NAMM 2023: Seymour Duncan and Lari Basilio may have just launched the most versatile HSS pickup set on the market
The virtuoso’s signature pickups span Strat, Tele and humbucker tones thanks to a cunningly disguised middle single coil
NAMM 2023: One of today’s most tasteful virtuosos Lari Basilio has teamed up with Seymour Duncan to announce her own set of signature electric guitar pickups.
The same set found in her Ibanez LB1 signature guitar (one of the company’s best-selling signature offerings, don’tcha know), the pickups offer a versatile combination of Strat, Tele and humbucker sounds – although you wouldn’t know it just from looking.
The neck single coil is Tele-voiced and the bridge humbucker is, of course, a humbucker, but it’s the middle position that houses the surprise: that right there is a Strat pickup in uncovered Telecaster pickup clothing.
There’s more tonal ingenuity elsewhere in the construction, too: the single coils feature Alnico V magnets beneath the low strings, while Alnico IV magnets lie underneath the high strings of the neck, and Alnico IIs under the high strings of the middle.
All of which should produce a most balanced tone indeed – Seymour Duncan reckons the pickups deliver enough clarity “for even the most clustered chord voicings”.
On Basilio’s Ibanez LB1, these pickups are wired to the Japanese guitar co’s dyna-MIX9 switching system, which offers nine potential sounds, so there’s a lot of potential for various wiring configurations. Ask your guitar tech.
Available with gold or chrome covers, Lari Basilio’s signature Seymour Duncan pickups start at $109 (chrome)/$119 (gold), while a full set will set you back $377 (chrome)/$407 (gold).
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See Seymour Duncan for more info.
This may not be the only gear release we see from Basilio this year; recent videos have seen the guitarist teasing a white-and-gold version of her signature Ibanez. Roll on NAMM…
Seymour Duncan, meanwhile, has been on a veritable pickup release spree, launching a Tele-sized Pearly Gates humbucker, Cory Wong Clean Machine set and Mark Holcomb Scarlet and Scourge humbuckers in 2023 alone.
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.