Seymour Duncan Little '59

Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 11.7k

Model of guitar or bass: 91' fender am. std. strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: stock
Artists using this pickup: me
You musical style(s): blues, latin rock, metal
Reason for pickup change: wanted a thicker tone

Perceived output level: hotter than stock pickups
Tone: nice balanced tone
Sonic evaluation: I play through a boss ME-30 and a 80' fender twin reverb. This pickup really rocks. It makes everything come alive. Great distorted sound, but kind of muddy when played clean. But I mainly used it for distortion.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup would probably work for any style except country.

Comments: If it were stolen I would definetly buy another one.

Pickup features: Passive hzmbucking - 4 core
Impedence or other specs: ?

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Strat Plus
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Gold Lace Sensor
Other pickups on guitar: 2x Gold Lace Sensors
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Blues
Reason for pickup change: I wanted more sounds - often I use just a trio so a thicker sound is handy.

Perceived output level: About 10-15% hotter than the Laces. I've got the neck model in the bridge - actually a buying error - but it's probably just as well because it matches the Laces very well - only a slight volume jump. The bridge model might have been too hot.
Tone: Clear but a bit characterless when clean - very smooth into a cranked tube amp - very defined- excellent dynamics - classic British blues tone
Sonic evaluation: Aforementioned Strat into a Fender Pro Junior modded into a Tweed Deluxe style circuit. Even though I've only got Sovtek 6V6s & teh original Fender speaker, when I turn it up to 4-6, it sounds incredible. I like a fairly compressed tone (tube rec, cathode bias, small amp) My tone always gets good comments.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I mostly play blues. Not great for country because its clean sound is a little dead.

Comments: I would buy it again. I've been playing a long time. I play mostly acoustic and have quite a few acoustics & electrics.
I just love the tone. With a small amp in power tube distortion the tone is thick, clear & warm all at once. When it's split for just the single, it's a bit thin, but blends well with the middle for strat quack.
I didn't realy compare it, but I've a bit of experience sith SD products so I reckoned I was alright.
I'm quite happy with my sound for the moment but you neber know...

Pickup features: single coil sized humbucker
Impedence or other specs: ummm, riiiight

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Standard
Other pickups on guitar: Original '57/'62 in neck standard in middle
Artists using this pickup: don't give a hoot, I guess me
You musical style(s): rock, hard rock, blues,blues rock, mild metal
Reason for pickup change: the stock pickup (which have a bad rap) was fine but I found myself wanting to sound be able to sound like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, I couldn't lose those incredibly cool, semi-twangy distinctive Strat sounds all together. Now I have both and love it.

Perceived output level: slightly hotter as a single coil, medium humbcker output, blends well with single coil pickups
Tone: ummm, well I am no expert on this stuff but it sounds pretty warm and with the adjustable pole pieces it can be trebly, bassy, whatever you like
Sonic evaluation: well, it really brought my guitar to life. Like most guitarists I loved the brice and whatnot of the Standard Strat but thought that it needed some mods to make it MY guitar suited for MY needs.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: this would be good for any rock oriented song, except for open ringing R.E.M. type stuff

Comments: This is really a good idea, I found out about these single coil sized humbuckers by accident on E-Bay and immediately went to find out where to buy them. I was thinking about a humbucker but did not want to go tho the time trouble and expense of routing it out and all that. I thought about the Little 59 or the JB Jr, but it was $50 vs. $80 and being not-quite-15-yet with no job, guess which one won. I hooked it up to a 3rd pot that controls how much of a split it makes, I found that early Clapton and The Who are best on about half-split, later Clapton and other people using the regular single coils is best completely split and Led Zep sounds so incredibly awsome in full humbucker mode. I wanted to have one guitar do everything pretty well and I have it, Strat sounds, Paul sounds, whatever, its my Strat-O-Paul! It has made my cruddy amp sound better and it is fantastic distorted or clean, unfortunately that is more than I can say for my amp, It is the next to get replaced. The only complaint that is common here is that the wires are so flimsy, but not hard to deal with. All in All I really am glad I did it. The End

Pickup features: Single coil sized humbucker... passive
Impedence or other specs: ???

Model of guitar or bass: G&L Legacy Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: G&L Stock single coil
Other pickups on guitar: G&L Stock single coils
Artists using this pickup: ???
You musical style(s): Alternative/Rock/Mellow Worship Music
Reason for pickup change: G&L Stock pickup in the bridge was too shrill... so, I never used it. Now that it's a Little '59, I use it all the time.

