Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59

Humbucker, designed to sound like a classic PAF (similarly to seth lover pickup) unsure of impedence.

Installed this in neck position on a Tele partscaster i built, paired with a Dimarzio Area Hot T in bridge. Mike from Incubus uses this pickup in some of his guitars. I transferred this from my Schecter 006 Blackjack, which i sold minus the '59. left the JB in the bridge of that guitar, I didn't like anything about the JB, way too dark, especially on a mahogany body.

The output is reasonably high, i have the pickup sitting quite low in the pickguard, to match the dimarzio in bridge. i play all sorts; rock, alternative, church, even beat it from michael jackson if i feel like it. this pickup is suitable for neck, but i haven't tried it in bridge. the tone is quite balanced, i would like a little more high end, it doesn't always cut through the mix when my amp is clean. i've got it hooked up to a parallel/series push/pull potentiometer, which makes for some surprisingly "stratish' sounds from a tele. this pickup coil-splits or runs parallel extremely well.

I would probably use this pickup again. i've been playing about 10 years, i don't own that much stuff. an old 25-watt alron amp, and G2D Custom Overdrive and Nova Delay as my effects. This pickup has a nice warm tone compared to the bridge pickup, but not too warm and mushy. i am 90% satisfied with its sound, i'm interested in trying lindy p-90's in my next build though.

Passive humbuckers. Not sure of impedance.

Heritage H535, both positions, Duncan '59 came as an option brand new.

Moderate output, balanced tone - not mid scooped or extremely mid humped. I use them mostly clean with delay into a fender twin or drri. Ocasionally use a fulldrive ii overdrive.

Suitable for rock, jazz, maybe country or anything else that doesn't require hot hot pickups.

The neck can get very warm, bordering on muddy with the tone knob turned down. Good for jazz or subdued chord work. With the tone knob up, the neck is clear and fat sounding without pronounced mids. Nothing distracting or lacking in the tone, very versatile and useful.

The bridge can get a little edgy and bright, which is fine. I like that it can get a good bright sound for country and still have some punch left over for grittier rock sounds.

They both react well to fender style amps and can both clean up while retaining the ability to push the amp a bit. They sound just right pushing a marshall too.

It's my favorite humbucker I've owned. My others are hot (sd distortion and sd jb) so the 59s fill in the gap nicely. Been playing 15years and use other guitars with singles and p90s. I love that these pups can give a vintage output type sound to round out my singles and p90s. I've got guitars with pickups that run the spectrum from weakish telecaster singles, lipsticks, p90s to hot humbuckers. These fill my need for moderate output buckers. This may also be my most versatile guitar now.

Humbucking pickup with Alnico V magnet. You can also tap the coil on this humbucker. I think it's something like 7.43K, so it's a vintage sounding pickup. Don't expect to get hard rock or metal out of it.

It came stock in a Washburn X-50 Pro Q. It's sitting in the neck position. The bridge pickup is a SH-11. I know people are using it, just not exactly who.

It's got a fairly low output. But I didn't really expect it be a high output monster or anything like that. I use it straight into Vox Pathfinder, sometimes with a Guv'nor Plus or a Dano Fab Chorus in the chain. This pickup doesn't have a lot of mids. That was pretty obvious to me when I first played it. It's got a good amount of bass and slightly less on the treble side. This thing has got a good sound to it. It's not harsh, it's pretty mellow sounding. Very smooth actually, even with gain. Doesn't get that razor quality when distorted. Nice full sound as well. Can sound a bit like it's lacking something though. That midrange being "relaxed" really does make a noticeable difference. Personally, I'd like to see this with more midrange. All I really have to do crank up the mids a bit when I switch to my neck pickup. It works better, but I think if I invested in one of those MXR EQ pedals, I can tweak the midrange more to my liking.

I play blues. Classic rock too, and some of the 80's metal (no hair metal though, just not my thing). It works well enough for me. I don't need a high gain pickup. This fits the bill for me.

Jury's still out on this one. I like it, but that lack of mids is bugging me. I'm gonna try to fix it with an EQ pedal. If I can't work it out, I'll probably go with either a Seth Lover, those have a bit more midrange. Been at guitar for a little bit, 10 years or so. Other than this guitar I've got a Peavey Predator EXP. I really dig the way the notes seem to have this richness surrounding them. And that lack of midrange is the only thing I don't like. But I'm gonna try and work on it rather than just go get another pickup. I think I can get it to work for me.

Brilliant new school take on a venerable old school legend from a premier USA pickup maker. The passive, humbucking SH-1 '59 neck and bridge pickups from Seymour Duncan are are nothing short of stunning.

I installed these in my Epiphone SG G-400 Cherry in both the bridge and neck positions(no covers) as the stock covered pickups were too dark and muffled for my tastes and lacking a lot of upper mid and high frequencies.

