Seymour Duncan Little '59

Pickup features: mini humbuck for Strat
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender MIM Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fender noiseless
Other pickups on guitar: Fender noiseless
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Hard Rock, Shred
Reason for pickup change: Wanted an edgier sound

Perceived output level: louder than stock, edger than the noiseless
Tone: bas and treble are accuanted, mids are a little subdued
Sonic evaluation: I have an LP with the larger version. Sonic differences to be sure. I wasn't sure what I wanted from this PU, though the Fender noiseless in the bridge wasn't what I wanted. This PU is not as articulate as the one in my LP, but close enough, thats is not a bad thing. It does sound like a hummy and is a bit out of character for a strat. My problem with it it is NOISEY. Very un expected. noisier than the Fender noiseless. Not a HUM but a BUZZ. I think the issues the the thin cheap cables, not in the same league as its bigger brother's braided cable. I like the sound by itself. The switch on position 4-5 yielded something quite unexpected, a belll like single coil sound that is very smooth. It may be due to the interaction between the noiseless and '59 but the sound is very appealing.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: bluse, shred, rock

Comments: The problem when buying pu's once they are installed, you can't exchange them, at least when buying from GC. That's too bad. if you don't like the sound of the guitar you take home, it can be exchanged or money refunded. with PUs its buyer beware.
I like this one, the sound is what I'm looking for, but it's more noisier than expected, my main beef with the product and the real thin wiring for that I give it an 8

Pickup features: single coil sized humbucker
Impedence or other specs: unsure

Model of guitar or bass: fender usa 1959 re-issue
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock usa 1959 re-issue bridge
Other pickups on guitar: stock usa 1959 re-issue pickups
Artists using this pickup: n/a
You musical style(s): blues / rock
Reason for pickup change: looking for more versitility and hunbucker sounds from guitar / better crunch and distortion

Perceived output level: Slightly hotter than a stock strat pickup
Tone: Thin / Reedy / Dead Sounding when used clean. Sounds Quacky.
Sonic evaluation: Was using a standard 1959 usa re-issue fender strat into a 60 Watt Marshall TSL Valve Amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock and Blues - Unsuitable as an upgrade due to poor sound

Comments: I bought this a few years ago as an upgrade for my strat bridge pickup which as you may know is glassy and brittle sounding on the early usa re-issues. I wanted something to allow for Zepplin style lead and chops and to add a new sound to the strat.
I was very dissapointed with this pickup. It has a very thin, cheap sound which is brittle sounding when clean and lacks the touch sensitivity that a good pickup will give. Has neither the depth of clean tone given by a weaker pickup winding, or the full on drive of a hotter wound pickup. When compared to the Mc Carty bridge on My PRS swamp ash, it sounds weak and has a fraction of the depth and definition. I suppose it's a drawback of the size of the pickup mainly and perhaps I was expecting too much due to the Seymore Duncan reputation and promotional info on the website. Go for a nice hot single coil of have your old one re-wound and save yourself ?50! Or Bite the Bullet, Get the guitar router out and buy a new scratch plate and go for a real humbucker.

Pickup features: humbucking passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: telecaster (japan '86)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock's
Other pickups on guitar: lace sensor gold on neck
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): rock-jazz/fusion (Stern,Ford,...)
Reason for pickup change: low quality stock pickup

Perceived output level: high level output
Tone: middy/trebly but nasal
Sonic evaluation: Laney tf200, Marshall jcm 900, Brave amps; Boss OD2, Boss CE-5 chorus, Ibanez delay, wha-wha

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock-jazz/fusion - almost good match

Comments: I was looking for a good and versatile pickup with more power than the stock pu without loosing the brigth neck position tele sound. I splitted the humbucker so i reach a good compromise but the clean humbucker is ORRIBLE. A little bit better as single coil.For dist is quite good but i will try another one as soon as possible (no Seymour) still humbucker! FORGET the real Tele sound if not splitted. P.S. the sound is brigther (thin) than the sample in Seymour's site

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Mexican Standard Stratocaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stanard Mexican Pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Standard Mex Pups
Artists using this pickup: Me for the moment...
You musical style(s): bit of blues through to heavy(ish) rock and all that lies inbetween
Reason for pickup change: Standard coil was too weak. Wanted something to make the guitar rock a bit harder.

