Seymour Duncan Retro Ant Strat Texas Hot Cust Bridge

Give your Stratocaster the warm bell-like chime normally reserved for priceless vintage instruments. The Antiquity Texas Hot Neck produces that familiar, spanky Stratocaster tone, but with a sweet tonal character that only a decades-old pickup can produce. Its treble attack is softened by the specially degaussed alnico 2 rod poles, and we inject just the right amount of smoke, sweat, and grime to give them that perfect grit. The middle pickup in the set is RW/RP for the perfect hum-free cluck in the 2 and 4 positions. The Antiquity Texas Hot Custom Bridge is wound hotter than the neck & middle versions to give your Stratocaster better overall balance and increased versatility without losing the vintage vibe.

The spank and sparkle are all there and the increased output provides just enough midrange to help your tone cut through where traditional Strat bridge pickups fall short. Single notes sound robust and chords are harmonically rich. The custom aged alnico 2 rod magnets create less string pull, and that means more sustain. This pickup set is custom-aged both cosmetically and magnetically to simulate the wear and tear that a pickup goes through after decades of playing. Each comes with a specially aged cover, and the individually ground alnico 2 rod poles are specifically calibrated to deliver just the right combination of chime and sweetness. Each is lacquered and potted in lamp black paraffin wax, like the originals.

At Seymour Duncan, we have a 40-year archive of data on pickup design, detailing every nuance, down to the smallest detail. This deep knowledge is what gives our legendary Antiquity pickups their authentic vintage tone.

The Antiquity line’s story goes back to the 1990s, a particularly unique time in guitar history. ‘Shred’ guitars were on a bit of a decline, and the vintage guitar market was huge. When they weren’t able to get their hands on the actual vintage guitars they coveted so dearly, guitarists began to relic their own instruments. So, Seymour created the Antiquities to give those guitarists the aged look, tone, and response of the pickups found in the instruments of the 50s and 60s that they so revered.

Because Seymour is so detail-oriented, our Antiquities had to be exactly like the originals, down to the finest details. Seymour pulled from his 40-plus-year archive of data on pickup design, with insight on every nuance, to ensure that every facet of the Antiquity pickups was authentic and vintage accurate. If player feedback and the thousands of guitarists around the world who rely on their Antiquities are any indication, we think Seymour nailed it.

What Seymour didn’t anticipate was how popular these pickups would become among guitarists playing newer guitars. We quickly began hearing from guitar builders and players around the world who wanted our Antiquity pickups with a new, pristine look, rather than an aged, relic’d look. So, we created the Antiquity Retrospec’d series – all the beloved Antiquity tone of yesteryear in a brand new, cosmetically non-aged look.