Perceived output level: About 1/4 louder than the stock pickups and quite a bit fatter, thicker, and brighter.
Tone: Excellent tone, especially with the G&L treble and bass tone pots. I usually leave the bass tone pot on 10 and the treble pot between 5-6. This setting gives the '59 a full, round, fat tone either clean or distorted.
Sonic evaluation: G&L Legacy Strat (sweet strat)
V
Visual Sound Route 66 (Compression and phat Overdrive)
V
Purple Bud Wah (Sweet round, wow - wow, with vintage vibe)
V
Boss DS-1 (Midrangy, fuzzy, crunch)
V
DOD FX 90 Analog Delay (Sweet, bouncy, slap-back)
V
Boss TU-2 Tuner
V
Peavey (I heard that cringe) Delta Blues with a 1x15 and Tremolo.
An amazing combination with enough versatility to suite each style I play. The Little '59 added a whole new dimension to my rig... so much so that I've thought of putting one in the neck position also, but can't spare the cash for now.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Mostly contemporary worship with an edge. The pickup is perfect. Phat, warm, bassy when needed, and clear as a bell.

Comments: I really love it... In fact, I'd like two more to turn my Legacy into a Legacy Special + !! If you've got a G&L and you need to do something with that bridge pickup... what are you waiting for??

Pickup features: Passive Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 9.86K (neck), resonant peak = 5.8KHz

Model of guitar or bass: '99 Mexican Strat
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan Duckbucker (mid) and JB Jr. (bridge)
Artists using this pickup: Who cares...try surfing the web if you really need to know.
You musical style(s): Blues/Rock
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups on a Standard Strat (Mexican made) get a bad rap.
They're really not that bad. But I loved the sound of the Blue
Lace Sensor in my '91 Strat Plus Deluxe and wanted to get the
same (or better) tone on my "beater".

Perceived output level: Seriously hotter my JB Jr, yet not as hot as a Blue Lace Sensor
Tone: Full, round, & sweet. Surprisingly bright. Very Gibson-like when wired stock (series)
Sonic evaluation: Unlike a Blue Lace Sensor which sounds compressed, this pickup is
dynamic -- your tone changes with your picking style. You can still get a Fender-ish tone out of it -- here's the secret:
Unlike stock pickups, the '59 comes with 4 conductor wire...take advantage of it. I used a push-pull pot to select between running this pickup's coils in series or parallel. Series will give you the big bottom-end of a Gibson-type pickup. Parallel tightens up the bottom-end and gives a bit more snap. It sounds like a cross between a stock Strat neck pickup and humbucker. And best of all, parallel mode means no hum and a less dramatic drop in volume than if you were to split the pickup.
Because this pickup is so bright, I ended up wiring my Strat with a separate capacitor for each tone pot. While I use a .022 cap for my middle & bridge pot, I use a .047 cap for the Little '59. This allows me a little more flexibility when in parallel mode.
While I was at it, I put in another push-pull pot which allows me to run my '59 (neck) and JB Jr (bridge) at the same time. Contrary to what others report, this does NOT yield a Tele sound. It gives a great Les Paul tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock, Jazz, Blues, Pop...it can do it all (probably even country)

Comments: For me, this pickup makes the ideal neck pickup for a Strat. It can sound like a Gibson or a Fender. What else would you need?

Pickup features: passive humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: esp vintage strat copy
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: dimarzio sds-1
Other pickups on guitar: duncan '59 trembucker in bridge
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): blues / rock / metal
Reason for pickup change: dimarzio sds-1 wasn't humbucking, sounded to much like a single coil, and was to muddy for the neck

Perceived output level: a little more power than an average hum.
Tone: bright on the top end, not a lot of mids, some harmonics
Sonic evaluation: esp strat copy, through a peavey classic tube 50 watt 2x12 combo

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play classic rock, the '59 series is one of the best all around pickups for whatever you play.

Comments: I'd buy another if it called for it, I've played for about 7 years, I wish the '59 series had more mids, it's got that classic gibson sound, for non gibson guitars, I've got the perfect all around combo now, '59 trembucker in the bridge, and lil' '59 in the neck.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Fendere single coils
Artists using this pickup: None that I know of.
You musical style(s): Metal, assorted other styles.
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups lacked really good tone for Metal. Also, stock pickups lacked good balance between treble and bass strings.

Perceived output level: Pretty Dang Hot
Tone: Really nice, way nicer than the stock single coils.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using the Strat through a Korg Ax1G, into a Peavy Rage 158.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is great for metal and harder styles, but it would be great for just about anything.