Perceived output level: Subtle, but noticably louder than standard pups.
Tone: Fairly balanced.
Sonic evaluation: Been playing for three years (so lack some experience). Play through Line 6 Flextone 2 through the mesa model. Compared to the old pup, It is a bit thicker sounding, quite creamy really. When playing distorted lead (solos and stuff) It sounds harder and cuts through the mix better. When on clean, It distorts ever so slightly where the old pup wouldn't. I was a bit dissapointed with this as I liked the old pup on the clean as it was bright and sparkly. This is a bit more dull and lacks a little bite when playing ska and other sparkly clean stuff. But it does sound nice when you roll the volume back a bit, on the clean, quite warm for a bridge pick up on a strat.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: A strat and a Little '59 will cover just about any style (not sure about metal) and sounds good while doing it.

Comments: Been playing three years (maybe not long enough to give the most accurrate of reviews) but nevertheless i do like this pick up. Its not quite as bright which is often a good thing, and it does make a genuine improvement to the guitars sound. But it hasn't solved my tone search, but thats really because its the wrong guitar for me, a les paul or humbucker loaded tele would suit better. It does make an improvement, I wouldn't get another one if it was stolen simply because i'd prefer a new guitar, but i would congratulate the thief for having such good taste, then i'd beat him/her to a pulp then take it back.

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: check out seymourduncan.com

Model of guitar or bass: Squier Telecaster Standard Fat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock bridge pickup
Other pickups on guitar: SH-2 Jazz in the neck
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues/Rock
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups that Squier has in their guitars are awful. The single coil that was in the bridge of my Tele was so tinny that it had no twang or bite--it was just a horrendous trebly sound that I hated.

Perceived output level: This thing is hot for its size. Its got the kick and bite of a humbucker but still the hard-edged twang you want in a Tele.
Tone: Great mids and strong treble without being overbearing. The bass output is mediocre.
Sonic evaluation: I play my Tele> Jekyll and Hyde Overdrive> Boss chorus> Arion SAD3 delay> custom built 50 watt amp loaded with a Celestion Vintage speaker. I LOVE THIS PICKUP! It seems like its made for my setup. I put a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck, so this rocks as a lead pickup. Tone to die for. Some hum, but its very slight and I could care less because this pickup oozes vintage blues tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: My Visual Sound's Jekyll and Hyde overdrive pedal is an amazing stompbox. Especially for the blues/rock style I mostly play. But I don't wanna lay down the $500 plus that it would take to buy a guitar that does it justice. These pickups (Jazz in the neck, Little '59 in the bridge) are what me and my pedal have been searching for. The tonal combination of these pickups and my rig are amazing. They've made me into a new man!

Comments: Everybody needs a guitar with a Little '59 in their bridge. The difference in quality tone I'm getting is unbelievable. Squier's stock pickups are crap. Plain and simple: they suck. But I love my little Tele. So rather than having to wait til I could afford a five or six or seven or (you get my point) hundred dollar guitar, I spent $175 and had these two SD pickups put in it by a local Fender dealer. More than worth it. Don't hesitate to get one for yourself!

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Black Horse Guitars
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: DiMarzio VirtuAl 2
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio VirtuAl 2, DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Jazz, Funk, Fusion
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a humbucking sound with coil tap to single coil sound.

Perceived output level: Beefy single coil sound.
Tone: Definately not a humbucker sound. Noisy, Noisy, Noisy!
Sonic evaluation: My guitar is a chambered mahogany body with a maple top. The neck is sandwiched between the top and body(glued-in). I'm using a Mesa Mk IV widebody woody amp.

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

Comments: This is where I have a problem with this pickup. I was hoping to get A nice humbucker sound in series and single coil in parallel. Instead, it sounds like a beefy single coil. It's not a bad sounding pickup. In fact, I really like the sound. It just doesn't do what it's advertised to do. It's not even close to sounding like a humbucker. And I've played a '59 'burst.
With some eq I can get some thicker sounds but the attack is wrong. With the phase reversed the sound is so tiny that it's unusable. I checked the wiring several times thinking that was the problem.
I could live with this pickup and use it very effectively if it weren't so noisy. When I switch to the DiMarzios there is dead silence. Eerie silence, until you play something. Then you know the problem is the Duncan. I've had other Duncans and loved them but a DiMarzio is going back in. Perhaps a Solo for the neck.
SD ought to rename this pickup 'cause it doen't sound like a '59 Humbucker. Maybe they mean a '59 P-90.

Pickup features: Humbucker (Single Coil size), Passive
Impedence or other specs: 11.78k in bridge, 9.86k in neck. Nothing huge... ;)

Model of guitar or bass: Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fender Lace Gold
Other pickups on guitar: SD Little '59 in neck and American Fender Strat in Middle
Artists using this pickup: No one I know of
You musical style(s): Various, so I needed versatility. Hard rock to blues.
Reason for pickup change: Not everyone can afford to use a different guitar for each song they do, so I needed as much versatility in one guitar as I could get.

