TOP 3: Best Guitar Pickups for CLASSIC METAL || Passive Humbuckers || Seymour Duncan

► 00:04​​ - SH-8 Invader Humbucker Set
► 01:06​​ - SH-6 Duncan Distortion Humbucker Set
► 02:08​​ - Black Winter Humbucker Set

We know that picking the best guitar pickups for metal is impossible. It's even hard to narrow them down for classic metal. Every player has different preferences, everyone is after a different tone, and there are just too many options available. Not to mention, classic metal means something different to everyone.

Here's how we define it:
Modern players such as Periphery's Mark Holcomb are redefining today's concept of "metal tone." Things have become tighter-sounding and more precise than ever before. So, we're defining "classic metal" as all-metal pre-2010. This includes '90s Death, '00s Nu-Metal, '80s Thrash, and the list goes on.

Even within those parameters, selecting the best guitar pickups for classic metal leaves a ton of options. But we think Seymour Duncan offers some of the best in the business. So, we're going to highlight our three classic metal favorites.

► SH-8 Invader Humbucker Set
https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-...
Ultra-high output with a huge sound, the Invader has a look and sound like no other humbucker. The Invader is loud, vicious, and unapologetic. Somewhat surprisingly, the Invader neck model couples intimidating looks with a warm, restrained sound—the perfect partner to the aggressive and brutal high output Invader bridge humbucker.

► SH-6 Duncan Distortion Humbucker Set
https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-...
Our original high-output passive humbucker pickup, the Duncan Distortion delivers tight and mean lows with searing top-end—ideal for a wide variety of rock and metal styles. The Duncan Distortion incorporates a massive ceramic magnet and hot coil windings to deliver powerful but balanced rock and metal tones with rich upper-midrange harmonic content. Low strings are tight and mean, while the high strings scream with harmonics, making it a go-to pickup for hard-hitting crunch rhythms and blazing lead tones.

► Black Winter Humbucker Set
https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-...
Merciless high-output passive humbucker pickups created for the most frigid Black Metal, Death Metal, or any other extreme style. As brutal as the Scandinavian Winter. The Black Winter pickup is a savagely high-output passive humbucker built for extreme metal, with no less than three large ceramic magnets to ensure maximum output and sustain in all high-gain situations. The custom overwound coil design delivers incredible clarity in the mids and highs, while the low-end stays controlled and focused. The Black Winter is designed to handle any tuning, no matter how low you go, and its voicing facilitates aggressive palm mutes, fluid sweep picking, and punishing lead tones.

★ SEYMOUR DUNCAN★
► Website - https://www.seymourduncan.com/​​
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★ Gear Used in Video★
► Guitar: 2018 ESP LTD MH-400
► Diamondhead Multistage Distortion + Boost Pedal - https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-...
► PowerStage 200 Amplifier - https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-...
► Friedman 4x12 Cabinet loaded with 12" Celestion Vintage 30 Speakers
► Shure SM57 Dynamic Microphone
► Royer R10 Ribbon Microphone
► Warm Audio WA273-EQ Microphone Preamp
► UA Apollo Twin Interface
► Logic Pro X
[NOTE: all individual pickup heights, pedal settings, amp settings, outboard gear settings, and mic placement were consistent across all 3 pickup sets]