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Seth Lover SH-55 Guitar Pickupplay button

Seth Lover SH-55 Guitar Pickup

Seymour Duncan

collapse expand iconDescription

The Seymour Duncan SH-55 Seth Lover humbucker pickup set, developed with the help of humbucker inventor Seth Lover himself. This meticulously crafted pickup set is designed to provide the warm, articulate tone of the original 1955 P.A.F. humbuckers in Seth Lover's Gibson Les Paul. The SH-55 pickups are not wax potted, just like vintage P.A.F.s, allowing their full sonic character to shine through. Available in nickel silver covers to complete the vintage aesthetic, the SH-55 set is a must for any guitarist chasing classic rock and blues tones.

Authentic Alnico 2 Tone

The SH-55 pickups are wound on Seymour Duncan's original 1950s Leesona coil winder using 42AWG plain enamel wire and Alnico 2 bar magnets, just like the original P.A.F.s. This combination produces a clear tone with rich harmonics and a musical "honk" from the unpotted coils. The bridge pickup provides an open, airy tone perfect for chords and leads, while the neck pickup delivers a smooth, singing quality for melodic solos and clean tones.

Handcrafted for Vintage Accuracy

Every component of the SH-55 set is meticulously crafted to vintage-correct specifications, from the butyrate bobbins and long-legged nickel silver bottom plate to the custom-machined maple spacers. The 2.5" Alnico 2 bar magnets are magnetized to the exact gauss rating of Seth Lover's original design. This painstaking attention to detail allows the SH-55 set to capture the essence of the hallowed P.A.F. tone that defined the sound of rock and roll.

Versatile and Bold

While designed primarily for vintage and classic rock tones, the SH-55 set handles a wide range of musical styles with aplomb. The unpotted coils provide a touch of microphonic honk that adds character to overdriven tones and a piano-like percussiveness to cleans. The medium output of the SH-55 set allows it to achieve rich distortion without becoming muddy, making it suitable for everything from country and jazz to hard rock.

A Legend Reborn

The Seymour Duncan SH-55 Seth Lover humbucker pickup set revives the iconic tone of Seth Lover's original P.A.F. design that shaped rock and roll. Built to the most exacting vintage specifications and codeveloped with the humbucker's inventor himself, the SH-55 set provides the authentic sound and feel of the 1955 Gibson Les Paul.

Seymour Duncan SH-55 Seth Lover Humbucker Pickup Set, Nickel Nickel Cover

collapse expand iconFeatures

  • Not recommended for use with ultrahigh gain tube amplifiers over 50 watts
  • Vintage-style single cable
  • Calibrated set of faithful P.A.F.s built exactly the way Seth Lover intended for a smooth and sweet tone

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5

14 Reviews

100%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend

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  • Absolutely amazing pickups!

    5

    submitteda year ago

    byJAL

    fromDayton, OH

    I bought these to put in a Hagstrom semi-hollow which I really like, but didn't care for the stock Hagstrom pickups. I knew these would be an improvement based on other reviews and my own experience with other SD pickups (59's, P-Rails, JB/Jazz). I didn't know just how much better! I cannot believe how good these sound. The clarity, openness, and articulation is incredible. They sound great clean or with overdrive/distortion. I cannot recommend them more highly.

  • Stop Searching

    5

    submitteda year ago

    byRob

    fromOklahoma City

    I never leave reviews for anything ever. Decided to go ahead with these and they're amazing. PAF airiness with all the bite. Replaced CustomBuckers with these, and it brought my Les Paul to life. Half the price, more than twice the tone. Can't see how boutique could be better.

  • Very nice pickups

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitteda year ago

    byGary

    fromCrawfordville fl

    Submitted as part of a sweepstakes

    Bought these for a HH telecaster build.

  • Incredible PAF style pickups

    5

    submitteda year ago

    byJoseph

    fromBellingham, WA

    There are a million boutique PAF choices these days and they can be $500+ for pickups that don't sound better than these. You could spend more, but they won't be any better than these. They are insanely good. They have that magic, 3D, unpotted, microphonic sound.

  • Great sounding pickups, would definitely buy again

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted2 years ago

    byChris

    fromCocoa, FL

    Submitted as part of a sweepstakes

    I used the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickup set in an ES-335 kit guitar that I built. The pickups set included required hardware and was easy to install. The pickups sound amazing and even better than expected.

  • Everything I had hoped for in sound , just as described.

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted2 years ago

    byMick

    fromColorado

    Submitted as part of a sweepstakes

    Very good quality!

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collapse expand iconQ&A

Have a question about this product? Our expert Gear Advisers have the answers.

  • asked byPTGuitarGuy

    fromFort Worth, TX

    Is this the 2 conductor or 4 conductor model?

    Is this the 2 conductor or 4 conductor model?

    Open Reply - Gear-Support
    4 conductor.
  • asked byArTea

    fromNew York, NY

    Can these pick ups be installed in an electric guitar that has a split coil tap?

    Can these pick ups be installed in an electric guitar that has a split coil tap?

    Open Reply - Gear-Support
    I’m sorry, I don’t know.
  • asked byLuca

    fromC.A.B.A.

    Hi
Do you sell the neck and bridge pickups separately?

    Hi Do you sell the neck and bridge pickups separately?

    Open Reply - Kenneth
    These come as set