Seymour Duncan is an US-American company, which produces pick-ups for electrical stringed instruments. The company designated after the founder and firm leader Seymour W. Duncan. Seat of the company is Santa Barbara in the USA.

History and enterprise

The guitarist and technician Seymour W. Duncan manufactured his first pick-up at the beginning of the 1960er, after with an appearance of the bar pick-ups of its Fender Telecaster failed and Duncan did not have a possibility, a replacement to procure. After Duncan had won first experiences in building and repair of pick-ups, it got the advice from the musician and inventor Les Paul to go to Great Britain. Duncan worked on it in the Fender Soundhouse in London, where he repaired instruments of artists such as Jimmy PAGE, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix and Peter Frampton. While this time met Duncan also the guitarist Jeff Beck, which received later than one first a special pick-up from Duncan. Back in the USA Duncan attached contacts to Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover, the inventor of the Gibson Humbuckers. In the year 1978 Duncan as well as Cathy Carter Duncan created the enterprise "Seymour Duncan" and began with the production of own pick-ups.

Today the product range of the company covers Seymour Duncan over 100 different Tonabmehmer for electrical stringed instruments, whereby the enterprise emphasis on the production and development of Pickups for E-guitars are. The company sells about 70% to its production as exchange pick-up at guitarists and workshops. The remaining 30% are referred by instrument manufacturers, that equip their guitars ex factory with Seymour Duncan pick-ups. Half of production is sold thereby in the USA; the largest export market is followed Japan of Canada, Great Britain and Germany.

Products

Seymour Duncan manufactures pick-ups for stringed instruments, particularly for E-guitars. Beyond that also pick-ups for E-basses, acoustic guitars, Mandolinen, banjos and other instruments are available. Under the name "Benedetto" manufactures Seymour Duncan special Pickups for jazz guitars. With the label "Duncan Designed" pick-ups are marked, which are manufactured after the Duncans' defaults by outside firms in Asia.

Guitar

Seymour Duncan produces a large number of pick-ups for electrical guitars, whereby the emphasis is on the usual building formats of the companies Fender (single Coils in styles of the Fender Stratocaster and/or Fender Telecaster) and Gibson (Humbucker in styles of the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG etc.). The pallet of the available pick-ups varies with the individual models of original-faithful reproduction of Pickups of old E-guitars ("Vintage") up to special preparations, which for certain purposes and sound conceptions (e.g. high distortion, strong employment of the Tremolos, 7-saitige guitars etc.) are optimized. In the "Antiquity" - row the pick-ups with scratches and flight rust are artificially aged, in order to reproduce apart from the sound also the appearance of old pick-ups. The "Hot Rails" is high performance Humbucker, which possess only the size of Fender Singlecoils. In contrast to it the "Phat Cat" is - models Singlecoils in the size of Gibson Humbuckern. With the "Woody" a pick-up for acoustic guitars is offered, which is wedged under the strings into the sound hole and after playing again be removed can.

Bass

The pick-ups for basses orient themselves at the building formats of the manufacturers Fender, Rickenbacker and Music one. Similarly as with the guitars the offered pallet reaches likewise from the reproduction of old original pick-ups up to special new developments, which partly possess active electronics.

Other instruments

For acoustic instruments such as Mandoline, banjo etc. offers Seymour Duncan contact pick-up with the name "SoundSpot". These work according to the piezoelectric principle, according to which by pressure fluctuations a weak electric current is produced. Accordingly the "SoundSpot" pick-up is usually installed in the instrument in places, in which the largest oscillations (e.g. bar or Saitenhalter) develop.

Seymour Duncan in the music

The pick-ups of Seymour Duncan stood with musicians fast in the call to be well sounding alternatives to the original pick-ups of their instruments. In particular the possibility of optimizing the instrument by the use of special pick-ups in the sound on own needs made the Pickups popular with musicians. In response Seymour Duncan began fast to manufacture pick-ups for takeful guitarists. As one of the first pick-ups developed the JB Humbucker for Jeff Beck, which is to be heard on the early albums of the guitarist. The Dimebucker was developed in co-operation with the Heavy Metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell (among other things Pantera, Damageplan). This pick-up is a Humbucker optimized for strongly distorted sounds, which possesses two going through blade in place of individual magnets. For Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) the Pearly gate Humbucker one developed; a copy of the pick-ups, which use Gibbons on its favourite guitar. The "left' l screamin' demon" (a Humbucker in the Singlecoil format) developed for the hard skirt guitarist George lynch, so that this can produce the close sound of Gibson Humbuckern, without having to modify its old Stratocaster.

Further artists, the pick-ups of Seymour Duncan use are among other things Slash and Duff McKagan (both among other things Guns N' Roses, Velvet gun), Marks of Hoppus and Tom Delonge (both flash 182), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith), Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) as well as Jennifer Batten (among other things Jeff Beck, Michael Jackson)

Related links

• Official web page (English)
• Report on the financial year 2005

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