Gaps in the product line?

[playas]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

A few tele sets (could be largely based on combining existing pups) aimed at people who aren´t happy with tele neck pickups or want something different.

Eg. tele bridge combined with a 1) strat neck, 2) mini humbucker, 3) p-90, 4) full size humbucker.

I also agree with the suggestions of HSS, HSH sets.

[lemonman]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

More humbucker sized single coil options would be great. As mentioned, a lower wind Phat Cat type neck IMO really should be stock or at least a production option, and some other flavors would be pretty popular, I'd bet.A plastic covered HB-sized P90 would sell real well, as I'm aware of only one or two little guys who offer them, and they always get top mentions when people ask for what to buy.

[sosomething]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

At the risk of going off the rails..

which is why I suggested it be standard product line and not custom shop. If you don't forecast good sales, then so be it, but at that point any idea that might come up in the thread will be relegated to the custom shop and it's inevitable price point.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear with my other post.

What I meant was that, because inventory costs money, the benefit to maintaining half a dozen SKUs for nothing but mag swaps on any single given pickup design is probably cost-prohibitive at a standard production level. 99% of people buying them (who don't swap mags or post on SDUGF) will still buy the standard A5 version anyway.

Buuuuut I don't think that my saying this (and the real decision would be made above my pay grade anyway) precludes in any way the benefit of getting a little feedback from our most familiar community. There's evidence of this in the BroBucker (CS wind) and the 59/Custom Hybrid which is offered as a standard production model.

Maybe there's just certain kinds of businesses where your customers don't precisely know what they want until you give them some options, like the menu at a restaurant for example. They'll ask the customer how their food tasted, how well the wait staff treated you. rate your experience on a scale of 1 to 5... but you never see them ask customers for new menu ideas, and if they asked a room full of customers to design a new menu item by committee, an outcome like the Forum Pickup process might very well happen.

I think you make a pretty good point here. I especially like the restaurant comparison - that's apt. I think the SDUGF is maybe a little more informed than your average restaurant diner, though. Maybe more like major foodies who dabble at home and know the difference between swiss chard and arctic char.

I certainly didn't start this thread to get new ideas for the next SD production pickup. That's not my call at all. I'm asking purely out of my own curiosity and my desire to see a good discussion - mission accomplished, there!

Would be cool to me if they'd bring out a special edition Custom with the most popular mags included. Or, perhaps even cooler, Duncan mag swap kits. Or maybe even include hex screws and whatnot. Sort of a Duncan Pimp Your Pup Kit .

This is actually a really cool idea.

I could see something like that in my head. Maybe a single SKU with a nice selection of magnets and pole pieces, a little extra wire, and some pickup tape (in case you mess something up a bit).

Of course, those things are already easily and cheaply sourced from other places. Going back to DreX's restaurant analogy, it would be like selling you a dish and then giving you the option to purchase re-branded raw ingredients in case you want to do a little cooking of your own before you eat it.

That said, I still think it's a cool idea.

[JOLLY]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

Single coil sized humbuckers for Telecaster.....such as a custom, pearly gates, jazz, 59, etc.

[idsnowdog]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

Single coil sized humbuckers for Telecaster.....such as a custom, pearly gates, jazz, 59, etc.

Yep.

[Cdwillis]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

I'd like to see a blade humbucker with an alnico magnet (a5 or a8?) as an alternative to the ceramic mag dimebucker.

[Myaccount876]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

Single coil sized humbuckers for Telecaster.....such as a custom, pearly gates, jazz, 59, etc.

A tele pearly gates set would be PERFECT.

I would also want a humbucker-sized P-90 sounding pickup with noise cancelling. I had to go with the DiMarzio Bluesbucker for that rather than sporting duncans. I was turned off from Phat Cats by people saying they can be a bit dark while not really sounding completely "right". The closest I could think of in the existing line is the Pearly Gates, but I found that the PG doesn't sound as raunchy as a P90. I need a P90 guitar, but they're harder to find (I won't buy a guitar unplayed online).

[blueman335]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

I found that the PG doesn't sound as raunchy as a P90. I need a P90 guitar

I agree, P-90's have a sharp, more aggressive high end than a PGN (or a Phat CatN), both of which are warmer and more rounded.

[DreX]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

That would be killer of the could make a "Little" humbucker than made you think "Jazz SH-2".

[DreX]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

At the risk of going off the rails..



I'm sorry if I wasn't clear with my other post.

What I meant was that, because inventory costs money, the benefit to maintaining half a dozen SKUs for nothing but mag swaps on any single given pickup design is probably cost-prohibitive at a standard production level. 99% of people buying them (who don't swap mags or post on SDUGF) will still buy the standard A5 version anyway.

Buuuuut I don't think that my saying this (and the real decision would be made above my pay grade anyway) precludes in any way the benefit of getting a little feedback from our most familiar community. There's evidence of this in the BroBucker (CS wind) and the 59/Custom Hybrid which is offered as a standard production model.

It's probably too much to ask, but it would be cool to know what the hurdles are in making a Custom Shop idea in to a standard production model, so that we'd better understand what's at stake ourselves. There's a handful of Custom Shop pickups that seem a lot more appealing than some existing production pickups, such as the Psychedelic Strat pickups, or the "53 Tapped Tele", which the copy describes as "Seymour’s personal favorite Tele combo." very high praise for non production pickup.

[Chazzy]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

A neck pickup specifically designed for shredding.... not the full shred, something super modern.... erm maybe a update for a heavy metal bridge pup, not extreme like the black winter, but something pretty balanced around, not so sharp in the highs like the distortion, and a somewhat tight bass......i dunno, just putting some ideas out there

[sosomething]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

It's probably too much to ask, but it would be cool to know what the hurdles are in making a Custom Shop idea in to a standard production model, so that we'd better understand what's at stake ourselves. There's a handful of Custom Shop pickups that seem a lot more appealing than some existing production pickups, such as the Psychedelic Strat pickups, or the "53 Tapped Tele", which the copy describes as "Seymour’s personal favorite Tele combo." very high praise for non production pickup.

Yes and no.

It's too much to ask of me right now, because I don't know. But not too much because I think it's a good question! I'll do some prodding tomorrow and see what I can learn about that process.

My instant thought is just that the reason a CS "model," (that is, something with predefined specs that still must be ordered through the Custom Shop) is designated as such is because it either requires extra work or attention outside the purview of standard production, is something that the product managers feel won't sell well enough to take production space/time, or a combination of the two. But I will ask.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

I'd like to see a blade humbucker with an alnico magnet (a5 or a8?) as an alternative to the ceramic mag dimebucker.

I believe the Bill Lawrence L500's use an Alnico V. I love the Dimebucker, interesting thought!

[ArtieToo]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

I think I'd be more interested in more Duncan Performer pickups than trying to cover more ground.

Yup. I'd love to see the Duncan Designed line made retail.

Also, I'd love to see a few more "rails" pups. Like the Nokie Edwards or Hawkbucker.

[GilmourD]

Re: Gaps in the product line?

Yup. I'd love to see the Duncan Designed line made retail.

Also, I'd love to see a few more "rails" pups. Like the Nokie Edwards or Hawkbucker.

They were for a short while (as the Duncan Performer line) but they disappeared quietly at some point.