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Seymour Duncan Antiquity

Summary
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Manufacturer URL http://www.seymourduncan.com/
Sound 10.0 (1 response)
Overall Rating 9.1 (37 responses)
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Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: AUD 370
Submitted 06/11/2008 at 05:19pm by Jimmy T.
Email: manimalysis<at>hotmail dot com

Features :
Passive humbucker with aged covers and plenty of box candy. Two wires, no coil splitting etc. Fairly basic.

Instrument :
These pickups (bridge/neck) went into a Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded and replaced the original burstbuckers. Overall, i wanted the best available pickups for my Gibson (relatively speaking). As i have always been a fan of Seymour Duncan equipment, i bought into the reviews and hype over these pickups. Although they really are as good as everyone says, i paid way too much here in australia.

Sound : No Opinion
Great sound. It's difficult to tell how good these pickups really are, as the sound is so incredibly transparent. They hardly color the sound at all, whilst retaining the vintage vibe. After listening to these pickups and A/B-ing them with other sets, they make other pickups sound like crap. It's hard to define, but in an attempt to make it simpler, imagine your favourite modern pickup (like a duncan 59 or EMG-81) and compare it with a genuine PAF style pickup from back in the day.

Although the PAF is great as a truely vintage pickup, it sounds nothing like the refined, modern models. Similarly, to be able to appreciate this pickup, one needs to bear in mind that it's not been designed to supercede great, modern sounds, but to replicate the "standard" sound of genuinely old pickups.

Overall Rating : No Opinion
I'm not sure if i'd buy these again (to replace the one's i've got). I'd like to to try the Dimarzio PAF Classics and a few others i've got lying around like the Gibson HB-R/HB-L (which are awesome). That said, i'm looking to get a set (at a discount on eBay) for my strats.

One thing I love about this pickup is its ability to faithfully replicate what you're playing, and what you're playing it through. It adds to a nice amp (i'm using a hot-rodded Bassman LTD), and allows you to play what you *really* want to hear without all the technology getting in the way. Moreover, if you have a nice distortion box (i'm using a USA Big Muff Pi, which is perfect for my style of music), the pickups are quite friendly. That's not to say they crunch well, as other PAF-style pickups are famous for (such as the PAF Classic) - in fact, the Antiquities don't cruch very well at all. There seems to be two layers to the sound, however - the distortion underneath, and the pure tone of the pickup coming through over the top, which makes for a very complex and harmonious sound. Of course, if you want the pickup to really drive the distortion and have one massive tone (like the duncan JB), this isn't it. Personally, however, i think it's grand.


Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: can 250
Submitted 04/22/2008 at 04:37pm by doug

Features :
humbuckers, 2 bridge and 1 neck

Instrument :
the first bridge whent in my early 90s epi les paul ( my first full size guitar) along with a seth lover neck ( i chose the antiquity for its higher output than the lover bridge), then i bought a set for a 59 std copy i aquirred, but ended up using the bridge in my 69 LP custom to replace some other SD pickup (came with guitar...???)

Sound : 10
first off these pickups are the best. period. they walk all over any other pickup ive ever used. the treble and drive compared to the seth lover neck is night and day on the epi, and i couldn't even use the bridge pickup on the 69 when i got it cause it pale'd in comparison the fat ballsy drive of the stock neck pickup. it was like hitting a footswitch labled ****** tone here just at the flick of the toggle.... now with they antiquity i have three distincnt and awsomw sounds from this classic guitar. i mainly use the bridge now except when i need to fill a bit more space in the mix. im even considering replacing the original neck pu with the antiqiuty as well. i play mostly metaly stoner rock, and blues but love playing so everything.... mostly run through my 67 plexi... cause i can, but also have a triple rect. and f-30 by mesa, and some silver face fenders.... i guess the bridge on my 69 is a little bassy through the tripple but thats the mahogony body and 6l6's cause my epi with the ? body sound just right

Overall Rating : 10
i would buy these ten times over. pickups are cheap way to great sound and going botique in this area is only an extra 100$ so its better than say an extra 2000 for a crazy guitar/amp. i am contemplating buying more sets pre emptivily just in case ( they take awhile to get) and i seem to have a les paul addiction. like i said earlier might even replace the stock 69 gibson neck with one....


Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: euros (EACH for chrissakes!) 186 (!!)
Submitted 09/08/2005 at 02:36pm by Jimmy Jimmy

Features :
Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 7.74K neck /8.53K bridge

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: 1992 G****n Les Paul Standard
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: 490R/498T
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: If there is a shittier reason for buying a pickup I have yet to hear of it
You musical style(s): Rock, Rock'n'roll, punk, rock'n'roll, garage, rock'n'roll, blues, rock'n'roll, rock'n'roll
Reason for pickup change: I had the stock pickups for 13 years & have racked up a great deal of mileage on the guitar so no one can say I didn't try. I guess I naively hoped they'd improve with age, but if anything they got worse. The stock neck pickup was literally unusable. The stock bridge good for loud distorted modern rock sounds & nothing else. Even after finally investing in a top of the line, non 2nd hand all tube class A amp, the stock Gibson pickups still sounded harsh, muddy & compressed. Although definitely not cheap, I'd only heard good things about the Antiquities & thought f**k it, might as well get it right first time.


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: Not noticeabley less than stock, if we're talking about volume.
Tone: Perfectly balanced, well defined. Nothing too strident.
Sonic evaluation: Ok. The neck pickup sounds divine. Just divine. For the record, I heartily despise Gary Moore, Led Zep, Allman bros, Clapton & all the other dinosaurs who are constantly referenced with regard to Les Pauls, but the neck position, which I'd gotten used to never using,now has a beautiful, warm & deep resonance with a long ringing sustain. The bottom end never saturates the sound as before. I play through an Ashdown Peacemaker 60 combo which complements the vintage style tone really nicely. Clean or dirty the sound has class up the ass. I simultaneously upgraded to 500K pots when I installed these pickups & the net result is a sound which has way more space to breathe. I'm slightly less sold on the bridge pickup. For a start, I had to screw around a great deal (pun intended) with the height of the thing to get to the point where it wasn't completely drowned out by the neck pickup (which is down as low as it can go). The bridge pup is now set as high as I can possibly let it be & consequently sounding darker than I'd best like it, but only just on a par with neckboy volume-wise. Other than that, bridgeboy is generally good if slightly disapointingly nasal at times. May not be the Mae West for full-on balls to the wall punkrockin'. Best stick to my P-90 guitars for that.. Overall though, I feel like the middle aged housewife who gets her first orgasm. So THIS is what a Les Paul is MEANT to sound like! For bluesier stuff, this is the shit. Aged covers a nice touch & not over the top in my case.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: My styles of music have already been listed I believe. These antiquities would do for most of them, except for more saturated Ramones-y rifferama, for which I have other guitars that would do the job better. Metalheads stear clear (though who, frankly, gives a f**k about them anyway?)

Overall Rating : 8
Comments: I've been playing 16 years. This Les Paul has been on of my main workhorses for 13 of them. With the Antiquities, it is finally delivered from one-trick ponyland. If the guitar (with these pickups in it) was stolen, I'd be sorely crushed, but I'm not sure I'd replace it with anything similar, if at all. I'm not much of a humbucker guy these days.



Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: US $0 used
Submitted 07/27/2005 at 10:50pm by Anonymous

Features :
Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 7.7k neck 8.5k bridge

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: 58 Historic Les Paul
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: Duncan Antiquity
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): rock, blues, jazz
Reason for pickup change: Used guitar, Antiquity pickups already installed.


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: medium
Tone: vintage
Sonic evaluation: I play a mildly flamed 58 reissue les paul. The guitar came to me with duncan antiquity humbuckers installed. I mainly plug straight into a 63 tweed Fender champ. This is a good setup for testing guitars and pickups. No enhancements here, just pure sound. Initially I was somewhat impressed with the duncans, punchy warm sound. After further listening and playing the neck position can easily replicate that sweet child o mine intro lick and that classic gary richrath neck position tone. Not muddy at all clear and sweet with great sustain very good. Now to the bridge position, I noticed some warmth, the pickup was clear and had some of that skynyrd honk. Not very dynamic though and lacked sensitivity, pretty much a one sound pickup with little variation in sound or harmonics from different picking technique. The bridge sounded rather flat, the highs were harsh almost painfully so. The pickup also lacked that bell tone fidelty and sizzle associated with original paf pickups. I replaced the bridge position antiquity with a Gibson 57 Classic Plus PAF 9.25K. The guitar now sounds like it should, hot and sweet!! straight into my 63 fender tweed champ.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: neck postion sounded great , bridge postion flat, harsh will hurt your ears

Overall Rating : 6
Comments: I like the neck position antiquitys warmth,punch and vintage tone. The bridge I cannot recommend , Painfully harsh on the highs, very little harmonic complexity.



Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: US $220
Submitted 07/06/2005 at 08:36pm by Paul Doffing
Email: askpaul at gr8mail<dot>com

Features :
Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Neck (7.54k), Bridge (8.58k)

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: My Very Own, Completely Homebuilt Gibson SG
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson Burstbucker #2 and #3
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: No idea
You musical style(s): Rock, Hard Rock, Blues
Reason for pickup change: The Burstbuckers screach whenever you turn up the volume to a reasonable level. They dont just feedback, but they screech, like a microphone in front of a speeker. When you get to LOUD volume levels, espescially on stage, a huge screech can be unbearable. Those Burstbuckers sounded great at low volumes, but the screech alone forced me to leave them behind.


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: Hopefully, the exact same as the 59 Les Paul or the 57 Goldtop my friend owns.
Tone: PERFECT. Not too much of anything, not too little of anything. These things are where classic tone is at as far as I am concerned.
Sonic evaluation: The Guitar I am using is my homebuilt Gibson SG. I built the guitar with a through-body neck to maximize sustain and resonance. The guitar sounds incredible even unplugged, but what these pickups do make it hard to play it unplugged. I play through a Savage Audio Blitz 50 head (which is basically a Marshall Plexi, except its new and it has some very nice, genious added features. If you havent heard of Savage amps, you should definately check them out. I have played all tyoes of amps, from vintage Marshalls to modern Crates (which suck) and the Savage outdoes them all. The Seymour Duncan Antiquites through the Savage and then into a 1969 Marshall 4x12 with Greenbacks. I do not think anyone has ever beat the tone I get out of that setup. Jimmy Page could sit down and record Zeppelin 1 and 2 and never even need to get up. It's just great.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock. Blues. Pickups fit perfectly.

Overall Rating : 10
Comments: If stolen...I would hunt the person who did it down and his family would regret his descision for generations. I have been playing for 5 years. I have owned many other guitars- most notably a 1971 Martin D 35 acoustic. I am trying to buy a Gibson Class 5 custom shop right now, and if the pickups are lacking, I'll slap some antiquities in there too. These pickups have THAT sound.



Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 12/21/2004 at 01:50pm by Anonymous

Features :
Pickup features: single coil passive
Impedence or other specs: see Seymour Duncan website

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: 1957 Tele (original)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: original stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Antiquity bridge
Artists using this pickup: Picasso; Dali; DaVinci
You musical style(s): experimental, jazz, blues, dub, rock
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickup sounded very dull. Originally I changed only the bridge pup to an Antiquity as I thought the stock neck was OK. But once I had the Antiquity bridge in, it sounded so much better that the neck starting sounding worse.


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: About the same as stock; these are not high-output pups
Tone: Much glassier than the original, nicer highs, and more adjustable
Sonic evaluation: I use this with a variety of amps, including a Siegmund Midnight Special, Fender Vibrolux, Sound City 50w head with Avatar 2x12 cab. I'm very pleased with this pickup no matter which amp I use. It's the only one of my guitars that really goes well with the class A Siegmund. Both of the original pups in my 57 Tele - which I've owned since 1974 - had begun to sound very dull. The bridge pup had already been rewound once, in the early 70s. I was thinking of keeping the old pup and use the Antiquity as to avoid further wear on the original, but the Antiquity sounds so much more alive than the original I don't think I'll ever reinstall it.
It is noticeably brighter than the original. I don't know if that's because the original neck pup was degrading or not. At first the extra highs startled me, but the tone knob is much more usable now. I used to run the tone knob all the way up when in the neck position, then when in the middle or bridge pos I'd have to quickly cut the tone knob back to adjust. Now I just leave it about halfway up and it's perfect in all three positions - I never had to adjust the tone much at all from that setting.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Overall Rating : 10
Comments: I'd give this a 10 out of 10, can't imagine another pup on this guitar. I have other Teles, one with Harmonic Design pups but they're a different animal altogether. These are more vintage sounding and I'm quite happy with them. Price is excellent, cheaper than the HDs too.



Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: ?GBP 165 each
Submitted 09/28/2004 at 02:50pm by Jon Walsh
Email: jonwalsh_bluesband at hotmail<dot>com

Features :
Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Sheraton
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock Epiphone humbuckers
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: I have no idea!
You musical style(s): blues, jazz
Reason for pickup change: The stock Epi pickups are OK but nothing to writw homw about. I was looking for that classic early 60's 335 sound.


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: As other guitarists have suggested these pickups do have slightly less output than Gibson counterparts (say 57?s) but I guess that is by design. He whole point is to emulate a well used early 1960?s PAF. So with the reduced strength of the magnets over the years (or via the Seymor Duncan?s aging process) the output will be less. Along with this the sound is sweeter and that?s what you?re looking for when you buy these Antiquities.
Tone: Maybe these pickups vary as, I believe, they are all handmade by Seymor himself (perhaps he has good days and bad days?). Mine have just the sound I was looking for ? better in fact ? sweet, rich, full with good clear distinction for all strings. Well balanced. They provide that classic 335 sound on my Sheraton ? they really do!
Sonic evaluation: I?m playing my Epi Sheraton with the Antiquities through a Fender Blues Deluxe (40w 1x12) and a 1970 Fender Pro Reverb (45w 2x12). I haven?t found a better combination yet ? althou I keep trying.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I?m primarily a blues and jazz player so I wanted that old early Gibson 335 sound for the blues (think Freddie King).

Overall Rating : 9
Comments: I?ve been playing for almost 30 years.
My other gear ? My garage is full of gear and the house is full of guitars to my wife?s disdain ? Fenders, Martins, Taylors, Burns etc and four Epiphone archtops ? I love Epis!
I haven?t really compared these pickups with any others except for the original 60?s humbuckers in all the old 335s I tried.
I actually searched for about 6 months looking for an old 60?s 335 that I really liked and was prepared to spend a lot of money on the right guitar (I even had my wife?s permission!) but every time I came back and played my Sheraton I preferred it?s feel. The build quality and finish is as good as any Gibson I?ve ever owned or played but I?m just not that happy with 335 necks. I find them a bit too narrow and the frets (on new Gibsons) too proud. So I changed tack and set out to get the sound I was looking for from an Epiphone - I'm glad I did! I saved about ?2000 which my wife justly laid claim to! ...Hm!
I would give 10 out of 10 for these pickups as they really are the best I?ve ever played and they do exactly what they are supposed to ? i.e sound just like early Gibson PAFs. I?m docking a point because they really are a bit too expensive (?165 per p/u !!!). The only thing better is a real ealy 1960s PAF but finding a pair of these is like looking for rocking horse sh**!
I?m so impressed with these pickups that I have ordered a pair of Seymor Duncan Antiquity P90s to fit on my Epiphone Casino to get that old Gibson 330 sound. I?ve no doubt that they?ll do the job. However, I?ve asked SD to wax pot these for me to avoid unwanted microphonics as the Casino is completely hollow. Maybe I?ll put up another review on these when I?ve had time to try them out..



Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: US $250.00
Submitted 06/16/2004 at 04:56pm by Anonymous

Features :
Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul -- Murphy finish '93 Custom Shop. Unreal guitar.
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson 57 Classics -- both Neck and Bridge
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ???? Now that you mention it, I can't think of one single guitarist using these pickups professionally or otherwise that I know of. Mmmmm.......
You musical style(s): All types
Reason for pickup change: Having a great Les Paul, I caved in and, like many gear addicts, thought I should give the best pickups Seymour Duncan says he makes a shot -- especially after reading Duncan's promotional material and other's reviews of this product. I always want the best!


