Is this a real Seymour Duncan?
- Thread starter Mincer
- Start date
Are you questioning if the Yankobucker is real?
newking70
GrumpyWorfologist
Never heard of a Yankobucker, can you tell me more about it.
Masta' C
Well-known member
The "Yankobucker" isn't a thing as far as I'm aware. I believe Mincer was just saying that to clarify what you are asking in your post and to differentiate it from the Gibson pickup that is also pictured.
While we're at it...that appears to be a stock SH-1B '59 model. Looks like the cover was either removed or added at some point as the soldering isn't clean like factory. On the surface, there's really nothing special about it.
As for the name "Yanko", who knows. Perhaps it was pulled from a "Yanko" guitar, came from a guitar nick-named "Yanko", or the pickup was owned by someone named "Yanko".
While we're at it...that appears to be a stock SH-1B '59 model. Looks like the cover was either removed or added at some point as the soldering isn't clean like factory. On the surface, there's really nothing special about it.
As for the name "Yanko", who knows. Perhaps it was pulled from a "Yanko" guitar, came from a guitar nick-named "Yanko", or the pickup was owned by someone named "Yanko".
eclecticsynergy
New member
Your bridge is a Pearly Gates Plus, not a standard Pearly Gates. That's why it's marked PGP1b.
These have a few hundred extra turns of wire, and an A5 magnet instead of the A2 that's inside a regular PG1b.
They were intended for Fender scale guitars and were only produced as OEM pickups, never sold as an individual model.
eclecticsynergy
New member
Or maybe marked that way because it was yanked out of something else?
I also think they are out of phase with most other SD pickups.
Hi all, i hope this is the right thread to help me understand what pickup has been installed in my squier Tele (indonesian)
A while back, I had my local tech put some Quarter Pounders in to replace the stock squire pickups. The new pickups sound nice and chunky and bitey - a definite improvement. But when I put the three-position pickup selector in the middle position, the sound is noticably thin and nasal and somewhat lower output than either pickup on their own.
I think I'm trying to describe 'out of phase' sounds when both pickups used together. As a guitar newbie, I'm not 100% sure.
I noticed the bridge pickup doesn't have the 'seymour duncan' lettering like most photos of Quarterpounder bridge pickups but I was returned both by stock pickups in very real looking Seymour Duncan boxes, complete with wiring diagrams etc. The pole pieces on the bridge QP also don't look quite as wide as the photos I see online but the pole pieces are nearly flush with the black plastic. I've attached a photo of the de-installed stock pickup and the installed 'QP' bridge pickup.
I had the idea that as a pair, these QP pickups would be OK to work in phase together but I can see two possible situations. 1) my bridge QP isn't a real Seymour Duncan. or 2)It's a different 'type' of quarterpounder that's wired out of phase to the neck QP and lacks the Seymour Duncan lettering.
If it's (1), then ouch. I have to source a genuine bridge Quarterpounder. If its (2) How do I rewire one or other of the SD pickups to get them in phase?
I'm a bit clueless on electrics and soldering but I think I could easily swap the two wires from the neck or bridge pickup at the point they get to the three way selector (quite easy to get to on a telecaster!). Or maybe there is more to it than that???
If I'm in situation (1) with a fake QP, I still like the sound from it. Could I somehow rewire the neck or bridge?
Any advice gratefully received!
Cheers
Sorry - I couldn't get the photo upload to work here. Here's a link to the photo
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvgOChdTHut6iZgnhn-vPdwwK-QG7Q?e=NH8wZN
or
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51371474981_c408aa8760_b.jpg
A while back, I had my local tech put some Quarter Pounders in to replace the stock squire pickups. The new pickups sound nice and chunky and bitey - a definite improvement. But when I put the three-position pickup selector in the middle position, the sound is noticably thin and nasal and somewhat lower output than either pickup on their own.
I think I'm trying to describe 'out of phase' sounds when both pickups used together. As a guitar newbie, I'm not 100% sure.
I noticed the bridge pickup doesn't have the 'seymour duncan' lettering like most photos of Quarterpounder bridge pickups but I was returned both by stock pickups in very real looking Seymour Duncan boxes, complete with wiring diagrams etc. The pole pieces on the bridge QP also don't look quite as wide as the photos I see online but the pole pieces are nearly flush with the black plastic. I've attached a photo of the de-installed stock pickup and the installed 'QP' bridge pickup.
I had the idea that as a pair, these QP pickups would be OK to work in phase together but I can see two possible situations. 1) my bridge QP isn't a real Seymour Duncan. or 2)It's a different 'type' of quarterpounder that's wired out of phase to the neck QP and lacks the Seymour Duncan lettering.
If it's (1), then ouch. I have to source a genuine bridge Quarterpounder. If its (2) How do I rewire one or other of the SD pickups to get them in phase?
I'm a bit clueless on electrics and soldering but I think I could easily swap the two wires from the neck or bridge pickup at the point they get to the three way selector (quite easy to get to on a telecaster!). Or maybe there is more to it than that???
If I'm in situation (1) with a fake QP, I still like the sound from it. Could I somehow rewire the neck or bridge?
Any advice gratefully received!
Cheers
Sorry - I couldn't get the photo upload to work here. Here's a link to the photo
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvgOChdTHut6iZgnhn-vPdwwK-QG7Q?e=NH8wZN
or
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51371474981_c408aa8760_b.jpg
Masta' C
Well-known member
Definitely not a real Seymour Duncan "Quarter Pounder" in the bridge.
Sorry mate. Good thing you like it, though!
Easiest fix for the phase issue is to reverse the hot and ground leads on one of the pickups. If the bridge pickup has a copper baseplate, which is usually grounded, then reversing the leads on the neck pickup would be the easiest fix.
