Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

[commanderdonut]

So quick backstory I bought a used Jackson on Reverb recently and the previous owner told me that he was the original owner, and the guitar was shipping with original hardware.
I called up Jackson with the serial number and asked them for the specs as I couldn't find anything online for the guitar and they said it left the factory with locking tuners; which my guitar doesn't have.

So with things sounding a little fishy I decided to pull the pickups and see what I could verify from the sticker/stamps on the back of the pickups before contacting the seller again.
My guitar is supposed to have a White JB in the bridge and a White 59 in the neck but here is what found when I flipped the pickups over

Neck
20161021 27157
Bridge
20161020 27156
I would have taken a picture but due to the direct mount setup, a piece of foam is glued to the bottom of the pickups; which i didn't want to completely rip off in case I end up returning the guitar.

Neither of which show up at all on the FAQs - LABELS BUILT IN OR AFTER 2002 page.

Can anyone confirm these are indeed the pickups they are supposed to be, or maybe help point me in the direction of another trusted documentation source to search off of?

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

Pix would be a great help....

 

[Mincer]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

Welcome to the forum!

Even pics of the front of the pickups might help a little.

 

[commanderdonut]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

Ok so I got the pictures; here is the bridge


Here is the neck


The front of the pickups look like this; and yes I know they say Seymour Duncan on them but more on that later in this post.



So I know this isn't a Jackson forum so I was trying to focus on the pickups but to explain why i'm questioning a pickup labeled seymour duncan, allow me to explain.
When I called jackson they said the serial came up as a DK2QHT which is almost the same specs as what I was expecting (and what I was advertised) the DK2QMHT.
The difference being the non-M sku (DK2QHT) has an ebony fretboard, and the DK2QMHT has a maple fretboard.
This is how the specs are listed in the 2017_Page78-79 && 2016_Page70-71 calendars. I forgot to ask about the fretboard when I was on the phone with them Friday, and I can't call back to see what the serial pulls up for a fretboard till Tuesday (Mon's labor day).
But the serial number suggests its a 2016 but Jackson said it left their factory in 2017 so it could match either 2017 or 2016 specs; hence why I linked both years catalogs for reference.

However when i google for this color on both of these models surprisingly enough i found nothing for the M-sku but a few "Out Of Stock" listings for the DK2QHT with a maple fretboard; so maybe it's legit after all && Jackson is just bad at public documentation.
But when I heard it was supposed to have locking tuners contradicting my discussion with buyer it made me question if he maybe unknowingly bought and sold me a chinese knock off with a reused serial number.
And the label codes on my pickups don't match the "Seymour Duncan Labels Built in or after 2002" page I initially linked. So even though they say Seymour Duncan I still haven't ruled out if they are just knock offs or not yet.

When I stood in front of my 6505 half stack with everything cranked I was expecting the JB to squeal uncontrollably like my burstbuckers; but it was quiet as a mouse until I played and when I muted... rly wasn't sure what to make of this as I thought the JB leaned on the hotter side.
Left me questioning both these pickups and the ones in my SG :/ lol

 

[Blille]

Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

59 in the neck (sh1n is the model) https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/59-neck
And JB Trembucker (TB4 is the mode) in the bridge https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/jb-trembucker

Classic combo.

 

[allstarrme]

Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

They look real, I haven’t seen too many fake Duncan’s in the wild yet. Mostly just emg’s. The baseplate should say made in USA under the foam.

The JB is moderately hot but it has got a mid punch, compared to newer pickups it’s not super hot. Its also potted so it won’t squeal and that foam will help stop vibrations. Some burstbuckers aren’t potted or lightly potted, so any gain will start feeding back.

 

[commanderdonut]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

59 in the neck (sh1n is the model) https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/59-neck
And JB Trembucker (TB4 is the mode) in the bridge https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/jb-trembucker

Classic combo.

I guess I'm just confused as to why I don't see the label code from the duncan website on them; like the SH1N for example 80031500062 is what I'd expect to see but i don't; instead I see 20161021 27157 and I'm unaware where that comes into play (other than the obvious year part of it).

 

[Blille]

Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

I guess I'm just confused as to why I don't see the label code from the duncan website on them; like the SH1N for example 80031500062 is what I'd expect to see but i don't; instead I see 20161021 27157 and I'm unaware where that comes into play (other than the obvious year part of it).

The model is featured on the page (below), my guess is that the others on the label are date of production and serial number. The other number you point out may be part number. But, the important thing, do you like how they sound?

