SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

[stratman323]

Hi, could any of you help with with trying to put together a timeline of SD Strat pickups? I've used them since the late 1980s myself, & I think that only the SSL-1 & APS-1 were available then?

I'm not including humbuckers here, just the true single coils.

I have a few questions, some about identifying the pickups & any help will be appreciated

In the 1980s, was the choice simply SSL-1 or APS-1? When did extra pickups start to appear in the range? I have an idea that the Quarterpounder was one of the earliest?

1R in black lettering on a small white label seems to be common. Does this designate the model?

Date stamps - when did these appear? The earliest I have found is 2.87, but does this mean 1987? Is it even a date stamp? I believe that these stamps are still used today?

Model number stickers - very welcome indeed, but when did Duncan first start using these?

Thanks.

 

[freefrog]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

I've used them since the late 1980s myself, & I think that only the SSL-1 & APS-1 were available then?

I've used SSL1, SSL4, SSL5 in the early 80's.

I also remember a Duncan catalog of this era mentioning the SSL2 and SSL3... Not sure about the APS1, that I've tried later. I'll try to find this old catalog in my old papers.

Now, human memories are well known for their "lofi" quality so take my testimonial with a grain of salt. )

 

[stratman323]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

OK, so there was more choice in the 80s than I thought. Cool. Does anyone know of an online source for old SD catalogues?

Also, can anyone help with the other queries?

Thanks

 

[Mincer]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

You may try to call SD directly with specific questions. They keep really good records, and they have great memories too. They might even have a timeline like you want already done. But no one here knows the history of SD better than them.

 

[stratman323]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

You may try to call SD directly with specific questions. They keep really good records, and they have great memories too. They might even have a timeline like you want already done. But no one here knows the history of SD better than them.

Yeah but they won't even reply to simple e.mail queries, so there's no way they are going to sit down & explain the whole timeline for me. People on guitar fora do that sort of thing!

But it does seem very quiet on here. Maybe I need to ask somewhere else? This just seemed like the obvious place though.

 

[orpheo]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

SSL1 came as (one of) the first, then the SSL5 if I recall correctly. Alnico 2 pro came in mid 80ies. QP? no idea.

 

[Mincer]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

The forum has lots of knowledge for sure, but separating the history from rumor can be frustrating. If the people who actually made them are still alive (they are), it is easy to ask. It would be cool to have a timeline on the website though.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

The forum has lots of knowledge for sure, but separating the history from rumor can be frustrating. If the people who actually made them are still alive (they are), it is easy to ask. It would be cool to have a timeline on the website though.

FYI - The FAQ directs people to the forum for this question. It says there's a timeline of most requested products, but I have no idea where to look for that.

Where can I find a history of when certain pickups came out?
You can find a timeline of some of our most requested products here. If you can’t find what you are looking for, come on by the forum.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/faq?tax-slug=duncan-pickup-info

For the label codes, those are listed on the web site:

Before 2002. By looking up the winder's initial, you might pin down a range when it could have been made.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/faq?tip_id=37743&tax-slug=duncan-pickup-info

2002 and after
http://www.seymourduncan.com/faq?tip_id=37745&tax-slug=duncan-pickup-info

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

FYI - The FAQ directs people to the forum for this question.

Be that as it may, outside of Evan or possibly Frank (though most of the pickups came out many years before Franks time with the company, he might have been privy to the information) I cant think of anyone here who would "know" the answer to this question. A few might speculate but thats worthless.



Though I must ask, To what end is this question seeking. Just general info or is the OP seeking something specific? The exact date of introduction for the pickups is just trivia as far as I can see. Or does he have a mystery pickup hes trying to date? If this is the case the forum can help.

I can say this for sure though the SSL2's were in the catalog by the late 80's, I do believe that the OP is mistaken in his belief that only 2 models were available when he started his experience.

 

[stratman323]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

Be that as it may, outside of Evan or possibly Frank (though most of the pickups came out many years before Franks time with the company, he might have been privy to the information) I cant think of anyone here who would "know" the answer to this question. A few might speculate but thats worthless.

Though I must ask, To what end is this question seeking. Just general info or is the OP seeking something specific? The exact date of introduction for the pickups is just trivia as far as I can see. Or does he have a mystery pickup hes trying to date? If this is the case the forum can help.

I can say this for sure though the SSL2's were in the catalog by the late 80's, I do believe that the OP is mistaken in his belief that only 2 models were available when he started his experience.

I wasn't aware that I had to have a "valid reason" for asking a question! If you think it's just trivia, why are you replying? That's really rather rude of you. As for "I must ask...", really? Why must you ask?

I like to be able to identify pickups I have, or may come across - is that so unreasonable? As a long-time user of SD pickups I like to know what I'm dealing with. And since SD didn't bother to label their pickups until relatively recently (when??), this problem is one entirely of SD's own making. All I'm trying to do is to make sense of the mess.

 

[stratman323]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

For the label codes, those are listed on the web site:

Before 2002. By looking up the winder's initial, you might pin down a range when it could have been made.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/faq?tip_id=37743&tax-slug=duncan-pickup-info

2002 and after
http://www.seymourduncan.com/faq?tip_id=37745&tax-slug=duncan-pickup-info

Thank you for that helpful reply, I appreciate it. Unfortunately I doubt the reliability of the information in the first link. I have SSL-1s from the 80s which have stickers saying 1R, & that isn't mentioned on the list. So I don't really believe it.

 

[Scott Olson]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

Orpheo and I put this together that has some of the singles: http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/seymour-duncan-company/history-of-seymour-duncan-products

I can ask Seymour when he started coming out with the QP and others.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

I wasn't aware that I had to have a "valid reason" for asking a question! If you think it's just trivia, why are you replying? That's really rather rude of you. As for "I must ask...", really? Why must you ask?

I like to be able to identify pickups I have, or may come across - is that so unreasonable? As a long-time user of SD pickups I like to know what I'm dealing with. And since SD didn't bother to label their pickups until relatively recently (when??), this problem is one entirely of SD's own making. All I'm trying to do is to make sense of the mess.

Nowhere did i say you must have a valid reason. I was actually offering to help you, if there was a specific question you were trying to answer rather than just collecting info that is only useful as info.

The reason the introduction dates are trivia is because the pickups themselves are not date coded. Knowing the date of introduction of a pickup models wont help you identify a pickup it wont even help you figure out its age.

We already know that many pickups cannot be dated exactly what I was offering was to give you the clues that we use to identify old unknown pickups. These are mostly different physical characteristics.

And what clues we use to give rough dating of the pickups.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: SD Strat pickup chronology & labelling

Thank you for that helpful reply, I appreciate it. Unfortunately I doubt the reliability of the information in the first link. I have SSL-1s from the 80s which have stickers saying 1R, & that isn't mentioned on the list. So I don't really believe it.

1 is SSL-1
R Connie Rocha (Single Coils)

1R is a an SSL-1 wound by Connie Rocha.

You have to read the legend at the bottom and "put two and two together."