Perceived output level: On par with the American Series Fender Strat single coil I have in the middle position
Tone: Well balanced. Smoother and more even than the Standard strat pickup. I was very surprised to find out that the Little '59 sounded sooooooo similar to the Fender Lace Golds. That's not a bad thing, but I wasn't expecting it.
Sonic evaluation: I play through a 30 watt Valve amp, and sometimes use a Boss GX-700 for extra effects.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues, Classic rock, progressive rock, new school punk. Suitable for the softer options, not progressive.

Comments: I bought the pickups to add versatility to the guitar, and I didn't get a whole lot extra! I do have to say that I really like the sound. The mids are punchy (the joy of EL84 valves) but the bottom end could have been a bit tighter. With the right finger movements you can still get the bell-like sounds I loved in the Laces.
In my search for tone I have been through the following pickups:
Fender Standard strat: we all know what they sound like... ;)
Fender lace gold: VERY nice, but limited.
EMG SA: During my Dave Gilmour phase. Also nice, but limited. I like the neck pickups, but the bridge was skinny, and I couldn't mix active and passive to get a better bridge.
Dimarzio DSD-1: Good bridge pickup, but stolen by my brother. I prefer the little '59 anyway...
Of all the above, the little '59 is the most versatile, and that's what I was asking for. My final option I might try would be to put the bridge Little '59 into the middle and put a hot rails in the bridge for the progressive rock side of things.
I like this pickup. It doesn't cover enough string space to get the sound of a full humbucker, but it does enough of a good job to keep me happy. I can now get any sound I want, except for that "smokey" type of cruncky sound that you need a bright pickup for.
I would get them again. I highly recommend it.

Pickup features: passive hunbucker to replace strat single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Stratocaster (MIM)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock Fender pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Fender neck and middle pickups
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Classic rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a more versatile guitar. Needed a humbucker sound for a fatter tone.

Perceived output level: Hotter than stock but still agood match with stock pickups
Tone: definitely less trebly than the stock Fender pickup. This pickup does a great job of putting the classic humbucker sound into your Strat without having to resort to a router. I?ve never played a real ?59 PAF humbucker, so I can?t confirm or deny the accuracy of its tone verses the original, however when you consider the small size that this pickup has to fit into they?ve done a hell of a good job getting THAT SOUND..
Sonic evaluation: I play this Strat through a Traynor Custom valve 40 watt and a Marshall MG 15 watt. This pickup does a great job of giving your Strat that classic humbucker sound. It won?t turn your Strat into a Les Paul since the Strat?s wood is different and the narrow width of the pickup can?t cover a much string area as a full size humbucker, but it gets amazingly close.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: All styles of rock except metal

Comments: This is a great pickup. It added that fat humbucker sound to my Strat. Blends exceptionally well with the other pickups. Would buy another one in a heart beat .

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: seymourduncan.com says: D.C. Resistance is 17.0k, Resonant peak is 3.4khz. Ceramic magnet, moderate output.

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Telecaster (MIM)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender bridge single coil pickup.
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Fender neck pickup.
Artists using this pickup: ? Don't know? Don't really care :)
You musical style(s): Classics (Country, Blues, Rock and Roll) to Hard Rock (AC/DC, Ozzy, theCult etc)
Reason for pickup change: Weak stock p'up. I have another MIM Tele Standard and it has an awesome stock p'up, an unusual quality control slip-up I guess gave me a crappy one this time. I felt it would be cool to give a Tele a humbucker this time :)