For future reference, in this table you have the models:
https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/product-news/pickup-comparison-chart

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[commanderdonut]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

I do like how they sound but I couldn't tell if it was just my amp, since I mainly play with lots of gain and the 6505 isn't known for it's clean channel.
I saw the model number was a match but figured the other numbers would as well; honestly still confused since the official website says these numbers will be on the pickups.

 

[Discharged]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

You're overthinking this.

Your p'ups are legit Duncans. Period.

Just relax and play that guitar.

/Peter

 

[Ewizard]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

Keep in mind that the pickups are being used as an OEM part in this instance. As best I can tell the guitar is a 2016 hence the very evident 2016 on the stickers. In many cases, the vendor may change the stickers on the pickups to suit their needs be it for reference, SKU or cataloging. Some pickups that are sold for OEM use will even do away with 4 wires pickups and go with a basic 2 wire lead. I agree with Discharged, you're overthinking it and " just play the damn thing "( that is a saying BTW, not an insult ).

Now the locking vs nonlocking tuners can be a transition thing? If the tuners are good, I wouldn't sweat it, the difference between the two tuner types is really negligible. I have 14 guitars and only 1 of them has locking tuners and it doesn't make that guitar special in any way. I will say that I do like doing string changes with locking tuners more. It is very nice to just pull the string through, lock it down and clip it then tune. I say it is worth the $60-$80 for that convenience, but it doesn't make the guitar play or sound any better to me, just easier to do string changes.

 

[commanderdonut]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

Keep in mind that the pickups are being used as an OEM part in this instance. As best I can tell the guitar is a 2016 hence the very evident 2016 on the stickers. In many cases, the vendor may change the stickers on the pickups to suit their needs be it for reference, SKU or cataloging. Some pickups that are sold for OEM use will even do away with 4 wires pickups and go with a basic 2 wire lead. I agree with Discharged, you're overthinking it and " just play the damn thing "( that is a saying BTW, not an insult ).

Now the locking vs nonlocking tuners can be a transition thing? If the tuners are good, I wouldn't sweat it, the difference between the two tuner types is really negligible. I have 14 guitars and only 1 of them has locking tuners and it doesn't make that guitar special in any way. I will say that I do like doing string changes with locking tuners more. It is very nice to just pull the string through, lock it down and clip it then tune. I say it is worth the $60-$80 for that convenience, but it doesn't make the guitar play or sound any better to me, just easier to do string changes.

This is the answer I was expecting, was just hoping for some additional documentation for such so that I may be able to confirm.
And it's not that locking tuners are important to me, the guitar stays in tune great I really don't care; it's the principle of the matter.
Jackson telling me one thing, the seller telling me the opposite (on more than one spec too); so one of two shady things is happening with this guitar and i'm just trying to figure out which one while I'm still in my return window.

 

[orpheo]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

You're really making a bigger thing out of this than what it's worth. Those are genuine Seymour Duncan pickups and I'll tell you why.

1: the font on the stickers and bobbin is correct.
2: the baseplate on the TB4 is correct, in every aspect. The three holes, the right radius, the shape. It's right.
3: the tape is correct.

So, yeah. that's out of the way.

now, the tuners. Specs are always subject to change and it is very likely Jackson had a bunch of non locking tuners that had to go first.

About the year on the sticker vs year of the guitar.

Where I work, the biggest guitar factory in the Netherlands, we use Seymour Duncans as well. We have a fair amount of stock Duncans in house, some date way back to '14! Does that mean those pickups are fake? Of course not. it's just that we have the most basic duncans around, and Jackson will have that too. I'd be more concerned if the pickup was dated more recently than the guitar!

About the squeel. OEM Seymour Duncans can have issues with wax potting. Here, we had to wax pot an entire shipment of dozens of pickups again.

No worries. All makes sense. I see zero faul play at work here. Just enjoy the guitar and upgrade what you feel needs upgrading.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

OP - I have a solution for you. Box the axe up, send it to me for disposal. Now it will be my problem, and you won't have a thing to worry about.

 

[Ewizard]

Re: Help Identifying Supposed Seymour Duncan Pickups

Again, I think it is a transition guitar. If you have an early, or a late production run guitar where changes start to get introduced, you will end up with a guitar that doesn't have the same spec as that model suggests. Time and time again, the vendors will just use the last of what they have and start using the next available part to finish out a run.