Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

[Steph Bass]

Hello,

I am seeking advice on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59.

There are installed on a beaten-up 1979 SG Firebrand I just bought. The seller mentioned in his ad that "it comes with old Seymour Duncan 59 from the 80s", and stated he was not the original owner of the guitar and he bought it as it is.

Enclosed are pictures of the pickups. They look really old, that is for sure. And they sound good that's for sure too.

Any clue? Many thanks for the support.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

Hi and welcome. I believe those type of stickers were used from about 1983 through 2002, although I may be a bit off on the start and end dates, but your pickups fall right in that range. They are indeed 59's and the "J" at the end means they were wound by Marcela Juarez, or MJ as she is known around these parts. She runs the custom shop now.

Enjoy those great pickups.

 

[Steph Bass]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

Many thanks for your welcome, Jeff.

Cool to have this piece of information. Take care.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

I tried to buy a set of MJ '59's off ebay a few weeks ago and got backdoored.

Congrats on the new guitar and welcome to the forum.

 

[Steph Bass]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

Thanks for the message, Chris. Apologies to all of you guys as I am really ignorant with the story of Symour Duncan, but are you saying that SD 59's made by Marcela Juarez are a special kind of SD59's of their own?

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

MJ is one of Seymour ‘s longest employees and currently runs the custom shop. Some believe she has the “magic touch” when it comes to pickups and seek out models she wound.

 

[Steph Bass]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

I get it. That was pure luck for me, buy hey, that's life ;-)

And yes, they do sound damned good.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

“First, come up with a good pickup line...”

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

“First, come up with a good pickup line...”

LOL Frank.

To the OP, I wouldn't think that every set of pickups wound by MJ over the years have that "special something". She is human like us and as a young pickup worker on the production line she wound thousands and thousands of all kinds of pickups. Some will be great, some average and some meh. There have been people who claim that pickups made in the 70's and 80's by Seymour Duncan in general sound different (better) then their current production counterparts. The official company line is that all materials and production techniques are the same today as back then, but the myth persists regardless, specifically with JB's from the 80's built by MJ, as well as 59's and others.

Some of our more experienced members here have pickup examples from the 80's that they feel sound better than current models. Who am I to say they're wrong? Pickups age like anything else and some get better with age, right? That's why Seymour built the Antiquity line, to replicate a 50 year old PAF. Your 59's are likely 30 +years old now, the same age as a real PAF from the 50's would have been in the late 80's...and we know how sought after those became.

All I'm saying is that your 59's were great new pickups in the 80's, and now may have aged, mellowed or otherwise changed character over the years as time went on. That may have made them sound better today than in 83'.

As for MJ, I believe that her best pickups are being made right now, in the custom shop with her 35+ years of experience. I'm going to have several sets of custom sets made by her over the next couple of years, to have and enjoy when the time comes that she retires.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

Hi and welcome. I believe those type of stickers were used from about 1983 through 2002, although I may be a bit off on the start and end dates, but your pickups fall right in that range. They are indeed 59's and the "J" at the end means they were wound by Marcela Juarez, or MJ as she is known around these parts. She runs the custom shop now.

Enjoy those great pickups.

They are later. The have the smaller Logo with Made in America under it. They were made 1988 to 2002.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Question on how to date a pair of Seymour Duncan 59

They are later. The have the smaller Logo with Made in America under it. They were made 1988 to 2002.

Thanks for that clarification. I always get the dates in the 80's messed up. The 59's would just have to be from the late 80's then, vs. early to mid 80's.