Last Updated on November 26, 2022 by Teemu Suomala
A company that crafts one of the best passive pickups on the planet…yep, to me that is Seymour Duncan (their active pups are OK too).
Seymour Duncan crafts many top-notch pickups, so good that many players go through the trouble of ripping stock pickups out of their beloved axes and installing pair of shiny Seymour Duncans on them. But if you want to get a new guitar with Seymor Duncans, finding the right fit is always not that easy…
That’s where I and this article step in! I had a blast putting together this piece of content listing the cream-of-the-crop guitars with Seymour Duncan pickups. I also reveal my 3 favorites. So I basically picked the best guitars with Seymor Duncan’s, many of which I have had the pleasure to play, from hundreds of different guitars…just for you! If you have any questions, just check the FAQ section or leave a comment.
Let’s get started!
Author: Teemu Suomala
I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I also noticed that most guitar websites don’t do a really good job, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website. I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as Songsterr, Musicnotes, GuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar. I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog(I guess that went the right way…).
32 Guitars With Seymour Duncan Pickups – And My Favorites
Kramer Baretta Vintage is the cheapest guitar with a real Seymor Duncan pickup. It’s not the most versatile because of its 1 pickup build, but don’t let this fool you…Baretta Vintage is still a pure rock-shredder, just waiting for you to unleash all your guitar powers on it. Sometimes simplicity just works.
Price Range Icon Meanings:
$= $549-899
$$= $900-1199
$$$= $1200-1499
$$$$= $1500-1899
$$$$$= $1900-
*Consider all links in this post to be affiliate links. If you purchase, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission. It helps us to keep the lights on, thanks! 🙂
| Model | Pickup | Body Style | Price Range | Check Current Price (affiliate links) |
| Kramer Guitars Baretta Vintage – Cheapest Guitar With Seymour Ducan Pickup | 1 x Seymour Duncan JB Zebra-coil Humbucker | Modern Strat | $ | Sweetwater* – Thomann* |
| D’Angelico Premier DC Boardwalk – Cheapest Semi-Hollowbody With Seymour Duncan Pickups | 1 x Seymour Duncan SP 90-2N & 1 x Seymour Duncan SP 90-2B P90 single coils with cream cover | Semi-Hollowbody | $ | Guitar Center – Thomann |
| Kramer Guitars Nightswan | 2 x Seymour Duncan JB humbuckers | Double-cut | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Epiphone Jared James Nichols – – Cheapest Les Paul With Seymour Duncan | 1 x Seymour Duncan P-90 Soapbar | Single-Cut | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Solar Guitars S2.6W | 2 x Seymour Duncan Solar humbuckers | Modern Stratocaster | $ | Thomann |
| Cort G 300 Pro | 1 x Seymour Duncan SH2N and 1 x Seymour Duncan TB4 humbuckers | Double-Cut Offset | $ | Guitar Center – Thomann |
| Jackson SC Pro Monarkh | 1 x Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 & 1 x Seymour Duncan 59 SH-1N humbuckers | Single-Cut | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Jackson RRX24 Rhoads – Best Budget Flying V With Seymour Duncans | 1 x Seymour Duncan Blackouts AHB-1N Humbucker & 1 x Seymour Duncan Blackouts AHB-1B Humbucker | Flying V | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Epiphone Limited Edition Tommy Thayer Les Paul – Budget Les Paul With Seymour Duncans | 2 x Seymour Duncan JB Humbucker | Single-Cut | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Yamaha Pacifica 612V II – Best Budget, Versatile & High Value | 2 x Seymour Duncan SSL-1 single coils & 1 x Seymour Duncan Custom5 humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas HSS | 1 x Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 RWRP Single Coil & 1 x Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 Single Coil & 1 x Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH FR | 1 x Seymour Duncan ’59 SH-1N Humbucker & 1 x Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HSH FR | 1 x Seymour Duncan Distortion SH-6N Humbucker & 1 x Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 Single-coil & 1 x Seymour Duncan Distortion TB-6 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HH | 2 x Custom Seymour Duncan Full Shred humbuckers | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender Custom Telecaster FMT – Great for Small Hands | 1 x Seymour Duncan SHPGP-1B Pearly Gates Plus & 1 x Seymour Duncan SH-1N RP ’59 Reverse Polarity Humbucker | Telecaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender JA-90 Jim Adkins – Solid Guitar With P90s | 1 x Seymour Duncan Vintage P-90 & 1 x Custom P-90 | Telecaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Jackson SL2A MAH HT Pro Soloist | 1 x Seymour Duncan Distortion TB-6 & 1 x Seymour Duncan Distortion SH-6N humbuckers | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| ESP LTD EC-1000VB/Duncan – Best Overall, Made for Metal, Handles Everything | 1 x Seymour Duncan JB & 1 x Seymour Duncan ’59 humbuckers | Single-Cut | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| ESP LTD H-1001 | 1 x Seymour Duncan Sentient & 1 x Seymour Duncan Pegasus humbuckers | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Guitar Center – Thomann |
| Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HSS | 1 x Custom Seymour Duncan Full Shred Humbucker & 2 x Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat Single Coils | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| ESP LTD Eclipse ´87 NT Rainbow | 1 x Seymour Duncan JB & 1 x Seymour Duncan ’59 humbuckers | Telecaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez Yvette Young Signature YY10 | 3 x Seymour Duncan Five Two Single Coils | Offset | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| PRS SE Mark Holcomb HB – Excellent Metal Guitar | Mark Holcomb Signature Seymour Duncan Alpha & Omega humbuckers | PRS Double-Cut | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| ESP LTD Viper-1000HT | 1 x Seymour Duncan Pegasus & 1 x Seymour Duncan Sentient humbuckers | SG-style Offset | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| ESP LTD PS 1000 FM | 1 x Seymour Duncan Phat Cat & 1 x Seymour Duncan Phat Cat | Single-Cut Semi-Hollowbody | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Kramer Guitars Jersey Star – 3 Humbuckers | 1 x Seymour Duncan JN Humbucker & 2 x Seymour Duncan JB Humbuckers | Jersey Star | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| ESP LTD Phoenix-1000 | 1 x Seymour Duncan Phat Cat Nickel (P90) & 1 x Seymour Duncan Custom Nickel humbuckers | Phoenix Offset | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Godin Session R-HT Pro Retro | 2 x Lace Hot Gold Single-coil & 1 x Seymour Duncan ’59 Humbucker SH-1B | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender Dave Murray Strat – Heads-Up Iron Maiden Fans | 1 x Seymour Duncan Hot Rails SHR-1B & 1 x Seymour Duncan JB Jr. SJBJ-1N & 1 x Seymour Duncan Hot Rails SHR-1N | Stratocaster | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez AZ42P1 | 2 x Seymour Duncan Hyperion Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster – Has Great Strat Pickups | 1 x Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Flat SSL-4 single-coil & 1 x Non-active dummy pickup & 1 x Seymour Duncan reverse wound/reverse polarity Quarter Pound Flat SSL-4 single-coil | Stratocaster | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster – Versatile | 2 x Vintage Noiseless Strat single coils & 1 x Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat SHR-1B humbucker | Stratocaster | $$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Jackson Jeff Loomis Soloist – 7 String | 2 x Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Signature Blackout Humbuckers | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| D’Angelico Excel 59 Vintage – Best Semi-Hollowbody | 2 x Seymour Duncan Great Dane P90 single coils with black cover | Semi-Hollowbody | $$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| ESP LTD Sparrowhawk | 2 x Seymour Duncan Distortion Gold Cover Humbuckers | Sparrowhawk Offset | $$$$ | Guitar Center – Thomann |
| D’Angelico Deluxe SS Limited Edition | 2 x Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec Humbuckers with Satin Nickel Cover | Semi-Hollowbody | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez Prestige AZS2200 – Best Premium | 1 x Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Custom Single-Coil & 1 x Seymour Duncan Magic Touch-Mini Humbucker | Single-Cut | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez Prestige AZ2204B – Great Ibanez Shredder | 2 x Seymour Duncan Hyperion single coils & 1 x Seymour Duncan Hyperion humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez Prestige AZ2402 – Great Ibanez Shredder | 2 x Seymour Duncan Hyperion humbuckers | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Godin Montreal Premiere HT | 1 x Godin Custom & 1 x Seymour Duncan Jazz SH-2n humbuckers | Semi-Hollowbody | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Godin LGXT | 1 x Custom Seymour Duncan SH-2n & 1 x SH-11p humbuckers & RMC micro transducers in the tremolo | Single-Cut | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez Tom Quayle Signature TQM1 | 2 x Seymour Duncan Hyperion single coils & 1 x Seymour Duncan Hyperion humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster – Scalloped Fretboard | 2 x Seymour Duncan STK-S10N YJM Fury & 1 x Seymour Duncan STK-S10B YJM Fury | Stratocaster | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Yamaha SG 1820 | 1 x Seymour Duncan ’59 SH-1n (neck) & 1 x Seymour Duncan ’59 SH-1b humbuckers | Revstar | $$$$$ | Thomann |
| Fender Brent Mason Tele | 1 x Seymour Duncan Vintage Mini Humbucker & 1 x Seymour Duncan Hot Stack Strat STK-S2 Single-coil & 1 x Seymour Duncan Vintage Stack Tele STK-T3B Single-coil | Telecaster | $$$$$ | Guitar Center – Thomann |
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Visit Sweetwater:
3 Best Guitars With Seymour Duncan Pickups – My Favorites
Best Budget – Yamaha Pacifica 612V
What I like
- Beautiful flamed maple looks
- Coil-split adds versatility
- Really comfortable playability
- Amazing bang for the buck (Graph Tech TUSQ nut, Wilkinson Tremolo bridge, Seymor Duncan pups, etc.)
