Seymour Duncan h103

[lengle1981]

I was looking at some tonerider pickups and iron gear but I've come across some Seymour duncan h-103. Can anyone let me know what they're like? Was gonna put em in my SG. Also it says the neck one may be faulty but I don't tend to use the neck pup as much anyway.

 

Anyone know what they're like?

[Blueman335]

They are not American-made Seymour Duncan's, they're 'Duncan Designed', made in Asia. The materials and windings aren't as good, so teh tone isn't either. I wouldn't spend my money, not much of an upgrade, if at all. Your best bet is to look on eBay for used high quality PU's, which is how I get most of mine, usually for around half price. You're much better off with a used Duncan, DiMarzio, or Gibson, than a new Asian-made PU. Much more PU for the money. If one of those you're looking at isn't even working, you're totally throwing your money away.

 

Upgrading PU's on a mid-price import will do more to improve the tone than everything else put together. It's the one place not to buy cheap stuff. I've been through it, wasted money on PU's that weren't really any better than what I already had. Come visit us on the Duncan forum, we talk about all brands of PU's and can steer you in the right direction. There's a lot to learn, and there's plenty of experienced guys there to help.

[SNick]

"Duncan Design" Means that Mr. Duncan's company actually designed the pickups given a list of raw materials to be used by the manufacturer. Duncan does not make the pickup. They can actually be from fairly OK to bad sounding.

 

If your really in the market for good pickups don't sell yourself short on tone. Stick with a good brand name or good reputation. Duncan is not the be-all-end-all of pickup manufactures, in my opinion. DiMarzio was the first company to produce aftermarket pickups. Check them out also. Toneriders are a decent pickup for the money.

[jonnyg]

I'd just go with the Iron Gears. If there are better PUP's for the money I haven't come across them. I've got Pig Irons in Mexican and Squire Strats and a pair of Blues Engines in a Hamer XT. If they ever get round to doing the Rolling Mill 2 Mini Hums with the polepieces again I'll put them in my Wilshire. Recommended.