Skip to main content
Price Paid
$85
Condition
New
Humbucker/Single Coil/Stacked Single
Humbucker
Passive/Active/Not sure
Passive
AlNico/Ceramic/Not sure
AlNico
Output
High
Instrument Installed in
GMW Custom Superstrat
Sound Quality
5 (excellent)
Reliability

 

 

Honestly, I had to sell the guitar about 2 months after installing the pickup, and was too lazy to uninstall it, but it's a Duncan so we'll assume it would be very reliable.

Customer Support

I've never had to deal with Seymour Duncan on quality issues, but I did speak with them regarding making this pickup with a black/white bobbin, it's only available in stores in black, white, and black/creme... They were pleasant.

Summary

With seriously tight bass, punchy mids, and super smooth highs, the Duncan SH-15 Alternative 8 is definitely one of my favorite pickups, and my current favorite high output Duncan offering. It's Duncan's highest output passive pickup, at 17.68k, and their first production line Alnico 8 pickup. Unlike most high output pickups, which lose definition and clarity, and to my ears tend to be sizzley in the highs, the Alternative 8 has the note definition, pick attack, harmonics, and clarity of medium output pickups, but is very aggressive, loud, and is at home at high levels of gain, but that doesn't mean it can't do cleans, it does do cleans, and does them well. I would highly recommend this pickup to anyone who finds a JB to be one dimensional. Planning on installing this bridge pickup in my Charvel Predator rebuild.