Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

[Faber_FDM]

After reading litterally hundreds of posts on this forum (thank you, BTW) to help me make a decision about a new pickup for my SG, I've decided to opt for a 59/Custom Hybrid.
Being in France, I've looked at an option to get one during these strange times and saw that Amazon was selling one for a bargain price. Apparently it was a B-Stock one, repackaged and possibly superficially damaged. Ok, I thought: "let's take a risk".
What I just received looks not like a B-Stock Seymour Duncan pup but a full-fledged counterfeit. Or maybe just someone who tricked Amazon, returned his SD pickup for reimburement and replaced it with the pickup from his/her cheap Chinese guitar (even adding the factory plastic to make it look like it's genuine). The differences are obvious : two conductors, no brand and two ranges of plots instead of screws. But I suppose that the people at the Amazon warehouse are no specialists.
What do you think? Did you have similar experiences with Amazon?
I'm going to have to send them back and it's not going to be easy considering that my Post Office is closed and that Amazon has been asked to temporarily cease its operations in France. What a bummer...

 

[allstarrme]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

That looks like the stock pickup out of something, there are counterfeits out there and they look better than that.

Someone bought it, replaced the pickup and returned their stock one.

 

[JamesPaul]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

Yeah, that looks like the pups that came out of my 90's Epiphone Les Pauls, only a little better in quality. Definitely not a Seymour Duncan.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

Yes, not a Duncan, and I agree that someone put their stock pickup in the box and returned it. You should return it. Right now, unless you buy it used and can inspect it (or from a well-respected member of our Forum), just get it from an authorized dealer.

 

[pskorz]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

Oh, how maddening!!!! je suis désolé, I am so sorry for you.

 

[Faber_FDM]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

Thanks for your advices and kind words! Fortunately, as it is sold and expedited by Amazon, this can be easily reimbursed and it's been sent back to the warehouse earlier today. Now the only drawback is that that I am not sure whether I'll opt for the Custom/59, the Custom Custom or the Custom 5. I have an Alnico II Pro as a neck pickup and this bridge pickup was to replace a Pearly Gates, a pickup which I had bought when I played a different sort of music and which does not really suit my current style. While it certainly has its charm, I find it a bit thin for the more alternative metal / shoegaze music I'm playing these days. I still want to keep the AP1-n, a very endearing pickup whose spongy bass response I really love. Yes, it's dark, but in a good way. The Pickup Finder advised me to opt for a Custom 5, my heart says Custom Custom and, finally my wallet said Custom/59 because of the bargain on Amazon (and an excellent demo on SD's YouTube channel). But now that the bargain's gone, I'm back to where I was two weeks ago. Any advice?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

I use an Alnico II pro in the neck with a Custom Custom in one guitar, and a Hybrid in another, and a Custom 5 in yet another. It depends on what your guitar needs. If it is pretty even tonally, go for the Hybrid. If it is thin, go for the CC. If it has a ton of mids and you don't like that, go for the C5.

 

[Faber_FDM]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

Thank you very much, this is pretty clear and very useful!

 

[Faber_FDM]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

One last question (well, for now...). How do you think the APH1-n would pair with the Pegasus?
I see that the APH1-n has a resistance value not unlike that of the Sentient, which is the advised pairing with the Pegasus. After looking at another bunch of videos, I find that I really like the edge of the Pegasus and also, I'm playing mostly DADGAD on my SG with quite hard strings (11-54) and would not mind a tighter bass response on my bridge pickup. What do you think? The SH-5 is also a pickup whose bass response I really like, but I'm afraid a ceramic pickup would no pair well with the Alnico II ...

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

I just put an SH-5 into my LP. After adjusting height and pole pieces I’ve got it sounding very smooth and quite a bit warmer than I thought a ceramic magnet would/could.

Although I also replaced the neck pickup, the one I just took out was an A2 magnet similar to the AP2. I think it would have paired well with the SH-5.

 

[BeKindRewind]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

I played an SH5 bridge with an APH1N for a while a couple weeks ago, and it was quite a nice combo indeed. Capable of a wide range of tones, and the middle position sounded great.
I tried the Custom 5 and Custom Custom also in the bridge and they were all solid combos with the APH1N, my favorite being the Custom 5 but everyone will have a different favorite based on their tastes.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

 

[Mincer]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

One last question (well, for now...). How do you think the APH1-n would pair with the Pegasus?
I see that the APH1-n has a resistance value not unlike that of the Sentient, which is the advised pairing with the Pegasus. After looking at another bunch of videos, I find that I really like the edge of the Pegasus and also, I'm playing mostly DADGAD on my SG with quite hard strings (11-54) and would not mind a tighter bass response on my bridge pickup. What do you think? The SH-5 is also a pickup whose bass response I really like, but I'm afraid a ceramic pickup would no pair well with the Alnico II ...

I could see it working, but the APH-1 isn't a very 'modern' pickup...it doesn't have tight lows like the Pegasus. I can absolutely see it working if you want a very versatile guitar, though.

 

[Faber_FDM]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

I could see it working, but the APH-1 isn't a very 'modern' pickup...it doesn't have tight lows like the Pegasus. I can absolutely see it working if you want a very versatile guitar, though.

Thank you all. While the Pegasus is very tempting, I feel that either the Custom or the Custom 5 would work better for me. I might just opt for the latter, eventually.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Fake Seymour Duncan Pickups?

Thank you all. While the Pegasus is very tempting, I feel that either the Custom or the Custom 5 would work better for me. I might just opt for the latter, eventually.

The great thing about the Custom, is that all you need to do is swap the magnet and you’ve got another model.