“It’s interesting how something so subtle can be so dramatic on the player’s end”: Seymour Duncan supercharges two classic Billy Gibbons guitar tones with new signature Tele and Les Paul pickups

Seymour Duncan has partnered with Billy Gibbons to launch not one, but two signature electric guitar pickups, which elevate two classic ZZ Top tones through an assortment of single-coils and humbuckers.

The Red Devil – a new iteration of the ZZ Top icon’s Stratocaster-compatible humbucker – has been geared towards Telecasters, while the Hades Gates humbucker set is engineered for Les Pauls.

Naturally, both will produce their own distinct tones, but each new set has been fine-tuned to deliver Gibbons’ fiery hot Texas tone with some added oomph that previous sets don’t offer.

The Hades Gates humbuckers, for example, promise to be an evolution of Gibbons’ Pearly Gates P.A.F pickups – the same ‘pups that can be found in his coveted 1959 Les Paul Standard – bringing to the table added output and a hotter wind.

Hand-built in Santa Barbara, California, the Hades Gates humbuckers feature Alnico II magnets and are said to offer a more “fiery take” on the mid-forward, punchy sound that Gibbons and his Les Paul is responsible for.

These are available in a range of finishes and covers, from black and zebra to the more retro raw nickel with gold mesh covers.

“It took Pearly Gates and gave it an extra ‘bop,’” says Gibbons of the Hades Gates. “They offer a little extra output. When on stage, I think the essence of cutting through relies upon what emanates from the source.

“That’s the heart of what makes it sound so good. It’s interesting how something so subtle can be so dramatic on the player’s end.”

Continuing the theme of offering “extra heat”, the Red Devil Tele is a standalone mini-humbucker, which has been made available as a drop-in replacement bridge pickup for Fender’s single-cut (and, by extension, any T-style electric).

Again, a hotter wind that drives amps and pedals harder for a punchier output is utilized for the single-coil-sized humbucker, which is only available in black.

Prices for both new pickups start from $129.

In other Seymour Duncan news, the renowned pickup firm recently branched into the electric guitar string market, releasing the Antiquity string range.

Head over to Seymour Duncan to find out more.