Looks like the 78 is regular production now…

Looks like they're offering the Greenie set as regular production too.
That's new, isn't it?

Looks like we were a few days ahead of the announcement. New email about 1 hour ago with several links in it. I will not steal all their thunder, but here is the link to the 3 *new* pickups being announced tomorrow,

...Link removed ...

It is the '78 Model, Greenie and High Voltage. It appears I might be getting SD Dealer emails, so I will edit my earlier posts. :oo
 
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Looks like we were a few days ahead of the announcement. New email about 1 hour ago with several links in it. I will not steal all their thunder, but here is the link to the 3 *new* pickups being announced tomorrow,

...Link removed ...

It is the '78 Model, Greenie and High Voltage. It appears I might be getting SD Dealer emails, so I will edit my earlier posts. :oo

Wow, that's good news. Awesome. Definitely buying all three! And here I am about to order a creme DiMarzio Super Distortion... I think I'll hold out for this babies to be available.
 
I do not see any banner or news, but all three pickups now appear under Products | Pickups | Electric Guitar Pickups | Humbucker Pickups on the SD website.
 
It’s funny, other, smaller makers have been using creative names to heavily imply artist correlation. Seymour actually wound pickups for these artists, it only makes sense to take advantage of that history.
 
Is it just me, or does the DCR for the High Voltage bridge seem a little too high at 9.73K? The Custom Shop version is only 8.6K…
 
Probably one of the usual suspects. Typo, copy & paste error, temperature, specifications can evolve/change, etc.

Side note that there is now a graphic up on the SD website under What's New that links to information about these.
 
Cool that if you check the Custom Shop pages for these, the CS page notes these pickups have become so popular SD now stocks and sells them on the main site.
 
I suggested to SD years ago that the Custom Shop catalog was getting crowded and the most popular "Custom Shop" models that had been around for 15-20 years should be moved to the production line as premium models with pricing between a standard production pickup and a typical Custom Shop offering.

Looks like they finally listened (6 years later...LOL!).

This will be good for business in the long run.
 
Just announced...

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!
 
I suggested to SD years ago that the Custom Shop catalog was getting crowded and the most popular "Custom Shop" models that had been around for 15-20 years should be moved to the production line as premium models with pricing between a standard production pickup and a typical Custom Shop offering.

Looks like they finally listened (6 years later...LOL!).

This will be good for business in the long run.

I mean, it’s something we discussed in depth on a regular basis since I got there in 2007 up until I left, and presumably continually ever since, but sure by all means you can take credit for it. :)

It’s a classic marketing dilemma, will just the perception of a change lead people to romanticize the old version? And will the new version ultimately increase profits or other economies of scale so that the company will still be better off in the long run, or is it a short term cash grab with a long term negative?

Bottom line is, they’ve always been deliberate about legacy products, so if something finally moved from the Custom Shop to production, as an average consumer I would assume they felt confident the quality wasn’t going to change, and enjoy the price break.
 
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