Seymour Duncan Announces '78, Green Magic and High Voltage Pickups

Mincer

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Thought the release deserved its own thread, not buried in another one.

The '78 Model

78-Model-Lifestyle.png

In the late 70s, Seymour Duncan was well known as the go-to guy for the tone-chasers that needed something custom. Sometime in ‘78 he was given a P.A.F. with the instructions to rewind it and make it more sensitive to natural and artificial harmonics. In other words, give it the Duncan “hot wind” with a little extra.





The Seymour Duncan ‘78 is loaded with an Alnico 2 magnet, wound to the exact same hot specs as that original P.A.F. rewind. The magnet and output combination lend themselves to a warm crunch with biting leads and overtone laden tapped runs.


Green Magic

Green-Magic-Lifestyle.png


Guitarists have long sought out the lonesome hollow blues rock tones that emerged in the late 60’s. For one guitarist, his signature tone was achieved as the result of a fortunate accident – a pickup with a magnet installed backwards and out of phase.


With these humbuckers you’ll get the classic neck and bridge tones as expected, but when you activate both Green Magics you’ll get the clarity and expressiveness generally associated with single coils. The Green Magic set recreates this magical out of phase sound by flipping the neck pickup’s magnet to reverse the phase when combined with the bridge pickup. They are also voiced for the classic era, warm and expressive with the perfect balance of clarity.


For any guitarist wanting to expand the versatility of their guitar and capture the authentic tones of blues rock’s golden era with a touch of the supernatural, get the Green Magic set.

High Voltage

High-Voltage-Lifestyle.png

The Seymour Duncan High Voltage pickups were designed for players that are looking for the perfect balance between hard rocking tone and crystal clear cleans. Powerful chords, low end legato riffage and generally expressive tight rhythms on one end and screaming, sustaining leads on the other.



The High Voltage humbuckers are a nod to the old school with the familiar Alnico 2 magnets, but they are wound for a bit more aggressive voicing that creates a noticeable sonic distance. The bridge pickup is degaussed in this calibrated set that delivers a very balanced tone.

If you’re looking for your full gamut of classic hard rocking tone to come from your pickups and amps more so than pedals, this is the set for you!
 
People have been asking about these at cheaper, more 'production floor' prices. From what I can hear, they sound the same as the previous Custom Shop versions.
 
If the demand is there, why not make the move to the production floor? I would also agree that while moving them to the production floor, the construction, wind, etc. should not have been lost.

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Having no experience with these models, how do they compare to one another? They're all Alnico 2, and have pretty close DCR readings (that figure alone doesn't tell us much, I know). What do they sound like compared to the other standard A2 models (Seth Lover, A2P, Pearly Gates, Custom Custom)? Is the Green Magic just an A2P with a phase-flipped neck magnet? Also, what does degaussing do to the High Voltage bridge pickup?

edited to add: if you don't select the set for the Green Magic, you still get that pop up warning you about mismatched phase, haha!
 
Having no experience with these models, how do they compare to one another? They're all Alnico 2, and have pretty close DCR readings (that figure alone doesn't tell us much, I know). What do they sound like compared to the other standard A2 models (Seth Lover, A2P, Pearly Gates, Custom Custom)? Is the Green Magic just an A2P with a phase-flipped neck magnet? Also, what does degaussing do to the High Voltage bridge pickup?

edited to add: if you don't select the set for the Green Magic, you still get that pop up warning you about mismatched phase, haha!

IME (others have different experience due to putting them in different guitars and using different amps, but) in my experience, the '78 Model sounds like a Pearly Gates bridge with a bit of bass rolled off and a little more output. That made it thinner and brighter but still drove my amps and amp emulations really well. The brightness enabled me to get the Variac/starved-plate/brown-sound out of a normal Marshall amp or Marshall-in-a-box amp emulation.

I haven't owned the High Voltage, but there is a good, thorough review here:
https://darthphineas.com/2016/09/sey...p-angus-young/
My understanding from talking with the reviewer directly is they are not a Custom Shop Pearly Gates (which is also different from the normal stock Pearly Gates), but you could say they are a near-neighbor of the Custom Shop Pearly Gates. A lot of pickup models have a few tweaks to them that make them a new/different model, different response, differences in the sound, though the recipe is very close to another existing model.

I haven't owned the Greenie set (now "Green Magic" set). My assumption is they would be closer to Antiquities than anything (uneven PAF wind, unpotted, A2), but would still be different from Antiquities if they don't have the degaussed magnets of the Antiquities. I don't believe they would be like Seths because Seths follow the patent (not actual PAFs) by having even coil winds. But what they sound like that is a total guess/assumption on my part. Someone who has actually owned the Greenies will have to chime in on what they sound like, or compare to in the Duncan line.
 
Thought the release deserved its own thread, not buried in another one.

The '78 Model



In the late 70s, Seymour Duncan was well known as the go-to guy for the tone-chasers that needed something custom. Sometime in ‘78 he was given a P.A.F. with the instructions to rewind it and make it more sensitive to natural and artificial harmonics. In other words, give it the Duncan “hot wind” with a little extra.





The Seymour Duncan ‘78 is loaded with an Alnico 2 magnet, wound to the exact same hot specs as that original P.A.F. rewind. The magnet and output combination lend themselves to a warm crunch with biting leads and overtone laden tapped runs.


Green Magic



Guitarists have long sought out the lonesome hollow blues rock tones that emerged in the late 60’s. For one guitarist, his signature tone was achieved as the result of a fortunate accident – a pickup with a magnet installed backwards and out of phase.


With these humbuckers you’ll get the classic neck and bridge tones as expected, but when you activate both Green Magics you’ll get the clarity and expressiveness generally associated with single coils. The Green Magic set recreates this magical out of phase sound by flipping the neck pickup’s magnet to reverse the phase when combined with the bridge pickup. They are also voiced for the classic era, warm and expressive with the perfect balance of clarity.


