New Joe Bonamassa pickups on the horizon

[SteveGlitch]

Blues legend Bonamassa and Seymour Duncan have paired up for yet another pickups set release.

I went ahead and ordered a set as they are limited to 800 sets worldwide.

I am thinking I will take the Green Magic Pickups out of the ESP LTD Eclipse and throw these in there or just get a cheap SG/ES335 since I own neither and put them in there


Narf.

 

[VonBonfire]

I'll be interested to hear them, especially if you find a decent budget 335 to put them in. Not sure if your ESP LTD is a darker guitar but my LP knockoff definitely is so I am not particularly enthused by a neck pickup geared for a 335 listed as "stratty and clear" and a bridge that is "punchy and dark". I just took out a Seth pickup that could maybe be described that way out of the neck of my Edwards ES. It was clear. Too clear. It cut through the mix but was always a little too bright and a little short on output through a Twin. I have preferred a 490r and a 57 classic more in my ES stuff. Honestly even liked the Probucker II better in my Sheraton than a Seth in my ES, yet the Seth's are highly revered apparently. The bridge Seth worked good in my dark Paul's neck, that's how clear.....

Not enthused by the price of these either but I guess at least it ain't thro-bak level insanity. I have had a few different Duncans now and have yet to be blown away by any of them yet. If these are anything tone wise like Lucky Peterson's 335 they might be dang good.

 

[SteveGlitch]

I'll be interested to hear them, especially if you find a decent budget 335 to put them in. Not sure if your ESP LTD is a darker guitar but my LP knockoff definitely is so I am not particularly enthused by a neck pickup geared for a 335 listed as "stratty and clear" and a bridge that is "punchy and dark". I just took out a Seth pickup that could maybe be described that way out of the neck of my Edwards ES. It was clear. Too clear. It cut through the mix but was always a little too bright and a little short on output through a Twin. I have preferred a 490r and a 57 classic more in my ES stuff. Honestly even liked the Probucker II better in my Sheraton than a Seth in my ES, yet the Seth's are highly revered apparently. The bridge Seth worked good in my dark Paul's neck, that's how clear.....

Not enthused by the price of these either but I guess at least it ain't thro-bak level insanity. I have had a few different Duncans now and have yet to be blown away by any of them yet. If these are anything tone wise like Lucky Peterson's 335 they might be dang good.

Hey there!

I'd rank the Esp Ltd EC1000 (Eclipse) at around the same level of an Epiphone 1959 Les Paul. I wouldn't say in my experience that the Eclipse is any brighter than a standard Epiphone 1959 LP.

The Green Magics are an amazing set from the short time I've spent with them but I havent had alot of time enough to know the in's and out's.

Before I put the Green Magic set in, the Eclipse originally came stock with the JB/59 set which is, like the Seth's, highly revered. I plugged in the Eclipse, and out of the box, I hated the sound so those Seymour Duncan's had to go, too brittle to me. The Green Magic's seemed to remedy this issue and proved that the issue was the pickups and not the guitar. I'm happy with the way the Green Magics sound but because of that middle position being flipped, they can be a bit gimmicky. I just don't use my Eclipse all that much and think that could possibly change with these.

I do know that the Green Magics are very honky, very mid-range vocal like quality, so they are great for lead. I'm not sure how they would do for rhythm playing. In the video, I was playing around alot with the tone controls because the Green Magics interact so well with the tone controls.

Finding those magical pickups makes all the difference, I have an Ibanez JS100 that I really hated because the bridge pickup was so brittle. I have seen people play them online and get great tone, the guitar was given to me and I'm not sure where the gifter got it from or if I just got a lemon, I couldn't get good sound from it. I didn't use it for like 10 years, one day I decided to put in some Fender Kingfish PAF style pickups and now it sounds like a beast- one of my favorite guitars now. I know I'll never replace them.

How the Eclipse sounds currently:


Compared to the sound of my Les Paul (when it had the Burstbuckers)


My Les Paul no longer has the USA Burstbuckers 1&2 though, I swapped them out for Bare Knuckle Peacemaker pickups seen here:


Which are PAF's but very unique sounding, definitely have their own character. Which reminds me, I gotta do a video/demo of those soon, maybe this coming weekend.


All that said,
I wonder if your guitar would benefit from a new wiring scheme. Something that is made specifically to cut the highs, add lows and not cut the lows. Similar to the Greassbucket wiring diagram for the Strat. That would darken the guitar a bit for sure.

Either way, I'll be making a video whichever way I decide to go. This way you can hear The sounds. Yeah, the price sucks. And yet, can't imagine they will be easy to get a hold of for long.

 

[VonBonfire]

The Green Magics are an amazing set from the short time I've spent with them but I havent had alot of time enough to know the in's and out's.