- Great all-around quality
- Stay in tune extremely well (Grover Locking tuners)
- Narrow neck
What I don’t like
- Sometimes finish issues out of the box
Who is it for?
One of my favorite mid-range electric guitars. Offers better hardware and pickups than many hundreds of dollars more expensive guitars, and oh boy, these Seymor Duncan’s (SSL-1 & SSL-1 RWRP & TB-14) sound awesome. I’m not exaggerating. This guitar sounds good. One of the most value-packed guitars out there and the best budget option of this article with flying grades.
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Best Overall Electric Guitar – ESP LTD EC-1000
What I like
- Great metal tones
- Stunning looks
- Spot on the action and smooth neck make this axe comfortable to play
- Works well with small hands too
- Versatile
- High quality
- Smooth Thin U neck
- Tons of different color options are available
- You can get LTD EC-1000’s with tons of different extra features from piezo pickups to Floyd rose
What I don’t like
- Upper fret access is not great
- The use of plastic nut feels a bit cheap for this price
Who is it for?
I’ve been lovin’ this guitar since I first tried it out a couple of years ago. With this axe, you get excellent value for money. It’s built for metal but can handle different music too. For people who mostly play metal, but want to explore other genres too, this guitar is definitely worth the money. And yes, it’s got a smooth & comfortable thin U neck.
And another awesome thing is that there are so many different versions of this guitar available. Versions with:
I know, it can be hard to decide which one, but it’s awesome that there’s an LTD EC-1000 for almost everyone. It’s an awesome, versatile metal machine, and the version with Seymour Duncan pickups is a true lifetime companion and workhorse (the ones with EMG’s or Fishman Fluence pups are awesome too).
You can read my full review of this guitar here: ESP LTD EC-1000 Review 2022 – Before You Buy
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Best Premium – Ibanez Prestige AZS2200
What I like
- Extremely smooth and comfortable playability
- Spot-on sound
- Surprisingly versatile
- Alter switch enables connecting single-coil pickup and another coil of the humbucker in series to create different humbucker-like tones
- Great hardware (Gotoh Locking tuners, Gotoh tremolo bridge, and bone nut)
- Could cost a lot more
What I don’t like
- Premium quality means a premium price
Who is it for?
I don’t like to call myself a fanboy. But if I had to choose just 1 brand to be a fanboy of, it would be Ibanez. And this AZ Prestige is a great one. It features
- Seymour Duncan Magic Touch-mini Humbucker
- Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Custom Single-coil
- Gotoh F1802 Tremolo Bridge
- 2-way mini alter switch & 5-way blade pickup switch
- Gotoh Magnum Locking tuners
- Stunning looks
- Smooth playability
And still, it costs under 2k. The money you have to throw in order to get this Ibanez is still a big chunk, I know, but still, the value for the money is outstanding. The best premium and pro-level guitar with Seymour Duncan pickups to me.
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8 Guitars With Duncan Designed Pickups
Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX offers smooth playability because of its compound fretboard radius, easy-to-fret Jumbo frets, and indeed speedy “Speed” neck shape. And while it doesn’t come equipped with original Seymour Duncans, I’m pretty sure that riffing with this axe doesn’t let you down in your next metal jams.