Comments: This pickup delivers great tone, making it and my terrific strat a lethal combination for all types of music. The only problem I had with it was a problem with the store that installed it, they didn't wire it too the tone pot. Jerks. I imagine with that it would be even better.

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs: N/A

Model of guitar or bass: American Standard Stratocaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender "Delta Tone"
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Fender "Delta Tone"
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): hard rock / hard blues
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a bit more drive when using the bridge PU.

Perceived output level: Holy Mother Of God...Hot
Tone: Very FULL and WARM, incredibly round...nice.
Sonic evaluation: My rig is an A/B type set up:
'Crunch'-Marshall JCM 800 50 watt 2204 head and
4x12cab /and/ 'Clean'-'73 fender Twin Reverb. I split
the signal from the guitar with a Rapco A/B-100 splitter,
then into the appropriate pedals for each amp(modded TS-9 and 'Clone Clone' by Analogman), then each individual signal goes into an Ernie Ball stereo pan pedal. This allows me to pan between amps, or to combine the signals to both amps at once, without running all my
pedals through the same chain. Tone preservation.
Sounds more complicated than it is.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I can't get enough of a pristene clean tone from my Twin, but need to drive the Marshall when the occation arrises. This pickup is the perfect compliment to this guitar. I can get '4th position 'clean tones to die for, then switch to a warm overdrivin tone at the drop of a hat: The best of both worlds.

Comments: For my particular application, it is PERFECT. I can't beleive how good this thig sounds in a Strat. Incredible. I was going to drop a
'JB jr.' in my strat, but my guitar tech STRONGLY advised me not to(he has done work for Jerry Cantrell, Glen Cambell, Gin Blossoms...etc). I'm glad I took his advice and dropped in this "little '59" instead. I HIGHLY recommend this pickup!

Pickup features: (Single coil-sized humbucker)
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Godin ST
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: ???
You musical style(s): Jazz, psychedelia
Reason for pickup change: N/A

Perceived output level: I have them tapped at all times...untapped they're a little hot for my tastes.
Tone: Mids are nice and warm, and there's a little much in the trebble department. Got those warm mids though...
Sonic evaluation: This is my only electric, and I run it through a pair of T.C. Electronic Sustain + EQ pedals (one low-gain, one high gain, both accentuating lower mids), an ADA Flanger and COlorsound wah into a Matchless tube reverb and Matchless SC30. If you know the amp, you know that its extremely sensitive to output level and dymanics, so you don't want pickups to be very hot. Tapped, they work great, and have some glassy strat sparkle. More than highs, I wanted mids, and they pull through nicely with the trebble set low.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These pickups are a good match for jazz and mellow jazz/rock, as I wanted a warm (midrangy) tone, but unlike a normal strat in that I wanted not much presence. I rarely use the mid position, because it sounds weak, but who does?

Comments: I use this guitar (all maple, except for the fretboard) with the SDs, and I also have a Seagull acoustic. Cost was no object when I bought either guitar, I am really fond of the electric and its sound, but often think that I might get a more mellow sound if the guitar wasn't solid maple (alder or poplar would have been a better choice for warm tones). Better sound than the stock pickups on my old Fender strat, but can't master the edge-tones the way the humbuckers in my old Gibson ES335-S Deluxe chambered solidbody could. I don't use those kinds of tones much anymore, however. Effects sound good (I tend to use heavy flange for some psychedelic jazz, and a touch of phasing for a more rolling clean). If you want these pickups to get a rich thickness, use reverb and turn down your trebble. They're dead quiet. I'm thoroughly satisfied.

Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs: unknown

Model of guitar or bass: Tokai Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: standart Tokai single-coil
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan Duckbuckers in middle and neck
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): Blues - Rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a punchier sound for some of the more rock-oriented material we do in my band.

Perceived output level: 30 - 40%
Tone: lots of smooth mids and highs... not glassy at all.
Sonic evaluation: Use a Line 6 Flextone Plus w/Celestion G12-80 speaker plus outboard cabinet along with Line 6 Floorboard. Also use a Boss GE-7 to add a bit of presence and boost when needed.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues-Rock... pickup best for bridge setup.

Comments: This is THE pickup... it is the best pickup combination that I have ever used. I LOVE THIS PICKUP!! I have been playing for 28 years and this is it for me... I would replace it with the exact same pickup if anything should ever happen to it. Some of my fellow professional players have turned on to this P.U. and love it as well. With my amp setup, I can get anything from early Clapton to Hendrix and everything in between.