An impedance of 8k puts the SH-1's squarely in the vintage output bracket however that's not to say they perform in a vintage fashion. After installation I played these into my Crate BV-120 and the result was fantastic. All the definition and high end that was lacking in the stock pickups was suddenly flying off the strings, although the tone was bright it still remained balanced and focused in the bridge and neck postions whith the middle position reminiscient of the old 50's gretsches, it has to be heard to be believed. I play predominantly rock with shred over the top, a bit of clean jazz and these pickups did it just the way i liked it, sparkling.

When i get my next SG i'll definitely be putting a set of these in it. I've been playing and listening for 10 years and was floored by what these pickups delivered, can't put my SG down most days now, the tone from these is inspirational. I also have an SH-4 JB in another guitar but Iwanted the same sound in a lower output level and that's just what the '59's produced. I don't use a lot of effects in my playing however the ones I do have worked in harmony with these pickups, I've now found my tone with these. . .

Passive humbucker

Have a 30 yr old Schecter Tempest les Paul copy.I got the neck position pickup to replace crappy Japanease pickups on the guitar. I also have the SH4 Jeff Beck bridge pickup also to replace crappy bridge pickup on the guitar.

This pickup was bought after listening to the Seymour Duncan audio samples and loved it from the start.I wanted a really blues sounding pup as the SH4 which is in my bridge position is quite a rock sounding pup so wanted tonal veritility with my guitar and this one does the job perfectly.The sound is a really blues sound with a nice zingy tone which i like. This pup also has a very sharp sound that almost hurts your ears when played above the 15th fret which i also like but my dog hates!!! The 59 sound much better for clean mellow sound than the SH4 but the SH4 sound better with the distorted rock sound; this is where the 59 looses it a bit but still sounds good.

If this pup was stolen or destroyed i would be totally gutted as i really like the sharp blues sound that it has. I like it much better than the SH4 Jeff Beck which i also like a lot but doesnt quite cut the blues sound,better for rock like i said. If you are like me and want a blues sound then go for this pup as i totally love it cos it makes me sound good!!!!!!!!

Humbucker
Zebra bobbins

I put an SH-1 into my 1978 Gibson Les Paul standard when the original stock bridge pickup failed and went microphonic.

It is better than the stock pick up was (not that this was bad). It is quite bright, and is more sensitive to the volume control, which suits me very well. I use the volume and tone controls a lot. It has about as much or a little less output than the old stock pickup, which had less than a lot of the new humbuckers out there.

The mids may be a little less prominent, but that could just be placebo effect because I read it. It is definitely not ???scooped???. I like it a lot.

Signal path: ancient Dunlop Wah --> MI Audio Crunch Box --> TS-808 --> Boss Flanger --> Boss digital delay 2 --> early 1970s Fender Super Reverb (or 1989 Laney 100W AOR + 4 x 12).

I use my LP for blues, rock, hard rock and psychodelia. I am very into the sound of my amps...

I liked the effect of the change so much that I got another for the neck. The SH-1 did not really change the character of the guitar, but accentuated what was already there. It should be noted that my 78 Les Paul has a three-piece maple neck, so it???s naturally a little brighter than the 59 re-issues. That would definitely affect the way the tone of this pickup ???sits??? within the tone of the instrument.

I???d consider trying Burstbuckers next time, but at the price they???d have to be very impressive to sway me. The SH-1 does a good job for me.

Duncan SH-1n '59, Humbucker, Nickel cover, single lead. Neck Position.

02 Les Paul Standard, 50's neck with Burstbucker Pro's. Didn't like the Pro's at all. Couldn't rip them out fast enough. Installed Gibson '57 Classics and liked them much better. Like a fool I thought I wanted something else so I tried the Duncan '59.
Read on..............

I didn't like the Pro's at all so I installed a pair of Gibson '57 Classics. Ahhh much better. But after awhile I "thought" the '57s were not hot enough. I wanted another change so the first thing I did was try to get a deeper tone in the neck pickup so I researched and thought the SH-1n would do the trick even though I was a little leary of the comment "slightly scooped mids" which to me is leaving the PAF territory. So I installed the '59 in the neck of my Les Paul. Well hmmmmm this isn't working. While the '59 sounded pretty with deeper bass and softer highs than the '57 Classic, the lack of midrange just ruined it for me. The mid's almost sounded "modeled" to me. While the rest of the tone was very sweet it just did not have the bite of the Gibson. Also the Duncan being a Alnico V was a mismatch with the '57 Classic Plus in the bridge which is Alnico II. Could not match up the focus and volume evenly. I tried and tried but ended up throwing the '57 Classic back in the neck and wondered why I ever pulled it in the first place. I like the Classic much better for my setup and taste. For me using a Marshall JTM45 and Les Paul, the Classics are going to be hard to beat. I will keep the SH-1n and try it in a different guitar. That works sometimes. Something with very loud mids may just need this pickup. I don't think this is the perfect '59 humbucker. The eq is just off.

