“Whether laying down scorching leads or simmering rhythm licks, these pickups ensure fiery country tone without the vintage hum”: Seymour Duncan serves up tasty Hot Chicken Strat and Tele pickups for modern country players

Seymour Duncan has served up an ambrosial tone treat for any country player whose choice of weapon includes a Telecaster or a Strat, with the new Hot Chicken electric guitar pickup sets designed to give players an edge in high-gain environments with a sound that skews vintage-modern.

That is to say that sometimes vintage spec pickups have the tone profile you are looking for but lack the output to make themselves heard in a busy mix. And, let’s be honest, they can get a little noisy under the lights. 

The Hot Chicken Stack pickups are wound to give you that vintage tone but with more oomph and dual-coil design to ensure no 60-cycle hum – or, as Seymour Duncan describes it, “searing hotness that will cut through any mix, while retaining old school character, clarity, and definition.” 

That is not to be sniffed at. The pickups themselves will fit any Stratocaster or Tele, or electric guitars built in that style. The Strat set comprises a trio of Stack single coil sized pickups with the choice of black, off-white or white pickup coverings, and they are available individually or as a set.

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They are wound around an Alnico V magnet, and feature a stacked coil design of Seymour Duncan’s that dates back to the ‘80s. 

“We patented a special bottom coil design that actually injects negative hum into the pickup circuit, and, at the end of the production process, we fine tune each pickup for maximum hum cancellation,” says Seymour Duncan. “You get all the great qualities of a Strat pickup, and none of the hum.”

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The Tele pickups are made in a similar fashion and similarly can be bought individually or as a set – though Seymour Duncan does advise choosing the set. These have been wound to complement one another, with a build that centres on an Alnico V rod magnet core. 

Again, it’s about putting classic Tele tones on the table with some modern refinements, and “capturing old-school twang and muscle without sacrificing output or dealing with noise.”

As the name suggests, chicken pickin’ styles are welcome. You’ll find Strat spank, Tele twang, and bite where you need it. Stick these in your guitar and you’ve got everything for a hot country sound. Bring your own Deluxe Reverb and compressor pedal of your choice.

The Hot Chicken Tele set is priced $238. The Hot Chicken Strat set is priced $357. And you can find out more at Seymour Duncan, and check out the demo video above for an idea of how they sound.