official website
• Seymour Duncan Pickup Reviews