Seymour Duncan SH-11 Custom Custom

This is a straight rock and roll pickup. Its part of Seymour Duncans project to swap out magnets in their pickups to get cool new sounds. This pickup is a Duncan Custom but with an Alnico 2 magnet installed. Compared to the more common Alnico 5 magnets in most pickups these pickups are more laid back. They have more of a vintage tone. The Alnico 2 magnet gives you a very PAF like tone. All the frequencies are not as in your face as on most pickups. This pickup can be good at anything from Jazz to hard rock or really early metal. This pickup would get you a good Van Halen sound. EVH used pickups similar to these in his guitars to get his trademark brown sound. This pickup gets the same lose feel and heavy mids that Van Halen had in his sound. It is always important to match the pickup you are choosing properly with the guitar you want to put it in. If your guitar naturally has bright qualities you may want to balance this out this a darker pickup. In contrast if your guitar naturally has dark qualities you may want to balance this out with a brighter pickup. Or you may want to exaggerate these qualities entirely. Since it is so great for these types of music it is not too great for metal. Because of the low output it is not very tight for chugging metal riffs. Many people find that it is not tight enough for metal. It is like the pickup cannot keep up with the playing. The Alnico 5 version has a sharper attack so it will be better for metal. If you are looking for a nice vintage feeling pickup and dont intend on playing heavy metal on it the Custom Custom SH-11 is a good choice for you.

The Seymour Duncan Custom Custom is part of a line of pickups that shows the difference a magnet swap can make. The Custom Custom is a Custom but with an Alnico II magnet installed. It still has the same slugs on one coil, adjustable screws on the other and four conductor wiring.

Seymour Duncan made a series that shows how important a magnet can be in terms of the overall tone of the pickup. The Custom Custom is the model that contains the Alnico II – a magnet that’s not used too often. The Alnico II really boosts the midrange on this pickup, lowers the overall output and gives it this kind of “chewy” quality. The lows on this pickup are subdued a bit, and it definitely has a more vintage feel. It has that PAF sound, but it’s like an older PAF. Split coil and parallel sounds on this are pretty nice.

This is definitely one of the lesser used pickups in the Custom line up. Some people find it to be a bit too loose for metal, but it definitely makes a great hard rock pickup. It works nicely for those EVH style riffs, and it can really sing in the right guitar. Keep in mind that I find Seymour Duncan pickups to be a lot more picky when it comes to choosing what woods work best. I’ve used them in a plethora of woods from mahogany to alder to basswood and even walnut. It has given me very different tones in each wood, and which is better really depends on the ear of the beholder.

Personally, I find this pickup to be a bit too loose and have a bit too much midrange. However, I’m primarily a metal guitarist. If you’re looking for that EVH kinda sound for a cheaper price than those custom wound EVH pickups, this’ll probably deliver the sound you’re going for.