Seymour Duncan Custom Shop - 1960 'Bolin Burst' Les Paul® Joe Bonamassa ltd edition signed humbucker pickup set - PRE-ORDER
Please use the tabs below to read through the information about this product.
About Seymour Duncan Custom Shop
Seymour Duncan have long cemented themselves as the leading aftermarket pickup brand in the world, offering a staggering selection of models, and doing so affordably too. Throughout their range they have created iconic models that stand the test of time, popular for a variety of guitars and music styles. The Custom Shop is their most exclusive offerings and a separate entity to the main SD co. Developed and made by a very small team, the key three being Maricela Juarez, Derek Duncan or Seymour W. Duncan of whom you will more than likely see the initials of on most Custom Shop made pickups. These three people having personally made pickups for the likes of Slash, Billy Gibbons, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Steve Harris, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Steve Miller, Albert Collins, Eric Johnson, Joe Walsh, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Fogerty, Stevie Ray Vaughan and so many more.
About the JB 'Bolin Burst' humbucker set
I realise the ever growing lines of Joe Bonamassa signature guitar products is a somewhat polarising subject within the guitar world, but I personally feel items like these are less about Joe, and more about the vintage guitar they're based upon. So whether you are a die hard JB fan, or simply another deeply passionate vintage guitar fan, these pickups have their place for sure.
We all know of Joe's vast knowledge, even vaster collection and experience of handling/playing vintage instruments, so when he covets a specific instrument, it surely must be a particularly special one. That's the case with his 1960 'Bolin Burst' Les Paul Standard, a guitar played by one of his hero's, Tommy Bolin. Tommy's career, through captivating solo music and work with Deep Purple, James Gang, Billy Cobham, and Zephyr influenced generations of rock & fusion guitarists, JB included.
What SD say:
"When Joe met Tommy’s late brother Johnnie, he inquired about a very special 1960 Gibson® Les Paul® that Tommy had played throughout his career. The “Bolin Burst” Les Paul® was originally purchased and owned by Tommy’s friend and long-time guitar tech, David Brown and became his replacement after his own Les Paul® goldtop was stolen at a Zephyr gig. The guitar features a unique American flag pickguard hand-painted by Brown in the early 70s. It was meant to be an American twist on the British Invasion’s Union Jack, which was so prevalent in artwork at the time. A Fender-style Bigsby® vibrato was also pulled off a Telecaster® and fixed on the Les Paul® at Tommy’s request to better suit his playing style. These modifications aside, it is acknowledged that the fine tone of this instrument came to a great extent from its original pickups: a very special set of P.A.F. humbuckers.
After an extensive 10-year search, Joe was able to locate and purchase this one-of-a-kind guitar from David Brown himself. Admiring the unique sonic qualities of this particular guitar, Joe approached his friends at Seymour Duncan to reverse engineer the P.A.F.s in order to create his newest pickup project. The Seymour Duncan Custom Shop was able to successfully recreate the iconic tone of the “Bolin Burst” pickups and Joe and the Bolin estate are now making them available to everyone.
The Joe Bonamassa “Bolin Burst” Humbucker set utilises Alnico 2 magnets to replicate the original’s sweet vintage tonality. The bridge pickup provides a dynamic and barky sound, while the neck pickup sings with warmth and clarity - especially through your favourite overdriven amp.
Aged in the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop to match the look of the original pickups, the first 500 sets of the “Bolin Burst” Humbuckers are built with bottom plates signed by Joe and Seymour W. Duncan and are available in limited edition numbered packaging.
A portion of the proceeds from each “Bolin Burst” Humbucker set will be donated to the Tommy Bolin Endowment and Tommy Bolin Memorial Fund."
Nerdy specs
Magnet - Alnico 2
Type - Passive
Wire type - 2 conductor
DCR neck - 8.66k
DCR bridge - 8.13k
Recommended wiring - Ultimately, this pickup model was closely designed to match an original set of 1960 PAF pickups in the original 'Bolin Burst' Les Paul.
Traditionally Les Pauls are seen wired with 500k pots and 0.022uF caps. So if you're looking to capture the same wiring specs as the Bolin Burst or other 'Burst' era Les Pauls, then these are the component specs to recreate that and recommended for this pickup set.
If you're looking for a quality Les Paul harness, then I also make those in house with my quality 'Signature Series' and 'Bumblebee Series' pre-wired kits. You can find those for Les Paul models here -
Signature Series kits for Les Paul
Bumblebee Series kits
What's included?
