Seymour Duncan SH-55 Seth Lover

i use a USACG guitar, hand made.
Mahogany "Strat-like" semi hollow body (f-hole, like a tele), mahogany neck with ebony FB. TOM bridge. Two humbuckers

Moderate to low output, vintage- like.
I use an "all Keeley" pedal board (BD, TS9, FuzzHead, DS, DD3- all mods).
A Bronx Amp, 50W tubes replaced with JJs (very recommended- like a fender deluxe without that annoying high frequencies)

OK, now for the tone: a BIG tip to all of you "tone seekers"??? Use this PU for Warming up a cold or thin guitar sound. NOT for already warm ones.
The sound result on MY guitar was muddy, too warm, almost un-musical.
BUT, and this is a big but- those PU are great with other "tele-like" guitars with ash\alder bodies. I've replaced mine with SH1 59, the result is perfect. Sold my Seth's to a friend of mine with a tele, he is more than happy.

My tone quest is complete, thank you Seymour! Now I completely understand why there are soooo many PU models with small different specs, it's all about finding a perfect match for your guitar. Like every equipment you choose (amps, pedals), the PU are just a part of the whole picture.

SH-55 Seth Lover with 4 conductor wire.

Installed on a Warmoth parts Telecaster, neck position, and using an on/on/on double pole switch to select humbucker/single/parallel.
The bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue with a phase switch.
I wanted an open sounding humb. pickup for the neck and hoped it will sound good enough when splitted... it does!

Can't compare with other humbuckers. Louder than the bridge's JD, wich is already louder for a single coil.
I'm using a very silent Fender Champion 600 with NOS tubes (RCA '60s 6V6GT and '50s RadioTechnique 12AX7) I also use an Elecroharmonix Freedom amp. I sometimes chain both for a rounder sound (using one of the Champ's inputs to the Freedom input) with the Freedom filling the low end while preserving the nice clear sound of the Champ.
I use it clean, no effects, just amp saturation.
It's tone is quite clean and open for a humbucker and fat at the same time. It's exactly what I was looking for. But when switched to single or parallel I'm in heaven. It's got a nice natural balanced sound with plenty of "air", very dynamic without being uncontrollable at all. Simply lovely. In parallel with the bridge pickup it's even nicer, more air and clarity, almost acoustic. Great. If you like clear sound but with an elegant saturation and complexity, this one is perfect. Thank you so much Seth and Seymour.

I'd buy it again, shure.
I play for 30 years now but never as a pro.
My other guitars are a very nice sounding, resonant Takamine from the '80s and a Gibson S-1 wich is very resonant nad sounds very nice too. I play other guitars but own just those three. I own pro studio equipment and location recording gear, I'm a feature film / documentary sound recordist. Extremely exigent and passionate ears.
I was going to buy a Pearly Gates but finally bought this one. Happy I did. I wish there was a single coil version for Tele bridge, in single coil mode it sounds so nice! (clear and full range)

Passive humbucking. I don't know the specifications of this pickup I just let my ears decide.

These were installed stock a Hill Custom Elite. I have the SH-55N for neck and SH-55B for the bridge. The previous owner may have gotten these as custom SH's since they do not have the pickup cover. I guess the guitar itself has much influence on the resulting sound you hear. The Hill guitar has a mahogany body with a maple top solid body. The neck is maple with rosewood fretboard. Similar wood content to a LP but not an LP in design. There are many artists using this pickup such as the knowledgeable people posting their reviews here.

For me the output level is adequate. I am running these into a GNX4, mixer and then to a Crown power amp. To my ears these pickups sound very much like single coils. The distortions sound very nice, however I am not using super saturated over the top heavy metal sounds. I play mostly psychedlic, pop, blues, jazz and up until now these pickups seem adequate. I'm not a conaisseur of heavy metal so I can't say whether or not they would be adequate for that genre of music. It's hard for me to pinpoint the tone of these as the sound of these sort of breaks up like a single coil. Overall I get pretty smooth and even tone from them.

