Joe Bonamassa has another signature Seymour Duncan pickup set under his belt – and this one is inspired by the pawn shop SG that spawned his love for P-90s.
From vintage guitar shops to auctions and beyond, Bonamassa goes to great lengths to score rare pieces of gear. Sometimes, he finds beauties in more unlikely places, and it was a pawn shop guitar that ignited his love affair with P-90 pickups.
The guitar in question was a 1961 white Gibson SG, and now Seymour Duncan has faithfully recreated those underdog pickups as the Joe Bonamassa “Pawn Shop Special” 1961 P90 Set.
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Promising “airy highs, expressive midrange, and snarling overdrive response,” they’re wired with Alnico 4 magnets and have been given a custom wind.
Each set uses period-correct components to “bring the coveted Nerdville tone within reach of every P90 aficionado.”
Bonamassa discovered the ’61 SG while on tour after a tip off from a tech. It was the best heads-up he’s ever had.
“Very rarely do you find a special guitar in a pawn shop,” he says. “Well, one day in 2010 I was playing the Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was the middle of winter, and I heard there was a pawn shop around the corner with an interesting SG from one of the crew guys.
“I ended up bringing it back to the Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne. I plugged it in, and these particular P-90s were the P-90s that I was searching for. Over the years, I always thought they were either too dark or too bright; not for me. But this was the beginning of my love affair with P-90s.”
That love affair has since seen him drop a stunning signature Iridescent Copper Epiphone Les Paul, saddled with Epiphone-made P-90s.
The “Pawn Shop Special” 1961 P90 Set is the first time Seymour Duncan and Bonamassa have worked on signature P-90s. Previous collabs have included recreating Tommy Bolin’s PAFs and single-coils inspired by his obscure Greenburst Strat.
The first 610 sets sold will include a Nerdville #001 inventory tag, a certificate of authenticity signed by Bonamassa and Seymour Duncan, and limited edition packaging. The sets are priced at $375.
Check out Seymour Duncan for more.
Elsewhere, Bonamassa has shown off how drop D can be killer for the blues, revealing how “hiding” your pick can make you a more expressive player.