I may try it in a Hollow body but for my Les Paul it didn't work for me. Too soft. If Seymour Duncan would take a '57 Classic, massage it's tone first to be just bigger and then smooth off the very top end and only slightly enhance the bass, then it would sound like the real PAf humbuckers of 1959. Just leave the strong rich mids alone!
I'm a total Marshall/Gibson/Humbucker guy. Overall this is a nice humbucker with "some" good qualities. Didn't floor me.

Pickup features: Humbucking/passive
Impedence or other specs: 8k and 9k

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson DK2
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan JB and SH-6 Distorsion
Other pickups on guitar: Little '59 in middle and neck position
Artists using this pickup: don't know
You musical style(s): melodic death metal, rock, punk, clean stuff
Reason for pickup change: Jb has too mucj treble detail, SH-6 has too much distorsion and those 2 pu has toooooo much output!

The putput level is moderate and it is the best pick up i've ever own! I'm playing it through a 100watt hi-gain amp (ENGL Powerball!!!) and it is the best pick up for hi-gain sound. don't belive to peolple who tell that it is unswitable to metal. it isn't true!!! This pick up is incredibly balanced. bass, mids and trebble are very very equilibrated!
Now i can hear every note of a hi-gain powerchord!!!

So, if you are looking for ultra versatile pickup, buy this one!!! Clean sound, crunch, vintage distorsion and modern ultra-gain distorsion.

From sweet clean arpeggios to distorted (but clear!!not like kinda "shhhhhhhh" sound) hi-gain moder sound like In Flames, Children Of Bodom, At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity &co.

COmpared to Dimarzio pu it delivers more "real" sound of the guitar: full, clean and warm..so,the best!
Compared to EMG 81\85 the sh-1 blows it away! with sh-1, the distorsion is much more powerfull and not compressed. remeber: passive is better than active.
Put it with 2 Little'59 in mid and neck position and you will have ultra-versatile pick-ups.

Original PAF sounding copy / passive
1-Conductor with Braided Shielding
Neck: 7.43 k
Bridge: 8.13 k
Neck: 6.8 KHz
Bridge: 6 KHz

Alnico V Bar Bass 6 / Mid 3 / Treble 8

I just installed both neck and bridge pickups in my Korean Hamer Rick Nielson Explorer replacing the stock "Duncan Design" 101N and 102B pickups.

Artist using this pickup are: Ben Harper (neck & bridge), Robben Ford (neck & bridge), Mike Einzinger / Incubus (neck).

I changed the pickups because although the Duncan Designs were adequate, I bought both pickup used on Ebay for the price of 1 new and have tried all other duncans except these for some reason. The JB being my favorite bridge, with the Custom/Custom being 2nd favorite bridge pickup. I usually have the JAZZ SH-2 neck pickup or SSL-1s in middle and neck on my super strats. These pickups are fresh to my ears and fingers without all the high treble gain.

Output perceived to be mid to low but made up for any high gain pickup in tone. High gain pickups like my JB's hold the massive distortion and volume better because the coils are beefier and the notes are rapid and sharp. The 59's have this "air" surrounding the note and each note comes through like a chord...Fat and full and the sustain sits there until you stop it. It has a low end response which can make a speaker "waffle" and the low notes carry weel without too much mud or mush. Mid range is your guitars natural sound anyway so it does not boost much here. and Treble response is so damn even across the entire spectrum that it won't hide your playing mistakes. What you play is what you get...but I will say that the honey rich sustain on loud clean makes your playing breathe.
i don't feel like these pickups would hurt any style, but they sound like your favorite "blues" track instantaneously. I play all styles and could pull them all off. Heavy Metal just does not sound as raspy or trebly...it sounds like Gary Moore's timbre of metal.
I didn't find it unusable as some have reviewed. It is a sweeter change to my tone. Sponge factor of about 10

If it was destroyed or stolen, I would use these again.
I have been playing the better part of 25+ years and have owned every amp and piece of equipment out there. I currently play a 50 watt Landgraff "plexi" style head with a 2X12 Bob Burt 100 year old pine cab w/ Vintage 30 80 watt and a Heritage 80 watt celestions mixed. Both speakers make up for each other to create a better tone period. I use Landgraff Mo D and Dynamic overdrive for the base of my overdrive/distortion tone and use Xotic RC/BB and AC here and there. Keeley four knob compressor. Boss RE-20 Space Echo. MXR phase and flanger. Jim Dunlop 535Q Wah. My fingers and George L cable in everything including wiring my guitar pots to output jack with it.
I love the original tone finger print these pickups have and hate nothing about it. Like I said, i have owned every amp and pedal and rack unit and Seymour Duncan pickup out there except these until now. These pickups do not limit tone or expression or imagination. you would want these in one of your most warmest sounding guitars, you know where you strum it like an acoustic without being plugged in and the note are clear and transparent. I wish it was scatterwound for more air and open notes...but you have to order that custom from Seymour.
I am so satisfied and happy that the notes have such a chewy fat presence with air surrounding each note...it floats you to play what you hear inside your head really well.

