To meet the demands of modern guitarists and their desire for heavier distortion sounds Seymour Duncan has released a new guitar pickup.

“Guitar tones are getting heavier and heavier. It’s just the state of modern rock music today. That’s a fact. Seymour Duncan has responded with the SH-15 Alternative 8™ their first production pickup to use an Alnico 8 magnet. The Alternative 8 starts with hot coils wound for maximum output. With the addition of the Alnico 8 magnet, the output is enhanced with a huge, punchy sound, full of fat mids and present upper-mids. This is a dynamic pickup that doesn’t get “sizzly” or dark. The Alnico 8 is perfect for all rock styles and it’s great for use with high gain amps.”

This pickup seems like it will definitely benefit players who rely a lot on heavy distorted tones. I’m anxious to play through this pickup and hear for myself how hot it sounds. On most of my guitars I have DiMarzio Super Distortio’s or JB’s. Also, I’m curious to see if this one is worth getting and installing on the Tele I’m going to buy. I might try to play through it at guitar center or somewhere before picking one up.

Source.

Ok, so I forgot to take pictures of the guitar this weekend, but I got it back and it sounds and plays amazing. I will try to get pics up this week! The DiMarzio’s sound great, the neck and action feels great and my girlfriend was really happy with it. The tech at Guitar Center, John did a great job working out all the issues, and did a great job with the intonation. When I went to pick it up, I stopped in their Vintage room and played a 70’s Stratocaster, and now I’m thinking about buying it…I really should stay away from nice gear…

If you don’t know what the Vintage room is at Guitar Center - Hollywood, it’s basically a huge room filled with only sought-after vintage guitars. A lot of famous players, like John Frusciante, come in and buy guitars there. Somebody posted a clip on youtube, if you want to see what I’m talking about. Basically any guitarist’s dream come true, (not your wallet’s dream come true though)…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-1rFgrowH0

So, I finally heard back from the Guitar Center tech regarding the status of my Fender Mustang. He said the guitar will be ready at the end of today and that everything should be worked out with it. I’m going to pick it up after work and check everything out. I’ll try to post some pics of the guitar up here on Monday.

Also, just wanted to mention that I was browsing the internet looking at different guitar prices this morning. I knew vintage Fender Strats and Les Paul’s to be pretty up there, money-wise. It’s crazy though what prices some of the original Fender Mustangs are selling for. I’ve seen some decently beat up ones going for $2500 - $3500 at times.