Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers
The Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers in the all-Korina Frank Brothers Arcade, into the Benson Earhart's top boost channel. A pickup demo that earns its runtime. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
In this episode the Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers take center stage — installed in the Frank Brothers Arcade all-Korina build with aged nitro finish, into the Benson Amps Earhart Reverb Combo 1x12" with top boost engaged via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. The Benson Amps Stonk Box, JAM Pedals Ripply Fall, and Meris LVX join for the second half.
Check out more guitar pickup demos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLY1KzQHoiH1WyoqFxSBsbFPm_RjF3Ef_
Seymour Duncan's Antiquity series is their Custom Shop's answer to the most elusive vintage PAF question: what do those original 1950s Patent Applied For humbuckers actually sound like, and can you make them again? The answer involves going back to the same factory that built the original PAF mold for Gibson — Seymour Duncan's Custom Shop uses the same butyrate bobbin mold. Every Antiquity humbucker is wound on Seymour's original Leesona winding machine from the early Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, using 42AWG plain enamel mag wire. Each pickup is aged both cosmetically and magnetically — the Alnico 2 bar magnet is degaussed to simulate decades of natural aging, the covers are chemically treated, and the hardware is hand-worn. Not wax potted — true to the original Gibson PAF, which takes the pickup right to the edge of harmonic breakup and keeps it there.
The result: airy openness in the top end, Alnico 2 warmth and bloom in the low mids, clear single-note singing quality with just the right amount of treble emphasis. The bridge is wound slightly hotter than the neck for balance and added warmth. Not over-wound, not aggressive — this is the pickup that rewards picking dynamics and guitar volume knob position.
The Korina Frank Brothers Arcade is a specific test. Korina (Spanish cedar) is the wood Gibson used in the late 1950s Flying V and Explorer — tonally similar to mahogany but lighter and more open in the midrange. The Antiquities' Alnico 2 character and the Korina's natural warmth and resonance interact in a very particular way, especially into the Earhart's top boost circuit.
🎸 Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbucker: https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-product/antiquity-humbucker
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Frank Brothers Arcade | All-Korina | Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers | Aged Nitro Checking
🎛️ Benson Amps Stonk Box | JAM Pedals Ripply Fall | Meris LVX
🔊 Benson Earhart Reverb Combo 1x12 | Top Boost | Boss Waza TAE
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11
