Seymour Duncan Duncan Distortion 7-String Bridge

The Seymour Duncan Distortion 7 is a new take on the JB 7. It features the same slugs on one coil, adjustable screw heads on the other and four conductor wiring. However, it has a ceramic magnet installed inside of it. This is what gives it its tone.

The Distortion 7 is one of the tighter pickups that Seymour Duncan offers. The bass on this is ample enough to be fat but without being flubby. The midrange on this is fairly even sounding, and the treble is extended a bit thanks to the ceramic magnet. In reality, it’s just a JB 7 with a ceramic (or maybe two or three of them stacked on top of each other) magnet(s) installed.

This is a very polarizing pickup as it depends on what you’re going for. Some metal guys love it for its very tight and searing quality. I’m generally one of those people. However, some find the treble to be a bit too much. I’ve experienced that in certain guitars as well. Like all Seymour Duncan pickups, it really depends on how the guitar sounds before you install the pickup. I’ve had good and bad luck in both mahogany and alder. My number one go-to pickup is the Duncan Custom 7, but the Duncan Distortion 7 is currently in my number one guitar at the moment. Go figure. It just matched so perfectly that I have absolutely no desire to pull it out.

If you’re a metal player and looking for a tight pickup, I recommend checking this out. It’s a really good pickup for those machine gun riffs. However, just be aware that it can be bright if you’re not careful. If your guitar is already bright, you might want to try out the Custom 7 instead. The nice thing is that Seymour Duncan has a return policy where they’ll let you swap out a pickup if you’re not satisfied with it.