Before I put the Green Magic set in, the Eclipse originally came stock with the JB/59 set which is, like the Seth's, highly revered. I plugged in the Eclipse, and out of the box, I hated the sound so those Seymour Duncan's had to go, too brittle to me. The Green Magic's seemed to remedy this issue and proved that the issue was the pickups and not the guitar. I'm happy with the way the Green Magics sound but because of that middle position being flipped, they can be a bit gimmicky. I just don't use my Eclipse all that much and think that could possibly change with these.

I do know that the Green Magics are very honky, very mid-range vocal like quality, so they are great for lead. I'm not sure how they would do for rhythm playing. In the video, I was playing around alot with the tone controls because the Green Magics interact so well with the tone controls.

My Edwards LP also came with that 59/JB set. I thought the 59 would be a solid keeper but I found it dull and lifeless. I liked the JB better but it still came out as well.

The Green Magics sound like they would be a good set. I love getting a good honk off the bridge pickups alone with the treble rolled back to about 4 or 5. The 57's do that well in my ES'.

I wonder if your guitar would benefit from a new wiring scheme. Something that is made specifically to cut the highs, add lows and not cut the lows. Similar to the Greassbucket wiring diagram for the Strat. That would darken the guitar a bit for sure.

Either way, I'll be making a video whichever way I decide to go. This way you can hear The sounds. Yeah, the price sucks. And yet, can't imagine they will be easy to get a hold of for long.

The ES has 50's wiring. I just got the 57 in the neck the other day so we'll see how it works out. I replaced the Seth in the bridge with a 57 about a year ago and it was an instant improvement. The Seth couldn't honk like the '57.

I doubt you'll lose much if any money on the Joe 335 pickups. A lof of what has his name on it seems to be limited run items that retain the value so even if you don't like them you probably shouldn't take too big a hit.

Thanks for the thorough post Steve.

 

[SteveGlitch]

My Edwards LP also came with that 59/JB set. I thought the 59 would be a solid keeper but I found it dull and lifeless. I liked the JB better but it still came out as well.

The Green Magics sound like they would be a good set. I love getting a good honk off the bridge pickups alone with the treble rolled back to about 4 or 5. The 57's do that well in my ES'.

The ES has 50's wiring. I just got the 57 in the neck the other day so we'll see how it works out. I replaced the Seth in the bridge with a 57 about a year ago and it was an instant improvement. The Seth couldn't honk like the '57.

I doubt you'll lose much if any money on the Joe 335 pickups. A lof of what has his name on it seems to be limited run items that retain the value so even if you don't like them you probably shouldn't take too big a hit.

Thanks for the thorough post Steve.

I see, strange that it's so bright. I didn't think Seth's would be that bright in the guitar with 50's wiring, regardless, I did find this:


I will try and make a couple videos of the Esp with the Green Magics this weekend. I'm not sure how long it will take me to put those pickups into the guitar or into another one.

And no problem!

 

[VonBonfire]

I see, strange that it's so bright. I didn't think Seth's would be that bright in the guitar with 50's wiring, regardless, I did find this:

I mean, they aren't insanely bright or bad sounding, they just aren't as smooth in the neck highs as a '57 and they can't honk in the bridge like a '57. I was kind of disappointed because so many people highly revere them and Seth Lover, who designed the original 'bucker had a hand in them.

Having had several different ES guitars, one equipped with '57's and another with Seth's, there was really no comparison. Through a Twin the '57's are just the superior pickup IMO. I generally lower my pickups way down in the ring and then raise the pole pieces to taste. I think part of it is the Seth's are supposedly mismatched in the windings like a vintage PAF might've/would've been (does anyone really know?), resulting in a brighter overall tone. I could be wrong about that but it's something I have heard mentioned many times.

 

[SteveGlitch]

I mean, they aren't insanely bright or bad sounding, they just aren't as smooth in the neck highs as a '57 and they can't honk in the bridge like a '57. I was kind of disappointed because so many people highly revere them and Seth Lover, who designed the original 'bucker had a hand in them.

Having had several different ES guitars, one equipped with '57's and another with Seth's, there was really no comparison. Through a Twin the '57's are just the superior pickup IMO. I generally lower my pickups way down in the ring and then raise the pole pieces to taste. I think part of it is the Seth's are supposedly mismatched in the windings like a vintage PAF might've/would've been (does anyone really know?), resulting in a brighter overall tone. I could be wrong about that but it's something I have heard mentioned many times.

I think you're correct.

The Bonamassa Blonde Dot pickups are mismatched, one is an alnico 2 and the other a 4. Go figure, a mismatched pair is said to be more balanced He claims them to be the most balanced out of all his guitars.