I would definitely take the issue with the pickups up with your tech. There's no excuse for selling you the wrong item. I have a feeling the real SD's went into a different guitar he worked on and the stock pickups from THAT guitar got put in the SD boxes for storage. Then they wound up in your guitar and that's why he had the boxes with them.
Sorry mate. Good thing you like it, though!
Easiest fix for the phase issue is to reverse the hot and ground leads on one of the pickups. If the bridge pickup has a copper baseplate, which is usually grounded, then reversing the leads on the neck pickup would be the easiest fix.
I would definitely take the issue with the pickups up with your tech. There's no excuse for selling you the wrong item. I have a feeling the real SD's went into a different guitar he worked on and the stock pickups from THAT guitar got put in the SD boxes for storage. Then they wound up in your guitar and that's why he had the boxes with them.
Thanks for the amazingly speepy response! It all happened a few months ago now - I'm such a newb that it took me this long to realise something odd was going on.
The 'fake' pickup came from a reputable looking amazon reseller as my tech's usual supplier was showing 'delivery time unknown - out of stock for the forseeable future' on QP bridge pickups. He had the neck pickup already. We agreed to try the amazon reseller as a substitute for waiting. I'll let them not to use that reseller again but it wasn't really their fault the pickup wasn't a real SD.
As they are based 40 mins drive away, I'll have a go at soldering the wires the other way round to see what happens myself. I'll learn something new!
The only question I have is can I damage my amp or guitar if the grounding is wrong? Or will it just sound weird? Or merely no output at all? Or worse, could I make the pickup/bridge 'live' and give myself a shock?.
It's dead easy to unscrew the control plate and access the main electronics on this tele but fiddling underneath the pickups requires a "strings and bridge off" mini project, so I'd definitely prefer it if I can work solely on the control plate.
Thanks again!
Mike
The 'fake' pickup came from a reputable looking amazon reseller as my tech's usual supplier was showing 'delivery time unknown - out of stock for the forseeable future' on QP bridge pickups. He had the neck pickup already. We agreed to try the amazon reseller as a substitute for waiting. I'll let them not to use that reseller again but it wasn't really their fault the pickup wasn't a real SD.
As they are based 40 mins drive away, I'll have a go at soldering the wires the other way round to see what happens myself. I'll learn something new!
The only question I have is can I damage my amp or guitar if the grounding is wrong? Or will it just sound weird? Or merely no output at all? Or worse, could I make the pickup/bridge 'live' and give myself a shock?.
It's dead easy to unscrew the control plate and access the main electronics on this tele but fiddling underneath the pickups requires a "strings and bridge off" mini project, so I'd definitely prefer it if I can work solely on the control plate.
Thanks again!
Mike
Just to add a second question - about the bridge pickup. Is there any obvious way of telling is also a SD Quarter Pounder without removing it? All tele bridge pickups seem to look the same to me with the metal cover hiding any obvious detail. The only thing I can tell is that the wires coming from the pickup to the controls are one black and one white.
JamesPaul
Well-known member
You should only have to change/reverse the wires on one pickup to sort out the phase issue.
It will not damage your guitar or amp if the grounding is wrong. It will be noisy, sound weird or not have output.
You would have to change the output jack wiring to switch the bridge. Even if you do that, as long as your amp is operating normally, it should not make anything live and shock you.
It will not damage your guitar or amp if the grounding is wrong. It will be noisy, sound weird or not have output.
You would have to change the output jack wiring to switch the bridge. Even if you do that, as long as your amp is operating normally, it should not make anything live and shock you.
Masta' C
Well-known member
Yeah, worst case if you screw up the soldering is that you get a bad sound, get no sound, or damage the pickup or pots (typically from applying too much heat for too long with the soldering iron).
Don't let that stop you, though, soldering is fairly easy and a good skill to develop.
As far as identifying a real QP, it's fairly easy to tell them apart from other Tele pickups just by looking at them. The pole pieces on a QP are about double the size of the ones on the pickup you currently have. Also, anything produced in the last 20 years or so is more likely than not to say "Seymour Duncan" on the top. There are some generic large pole pickups on the market, but if you have any concerns or questions about what you are buying, you can always post a link or pics here for us to review.
Don't let that stop you, though, soldering is fairly easy and a good skill to develop.
As far as identifying a real QP, it's fairly easy to tell them apart from other Tele pickups just by looking at them. The pole pieces on a QP are about double the size of the ones on the pickup you currently have. Also, anything produced in the last 20 years or so is more likely than not to say "Seymour Duncan" on the top. There are some generic large pole pickups on the market, but if you have any concerns or questions about what you are buying, you can always post a link or pics here for us to review.
Hi, new to the forum and have concerns about a set of used pickups I purchased. The pickups are Custom Shop Queenbuckers. The numbers on the box match up to the stickers on the back of the pickups, however there is no MJ signature on the back. I emailed pictures to Seymour Duncan and was told that they look legit and that MJ doesn’t sign every set. Just wanted to see what you guys think. Thanks.
Welcome to the forum!
I've heard MJ doesn't sign every set, too. You can post pics, though...we love to see them.
eclecticsynergy
New member
Pretty sure everything that comes out of the custom shop will have been wound by MJ.
That's correct, right?
Many pickups aren't signed, but her initials should be on the box.
That's correct, right?
Many pickups aren't signed, but her initials should be on the box.
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Tried to post pics but I keep getting an error. Anyway, the number written on the box matches the number on the custom shop sticker on the pickups. My concern is the missing MJ initials on the back plate. The Seymour Duncan representative told me the serial numbers show the pickups came from a dealer called JMI Music.
Yes, the upload function for pics isn't working right now. You can host the pics somewhere else and link to them, though. It sounds like you have a legit set there.
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