Seymour Duncan '59 Model 7 String Neck

The Seymour Duncan ’59 Neck 7 string model is based off of one of the most popular pickups Seymour Duncan makes. It features slugs on one coil, adjustable pole pieces on the other, four conductor wiring and Alnico 5 magnet.

There are two main neck pickups that are generally considered in the Seymour Duncan lineup – the ’59 and the Jazz. Both of these models sound good, but there are some key differences that help make them unique. The ’59 is one of the most classic PAF clones on the market. It features a “tubey” low end, some scooped midrange and an extended treble range. The extra low end helps make this pickup sound pretty fat, but the low end isn’t super tight. It’s a more vintage style low end. The scooped midrange helps keep everything clear and allows the pickup to be a bit more open. The extended treble range on this gives it some sparkle, but it’s generally not so much that it’s overpowering.

I’ve used this pickup successfully in mahogany and decently in alder. In my mahogany guitar, it sounds absolutely wonderful. The notes bloom like crazy, it gets a very fat, “vowely” kinda sound, but it still remains clear. In my alder bodied guitar, however, the pickup is a bit too bright for my tastes. I’m not sure if it’s because of the wood, but it seems to have an almost single coil quality at times. For the record, yes, it’s working fine and isn’t split or being run in parallel. Speaking of that, this pickup sounds very nice both split and in parallel. Both deliver great, usable tones, unlike certain other pickups on the market. There's no worrying about the low B being overly bass heavy, either.

If you’re looking for a neck pickup in the Seymour Duncan line, this is probably the one I’d recommend the most. It’s generally more popular than the Jazz, and I prefer it towards the two. Both deliver good tones, but this is my number one go-to seven string neck humbucker in the Duncan line.