Seymour Duncan Releases SH-14 "Custom Five"

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How often do a company's most devoted customers get to design a product? Seymour Duncan's new SH-14 Custom 5 pickup was developed by an eager group of contributors to their on-line User Group Forum, who realized they could get different tones by switching around magnets in various humbucker pickups. A common "mod" involved replacing the ceramic or alnico 2 magnet in either an SH-5 Custom or SH-11 Custom Custom humbucker with an Alnico 5 magnet. The mod became so common it developed a cult following with the tongue-in-cheek moniker of "Custom Custom Custom."

After numerous requests, Seymour Duncan's product development team responded to their customers by releasing the pickup as a production model: and the SH-14 Custom 5 was born! Even the product's name was chosen in a vote amongst the website's loyal supporters. The number "5" refers to the alnico 5 magnet. "This is an example of empowering customers with a true voice in company's product line-up," says Evan Skopp, Duncan's VP of Sales, Marketing and Product Development. "Seymour Duncan recognizes that we're nothing without our customers." Tonally, the Custom 5 is a compromise between the SH-5 Custom and the SH-11 Custom Custom. Users favor it because it offers the optimum balance of warmth, punch, power and clarity. Compared to the SH-5 and SH-11, the tone is more vintage-like, with less distortion, but still very strong and powerful. It's fuller than an SH-5 with softer highs, more bass, and slightly less output. It's got a great rhythm sound and a beautiful, deep singing lead tone. Clean sounds are rich and full with enhanced presence. Duncan's customers describe the Custom 5 as a higher output SH-1 '59 with a deeper bottom end and expanded output.

The Custom 5 is hand-built in Seymour Duncan's Santa Barbara, California facility and comes in black, white or zebra (black and cream). It includes four-conductor cable, and is available in traditional or Trembucker string spacing. It is recommended for the bridge position.

For more information, visit their web site at www.seymourduncan.com.