Passive humbucker, 7,4K neck/8,1K bridge. Alnico 5 magnets. Single conductor cable vintage blues set.

I put these to my lespaul ( a chinese copy built point to point as original - there is even a gibson logo at the head). Original pickups were lifeless muddy copies with huge ceramic magnets and definately no clarity. I just simply wanted to make my guitar sound like it is a real Gibson.

Vintage output, perfect for my kind of bluesy hardrock and jazzy cleans.
The output drives the tube amp just the right amount to get the sound cut through or roll the volume pot a bit to get sensetive cleanier sounds. Bridge pickup is smooth a little rebelious not too bassy sounding. Middle gives you very mild little crispy sounds, perfect for southern rock 'cos of little 'honky tonk' feel. And finally neck gives you nice smooth lead and beatifull jazzy clean tones when tone rolled down a bit and on full bright it gives you nice little biting lead sound. Overrall very much like Gibson PAF

I'm using Peavey Classic 30 tube amp with just basic cry baby and digitech compressor. A basic kinda cheap tube amp which actually sounds great with these pickups. Single eq makes things simple but gives you no chance of variation between clean and overdrive. With mids on full, trebles almost zero and bass little over the half way the clean channel sounds nice little jazzy with these. Overdrive channel sound bit weak and unsinging alone but with help of compressor the sound is pure rock n roll.

This pickup is made for bluesy rock. For metal something more crushing is much more suitable for bridge.

If it was destroyed or stolen I would definately buy it again or basically just test some other vintage SD like alnico II or seth lover. I've been playing for five years and already gone through multiple gear variations. I have plenty of other guitars with most of them duncans fitted in. For some more bite needing stuff i use my selfmade mahogany bodied guitar with Duncan JB and Jazz. To compare it to 59' JB gives you plenty of output and singing mids ( think some late 80's hairmetal) and Jazz quite similar but more clarified sound at clean but with drive it doesn't give you so paf like lead tone. Then I have my other selfmade mahogany bodied guitar with schaller golden 50's. Love them, so warm so crispy and beatiful round leadtone but very bright still. A fender strat with Duncan JB Junior in bridge to give some bite or when needed to be tapped and two Duncan aps 1 single coils with very nice honk.

I'm very happy with these ones. I chose 59's just 'cos of price (120??? for whole set) and I have no reason to complain - just what I wanted to fullfil the lack of respect when people sees the Gibson logo at my guitar and doesn't know that it's a fake.

Humbucking pickup. Not quite sure if it's supposed to be a PAF clone or not.

I had this pickup in an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra in the bridge position. Replaced the stock Epi Alnico pickup.

I didn't find the pickup to be too terribly hot. I am the type of player that uses my guitar's volume knob to get more grit (no pedals or anything). The tone was incredibly clear and articulate and exceptionally clean and shimmering. When turned up, it got very crunchy and leads were screaming in a good way. Sounded a bit "thin" in the LP Ultra

However...I must say that I didn't care much for the pickup. I usually like a cleaner tone, but I've found that I gravitate to amps and pickups that would be considered more "gainy"...I find that I'd rather have the gain and not use it than need it and not have it. To get any sort of crunch I'd have to turn my guitar up to at least 7.

I have to add a disclaimer though: I had this guitar in an Epi LP Ultra, which was a guitar that I didn't care much for either. I am not totally ready to hate the SH-1 because I realized that it may have made a difference in the tonal qualities being in a guitar that had no weight to it and felt like a piece of plastic.

I play blues, blues/rock, and AC/DC and GNR style hard rock. It was a good pickup for those, I just needed a hotter pickup.

I've had plenty of other trials with Seymour Duncan Pickups (SH-5 Custom, SH-6 Distortion, JB-4), and this one rates probably at the bottom. However, like I said before, it very well could have been disagreeable for me because of the guitar I had it in. I have actually been considering buying another SH-1 and trying to put it in a heavier bodied guitar to see if it sounds beefier.

Passive Humbucker. 7.4k neck/ 8.1 bridge. Alnico 5 magnets. Mine were special ordered with Zebra bobbins, gold pole pieces and slug pieces. I later added Gold covers.

I put these in an '05 Flying V (both positions). I left the stock Gibson 300k linear taper volume pots, and the 500k audio taper tone pot in. These are replacing the stock Gibson 500T & 496R ceramic magnet "way too high output, no clarity/muddy as hell, and useless for anything other than heavy metal-buckers". Sorry for the lil' rant, I just don't understand the appeal of those pups. Ultimately, I wanted a vintage PAF vibe.