Price Range Icon Meanings:
$= $499-699
$$= $700-899
$$$= $900-1199
$$$$= $1200-1799
$$$$$= $1800
| Model | Pickup | Body Style | Price Range | Check Current Price (affiliate links) |
| Traveler Guitar EG-1 – Cheapest Guitar With Duncan Designed Pickups | 1 x Full-size Seymour Duncan Designed Devastator Alnico Humbucker | Traveler | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Jackson SLX DX Soloist X Series – Great Metal Guitar for Fast Playing | 1 x Jackson High-Output humbucking Duncan designed HB-103N & 1 x Jackson High-Output humbucking Duncan designed HB-103B | Modern Stratocaster | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Charvel Joe Duplantier San Dimas Style 2 HH | 1 x Duncan designed HB-10N & 1 x Duncan designed HB-103B humbuckers | Telecaster | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| D’Angelico Premier Atlantic | 1 x Duncan Designed HB-102N & 1 x Seymour Duncan Designed HB 101B humbuckers | Single-Cut | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| D’Angelico Premier Mini DC | 1 x Duncan Designed HB-102N & 1 x Duncan Designed HB 101B humbuckers | Semi-Hollowbody | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| D’Angelico Premier Bedford Oxblood | 2 x Duncan Designed TE-103 single coils & 1 x Duncan Designed MH-102 mini humbucker | Offset Semi-Hollowbody | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| D’Angelico Premier Bedford Oxblood – Solid P90 Tones | 2 x Duncan Designed P90-1 with cream cover | Offset | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| D’Angelico Premier EXL-1 – Hollowbody Guitar With Duncan Designed Pickup | 1 x Duncan Designed Floating Mini Humbucker | Hollowbody | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
What Does Duncan Designed Pickup mean?
In a nutshell:
- Duncan-designed pickups are designed by Seymor Duncan but built in Korea (Seymor Duncan pickups are built or at least assembled in the USA).
- Duncan-designed pickups can be found from guitars costing under $1000.
- Duncan-designed pickups cannot be purchased individually as new.
Duncan Designed vs Seymour Duncan Pickups
Check this little comparison video (The purple one got Seymour Duncans and the Green one got Duncan Designed):
At least with this setup, the Seymour Duncans got a bit more clarity and a less muddy tone. But Duncan Designed sounded murky and mean. To me, the difference is not huge, and it’s likely that neither one of you get, you get nice-sounding and versatile pups. I would personally get the best guitar I can afford and just shred with that.
FAQ
Where Are Seymour Duncan Pickups Made?
All Seymour Duncan pickups are designed in Santa Barbara, California, USA. Made-in USA pickups are also completely built in the USA.
Are Seymor Duncan Pickups Worth it?
If you like how Seymour Duncans you are thinking about sound, they for sure are worth it. Seymour Duncan’s line-up got pickup for almost every taste from blues to Jazz to Rock to Metal.
Who Should Buy Seymour Duncan Pickups?
Shortly: Just test them or listen to sound demos…if the guitar you are thinking about buying sounds good with its Seymour Duncans…I would go for it. This is pretty simple stuff.
Are Seymour Duncan Pickups Good for Metal?
Some Seymour Duncans are, but obviously not all Seymour Duncans are not meant for metal. Here are a couple of Seymour Duncans that are a great fit with Metal:
- Seymour Duncan Invander
- Seymour Duncan Mark Holcomb Alpha & Omega
- Seymour Duncan JB & Seymour Duncan ’59 humbuckers
- Seymour Duncan Blackouts
- Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Signature Blackout Humbuckers
- Seymour Duncan Sentient & Seymour Duncan Pegasus humbuckers
What are Seymor Duncan’s Best Stratocaster Pickups?
It’s impossible for me to choose just the best 3, but I’ll give you a couple of great options to look closer at:
- Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set – if you dig Hendrix, duh
- Antiquity Strat Texas Hot – for chimey vintage strat tone
- Classic Stack Plus Strat (noiseless) – classic Strat tones without the hum
- Hot Strat – beefy and big Strat tone
Conclusion on Guitars With Seymour Duncan Pickups
For passive pickup lovers, no matter if you are into metal, rock, or blues, this article had absolute gems! From cheap & cool 1 pickup Kramer to premium Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster that just screams “Shred Me!”. Also, you got a tight knowledge bomb about Seymour Duncan’s pickups overall.
I hope this article helped you out, and maybe you even decided to get one of the guitars featured. If you have any questions, leave a comment, I and the GND team are here for you.
Now go, my son, and Rock!
