Seymor Duncan lil 59

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 18 Jun 2020 7:01 am

Kind of feeling my way where Pups are involved. I was wondering if any of you guys have ever used a SD lil 59 in a lap steel and if so did you use a bridge or neck Pup? Any other comments on that Pup are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 18 Jun 2020 8:33 am

Not a Duncan, but a good alternative. I installed a Vintage Vibe SBA-B Strat pickup in my Fender Studio Deluxe. Sounds fantastic. It is a custom one-off; I requested Pete to grind its blade polepiece flat especially for a lap steel application. (His stock Strat pickup has a radiused blade.) It looks similar to these aside from the black bobbins; mine is white.

http://www.vintagevibeguitars.com/windo ... leWin.html

If I were ever to need another Strat-style pickup for a lap steel, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another Vintage Vibe with a flat blade polepiece.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 18 Jun 2020 8:43 am

yes i have used the 59. im fine with the sound of it.

Glenn Wilde · Post by **Glenn Wilde** » 18 Jun 2020 3:09 pm

I've got'em in two of mine, an old Kay Sherwood Deluxe and a '41 Oahu Islander. Both came to me with non original pickups and i gave my kay to a friend who put the lil 59 in it, he gave it back and i was hooked. Its such a killer pickup imo, i have one in a Tele too and it rules, i have a push/pull pot on that so i can have series/parallel coils and its very usefull, might do that on the steels too.

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 19 Jun 2020 4:53 am

Can you guys that use one give me a string space measurement? Thanx

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 19 Jun 2020 7:28 am

Bill Groner wrote:Can you guys that use one give me a string space measurement? Thanx

dont have my calipers handy, but there will be a difference in the neck and the bridge pickup. bridge spacing will be wider....just letting you know that in case.

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 19 Jun 2020 7:41 am

Thanks Bill, I never gave that a thought.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 19 Jun 2020 7:45 am

A blade pickup makes the spacing of individual polepieces a moot point.

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 19 Jun 2020 7:47 am

Yes, but no individual tuning.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 19 Jun 2020 8:44 am

Bill Groner wrote:Yes, but no individual tuning.

There is that. But folks who play frypans, Bakelites, pre-1951 Gibsons, virtually all Fenders, and many other classics don't seem to mind.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 19 Jun 2020 9:11 am

Jack Hanson wrote:
Bill Groner wrote:Yes, but no individual tuning.
There is that. But folks who play frypans, Bakelites, pre-1951 Gibsons, virtually all Fenders, and many other classics don't seem to mind.

even the gibson "charlie christian" bar pickups can be found from gibson with cuts in the bar to try to attenuate different strings for better balance.

i prefer to have adjustable pole piece pickups when i can. the ability to bring different strings volumes up or down can be very advantageous for sure.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 19 Jun 2020 9:35 am

Bill Hatcher wrote:i prefer to have adjustable pole piece pickups when i can. the ability to bring different strings volumes up or down can be very advantageous for sure.

I agree. And that's one reason I installed custom P-90 style pickups (from Sentell) in most of the basketcase Gibson lap steels I've resurrected.

The Vintage Vibe pickup in the old Fender I redid was a bit of an outlier in that regard, but the guitar sounds fantastic with its blade pickup. Way better than a stock Champ or Studio Deluxe in my opinion.

Bill Groner · Post by **Bill Groner** » 19 Jun 2020 1:31 pm

Well I am happy with the answers I got. Thank you Bill, Glenn and Jack for your opinions. I think I will go with the lil 59. I even got more from this post than I had hoped. I learned a new word. Attenuate.........thanks Bill!

Glenn Wilde · Post by **Glenn Wilde** » 20 Jun 2020 12:29 pm

Bill Groner wrote:Well I am happy with the answers I got. Thank you Bill, Glenn and Jack for your opinions. I think I will go with the lil 59. I even got more from this post than I had hoped. I learned a new word. Attenuate.........thanks Bill!

I think you'll be happy Bill. If i ever get around to building one from scratch i want a lil 59 at the bridge and a P90 at the board end, with the series/parallel switch and a blend knob.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 20 Jun 2020 1:48 pm

Has anyone had the opportunity to compare and contrast the Duncan Hot Rails and the Duncan Little '59?

Jay Lorenz · Post by **Jay Lorenz** » 26 Dec 2024 1:56 pm

I'll be interested to know as well.

BTW, has anyone installed a Duncan Little'59 in a '55 Fender Studio Deluxe/Champ without any additional routing in the cavity?
I replaced the original Fender pu with a Porter strat pu that I had. It barely fit and leaves very little room for up/down adjustment.
The Vintage Vibe website has ceased operations. Any other good alternatives?

Hi. I'm a new member here and a relatively new player. I'm thankful for all the info that people have been sharing on this forum. Thank you all.
Jay

Jay Lorenz · Post by **Jay Lorenz** » 4 Mar 2025 1:44 pm

Yep, finally found an older Duncan Little '59 strat pickup. It fits well and sounds even better.
If anyone else intends to do the same, go to the Duncan website for the correct wiring diagram.

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Re: Seymor Duncan lil 59