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Seymour Duncan SH-8b Invader guitar pickup review

Features (10/10)

Ceramic magnets
4 conductor wire
D.C. resistance - 16.8kOhm
Wide pole pieces make it suitable both for tremolo and fixed bridges (there is no trembucker version)

The SH-8b Invader is a bridge version of a popular high output pickup made by Seymour Duncan. It has an aggressive tone and it's well suited for all kinds of heavy music styles. Its pole pieces are so wide that there is no need for a "trembucker" version (which would have a wider spacing between the pole pieces to match the string spacing in tremolo bridges). Its coils can be splitted as it has a 4 conductor wire.

Sound 10/10

The SH-8b has some really unique tonal capabilities. It has a clear character, it cuts through with impressive dynamics and aggression but it's also a pleasantly sounding humbucker. It can sound so sweet in lead parts that there's no need for switching to the neck position. Palm muted notes come out of this Duncan with some serious attitude and make you wanna hit the strings harder. Pinched harmonics sound awesome on all strings. Clean tones can be a little bit distorted when the SH-8b is too close to the strings, but there's always a nice, soft, passive and classic quality there. I used three guitars for testing this pickup:

B.C. Rich NJ Bich (neck-through maple neck, nato body, ebony fretboard, t-o-m bridge with tailpiece),
Ibanez RGT6EXFX (basswood body, maple neck-through neck, rosewood fingerboard, fixed bridge),
Dean Vendetta 4.0 Floyd (mahogany body with flame maple top, neck-through maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, Floyd Rose bridge)

It appears to me that the Invader is best suited for guitars that sound warm and powerful by themselves. The NJ Bich made a perfect match for it, while the Ibanez RGT6EXFX lacked some depth and punch in comparison.