Vintage output, these are very close to Gibson Burstbuckers in regards to output and tone (I happen to like that by the way). The bridge is smooth, not a ton of bass and a little more on treble side and not too middy. I've used these several times over the years and mostly with good results. The neck is fairly smooth although a bit on the warm side. Not a ton of clarity, but not super muddy either. I'll call it a neutral sound, not the best or worst. These seem to work best for blues, classic rock/blues rock, or country (which is what I do), but not the best for heavy duty rock/metal.

I've used them on more than one occasion over my around 18 years of playing. I'd most likely use them again. They are a decent PAF style pickup. Not the most exciting tonewise, but thay are very useable and much more affordable than the boutique makers. I like them, I guess there is nothing that I "hate" about them, they are very good (not great). I'm satisfied with them as they get the job done for me. I'm not the big tone seeker, I just wanted a PAF style pickup and these are, as always a safe bet.

Humbucker pickup for bridge position. I bought it with four conductor cable which is an extra $10

I put this into my epi les paul custom in the bridge with a jazz in the neck replacing the stock pick ups. The stock pickups were very muddy and lost a lot of treble when the volume was turned down.

The out put is moderate. I have played it through a legacy blues twin, a marshall quad and a fender super chorus it sounds great through all of these. The pick up has a full bright tone that is well balanced. I use this pickup basically for rock, metal, and blues and suits all of these styles. This would be good for the neck position as well

Definitely would buy this pick if it was stolen or destroyed. I have been playing for about ten years and electric for about six. I have a legacy blues twin amp. this is a great pick up and i will probably never need to change it again. It leaves nothing to be desired in the humbucker department a coil split would be cool tho.

humbucker, passive, I think its med. output.

I put one in a Jackson KVX10/neck. I replaced a duncan designed/jazz. I also replaced a duncan designed/distortion with a real distortion. The designed pickups sounded crummy, a guitar tech. told me the real deals were a lot better so I went for it. A lot of pros use the distortion, I don't know about the '59.

The difference between the real duncans and the designed is massive. So far I've only played through a roland microcube and a marshall micro amp, but even through these amps the sound is remarkable. The low's are boomy and the highs are crisp and clear, even when I'm using high gain distortion. I play a lot of chords using distortion and I can hear things I never heard with the designed pickups. I'll soon be able to play on my 2x12 combo, and I can't wait. It's gonna be vicious!

I guess that's too much distortion talk for '59's. I actually play a lot of melodies, too. I wanted something moody. The Jazz was too bright. You can listen to all of the duncan pickups on their website. It's very helpful. It's hard to explain the sound of the '59's. Their not really bright or crisp, but they have a cool sound. It's almost (if this makes sense) like reverb, without the echo. Whatever. Their perfect for me, very moody and I can make some dark melodies with it.

If I lost this pickup I'd definetly buy another. I've been playing for about 13 years. I play metal (death and black). This pickup is perfect for me, it's exactly what I wanted.

Humbucker, 8.3k ohms (Spec?) passive. Open coils. Bought a pair. The neck says SH-1N and the srews are arched to match strings. Bridge model is flat.

1965 Gibson firebird. The 2 wire braided configuration is perfectly suited for this guitar. Other pickups of various types did not get it as far as output or clarity, 4 wire setups were unbalanced. The p90s that were on it were beginning to dull.

Wow. Full, rich sounding. Roll off volume to 9 to clean up, 10 for some perfect tube overdrive. Pickups perfectly matched on gibson dual volume setup which I love. Set the toggle to the middle position and adjust tone by "panning" to bridge or neck pu as desired. Pretty, sweet and perfect.

The SH-1B and SH-1N are a great set for a Gibson or any dual HB guitar. Absolutely none better as far as I can tell. 30+ years and still gigging. Teles, Strats. Les Pauls and the '65 Firebird which has the Maestro tremelo. You can't make it go out of tune. Peavey Memphis Blues tube amp with a johnson J-station modeler for boost and effects.

Humbucker passive, a copy of famous '59 PAF, you guys already know. Impedance.....once I measured with my friend long ago, but do not remember. Please refer to SD site.

I installed them on my specially ordered Tokai Les Paul law-suit copy LS-200, 1979 (about 1,600US at the time). At that time, both Gibson and Fender did not make good guitars, but all old guitars were either not in good condition or were too expensive, thus I decided to go for Japanese. They were installed on both bridge and neck positions. Many artists use the pickups, but do not know exactly. One of them is Robben Ford. the guitar came with the pickup from their factory. I installed all the best stuff including Switchcraft parts, etc. In late 70s and 80s some Japanese guitar makers made great guitars. Some examples were Greco, Yamaha and Tokai, etc. Some people critisized their products without knowing grade og their guitars. I am talking about the top of the line Japanese guitars. It is not fair to them who made one of the best guitars. I have had Greco (Japanese Ibanez although it is not correct term....They used to share the same factory....) EG-1200 1979, Les Paul copy. Without changing pickups and electrics which considered to be weakness of these Japanese guitars, it was better than any recent Les Paul I have played including Custom shop reissue. The reason I had the pickup on my guitar was that I admire the sound of PAF thanks to Seth Lover!

