Seymour Duncan brings the funk with standalone launch of Cory Wong signature Clear Machine pickups

Again in 2021, Fender teamed up with funk guitar master Cory Wong to create a new signature Stratocaster. 

Distinctive in its lovely Sapphire Blue clear lacquer end, the signature guitar additionally stands out sonically, with its trio of Seymour Duncan Cory Wong Clear Machine electric guitar pickups.

The Clear Machines have confirmed to be common sufficient because the guitar’s launch that Seymour Duncan has now made the pickups obtainable as a standalone set. You’ll be able to hear Wong exhibit their sonic capabilities beneath.

Primarily based on Seymour Duncan’s Antiquity Surf units (opens in new tab), the Clear Machines are designed to supply the squeaky-clean funk rhythm guitar tones that made Wong well-known, coupled with “singing” lead tones. 

Wong appreciated the Antiquity Surf single-coils, however felt he wanted a bit extra oomf from the set’s bridge pickup. On the identical time although, Wong liked the basic look of the single-coil trio on his Stratocaster, and did not need to rework the guitar into an HSS mannequin. 

So, with Seymour Duncan, Wong created a high-output, hum-cancelling stack bridge pickup with an Alnico V magnet. The center and neck single-coils, in the meantime, characteristic Alnico IVs. 

“I similar to the look of an SSS Strat, slightly than an HSS, however I just like the thickness and sound of that humbucker within the bridge,” Wong explains (opens in new tab) within the video above. “The one-coil within the bridge does not fairly have sufficient physique to it – it generally feels prefer it empties out – so we determined to strive an Alnico IV magnet within the neck and center, and a hum-cancelling, stacked Alnico V within the bridge.

“We wound them just a little hotter,” Wong went on. “It provides a very nice, spanky tone. It handles overdrives and distortions quite a bit higher than the softer-wound one. It captures that spanky, clear factor, however as quickly as you hit the overdrive, it nonetheless has the good, heat factor and it pushes the drive in a extremely pleasing means.”

Seymour Duncan’s Cory Wong signature Clear Machine pickups can be found now. The neck and center pickups ring up at $99, whereas the higher-output bridge pickup will set you again $119. The complete set, in the meantime, prices $317.

For more information on the pickups, go to Seymour Duncan (opens in new tab).