If someone took the trouble to remove these from my guitar I would probably try a diffent set of pickups. Not because these are bad, it is because I like to experiment. I try something like DiMarzio Air Norton or any other type of good full range pickups.

Passive not wax potted humbucker

I put a set of Seth Lover in a'98 Epiphone 335.I always wanted to change out the stock pickups.The Epiphone picks are muddy in the neck and weak in the bridge.

Amps:Fender Super Reverb RI, Champion 600 and Carvin Nomade

Effects: Volume pedal

The tone is sweet . The out put is hotter than what I thought it would be .But, unlike most humbuckers you can roll back the volume with out it turning in to mud. So I use a volume pedal to get a cleaner sound when I have my Super Reverb and carvin Nomade at high volume. The distortion that I get with my Super Reverb and the Lovers is every thing I wanted in a humbucking guitar with out the help of a Overdrive,fuzz and distortion pedal .The Carvin Nomade gets a Vox AC-30 sound on the clean channel and a Marshall overdive sound that is Clapton's women tone on the dirty channel . I can get nice feedback from both pickups when wanted. And when the volume on the amps are low or just befor break up the clean tones are jazzy,country, bluesy then turn up for the lead if perfectly full and warm. The Champ 600 and a 335 with the Seth Lovers is a front porch screamer.

I like this pickups but less out put would be nice so if stolen or destroyed I would try different humbuckers or P-90's. But for a P.A.F. classic sound and tone you can go wrong with the Seth Lovers .
Thanks Seymour!

Passive pup. Supposedly slightly mismatched coils. Low / Medium output.

I bought a set and tried it in my '82 ES335 and then my '92 PRS Custom 22. Same set - had to rotate them! At $100 a pop... 'nough said. I put them in both neck and bridge. Both axes had the Stock pups. The PRS DragonII's are nice but too midrangy and the ES335 were lifeless.

I play thru a Dr Z Maz JR, '74 Super Reverb, a '76 Princeton Reverb and a '78 Marshall 50W MkII combo. The tone on the Lovers is more "open" then either of the other two stock pups. The PRS Dragons are perfect for that modern tone but I'm more of a classic guy. The PRS plays really nice and the lovers make it sound way different. A friend came up after a gig and said my PRS doesn't sound like other PRS's. I took that as a compliment! Much more articulate with better clarity string to string. I bought the PRS off ebay cause I always wanted one and this 10 top hard tail was the ticket. I didn't play it much cause the tone just wasn't right but its a Lot Better with the lovers. I am actually playing it out now. It did similar stuff for the ES335. Good pup. I give it an 8 cause I have been spoiled by the Tom Holmes I have in Les Paul and SG and man.. those are untouchable in my opinion but are now priced WAY outta my range. You're asking why I don't put the Holmes in the PRS right? Well, I did and they sounded great but they belong in Gibsons cause it makes them better Gibsons then they make a PRS. Make any sense?

I've been playing electric since '69-- a lot of years. The Lovers are really nice pups for a Large Factory pup. I may have to get another set and slap in the ole ES. If they were stolen I'd like to meet the guy cause to swipe pups out of an axe is pretty impressive! I wouldn't run out and replace them. They are good but life is short and the supply of good pups isn't :)

Had them installed in an epiphone les paul std, both positions, replacing the original ones that I don??t even want to remember the brand or what was made of, anyway, I was ready to give up on that guitar, once I own a very good Zaganin Strat built in Brazil,and the epi sounded as muddy as a swamp, but then I started researching for les pauls and decided I would give it another chance and so I bought the seth lovers and was really surprised.

