Seymour Duncan Antiquity Texas Hot Strat Set

The Antiquity Texas Hot is a set added to the Seymour Duncan menu in the mid 1990s. The intention is to replicate the look and the tone of a single coil pickups that’s been in play since the 1950s.

The appearance is achieved with dirt and grime, among other things. Seymour talks about it a little within the first 1:30 of this video:

Remember that this is an idea from the mid 1990s, prior to the ‘relic’ craze we are seeing these days. You do get the impression that some, if not most, of the purpose of the Antiquity line is to keep old guitars going. By the way of keeping them looking and sounding true to origins. Meaning that it’s not another en vogue product du jour.

Of course, this is a single coil set. So if you want the old tone with a new look, just use different covers and mounting screws. Boom! You’re there. However, these covers do actually get an aging process. Which is to say that they are not just molded with a color that just looks old. You know you want to have that sort of craftsmanship on display, don’t you?

The tone comes by something Seymour calls “Dun-aged”. What a fun designation, in the same sort of tongue-in-cheek spirit as “Seymourized”. With being “Dun-aged”, it’s essentially calibrating the magnet gauss strength. The goal is to replicate the tonal qualities of a 50-60 year old pickup. I’m not putting a stake down on how much a magnet may or may not lose strength over time. I will say that this technique is a way to reach a preferential result.

The Texas Hot set touches on what I say about 1950s single coils and the “Texas Tone” people seem to seek. 1950s single coils are not all that hot. The big SRV tone is a 1959 single coil set, some pedals, and blending several amps.

But Seymour likes to wind things a little hot, and the Texas Hot is his take on it. The neck and middle are only just slightly hotter. The bridge does have some heat. The voicing and resonant peak play a part too. As a package, these single coils can fill up some space.

These Antiquity Texas Hot single coils go in to my 1990 American Standard Stratocaster with a maple neck and board. I am using the Mojotone Solderless Strat Blender Harness, so install is a snap. This harness lets me blend in some neck to positions 1 and 2, and some bridge into positions 4 and 5. The Texas Hot pickups works very well with those switching and blending options.

The Texas Hot is a reasonably smokey and gritty set for single coils. Not overbearing by any means. There is some spank, but maybe not as much glass. Chimey warmth might be the best way to put it, especially on a clean amp tone. The middle Texas Hot is RWRP, meaning that you have some quack out of 2 and 4.

Getting in to the dirty amp tones, the Texas Hot single coils have a touch of a chewy growl to them. These are single coils and they do have the Custom Shop all over them. So you do get the articulation and clarity. The Texas Hot pickups will take overdrive and distortion very well. When I want to push the dirty amp channel into more saturation for heavier rock, things hold together.

Have a look at this demo. The first section is with backing tracks. Go to about the 8:00 mark to listen without a band mix:

Pretty versatile and they cover a lot of ground for a single coil option. That bit of push in the mids really comes through.

Let’s peek at some actual specs:

The Antiquity Texas Hot pickups are a solid offering. Worth the extra character, in my opinion. The “Dun-aged” magnets yield a little less string pull that results in nuance and more sustain. The neck and middle positions are a solid consideration with a humbucker in the bridge. Especially something like the Antiquity Humbucker, the Seth Lover, the Greenie, and so on. For my preferences, I think putting the Texas Hot bridge pickup in to a middle or neck position against a bridge humbucker would give good results as well.

For reference, this Seymour Duncan Antiquity Texas Hot Strat pickup set evaluation was conducted with a Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller.  Real cabs used are Marshall 1960B cabs loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s and G12M Greenbacks.

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