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.
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.