Perceived output level: Output was hotter than the stock p'up, but not hotter than most vintage PAF style hums. Moderate output (like a classic 50's humbucker, NOT like a SuperDistortion).
Tone: Alot more bass and mid than the stock p'up. Read bout the custom switch below, for more tonal description.
Sonic evaluation: I use a Peavey Classic 50 4x10" and a Fender Blues Junior. I replaced the tele 3-way switch with a custom 5-way switch (regular Strat switches WON'T WORK for this mod, you will need a SuperSwitch) from guitarelectronics.com. They also have printable pickup wiring diagrams on their site (including this one). This allows me to coil split the Little '59 without adding mini switches, push/pull pots, etc.
While the Lil'59 uses a ceramic magnet it still captures the Alnico5 classic humbucker sound very well. It doesn't exactly match them in dynamics, but it has it's own dynamic (not the usual for a ceramic, but not EXACTLY like an Alnico either). It has a good classic dynamic in that it allows you to get "your sound" out of it... it likes tube amps. It has it's own distinct sound, but can be shaped and molded pretty easily just by adjusting your amp's EQ. Distorts nicely, not exactly like a classic, but still classic (whaa? hehe). It's clean is fat and "honky" with pronounced mids and a good deal of bass. The brochures will say "reminiscent of an old '59 Patent Applied For humbucker mixed together with a healthy dose of beefed up Tele? twang". This doesn't seem true to me! It saps it's twang and replaces it with a classic Gibson sound to my ears. Not bad, but I already have a couple of Gibsons. To get my Tele twang back I installed the custom switch :)
With the switch I can get any combo of pickups with the Lil'59 as a single coil or as a humbucker. This I think is it's best quality, the ability to coil split with the 4conductor wires. In single coil mode it sounds convincing as a nice stock tele bridge p'up (kinda like a Texas Tele), in humbucker mode it sounds similar to my '57 ReissueLesPaul except with a little more punch and bass. I can have it single coil with the neck or humbucker and neck, single coil by itself, etc. This makes the guitar a classic tone machine! A classic late 50's Gibson and FenderTele all in one!
Now that the switch gave me back my TWANG, I'm very happy with this guitar. The only drawback (and reason it won't get a perfect 10) is that the stock neck p'up and the humbucking mode both have more volume, weight and output than the Lil'59 in single coil mode. This results in a noticeable volume drop (not too drastic though) with switching from hum-to-single. This also results in the neck being a little more prominent in the blending of the two when the Lil'59 is in single coil mode. There's no way around this... even with other guitars/pickups. This is a common scenario across the board, so it's not really a negative for this pickup :)
The Blues Jr. was a little bit more responsive to the different pickup changes, it sounded very good in both of my amps though! I NEVER use any effects. I do use a wah pedal occasionally though. I'm one of those bastard classic purists ("distortion doesn't come in a box, it comes from your amp being spanked hard"). This pickup likes to be shaped into "your tone". It can be AngusYoung-ish or close to Keef Richards.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play country, blues, RnR, and Hard Rock. This pickup can get them all without changing guitars all the time. I still prefer using my '57Gibson for recording those and a Tele for recording those, but on stage this will run the gamut and in studio it will be distinct enough to use in it's own right.

Comments: If the pickup was lost, I'd replace it with another Lil'59, BUT only in this particular Tele. I love Teles (especially stock classics - got a stock modern and am looking for a 50's Reissue) but this one is my "HotRod". I've been playing for over 10 years, I own 12 guitars all customized (soon to add another Tele), I own 3 amps (had alot more... miss my Marshall JCM800s! and my Vox). I usually dislike SeymourDuncans. To me they all distort nicely, but sound like everyone else (and kind of bland dynamics, not like this Lil'59 though!). I love DiMarzio SuperDistortions! This is the 3rd SeymourDuncan I've owned (I only own 2 now). It is a very nicely designed pickup. Sounds very good and made me reconsider certain SD models.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker in a single coil size package
Impedence or other specs: This is the Strat Bridge Model, color: white

Model of guitar or bass: '57 Reissue Strat: Alder body, Maple neck & fretboard
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Vintage Strat single coil
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Alnico Vintage single coils
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, Jazz
Reason for pickup change: I wanted to get a hotter bridge sound without any hum

Perceived output level: In humbucking mode it's about 50% hotter than Vintage single coils. In tapped mode this pickup isn't quite as loud as a stock single coil.
Tone: Quite middy sounding, with a lack of character. Very uninspiring
Sonic evaluation: I've tried this bridge pickup in the above mentioned guitar with two different amp setups: a real Fender Tweed Deluxe, and a Rocktron Voodu Valve into a Marshall 20/20 through a 2x12 Mesa Cab with Celestion V30's. In both cases I found that there were a lot of mids, a lack of bass, and no high end sparkle. I'm surprised because most pickups sound great through the deluxe. Needless to say, the stock pickup is going back in.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup seriously lacks character. I'm not sure what style it would be suitable for. Maybe Grunge?

Comments: I've been gigging for almost 15 years. I've tried many guitars with many different pickups. However, Seymour Duncan is striking out with me. I've tried & dislike this Little '59 & the Screamin Demon. So far my favorite humbuckers are Dimarzio's Tone Zone & PAF Pro, and my favorite single coils are Fender Vintage reissues & texas specials.