Inside the box you'll find the signed neck and bridge pickups, along with your mounting screws and springs for each, and a wiring guide which covers traditional wiring install.
Demos
Hear Joe discuss and play the 1960 'Bolin Burst' this pickup set was spec'd from, a guitar with a fun story, a fun re-discovery too!
Installation
These pickups are a direct replacement in terms of sizing and spec for a traditional Tele single coils. They are 2 conductor wired as standard. If by chance you aren't comfortable installing these pickups yourself, and are local to the Home of Tone, then I offer professional in-house installation. If you are installing them yourself, then I am of course here for any installation advise too.
Do you have them in stock?
I have secured limited stock of these, and this listing is to secure a set on PRE-ORDER. Stock is due in ASAP, but I will of course update those who place a pre-order with timescales as soon as I have updates from SD.
Why buy Seymour Duncan pickups from the Home of Tone?
The Home of Tone are an authorised main dealer for Seymour Duncan. What that means is stock is carried here on site for prompt service and dispatch as well as assurance you are ordering your new pickups for an official, authorised dealer. Having long been specialising in guitar electronics, I can offer you installation advise, as well as installation services on site along with any support required. As well as offering friendly, knowledgable advise prior to ordering too. I offer a broad range of quality hand made pre-wired kits, which may also help with your project. You'll also be supporting a small, independant business in the process too which is always hugely appreciated! Thank you for considering your new Seymour Duncan pickup set from the Home of Tone.
Ordering/shipping
Local pickup - If you are local and wish to collect any items or order in advance for collection on a specific day, then you can still place an order online and select local pickup at the checkout. Or drop me a message and I'll reserve the items ready for your visit.
For online ordering and dispatch - In stock, non made to order items are processed and dispatched 4 days a week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
For orders that are placed on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday I have an order cut off time of 14:00GMT (with Royal Mail shipping services only) to allow me chance to process, pack and dispatch your order same day.
For non dispatch days (Saturday, Sunday, & Thursday) there is no order cut-off time, and these will be processed, packed and shipped on the closest following dispatch day.
I will always endeavor to fulfill orders as quickly as I can and if you have specific requirements for a delivery date please do let me know and hopefully I can help.
If you have more queries regarding order placing, processing, fulfillment or general shipping then please see the FAQ page HERE
Please use the tabs below to read through the information about this product.
About Seymour Duncan Custom Shop
Seymour Duncan have long cemented themselves as the leading aftermarket pickup brand in the world, offering a staggering selection of models, and doing so affordably too. Throughout their range they have created iconic models that stand the test of time, popular for a variety of guitars and music styles. The Custom Shop is their most exclusive offerings and a separate entity to the main SD co. Developed and made by a very small team, the key three being Maricela Juarez, Derek Duncan or Seymour W. Duncan of whom you will more than likely see the initials of on most Custom Shop made pickups. These three people having personally made pickups for the likes of Slash, Billy Gibbons, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Steve Harris, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Steve Miller, Albert Collins, Eric Johnson, Joe Walsh, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Fogerty, Stevie Ray Vaughan and so many more.
About the JB 'Bolin Burst' humbucker set
I realise the ever growing lines of Joe Bonamassa signature guitar products is a somewhat polarising subject within the guitar world, but I personally feel items like these are less about Joe, and more about the vintage guitar they're based upon. So whether you are a die hard JB fan, or simply another deeply passionate vintage guitar fan, these pickups have their place for sure.
We all know of Joe's vast knowledge, even vaster collection and experience of handling/playing vintage instruments, so when he covets a specific instrument, it surely must be a particularly special one. That's the case with his 1960 'Bolin Burst' Les Paul Standard, a guitar played by one of his hero's, Tommy Bolin. Tommy's career, through captivating solo music and work with Deep Purple, James Gang, Billy Cobham, and Zephyr influenced generations of rock & fusion guitarists, JB included.
What SD say:
"When Joe met Tommy’s late brother Johnnie, he inquired about a very special 1960 Gibson® Les Paul® that Tommy had played throughout his career. The “Bolin Burst” Les Paul® was originally purchased and owned by Tommy’s friend and long-time guitar tech, David Brown and became his replacement after his own Les Paul® goldtop was stolen at a Zephyr gig. The guitar features a unique American flag pickguard hand-painted by Brown in the early 70s. It was meant to be an American twist on the British Invasion’s Union Jack, which was so prevalent in artwork at the time. A Fender-style Bigsby® vibrato was also pulled off a Telecaster® and fixed on the Les Paul® at Tommy’s request to better suit his playing style. These modifications aside, it is acknowledged that the fine tone of this instrument came to a great extent from its original pickups: a very special set of P.A.F. humbuckers.
