Seymour Duncan has announced a bundle of new pickup models for 2010 and some sound quite tasty.

Alnico II Pro Slash

This is modelled after the pickup in Slash’s main recording Les Paul.  Apparently Slash intends to use it to make his live guitars sound more like his favourite studio instrument. That sounds like a pretty good endorsement to us.

As the name suggests, this uses Alnico II magnets but it’s wound a little hotter to push a Les Paul that bit closer to Slash’s signature crunch and sustain.  Single conductor cable and wooden spacers rock it old school.

Yngwie J. Malmsteen STK-S10 YJM Fury

The title is a mouthful.  The YJM pickups are stacked, humbuckers.  The range includes a bridge and a neck/middle pickup.  The bridge pickup is voiced for agression and power. The neck/middle version, more for sweetness and fluidity (apparently).  These guys are pre-installed in the YJM Strat or can be retro-fitted into pretty much any S-Type guitar.

SHPR-2b P-Rails Hot

Talk about versatility.  The P-Rails are designed for those who want all the sounds they can get.  Used with Seymour Duncan’s Triple-Shot mounting ring, these pickups can give you a humbucker, P-90 or single-coil tone.  Effectively, it’s three pickups in one.  These are hot – they use Alnico 8 magnets which rival ceramics but maintain the Alnico tone.  They’ll retro-fit into humbucker-equipped guitars and can be used for Trembucker spacing.  Using a regular push-pull or toggle you can get P-90/humbucker sounds but you’ll probably want to get the Triple-Shot to allow even more sounds.

Blackouts AHB-3 Thomson EMTY

The latest in the Blackouts range.  The AHB-3 Thomson pickups are created to Mick Thomson’s personal specs – namely, tighter low end and more top end cut.  These are active pickups and come with all of the necessary bits and pieces, including pots, jack and battery clip.  They’re available as a 2-pickup set or as individual neck or bridge.

SSL-1 Vintage Staggered 7-String & SSL-5 Custom Staggered 7-String

Production versions of the custom pickups SD have been making for a while.  The Vintage Staggered has a deep, punchy tone and strat-like.  Duncan tell us it’s for anyone looking for a vintage-style sound in a 7-string format.

The Custom Staggered keeps that vintage sound but fills it out.  It’s a bit overwound and more sustain and cut are available .

SH-10 Full Shred 7-String & SH-14 Custom 5 7 String Humbuckers

The Custom 5 is, again, for players wanting classic humbucker tones but in 7-string format. Alnico 5 magnets and an output suitable for everything from pop to heavy rock.  PAF-style sounds for 7-stringers.

No vintage sounds for the Full Shred though.  It’s designed for metal with a clear top, well defined lower end, and, more importantly, an agressive midrange.  The Full Shred is available with 4-conductor cables and in both neck and bridge versions.

More at Seymour Duncan.