It is moderate output. The reason why I submit this review is that many guys who wrote review did not have enough knowldge about pickups. Some complained about output level of this pickup. Even Seymour Duncan himself says in his site this is moderate output pickup! Others critised muddiness of this pickup. I installed this pickup on Les Paul 80, and ES-335 Dot 1981. They sound like crap. It was not wood or guitar itself, but electrics. Some do not seem to understand how to pick up the best pick up for each position based on output difference. Without working with these issues on your guitar, please do not evauate the product. I use Mesa Boogie MarkIIa. PAF has different sound depending on the product. Regardless, it sounds like vintage PAF I know of. I do not understand some user place this pickup without knowledge about how PAF sounds like. I do not mean to sound like snob though......

My long time wish was granted at the time. Without paying crazy money for old guitars, you could become Page or Clapton in late 70s. The users who pick up Fralin, WCR, etc. seem to know about guitars very well. Due to great price, unfortunately it is not the case for all of Duncan users. While no one made great vinatge pickup copy, Duncan was the pioneer to create real vintage sound at the time. Everybody either bought old guitars with crazy price or went to Dimarzio at the time in late 70s. I thank you for SD for his effort. And I will keep your pickup on my guitars. One thing I would like to try is Seth Lover SH-55. I know I won't be dissapointed.....

Passive. Neck 7.43k; bridge 8.13k.

I used this in an LP in the neck. I wanted something I thought would be closer to an original PAF.

The original pickups in the guitar were cheap. So I put in a '59 in the neck. I had recorded some clean tones with the original pickup, then I recorded a clip with the '59, trying to copy the same set up to record.
The '59 was a lot muddier. I found it not as dynamic and less responsive than the cheap pickup. So I took it out.

I don't know why people like this pickup. It's too dark and muddy. There are much better pickups out there.

Passive humbucker.

Put it into my Agile AL-2800 LP style guitar in the neck position because I didnt like the stock pickup.

Sounds a lot better than the stock pickup, but this pickup really is meant to be a neck pickup. The jazz is usually put in the neck. Its nice and smooth, but as far as neck pickups go it just wasnt hot enough for me. It could be better, although it sounds decent.

If it were lost i'd go with something else. I think SD's are a little overated...or maybe I just havent tried the right one.

Passive SH-1 '59 thats all I know

Epi LP in both positions. Changing PU cause the OEM bridge went bad

Why I went this way in pickup choice? The OEMs in my Epi LP were not bad, not great but sounded good to me. fit my style which is Blues and some Rock. I also play Jazz and they barly do the job for that.

The SD SH1 sound GREAT for Blues , classic Rock, Jazz. VERY clear, articulate. As clear as a good vintage Tele or Strat single coil.
Goes into distortion well with a good tube amp. I also have a Gibby Vintage LP with BurstBucker Pros. While the SH1 is not as strong, they nail the vintage sound as well as the BB Pros though not as versitile for modern music. (The BB Pros can do almost any kind of music really well IMO)

Been playing for 6 years. A student for Jazz & Blues.

The SH1 is desined for an era which the PAF covered musically which BTW is a large pallette of sound, Country, Blues, Jazz, Rock. If you are not into metal and into what this PU is designed for, I highly reccomend the SH1.

Passive HB

Epi standard plus LP. Bridge position. Replacing stock pup. Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck. Changed to get something less muddy, more bite and better oveall tone.

Listed on website as moderate output, I'll go with that. Slightly hotter than the Burstbucker 2's in my Gison SG. Using this with an array of Pete Cornish distortion pedals through a 1982 made in England 50 watt Marshall 800 series 1x12 and/or a 2001 made in England Vox AC15 with the blue alnico speaker. Both amps have been fitted with early 1960's NOS Mullard tubes (worth every penny). Also playing straight into a Mesa 50watt rectoverb 1x12. The tone is everything I'd hoped for. Crisp, snappy highs with big ballsy bottom, tight not flabby. Mega sustain. Can easily go from gorgeous chimey cleans to ass-ripping high gain depending on amp/pedals. I used to love my Burstbuckers in my SG but now they sound thin by comparison and they'll probably be replaced with the SD '59/Jazz combination soon. I bought the Epi fully intending to replace the pickups in order to save big $$$$ from the somewhat overpriced new Gibsons. Also, no squealy feedback like I get from the Burstbuckers (the guys at Gibson warned me about installing the Burstbuckers aftermarket and I can see why). I can't say if the SD'59 is comparable to an original 59PAF but man, it's one helluva good sounding humbucker. I haven't tried it in the neck but alot of reviewers seem to think that's a pretty cool deal, too. I've got Seymour's SSL1's in my Strat, an STL1 54 lead in my Tele and now the SH1'59 and SH2 Jazz pups in my Epi LP and love all. I've also owned a couple of sets of Seymour Duncans that I've hated. You just have to find the right pickup for your taste, which is why I really like they're exchange policy. I originally tried the Seymour sh5 custom in the bridge but found it to have too high of an output for my distortion pedals. No problem, you get 21 days to try something else. Good deal. Duncan guys were very pleasant and helpful as well. They've got the service thing figured out.