At first I couldn??t believe that that guitar I was playing was the same, and then I realized everything was happenning. There was the answer to all my prayers, just what I wanted to hear from a Les Paul. It starts with a very pleasant jazzy sound, not that fat, just right and well balanced, and when you turn on anything to boost it a little bit, there it is, tonal heaven, never expected a pick up to change so much the sound of an instrument. I play mainly funk and blues, this thing covers them so well I even returned to good old classic rock, and when I did there it was again, it goes from page??s wall to clapton??s woman tone in a click, and oh yes it does have that creamy santana sound in between just to make the other guitarrist in your band want to die. Now serious business is to turn it up and let that big crunchy billy gibbons sound just conjure out of a loud amplifier. Really, I can??t find any mismatches to this set and highly recomend to anyone looking for the classic les paul sound, and also anything needing humbuckers.

if it was dead, wich I doubt would happen in ten lifetimes, I would most certainly get new ones. There aren??t any complaints about it, just good sound coming out of the amp. It is just too perfect and now that it became my main set I can??t imagine how I ever lived or played without it. If you??re considering a new set of humbuckers go for this one, there??s nothing better out there.

HB - no splitting
specs: PAF like

LP Standard - PUs being replaced: 49X Gibsons. replaced Neck & Bridge
Was looking for a more classic PAF tone. (is there a classic PAF tone at all????)

sweeeeet. Imho the best take on classic PAFs. Output level is low to moderate. I play blues, country, classic rock and jazz. These PUs nail the sound I'd been after for years. My setup is simply basic : Guitar - TS - Amp. I use the TS mainly as a booster to tickle the input stage of my amps. I own a 64 Fender BF Deluxe Reverb, a Delac Breed 40 Combo, an old JTM 50 Head and a custom made 100W top (mixture of a Dumble ODS and Acoustic 165). The 55s uveiled new sound dimensions and I discovered more sweet spots on every amp. Great!

I'd buy them again - no doubt. After 25+ years of playing and thousands of $ spent in gear I am happy now. I wish the Bridge PU had a bit more output but that's only a tick away of my desires. Overall I am absolutely happy with my new sound and I have no intension to change it!

Humbuckers

Installed them in an Epiphone Les Paul Standard.

They sound wonderfull. Full of amazing tone. I play all my guitars thru a Fender Evil Twin live, and the Epiphone sounds great. I play blues and Classic Rock. These pick ups are a close to a 1958 reissue Gibson as you can get.

I would totally replace these if broken. I wanted to put Burstbucker pickups in the guitar but my repair guy convinced me to try these insted. I am so glad I did. I have found that Sound.

I had a pair of the humbuckers put on a new Epiphone ES 175.
Alnico 2 PAF type humbucker

I installed this on a new Epiphone Es 175.
Two pick ups installed. Both positions.
I changed the pickups because I just didn't like the cheap pick ups that came with the Epiphone ES 175. I'm mean the Epi was only a $500 guitar so you can't expect it to be just like the Gibson ES 175.

With the Seth Lovers on the Epiphone ES 175 and with about $80 worth of fret work, my Epi 175 sounds absolutely great!
The tone is really to my ear better than the Gibson 175. It's very warm, well balanced and sounds great for jazz or light blues.

If they broke I'd replace them with another pair.
Want a Gibson ES 175 but don't want to pay $3,000?
Buy the Epiphone, replace the pick ups and have a good luthier work on the frets and neck. For under a $1,000, you'll have a guitar that sounds and plays just like the Gibson. If you think about it, both guitars have laminated maple tops and bottoms. How much extra sound would one plywood box have over the other?

Pickup features: PAF Style Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul Historic 57 reissue (Goldtop)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson Burstbucker 1 and 2
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): jazz, blues, country
Reason for pickup change: Burstbuckers were good but a tad harsh - lacked smoothness in some uses.

Perceived output level: Not excessively loud but not quiet for a "low output" vintage PAF-type pickup
Tone: Balanced - plenty of top end and articulate but warm and round / sweet toned.
Sonic evaluation: Les Paul with a Tone King Comet / Fender Vibro-King. No effects.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for jazz, blues, country. Probably not what a hard rocker would choose but could be used for that too.

Comments: Definitely would replace them. I've been playing over 38 years. The Seth has the clarity and bite of the Burstbucker without the harshness - It's smoother sounding without being muddy. Exactly what I was looking for.