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: These Antiquity pickups are weak. Very weak. No dynamics. No responsiveness to playing. No power. No punch. Shockingly bland and "one sound-ish". When you mute the strings and pluck, there is no "pluck" (no tangible "pop"), rather, it is all just "smooth" nothingness.
Tone: Flat sounding (no picking dynamics, no presence. Guitar sounds small.
Sonic evaluation: I use many different amps for different purposes -- for live and for recording. Been playing 37 years. All custom shop instruments -- Fenders and Gibsons.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: All types

Overall Rating : No Opinion
Comments: I have Duncan pickups in several guitars and always been pleased. However, the Antiquity pickups were a very unpleasant shock. I took out the Gibson 57s thinking I might get an improvement with the Antiquity pickups. However, the guitar immediately sounded very small whereas the 57s had big present sounds. Additionally, the Antiquity pickups would not respond to my different picking styles. Very odd. They were so "smooth"("vintage"????). All the notes sounded virtually the same no matter how you struck them. No bass. Lack of clarity. So weak I could get no sustain, even clean. So weak, I could not get the expected Les Paul crunch and sustain on overdrive. Just completely wrong! I absolutely had the pickups installed properly and these problems existed for both pickups and in all switched positions. I ended up taking the Antiquity pickups out of the Les Paul within 24 hours and selling the Antiquity pickups on e-bay. Fortunately, I did not loose my shirt. But, I did loose a lot of time and went through mental strife! Please note that Duncan promotes these pickups ups as their very best and they state the Antiquity pickups are really the Seth Lover PUs but with weaker magnets, vintage style wiring and the worn look applied. So, one would think that the Antiquity PU would drop right into a Les Paul and sound like a million bucks. After all, Seth Lover = PAF humbucker!! No way. The guitar sounded small, lost all dynamics, had no punch and no presence -- very goofy sounding. For anyone who has a Les Paul and is thinking about upgrading pickups, please realize that Gibson's pickups are designed to have that incredible presence and big sound. This experience showed me that Gibson does have their "formula" down (how they build the guitar and the pickups they choose to use). I have a lot of faith in Seymour Duncan and I use a lot of his pickups. But, these Antiquity pickups I don't feel were clearly described as to their atributes in the marketing Duncan puts out. And, I read all the reviews here about this pickup and thought I was doing the right thing. All I can say is this...to anyone who wrote a review here saying the Antiquity humbuckers sound "better" than the pickups they replaced in their Gibson, man, your guitar REALLY must have sounded VERY BAD to start with. Try some real 57 Classics by Gibson or their Burstbuster PUs -- all of which are specifically voiced for the Les Paul. By the way, if you want your Gibson pickups to sound sweeter, have less bite and have more air and definition / articulation, then re-wire your guitar from the switch to the pots and from the pots to the jack with George L cable. You will be shocked at the improvement...and you will save a lot of money (compared to buying $200 - $300.00 in new pickups). (Note: I recommend you use Monster cable Jazz to your amp, even if you are playing rock -- but rewire the inside of your guitar with George L. It will add a lot of fidelity to your sound.) The Les Paul with 57 Classics properly adjusted, with George L cable installed inside the guitar as described above, and with Monster Cable Jazz guitar cable to your amp is a "match made in heaven". I hope this review helps you to avoid what I had to go through!!



Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: US $ 116.25 ea
Submitted 05/29/2004 at 09:33pm by Anonymous

Features :
Pickup features: Humbucking; Passive
Impedence or other specs: 7.5x Neck; 8.5x Bridge

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul Classic
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: 498r & 500t stock ceramic humbuckers
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Pop
Reason for pickup change: Stock pups were too sterile and 'synthetic' sounding--the highs were murderous and they sounded scooped; I couldn't get that sweet and juicy 'vintage' sound.


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: Supposedly lower output but volume levels seem fine (i.e. they're not weak)
Tone: Really balanced with proper adjustment; good string/note definition even when distorted; Are bright but sweet (no ice pick treble & no muddy bass)
Sonic evaluation: I use several different amps--JC 120, Reverend Hellhound, Hiwatt DC40 all tube 1x12 channel switcher, and have played it through a Marshall TSL 60 (2x12) and a Fender Deville 2x12. It sounds great through all of them. A friend of mine has a 78 LP Standard w/ stock pups and his guitar seems to sound good through almost any amp -- now mine does too! There's just something about the aged alnico pup that makes for great tone. Actually, I typically hate the distortion on the devilles but with this guitar/pup combo it takes away the harshness and raspiness from the OD channel and really sweetens it up. My Hiwatt always seemed to favor single coils (Strat w/Fat 50's)- no longer!! My Les Paul sounds great with it now - My all-time favorite tone is Clapton's with Cream (especially "Spoonful and "Sleepy Time Time" on the first album)and these pickups will give me that tone! Clean, distorted, it doesn't matter, they show just how versatile a Les Paul can be.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup gives me a great foundation to play any style I want (and am able to)--they don't overpower anything, they're balanced and so you can tweak the sound however you want: Overdrive, chorus, distortion, delay, flange, phase - you name it, you can use it. I haven't tried metal with them yet (not that I play it really, but I do use a metal zone from time to time). These are especially sweet for 50's-70's rock, blues, jazz, country.

