Seymour Duncan SSL-1 Vintage Staggered Pole Single Coil Bridge/Middle/Neck Strat Pickup

92
GEARANK

92 out of 100. Incorporating 325+ ratings and reviews.

Street Price: 

$79
Seymour Duncan SSL-1 Vintage Staggered Pole Strat Pickup

Gearank Recommendation

The SSL-1 appeared on our recommended list for Budget Guitar Pickups in 2 consecutive editions from November 2020 until October 2022 when it was removed due being out-ranked by the DiMarzio Injector DP422, Seymour Duncan SSL-5 and Seymour Duncan SSL-2.

Overview

The SSL-1 is Seymour Duncan's period-correct recreation of a 50's style strat pickup.

It was designed with lots of high string chime and low string bell tones in mind.

It features hand-ground Alnico 5 magnets, period-correct Formvar wire.

The SSL-1 pickups are hand-built in Santa Barbara, California.

While it balances nicely with other SSL-1 pickups in the neck and bridge position, it is versatile enough to fill in a middle position on an HSS or HSH pickup configuration, giving split coil 2 and 4 positions lots of chime and quack that you'd expect.

Specifications

  • Position: Any
  • Magnet Material: Alnico 5
  • Dimensions: 3.300" x .700" x .705"
  • String Spacing: 52mm
  • Available Colors/Covers:White
Although this was previously on our recommended list, there are now more highly rated options available which you can see in our guide to The Best Budget Guitar Pickups.

Demo

About the Author

Raphael PulgarRaphael Pulgar

I've been an audio engineer for 20 years specializing in rock and metal recordings. I also play guitar and produce original music for my band and other content creators.