Seymour Duncan Distortion Ltd Edition 50th Custom Shop Guitar Pickup Set (Black)

Only 500 sets of this Custom Shop release exist worldwide, each hand-built to the exact specifications of Seymour Duncan's original high-output ceramic humbucker from the late '70s. This limited 50th Anniversary edition returns to the earliest construction methods – butyrate bobbins, long-leg baseplates, and maple spacers – while delivering the same aggressive voice that made the Duncan Distortion the definitive passive metal pickup. Favoured by Randy Rhoads, George Lynch, and Adam Jones, the bridge pickup pairs a large ceramic magnet with hot coil windings for tight, percussive lows, searing highs, and a powerful upper midrange that cuts through dense mixes without losing clarity.

The set includes the Seymourizer II neck pickup, later renamed the Duncan Distortion Neck, which balances the bridge's intensity with fluid sustain under gain and articulate clean response. Each pickup is lightly aged for vintage character and arrives with replica 'Seymourized' and model name stickers that mirror the earliest builds collectors have pursued for decades. Hand-built by a small Custom Shop team led by Maricela 'MJ' Juarez, every set features bottom plates personally signed by Seymour W. Duncan and MJ, packaged in exclusive 50th Anniversary presentation boxes.

The core sonic formula remains unchanged from the production models introduced when manufacturing began in the late 1970s. While small refinements over the years improved consistency – such as bobbins better suited for vacuum wax potting – this Custom Shop version honours the original design approach that defined hard rock and metal guitar tone for over four decades. The bridge pickup drives amplifiers harder while retaining note definition, responding immediately to pick attack with raw, uncompressed output that shaped the sound of heavy music.

Features

• Limited edition of 500 sets worldwide, one-time Custom Shop production run
• Original late-'70s specifications: butyrate bobbins, long-leg baseplates, maple spacers
• Bridge pickup: large ceramic magnet with hot windings for high-output response
• Seymourizer II neck pickup delivers fluid sustain and articulate clean tones
• Hand-built by Custom Shop team led by Maricela 'MJ' Juarez
• Bottom plates hand-signed by Seymour W. Duncan and MJ Juarez
• Lightly aged finish with replica 'Seymourized' and model name stickers
• Exclusive 50th Anniversary packaging, available in black bobbin finish