New (to me) Seymour Duncan DS-100

soundcreation · Post by **soundcreation** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 8:20 am

Don't ask that question!

we don't WANT people interested in them!

jacaranda · Post by **jacaranda** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:11 am

Are you kicking me out of here?

jacaranda · Post by **jacaranda** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:52 am

Could someone tell me what are the exact differences between a DS 250 and a DS 280?

soundcreation · Post by **soundcreation** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:39 am

jacaranda wrote:Could someone tell me what are the exact differences between a DS 250 and a DS 280?

Well...I'm basing this on the catalog for the 280's and my own 250 so....

the pickups....250 looking like SSL 1 and the 280 having Alnico 'beefed up'
my body is a book matched two piece; 280's are listed as being one piece

The nitro on the 280 is supposed to be unsealed. The 250 may or may not be. At first seeing some of the matte finishes on the 280's here I though that was what 'unsealed' meant but then I saw some 280's that looked pretty gloss to me (same as my 250) so who knows.

Finger board edges appear to be rolled on the few 280's I've seen. My 250 isn't.

That's about all I can tell so far.

megadrive · Post by **megadrive** » Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:12 am

and also the radius.

250 have the vintage Fender radius i.e 7,25
280 have the modern Fender radius i.e 9,50

but i do not agree concerning the body . in fact the 280 body in one piece
looks wrong as one friend of mine have one and the body is two pieces
well centred but two pieces.

the main differences in fact look to be the nitro unsealed and the Duncan Beef up and the radius

soundcreation · Post by **soundcreation** » Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:33 am

See this is what I mean about it being nearly impossible to tell sometimes.

Like megadrive's 280 he posted on page 10 or whatever it was.

It's finish looks totally gloss and identical to my 250. So how do we know the 250's weren't 'unsealed' lacquer as well? Again it's not like a matte finish means unsealed. unsealed just means they didn't use grain filler. mine certainly doesn't seem to have any grain filler apparent in the cavities. I'm not convinced that sealed/unsealed is a difference in the models.

His 'alnico beefed up' pickups have the exact same triangular base plate as mine. Different stickers yes, and the "1" on mine does suggest SSL's but still...totally conclusive? I don't think so.

megadrive · Post by **megadrive** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 7:28 am

forget my own guitar as initially Isibashi sold it to me for a 280 when in reality it is a 250 !

in fact they sold it like a 280 as the seller indicated to them it was one but it was wrong.

so that is normal my nitro is more " glossy" than the "280's unsealed nitro"
and one friend of mine leaving in Tokyo have the 2000 ESP catalog showing
the 250 like mine with Antiquity Texas Hot SD PUs in .

the beefup SD PU's are really differents of the SSL1. ( magnets , wire ;..)

soundcreation · Post by **soundcreation** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 8:22 am

megadrive wrote:forget my own guitar as initially Isibashi sold it to me for a 280 when in reality it is a 250 !

in fact they sold it like a 280 as the seller indicated to them it was one but it was wrong.

so that is normal my nitro is more " glossy" than the "280's unsealed nitro"
and one friend of mine leaving in Tokyo have the 2000 ESP catalog showing
the 250 like mine with Antiquity Texas Hot SD PUs in .

the beefup SD PU's are really differents of the SSL1. ( magnets , wire ;..)

yeah..but again....I've seen other 280's that were high gloss. And I know they were 280's.

I'm simply saying I don't think "gloss factor" for lack of a better term...determines if it's unsealed nitro or not. Look at Hahn guitars...his are all glossy and he doesn't seal his nitro.

As for the pickups who knows. The guy who sold me mine thought they were the beefed up but I think they are most likely the SSL1.

As I said...it's confusing and most likely always will be.

jacaranda · Post by **jacaranda** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:09 am

Thanks.
It's once again a little confusing.
Was there beefed up before the antiquity pickups comes in, megadrive?
And do you guys have a preference for one of the model you played (between the 250 and the 280 level)?

Japanesevintage · Post by **Japanesevintage** » Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:23 pm

soundcreation wrote:
megadrive wrote:forget my own guitar as initially Isibashi sold it to me for a 280 when in reality it is a 250 !

in fact they sold it like a 280 as the seller indicated to them it was one but it was wrong.

so that is normal my nitro is more " glossy" than the "280's unsealed nitro"
and one friend of mine leaving in Tokyo have the 2000 ESP catalog showing
the 250 like mine with Antiquity Texas Hot SD PUs in .

the beefup SD PU's are really differents of the SSL1. ( magnets , wire ;..)
yeah..but again....I've seen other 280's that were high gloss. And I know they were 280's.

