Duncan Five-Two Nashville Studio Now for Strats

Seymour uses alnico in so many of his Strat® replacement pickups because its lower string pull and softer magnetic field improve sustain and help smooth out the tone. The Five-Two is the pickup guru's first product line to combine multiple alnico magnet types strategically placed to deliver a bright and springy bottom end and a full and smooth top end.

Here's how the Five-Two concept works: Seymour utilizes sand cast alnico 5 magnets on the three low strings. This adds more definition and punch to the bottom end. Seymour uses sand cast alnico 2 magnets on the three high strings. This gives the player a warm and smooth top end without sacrificing that great Strat "quack." Strat players often complain that their low strings sound "mushy" and their high strings are too bright especially in the bridge position. The FiveTwo concept counteracts this phenomenon. If you look closely at the pickup, you can actually see the difference between the two magnet types.

The result is an all-around, well-balanced, Strat pickup. The Five-Two for Strat has traditional output and vintage appointments such as vulcanized fibre bobbins, formvar wire, a vintage magnet stagger and waxed cloth hookup cable. A custom bridge version is available for more output in the bridge position and a reverse wound, reverse polarity middle pickup can be used to create a hum-canceling effect when used together with the bridge or neck pickup.

Like all Seymour Duncan pickups, all Five-Two pickups are entirely hand built in the company's Santa Barbara, California facility and include mounting hardware and wiring diagrams.