Great pickup, especially for under $70. I highly recommend the Epi LesPaul/SD 59pup combo for anyone wanting the Les Paul look and tone that can't afford the Gibsons. No disrespect to the quality of the new Gibson LP's, they're really nice, but some of their prices are just sick and the Burstbucker is an OK pickup but, IMO, not worthy of a $3000-$7000+ guitar which is what Gibson's asking for many of there new LP models.

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: PRS SE Tremonti
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio Steve's Special in bridge position
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): dunerrock / stonerrock
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups lack character and life

Perceived output level: I put a bridge model in the neck position so it is hotter than it should be but this way it work fine with the Steve's Special which sits in the bridge position. Standard series wiring since Seymour Duncan told me the SH-1 output would be too low for this configuration when put into parallel mode.
Tone: low but sweet like honey, nice and round full bodied tone, not muddy or hazy at all, just what I was looking for.
Sonic evaluation: Using a PRS SE Tremonti which is cheap. I do not believe in putting down more than ?500 for any guitar - it is very possible to pay a normal amount of money for a good guitar which you equip with the hardware you like best. You probably have to do this with the expensive (over ?2000) guitars anyway. Using it with a LabSeries L4 bass head and the Orange 4 x 12" cabinet. Still try to figure out the pedals. Experimenting with a Boss SD-2 (dual overdrive) and a Korg AX-30B.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Good pickup for what I do but can do many styles and sounds. Suitable for every position.

Comments: I had a LAG Roxane before which had two Seymour Duncans as stock. Which types I do not know. That guitar has a very nice sound to it but the neck is too thin for me. So I figured a fatter neck with the same pickup would be as good and right I was.
I do not know what will happen to the Steve's Special when time goes by. The Seymour Duncan is definatly my favourite one. But since I rarely play with only the bridge pickup and this configuration is not the most typical one I guess I will leave it where it is.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 1 conductor braided shield

Model of guitar or bass: '97 Washburn P-II QS model
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Washburn 621
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan SH-5 (Duncan Custom)
Artists using this pickup: Quite a few; I believe Dimebag Darrel used it in the neck position
You musical style(s): Hard Rock, early Metal, Instrumental Prog Rock
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups on the Washburn were nasty, even though they were "duncan designed" supposedly. I wanted an updated "vintage" tone for the neck position

Perceived output level: slightly more than a normal PAF
Tone: middy with pretty smooth highs
Sonic evaluation: Line 6 PODxt modeling technology with amp packs installed going straight through a Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro into a Layla3G for recording on my DAW.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Currently into Progressive Instrumental Rock/old school metal; I am using the neck model

Comments: It this pickup was destroyed, I'd probably go with the SH-2 "Jazz" model due to the more high end response with that pickup. However I'm pretty satisfied with the '59 model. I've been playing for over 20 years and I used to use strictly DiMarzio Super Distortions paired with a HS-3 in the neck position of a modified strat. I found the Washburn P-2 a few years ago for dirt cheap and bought it for a more "rock" guitar with a traditional bridge (I am used to Floyd Rose floating bridge setups). I had to replace the toggle switch as well as the stock pickups.
It's a very clear, midrangey sound which really sings when you run it through a distortion pedal (like the Tube Screamer). The pick definition is very high, so if you are into fast lines this pickup really does a good job in making it all sound very clear and defined. I also like the fact you can easily change the pole height, and I had to lower the poles on the low E and A string in order to get a more defined sound on those strings. An extremely WARM sound, to my ears.
I'm pretty satisfied with this pickup choice, as I wanted a vintage warm sound with a little more "oomph" to it. Playing it clean is a joy as it every chord is very defined.

Pickup features: Neck humbucking....
Impedence or other specs: DC resistance: 7,5 kohms, inductance: 4,27 henry...

Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock pup, with ceramic magnet.
Other pickups on guitar: SHPG1 and now, APH1 instead of the SH1...
Artists using this pickup: Too much people.
You musical style(s): All I can eat.
Reason for pickup change: first change: stock pups = crap;
second change (APH1 instead of the SH1): the mix was not good between our alnico 5 SH1 and the alnico 2 SHPG1;

Perceived output level: Moderate but high for such a DC resistance. The magnet is rather strong.
Tone: Bright and dynamic.
Sonic evaluation: It's an update of my previous review (done a year ago): the SH1 is a good pup but its frequency resonance and power are higher than with other PAF replicas. I've read here a review saying that this pup wasn't in fact a PAF clone. My answer: YES, it is. But Seymour seems to have duplicated the "ideal" PAF defined by Seth Lover (7,5 Kohms and alnico 5 magnets) instead of the real PAF pups made by Gibson in the years 1957-1961 and often defined by their "flaws" (overwound coils giving an higher inductance, alnico 2 because alnico 5 was out of stock, etc.). The result is a "clear" PAF variation, with a sharp attack and resonant frequency. To obtain a "sweet" pafish sound, choose an alnico 2 magnet and a higher DC resistance/inductance - in other words, a Duncan like the Seth Lover, the AlnicoPro, or the mythic Antiquities (i forget the Pearly Gates, that I use and love but which also has a bright tone).
If you buy the SH1, you have to know that the expected good round sound comes after a sharp attack which can become a little harsh. Good mix with ceramic magnets or alnico 5. Not so good with an alnico 2... Good sustain and woman tone reachable during the sustain. Not so satisfying when you attack the strings IF you want a classic hot and sweet lespaulish tone (and in this case only).

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Good match for all styles, gears etc. if you know its features and know how to use it...

Comments: See above: good pup, all purpose device, if you want a sharp attack and a clean tone. Reproduces the clearer PAF models, with a low inductance and DC resistance. The sweet/buttery/spongy/honky tone is not its territory. That the reason why I've changed the SH1 for an APH1 bridge (yes, in the neck position). Strangely, this one is lower in output, with its 8,29 kohms and 4,67 Henry, than the SH1 with only 7,5 kohms and 4,27 Henry... my neck tone is now much more sweet (principally because I've bought a bridge model for the neck pos.). I plan to mount the neck SH1 on another axe, maybe a semi-hollow body...

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs: ?

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone SG
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan Invader
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Classic Rock, Blues
Reason for pickup change: I decided it was time for an upgrade and Seymours are one of the best. I'm saving for an Ameican Deluxe Strat that has amazing pickups, but until then (could be a while, 1000 bucks is not a small amount of money) I must have some killer humbuckers.

Perceived output level: ?
Tone: Trebly/balanced, but fair mid and bass
Sonic evaluation: I'm using it on my sg with a fender stage 160 and it sounds great and i'd be even better on a tube amp. Sounds best on a clean channel strumming chords or melodic riffs. Sounds good with distortion also. For most rock an blues i put the switch in the middle position using the '59 and the invader.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It works great for rock and blues. It would probably be good in the bridge too.

Comments: If it were destroyed i would definately get another. It's an intigral part of my setup now. I've be playing for about 7 years now, seriosly for about 3 or 4. I don't have a lot of other gear, some effects, but i'm saving for a strat and maybe a tube amp.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 2 conductor; no push-pull

Model of guitar or bass: Squier Custom Telecaster (I)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: crappy Fender Indonesia Humbucker.
Other pickups on guitar: I replaced the duplicate Fender bridge pickup with a Distortion humbucker (SH-5, I think)
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock Music
Reason for pickup change: I bought the Squier Custom because I wanted a cheap guitar that had been routed and cut for humbuckers with a nice tele maple neck. I planned on the pickups being bad. They were. So I swapped them.

Perceived output level: Actually, compared to the "REALLY HIGH OUTPUT" SH-5 in the bridge, the SH-1 puts out just nearly the same output.
Tone: A great balance. Not muddy at all, I find. Sounds nice and round in the upper range without too much bite. Slightly mellow, but not so much as I anticipated.
Sonic evaluation: I've used the pickup through both a small Ampeg Jet II tube and my Ampeg V-4 head into Marshall 4x12 Slash Snakepit cab (give me a break; I hate Slash but this cab is awesome). In the Jet it sounded full and was LOUD. Matched the output of the SH-5 nicely. Together they sounded pretty sweet, with the SH-5 getting a little bit more crunch. I used to have a Standard Gibson LP, sounds like this bit with the bass pushed a bit. I like it better, actually.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I'm in an indie band playing stuff that tries to do too much, all over the map. Haven't used it too much in this context, but my sound role is kind of to fill the lowed midrange, a more mellow timbre, while the other guitarist has a nasty trebly sound (why does he scoop the mids? ar). Promises to work great.

Comments: Yep. It's pretty cheap (1/2 the price of SD Seth Lover's, which the SH-1 claims to mimick). I've briefly played Fender MIM Customs. This is the sound I wanted. I got it for half the price. Do it. Especially if you're starting with such bad pickups.