I'm simply saying I don't think "gloss factor" for lack of a better term...determines if it's unsealed nitro or not. Look at Hahn guitars...his are all glossy and he doesn't seal his nitro.

As for the pickups who knows. The guy who sold me mine thought they were the beefed up but I think they are most likely the SSL1.

As I said...it's confusing and most likely always will be.

Hi,

Concerning the pickups:

As far as I know, Alnico-II and Alnico-V 'Beefed up' were introduced in the Vintage Pro line in 2000, when they switched to the 280 range, closer to Navigator specifications.

The previous Pros (DS-250) were significantly different (choice of wood, profile, radius, frets, comfort grip, finish...), and equipped with Antiquity Texas Hot pickups.

Early models, with overwounded SSL-1 pickups.

Moreover, 'Beefed up' stands for 'SSL-1 Power Boost'.

A friend of mine leaved me a DS-280R from 2003 (S03XXXXX serial on the back of the headstock) that he bought recently.

The resistance of each pickup is
Neck 7,20 - Middle 7,32 - Bridge 7,12

They are indeed referred to as 'SSL-1 Power Boost', even if you'll hardly find any information on them.

Concerning the finish, the 1998 catalog mention 'All lacquer' for the DS-250 Pro.
Sometimes pictures are misleading.
But an all lacquer DS-250 can't be confused with an unsealed lacquer DS-280 the instrument at hand.
These are truly different guitars, with a higher level of craftmanship on the last Pros (DS-280).

Furthermore, most of the sellers simply don't know what they sell.
Ishibashi sold Megadrive's DS-250M as a DS-280M.
My friend bought them his DS-280R last week.
Althought the model was written in the neck pickup cavity (DS-280R Pro) - and despite the late serial -, they sold it as a 250 Pro.
Finally, the shop where I bought my last 280 didn't even know the differences between a vintage standard and a vintage pro (althought the model was once again written in full in the pickup cavity).

In keeping with what you wrote, a special order is of course possible (as the black 'reverse' DS-280M-RV of Sugizo).
But all the 280 I've personally seen, and formally identified as such, were unsealed - and totally different from a 250.

Here's for example the naturally worned, unsealed all lacquer, DS-280R Pro that my friend purchased:

soundcreation · Post by **soundcreation** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 12:44 am

So then what does that mean about my DS250....because it's an earlier one regarding the pickups?

So they were essentially "beefed up" SSL 1's? But they didn't call them that?

Where did you get that information that 'Beefed up' stands for 'SSL-1 Power Boost'. ?

As for the finish on that 280...well yeah if it's been worn like that over time it's going to look faded. What about a 280 that's been kept in "like new" condition? What do those look like?

Still seems to me like a lot of speculative information without much substance aside from you making observations based on that one 280.

Japanesevintage · Post by **Japanesevintage** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 3:27 pm

soundcreation wrote:So then what does that mean about my DS250....because it's an earlier one regarding the pickups?

So they were essentially "beefed up" SSL 1's? But they didn't call them that?

Where did you get that information that 'Beefed up' stands for 'SSL-1 Power Boost'. ?

As for the finish on that 280...well yeah if it's been worn like that over time it's going to look faded. What about a 280 that's been kept in "like new" condition? What do those look like?

Still seems to me like a lot of speculative information without much substance aside from you making observations based on that one 280.

You do as you like, Soundcreation.
If my answers, based on my modest experience, seem to you like a lot of speculative information, please pay no attention to it.

All I can tell you is that a mint condition DS-280R (as the other one I own, presented below) looks like exactly the same. And it can't be confused with an all lacquer DS-250R.
I experience it daily.

Where did I also get that information that 'Beefed up' stands for 'SSL-1 Power Boost' ?
It's written in black and white on the bottom of the pickups.

soundcreation · Post by **soundcreation** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:53 pm

Fair enough.

Thanks for clearing more of that up.

Lumi71 · Post by **Lumi71** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:43 am

last answer was a bit ago, but very interesting thread..

boguht this recently
http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/a ... w106668771

ist still in Japan so i dont have more pics.

headstock says traditional series, but the body Looks like swamp ash to me.not the typicalash/sen grain...like on the other ds 100 2ts i saw...

soundcreation · Post by **soundcreation** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:12 am

Lumi71 wrote:last answer was a bit ago, but very interesting thread..

boguht this recently
http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/a ... w106668771

ist still in Japan so i dont have more pics.

headstock says traditional series, but the body Looks like swamp ash to me.not the typicalash/sen grain...like on the other ds 100 2ts i saw...

Swamp ash was pretty common on the Traditionals. I've seen a lot of them over the years on yahoo auctions japan.

Nice score. Even the traditions have specs that rival fender custom shop guitars.