To mark fifty years of the iconic '59 Model humbucker, Seymour Duncan has released a strictly limited Custom Shop set built to original specs and signed by both Seymour W. Duncan and Custom Shop legend Maricela "MJ" Juarez.
If you’ve ever wanted a piece of genuine guitar pickup history, the Seymour Duncan ’59 Model Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Custom Shop Set is about as close as it gets – and there are only five hundred sets.
The ’59 Model has been one of the most enduring P.A.F.-style humbuckers in the business since Seymour Duncan first started producing it in the 1970s. Players like Trey Anastasio, Ben Harper, and Paul Stanley have leaned on it for decades, and the core tone recipe hasn’t changed since day one. For this anniversary release, Seymour Duncan has gone a step further, returning to the earliest construction specs to produce something that’s as much a collector’s piece as it is a working pickup set.
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That means the ’59 Model is made with butyrate bobbins, long-leg baseplates, single-conductor wiring, maple spacers, and rough-cast Alnico V magnets — the same materials and methods used when the very first ’59s were built. Each set is hand-built in the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop by a team led by the legendary Maricela “MJ” Juarez, and every bottom plate carries signatures from both MJ and Seymour W. Duncan himself, alongside original replica “Seymourized” and model name stickers.
Tonally, the set delivers what the ’59 Model has always been known for. The bridge pickup brings enhanced pick attack with smooth sustain, well-suited to rock and blues, while the neck offers warm, crystalline clarity with scooped mids that keep individual notes well defined. Together, they cover a lot of ground, which is a big part of why this pickup has remained a go-to for so long.
DC resistance sits at 7.6k for the neck and 8.2k for the bridge, and the sets are available in traditional black or zebra. Each comes in exclusive commemorative anniversary packaging.
With only 500 sets produced worldwide, this one won’t hang around. For collectors, boutique builders, or players who want something with provenance behind it, it’s well worth moving on quickly.
Head to Seymour Duncan to learn more.
