Ask Zac!

I got my 59 Reissue Les Paul in May last year. After leaving it stock for about a year, I decided to do a little hot-rodding to it. I liked the stock Burstbuckers, but was looking for a set that was a bit more balanced. With the stock set, if I set the tone on my amp for the bridge pickup, by the time I switched to the neck, it was all mud.

I tried a couple of different models of replacement pickups, but was not finding what I was after. During a conversation with my Editor at Vintage Guitar Magazine, he indicated I should really try a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity Pickups. I decided to take the plunge, and went ahead and asked that they make the pickups a bit underwound to help in their clarity. A week or so later, THEY ARRIVED!! That was quick. I then installed them, and my buddy Steve Bliss took pictures of the process for posterity. Here we go!

First I removed the stock Burstbuckers, and set the Duncan’s in place

Then, I carefully pulled the cables through to the control cavity.

After pulling the cables through, I marked the bridge pickup so that I could solder the guitar properly.

Next, I attached the pickups to the body via the pickup rings as to not bang up the guitars top while I do the soldering in the rear control cavity.

Here I am cutting the cables to the proper length for a clean install.

For the curious, here is the specifics of one of the pickups showing DC resistance, who wound them, and magnet type.

I was very happy with the final sound. Much more clarity in the neck position, and well balanced in all three positions. Kudos to Maricela Juarez at Seymour Duncan for winding such an exceptional set of pickups.