This is directly taken from the SD Official forum. Why? Because sometimes forums may closed, some threads may be deleted etc. It's always good to store some information somewhere. Anyway, this is a list of some Seymour Duncan pickups with an output value in milivolts just as we are familiar with Dimarzio. Values are irrelevant to Dimarzio numbers because of the method of experiment. And you may consider some are faulty or suspicious, i know. But this list can be useful while comparing two or more Duncans (again not for comparing a duncan with dimarzio). At the bottom i put a graph that compares some very well known humbuckers mostly; no actives, no extended range and uncommon pickups on the graph.
First, the original information thread link and what contains within;
Several years ago, experiments were done to get mV output values from many pickups available at that time. I don't know if this list will help anyone, as the output numbers never stay constant, but it might be interesting if you are comparing one pickup next to another. Since it was originally posted on this forum by an SD employee, it is at least somewhat official.
The only time tests were done were about 5-6 years ago. I found this list from the thread I remember. I don't know how scientific this was but I think they really worked hard to provide consistent picking. At least it gives you a good idea when comparing different pickups. From what I remember, this was the only time this info was published. From the original post:
Good afternoon forum friends, as many of you know we are deep in the midst of a website design (and yes for those of you rolling your eyes, it has been an extraordinarily long journey as we completely re-design, record and sample our many, many pickups). I wanted to give you guys a peak at some upcoming mV data. You all know the limitations of using DC resistance as an indicator of output, a much better indicator is mV. We've devised a precise and repeatable method for testing pickup output which we believe corresponds closely to actual playing. We start with a Telecaster that has an oversized cavity routed to allow easy pickup installation. The guitar is carefully tuned to standard tuning (consistent tuning is important). We add a custom machined, mechanical, spring loaded strum arm with a tempered, .004” thick spring steel pick. We install the pickup, setting the distance from the top of the pickup to the string to .093” +/- .010” (consistent set-up is essential). We then load and release the strum arm, capturing the result on a digital storage oscilloscope. We perform this process 5 times for a 3 pickup sample lot and average the results. This is repeated for every model we make.
I'm happy to be able to share some of this data with you today. I appreciate you guys being cool and patient with us as we work to give you all the tools you could ever want to make the best selection.
and the graph
Output Levels of Seymour Duncan in Milivolts
Guitar Pickup Reviews
Tone Journey
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