Les Pauls are famous for the tone the neck pickup produces. I feel that a Strat and Tele (in my opinion the two other ‘big ones’) also have an amazing neck pickup tone, but the Les Paul really shines and sings when you add some gain to it. Literally. If you have a great Les Paul, the neck pickup can be an immense reward on its own. The chunky, crunchy tone the bridge pickup can produce can be a bit harsh sometimes, and rolling down the tone pot might give you a sound that’s too fat, so the neck pickup is almost the natural choice. Unfortunately, it can be a very daunting task to find the right, proper neck pickup to match the tone of your guitar but more importantly: match the tone you have in your head! In this article I will explore six pickup options Seymour Duncan has to offer to make your Les Paul sing and howl.
SH-2 Jazz

The Jazz was the first dedicated neck pickup to roll off the hands off Seymour Duncan, and may have been one of the first after market pickups dedicated for the neck position ever! Despite the suggestive name, the Jazz isn’t just suited for Jazz. It’s got a very clean, clear tone with a bell-like ring to it, which makes it suitable for almost any style. When you roll down the volume pot you get a warmer tone but still very clean and articulate. It isn’t really chimey, like the Seth Lover neck pickup or as raunchy and gritty as the Pearly Gates; it’s a bit in between those tones. The bridge version of the Jazz is also an amazing pickup; it’s a bit fatter and juicier with a bit more ‘girth’ in the midrange and slightly hotter, too, which makes it in my opinion even better for hotter pickups than the SH-2n. If your technique is tight and clear, you’re gonna love the Jazz.

AHP-1n Alnico 2 Pro
For years, Slash played the stock Alnico 2 Pro, so the tone of this pickup might be considered a dead giveaway: Slash’ tone in a pickup! But that’s not really the case in my opinion. Surely it’s got the gritty yet slightly honky tone of Slash, but his tone is really in his fingers. The Alnico 2 Pro offers so much more. It’s very clear and warm but never mushes out. You can expect the Alnico 2 Pro to be very forgiving and easy to dial in, but if your guitar has a very warm voice of its own, the Alnico 2 Pro might turn out to be a bit too warm.

SH- PG1n Pearly Gates
The Pearly Gates bridge pickup was developed to give that raunchy, dirty Texas Blues rock tone, and the neck pickup was developed to match. But don’t let it fool you: it’s a great pickup to go with other bridge pickups, as well! It’s less raunchy and bold than the bridge version and has a cleaner, smoother voice. One of the traits many players are looking for is that ‘flutey’ tone in the neck pickup. A singing voice that slightly blooms open after you hit the string, that remains clear yet with a sweet howl in a quite vocal mid range. That’s exactly the tone the Pearly Gates neck pickup delivers. I really like this pickup to go with slightly hotter pickups, like the JB or the Custom 5 and even the Alternative 8 is a great companion.

SH-55n Seth Lover
The Seth Lover pickup set was a project of Seymour W. Duncan and Seth Lover in the early ’90s to come up with an improved ‘PAF’. The ’59 is also a take on the PAF, but the Seth Lover has a completely different voice. It’s got a smooth, soft high end and a strong mid range that doesn’t get crunchy or aggressive. I think that the Seth Lover is one of the kindest, sweetest sounding pickups I’ve ever come across. It responds perfectly to your picking yet remains kind and sweet with lots of clarity. It’s got that flute-like quality I talked about that the Pearly Gates has, but it also has a bit of chime and a bell-like ring, somewhat reminiscent of the Jazz. It isn’t an output monster by any means, but if you’re looking just for an amazing tone and output is less of a concern, consider the Seth Lover.

SH-12 Screamin’ Demon
The Screamin’ Demon was developed for George Lynch. He puts the Demon in the bridge position of a full maple strat and cranks his amp way up. The Screaming Demon will never mush out or get woofy because of its unique design and it’s that design that makes it such an amazing neck pickup. In the neck position, it’s about as hot as the Alnico 2 Pro, but the voicing is completely different. It’s a bit more modern, bit more edgy has a bit more bite in the upper mids. Nevertheless, the overall voice is,  airy, articulate and clean. I found that it responds very well to the volume pot. I use a 1 megaohm pot and a .47 micro Fahrad capacitor as my tone pot with this pickup. The result is that the tone pot doesn’t just shave off the highs when I roll it down; it also changes the voicing a bit. It goes from articulate, howling and flutey to fat, creamy, velvety and roaring. It’s amazing for almost any style, you just have to appreciate the looks of 2 rows of adjustable screws. Fortunately, the Customs Shop makes them with metal covers, too, if you so desire. For a complete setup aimed at versatility, I’d go with the PATB-3. I know; it was designed to go in a bridge position of a bright guitar with a tremolo, but it works amazingly well in a Les Paul.
Antiquity neck pickup
One of my favorite vintage styled humbuckers, the Antiquity. I really love this pickup in a Les Paul, because it simply ‘feels’ right. I know that ‘feel’ is very difficult to explain, if at all, but the Antiquity feel slinky, fluid, velvety. My fingers play what my ears want to hear and the pickups seem to make the tone. The position of my picking hand seems to matter greatly, even more so than with the other pickups I mentioned. The output isn’t very high, though, and it’s a perfect match for many other vintage styled pickups, like the (dedicated) Antiquity Bridge, the Pearly Gates or paired with a hotter single coil in the bridge position of your tele (just like Keith Richards’ Micawber!).

So whether you want a hotter pickup to go with your fire breathing monster in the bridge or a cleaner, softer version, there’s always the right option for you! Don’t forget that each neck pickup I mentioned (with the exception of the Antiquity)  is available in a selection of metal covers; chrome, nickel, gold and black chrome.  Thinking outside the box can yield amazing results, if you just dare to make the jump.