Seymour Duncan is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a limited-edition Custom Shop version of one of its most enduring high-output pickups: the Duncan Distortion. Limited to 500 sets worldwide, the anniversary model recreates some of the construction details found on the earliest versions of the pickup.
The set pairs the Duncan Distortion bridge with the Seymourizer II neck pickup, which was later renamed the Duncan Distortion Neck. The bridge uses a large ceramic magnet and hot coil windings for tight lows, an aggressive upper midrange, and plenty of high-end cut. The neck pickup is designed to complement that output with sustained lead tones under gain while retaining clarity for cleaner sounds.
The Duncan Distortion’s core design dates back to the late ’70s and has remained largely unchanged since. For the 50th Anniversary set, Seymour Duncan has returned to early construction specs with butyrate bobbins, long-leg baseplates, and Maple spacers while retaining the same basic sonic formula as the current production models.
Each set is hand-built in the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop by a team led by Maricela “MJ” Juarez. The pickups also feature replica “Seymourized” and model-name stickers, light aging, and bottom plates hand-signed by Seymour Duncan and Juarez.
The Seymour Duncan Duncan Distortion Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Custom Shop Set is available in black or zebra and comes in exclusive anniversary packaging. Get ’em here for $375.