Overall Rating : 10
Comments: These pickups are definite keepers!! They give THAT tone. My Les Paul is a great playing instrument - tons of resonance and sustain all the way to the headstock and back, almost no fret buzz, and great playability. The only thing it lacked was a set of pups that would give a tone worthy of it -- now it has the right pickups. I would never use anything else in any kind of humbucker based guitar. It's a shame Gibson can't put this kind of quality and magic in the Pickups of their already pricey guitars - I had to pay an extra $280.00 installed to an after market company to get the tone that made Gibson a legend. Well,enough preachin'! If you want Bluesbreakers and Cream era Clapton, Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Peter Green, Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh, AC/DC, Tony Iommi, Frampton, etc. get a good Gibson and put these pups in, adjust them right and you'll be in sonic heaven. One note--toadjustthem, make sure you set the pole pieces at opposing right angles and follow a 12" radius with the outside pole pieces flat and the D and the G the highest, fret the low and high E strings at the last fret and measure the distance btw the top of the pole piece and the bottom of the two strings: Bridge should be 1/16th" and Neck--> 3/32". I got that bit of advice from Dan Erlewine's "How to MAke Your Electric Guitar Play Great"(which includes a radius gauge in it) - advice that really made for a great sound.



Product: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 05/14/2004 at 07:18pm by Nic
Email: nic_els at yahoo<dot>com

Features :
Pickup features: passive humbucker paf
Impedence or other specs: neck 7.6 bridge 8.2

Instrument :
Model of guitar or bass: lawsuit jap les paul
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: original jap pafs
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: pass
You musical style(s): many styles
Reason for pickup change: had a bridge antiquity before on another guitar i sold.loved it, wanted that feeling back again


Sound : No Opinion
Perceived output level: 4) i could not believe the difference from the last antiquity i had. i lost out this time. the bridge pickup is so weak in comparison with the neck. i really had a hard time trying to adjust a half decent balance between the two pickups. Even when i did i was not as impressed as i had been with the first one i owned. i know that there is meant to be a variation between each pick-up as they are hand made but surely such dedication through a supposed hands on process should counter the chances of getting a dud. unfortunately i appear to have been one of the few unfortunate ones to strike unlucky.
Tone: 4)the neck is muddy and not the clear near acoustic tone i believed i would expect out of a low output aged Paf. the bridge had a reasonable tone when adjusted right for itself but was not at all well matched in output with the neck pick-up - i spent a lot of time trying to get this right through overal height pole adjustment
Sonic evaluation: 4) Some of you might might be considering the fact that they are fitted to a jap guitar as having some effect on the result but i was never so happy as have the original pickups back in!! they are JAP PAF copies which have a higher output, more clarity and tone- very responsive, but i had a good memory of the Antiquity bridge i owned prevously as having more character, less brittle tone than the jap ones. though there was some more warmth in the new antiquities the muddy neck and lower output bridge wa such a letdown from what i had experienced before. it put me on such a downer after a few gigs that i did not pickup the guitar for a month,and when i finally did i had to admit to myself that i had made a mistake and changed them back. I play through a Mesa Boogie Blue Angel 1x12, expensive leads. clyde wah,klon centur, hot drive and boost mk 2,voodoo trem, chorus,boss tuner laid out on a pedaltrain.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: i play many styleseven when i play stuff like clapton, peter green, chuck berry and any fifties stuff this dud production quality bridge pup is just unexcusable

Overall Rating : 1
Comments: i would not pay out the expense on such a risk again. I would prob go for a smaller oufit such as Tom Holmes or Voodoo if i went handmade again. i really expected better from Seymour Duncan, it goes to show that even his signature and a high price tag is not enough to secure a classic. at least he is honest enough to warn us prior to buying antiquities that like original PAF's some will be better that others!. this tone search is always risky but i for one will not have his name on my wish list again


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