Maricela "MJ" Juarez Interview (Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Manager)

Learn More: https://bit.ly/SeymourDuncanMJ Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTube “The heart and soul of your guitar has to connect with your own heart and soul,” says Seymour Duncan Custom Shop manager Maricela “MJ” Juarez. Juarez has worked alongside Seymour Duncan for more than 30 years, establishing herself as the legendary pickup builder’s most trusted collaborator. She’s also become a custom pickup builder to the stars, helping the guitar’s most demanding tone junkies connect better with their instruments. Some say she’s wound more pickups heard on gold and platinum records than anyone. Her clientele includes Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Eddie Van Halen, Vince Gill, Slash, James Taylor, Peter Frampton, Warren DeMartini, and Steve Miller—not to mention countless discerning players around the globe. Juarez began her Duncan tenure as a production-floor pickup winder, but Seymour eventually asked her to manage the growing Custom Shop. It’s expanded so fast that they recently brought in Seymour’s son Derek to help manage. Nowadays they’re only partially joking when they refer to Juarez as the Queen of the Custom Shop. But like so many things in life and music, her path to pickup-winding royalty was anything but what she’d planned. Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Manager has wound pickups for a who’s-who of guitar gods—Clapton, Gibbons, Van Halen, Holdsworth, Harrison, and many more. But she’s revered for more than her tonal sensibilities. Learn More: https://bit.ly/SeymourDuncanMJ Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTube Win Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPG Don't Miss a Rundown: http://bit.ly/RIgRundownENL Merch & Magazines: https://shop.premierguitar.com PG's Facebook:   / premierguitar   PG's Instagram:   / premierguitar   PG's Twitter:   / premierguitar   PG's TikTok:   / premierguitar   © Copyright Gearhead Communications LLC, 2023 00:00 - Maricela “MJ” Juarez Intro & 40th Anniversary Celebration 00:40 - MJ's Unusual Start at Seymour Duncan 03:12 - Learning from Seymour and Remember Pickup Basics 06:36 - Custom Order Notes from Guitar Legends 09:30 - MJ's Favorite Pickup to Wind 12:28 - Special 40th Anniversary Pickups Tease 13:00 - Shaping Musical History 14:00 - MJ's Most-Difficult Customer 14:40 - Working with Slash 15:47 - Amazing Billy F. Gibbons #guitar #seymourduncan #pickups