For any guitarist wanting to expand the versatility of their guitar and capture the authentic tones of blues rock’s golden era with a touch of the supernatural, get the Green Magic set.

High Voltage



The Seymour Duncan High Voltage pickups were designed for players that are looking for the perfect balance between hard rocking tone and crystal clear cleans. Powerful chords, low end legato riffage and generally expressive tight rhythms on one end and screaming, sustaining leads on the other.



The High Voltage humbuckers are a nod to the old school with the familiar Alnico 2 magnets, but they are wound for a bit more aggressive voicing that creates a noticeable sonic distance. The bridge pickup is degaussed in this calibrated set that delivers a very balanced tone.

If you’re looking for your full gamut of classic hard rocking tone to come from your pickups and amps more so than pedals, this is the set for you!

How many k ohms and Henries, do these bad boys kick out ?
 
You can see the approx. DCR if you look at the Seymour Duncan product page.


The ´78 Bridge 9.0k, Trembucker 9.1k, Neck 7.9k, Alnico 2

High Voltage Bridge 8.6k, Trembucker 9.4k, Neck 7.7k, Alnico 2

Green Magic Bridge 8.7 k, Trembucker 9.4, Neck 7.7k, Alnico 2


I think the figures for the GM are quite on the high side for a PAF clone, wondered also about the A2 for the
HV. The difference between the Tb and bridge on the ´78 looks a bit small, while on the HV and GB its a bit steep. Just some thoughts.
 
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Green Magic Bridge 8.7 k, Trembucker 9.4, Neck 7.7k, Alnico 2


I think the figures for the GM are quite on the high side for a PAF clone

For comparison, the Queenbucker (which is very close to the Bonamassa Magellan) is Bridge 8.3k, Neck 7.9k
https://customshop.seymourduncan.com/queenbucker/

The Skinnerburst set is Bridge 8.7k, Neck 8.2k
https://customshop.seymourduncan.com/joe-bonamassa-skinner-burst-pickup-set/

The Amos set is Bridge 8.3k, Neck 7.5k
https://customshop.seymourduncan.com/joe-bonamassa-amos-pickup-set/

These are all directly copying known PAF sets. (Though the magnets vary.)
 
„First generation PAFs (1957/1958) tend to come in at about 7.5k to 8k, where by 1959 PAFs tend to be a bit "hotter" with more wire.“

But seems right to spec them higher: „The originals were 8,15 neck and 8,68 bridge“ (LesPaulForum.com)
 
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To be honest, I don't really "get" the Greenie thing. You can take pretty much any pickup in the Duncan line, and add a switch to flip its polarity. If you want to make it more permanent, you can flip its' magnet. Why make a higher priced pickup with that built in? :confused:
 
To be honest, I don't really "get" the Greenie thing. You can take pretty much any pickup in the Duncan line, and add a switch to flip its polarity. If you want to make it more permanent, you can flip its' magnet. Why make a higher priced pickup with that built in? :confused:

If its done right one neck pickup coil should be rewound with Formvar, because Green's tech in London had no enamel wire handy.
 
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Thought the release deserved its own thread, not buried in another one.

The '78 Model



In the late 70s, Seymour Duncan was well known as the go-to guy for the tone-chasers that needed something custom. Sometime in ‘78 he was given a P.A.F. with the instructions to rewind it and make it more sensitive to natural and artificial harmonics. In other words, give it the Duncan “hot wind” with a little extra.





The Seymour Duncan ‘78 is loaded with an Alnico 2 magnet, wound to the exact same hot specs as that original P.A.F. rewind. The magnet and output combination lend themselves to a warm crunch with biting leads and overtone laden tapped runs.


Green Magic



Guitarists have long sought out the lonesome hollow blues rock tones that emerged in the late 60’s. For one guitarist, his signature tone was achieved as the result of a fortunate accident – a pickup with a magnet installed backwards and out of phase.


With these humbuckers you’ll get the classic neck and bridge tones as expected, but when you activate both Green Magics you’ll get the clarity and expressiveness generally associated with single coils. The Green Magic set recreates this magical out of phase sound by flipping the neck pickup’s magnet to reverse the phase when combined with the bridge pickup. They are also voiced for the classic era, warm and expressive with the perfect balance of clarity.


For any guitarist wanting to expand the versatility of their guitar and capture the authentic tones of blues rock’s golden era with a touch of the supernatural, get the Green Magic set.

High Voltage



The Seymour Duncan High Voltage pickups were designed for players that are looking for the perfect balance between hard rocking tone and crystal clear cleans. Powerful chords, low end legato riffage and generally expressive tight rhythms on one end and screaming, sustaining leads on the other.



The High Voltage humbuckers are a nod to the old school with the familiar Alnico 2 magnets, but they are wound for a bit more aggressive voicing that creates a noticeable sonic distance. The bridge pickup is degaussed in this calibrated set that delivers a very balanced tone.

If you’re looking for your full gamut of classic hard rocking tone to come from your pickups and amps more so than pedals, this is the set for you!

When are we going to get the demos?
Thinking of a High Voltage set for 05 SG Standard (with 498T/490R set) and the Green Magic set for my DBZ Bolero (currently sporting a SH-5 + 59n'J set).
Angus tone was AWESOME when I saw him back on the Black Ice Tour. If the production set hits that tone, it's a must buy for me. About the Bolero, the SH-5/59n' set has gotten boring to me after getting the Antiquities on my H-150.
 
For the fastest way to see demos, follow the SD social media feeds (insta, youtube, twitter). As soon as they are released, they will be posted.
 
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