After an extensive 10-year search, Joe was able to locate and purchase this one-of-a-kind guitar from David Brown himself. Admiring the unique sonic qualities of this particular guitar, Joe approached his friends at Seymour Duncan to reverse engineer the P.A.F.s in order to create his newest pickup project. The Seymour Duncan Custom Shop was able to successfully recreate the iconic tone of the “Bolin Burst” pickups and Joe and the Bolin estate are now making them available to everyone.
The Joe Bonamassa “Bolin Burst” Humbucker set utilises Alnico 2 magnets to replicate the original’s sweet vintage tonality. The bridge pickup provides a dynamic and barky sound, while the neck pickup sings with warmth and clarity - especially through your favourite overdriven amp.
Aged in the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop to match the look of the original pickups, the first 500 sets of the “Bolin Burst” Humbuckers are built with bottom plates signed by Joe and Seymour W. Duncan and are available in limited edition numbered packaging.
A portion of the proceeds from each “Bolin Burst” Humbucker set will be donated to the Tommy Bolin Endowment and Tommy Bolin Memorial Fund."
Nerdy specs
Magnet - Alnico 2
Type - Passive
Wire type - 2 conductor
DCR neck - 8.66k
DCR bridge - 8.13k
Recommended wiring - Ultimately, this pickup model was closely designed to match an original set of 1960 PAF pickups in the original 'Bolin Burst' Les Paul.
Traditionally Les Pauls are seen wired with 500k pots and 0.022uF caps. So if you're looking to capture the same wiring specs as the Bolin Burst or other 'Burst' era Les Pauls, then these are the component specs to recreate that and recommended for this pickup set.
If you're looking for a quality Les Paul harness, then I also make those in house with my quality 'Signature Series' and 'Bumblebee Series' pre-wired kits. You can find those for Les Paul models here -
Signature Series kits for Les Paul
Bumblebee Series kits
What's included?
Inside the box you'll find the signed neck and bridge pickups, along with your mounting screws and springs for each, and a wiring guide which covers traditional wiring install.
Demos
Hear Joe discuss and play the 1960 'Bolin Burst' this pickup set was spec'd from, a guitar with a fun story, a fun re-discovery too!
Installation
These pickups are a direct replacement in terms of sizing and spec for a traditional Tele single coils. They are 2 conductor wired as standard. If by chance you aren't comfortable installing these pickups yourself, and are local to the Home of Tone, then I offer professional in-house installation. If you are installing them yourself, then I am of course here for any installation advise too.
Do you have them in stock?
I have secured limited stock of these, and this listing is to secure a set on PRE-ORDER. Stock is due in ASAP, but I will of course update those who place a pre-order with timescales as soon as I have updates from SD.
Why buy Seymour Duncan pickups from the Home of Tone?
The Home of Tone are an authorised main dealer for Seymour Duncan. What that means is stock is carried here on site for prompt service and dispatch as well as assurance you are ordering your new pickups for an official, authorised dealer. Having long been specialising in guitar electronics, I can offer you installation advise, as well as installation services on site along with any support required. As well as offering friendly, knowledgable advise prior to ordering too. I offer a broad range of quality hand made pre-wired kits, which may also help with your project. You'll also be supporting a small, independant business in the process too which is always hugely appreciated! Thank you for considering your new Seymour Duncan pickup set from the Home of Tone.
Ordering/shipping
Local pickup - If you are local and wish to collect any items or order in advance for collection on a specific day, then you can still place an order online and select local pickup at the checkout. Or drop me a message and I'll reserve the items ready for your visit.
For online ordering and dispatch - In stock, non made to order items are processed and dispatched 4 days a week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
For orders that are placed on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday I have an order cut off time of 14:00GMT (with Royal Mail shipping services only) to allow me chance to process, pack and dispatch your order same day.
For non dispatch days (Saturday, Sunday, & Thursday) there is no order cut-off time, and these will be processed, packed and shipped on the closest following dispatch day.
I will always endeavor to fulfill orders as quickly as I can and if you have specific requirements for a delivery date please do let me know and hopefully I can help.
If you have more queries regarding order placing, processing, fulfillment or general shipping then please see the FAQ page HERE