I believe the Fender Kingfish pickups are mismatched as well, featuring an alnico 3 and an alnico 5. I'm curious to how the Bonamassa will stack up since the Kingfish pickups are actually one of my all time favorite sets. They seem super balanced to me and have a cool middle position sound but the middle is brighter than the bridge position so you have to be really careful

While the Green Magic are both Alnico 2 and wound 1k apart. This is all making me want to play around with the Esp because I haven't tried them on my Marshall Studio JTM45 lol

 

[VonBonfire]

I think you're correct.

The Bonamassa Blonde Dot pickups are mismatched, one is an alnico 2 and the other a 4. Go figure, a mismatched pair is said to be more balanced He claims them to be the most balanced out of all his guitars.

I believe the Fender Kingfish pickups are mismatched as well, featuring an alnico 3 and an alnico 5. I'm curious to how the Bonamassa will stack up since the Kingfish pickups are actually one of my all time favorite sets. They seem super balanced to me and have a cool middle position sound but the middle is brighter than the bridge position so you have to be really careful

While the Green Magic are both Alnico 2 and wound 1k apart. This is all making me want to play around with the Esp because I haven't tried them on my Marshall Studio JTM45 lol

One way or the other hearing your feedback on all these sets makes a great reference for down the road and I appreciate you spending your money and taking the time to share the results here. I'm trying not to buy any more guitars but there is the Emily Wolfe White Wolf Sheraton and a pretty sweet Japan Taste Seventy Seven guitars ES with a micarta fingerboard, both of which are on a short list of mine since I sold all my other stuff except for an Edwards ES and LP. Might have to grab a 2nd ES as backup depending on how busy I get again. Every time I tell myself "ok I'm all done buying stuff" I wind up eating my words. It's really annoying.....and expensive haha. But my wife has already done this for her own acoustic stuff so hey, she can't say shit haha!

 

[UGP]

Hey there!

I'd rank the Esp Ltd EC1000 (Eclipse) at around the same level of an Epiphone 1959 Les Paul. I wouldn't say in my experience that the Eclipse is any brighter than a standard Epiphone 1959 LP.

The Green Magics are an amazing set from the short time I've spent with them but I havent had alot of time enough to know the in's and out's.

Before I put the Green Magic set in, the Eclipse originally came stock with the JB/59 set which is, like the Seth's, highly revered. I plugged in the Eclipse, and out of the box, I hated the sound so those Seymour Duncan's had to go, too brittle to me. The Green Magic's seemed to remedy this issue and proved that the issue was the pickups and not the guitar. I'm happy with the way the Green Magics sound but because of that middle position being flipped, they can be a bit gimmicky. I just don't use my Eclipse all that much and think that could possibly change with these.

I do know that the Green Magics are very honky, very mid-range vocal like quality, so they are great for lead. I'm not sure how they would do for rhythm playing. In the video, I was playing around alot with the tone controls because the Green Magics interact so well with the tone controls.

Finding those magical pickups makes all the difference, I have an Ibanez JS100 that I really hated because the bridge pickup was so brittle. I have seen people play them online and get great tone, the guitar was given to me and I'm not sure where the gifter got it from or if I just got a lemon, I couldn't get good sound from it. I didn't use it for like 10 years, one day I decided to put in some Fender Kingfish PAF style pickups and now it sounds like a beast- one of my favorite guitars now. I know I'll never replace them.

How the Eclipse sounds currently:


Compared to the sound of my Les Paul (when it had the Burstbuckers)


My Les Paul no longer has the USA Burstbuckers 1&2 though, I swapped them out for Bare Knuckle Peacemaker pickups seen here:


Which are PAF's but very unique sounding, definitely have their own character. Which reminds me, I gotta do a video/demo of those soon, maybe this coming weekend.


All that said,
I wonder if your guitar would benefit from a new wiring scheme. Something that is made specifically to cut the highs, add lows and not cut the lows. Similar to the Greassbucket wiring diagram for the Strat. That would darken the guitar a bit for sure.

Either way, I'll be making a video whichever way I decide to go. This way you can hear The sounds. Yeah, the price sucks. And yet, can't imagine they will be easy to get a hold of for long.

I wish I had hung on to my JS100. Always intended to upgrade the pickups but never did. The neck sounded great when played clean, but I could never get that guitar set up right…

 

[SteveGlitch]

One way or the other hearing your feedback on all these sets makes a great reference for down the road and I appreciate you spending your money and taking the time to share the results here.

Thanks, I appreciate that brother!!

One way or the other hearing your feedback on all these sets makes a great reference for down the road and I appreciate you spending your money and taking the time to share the results here. I'm trying not to buy any more guitars but there is the Emily Wolfe White Wolf Sheraton and a pretty sweet Japan Taste Seventy Seven guitars ES with a micarta fingerboard, both of which are on a short list of mine since I sold all my other stuff except for an Edwards ES and LP. Might have to grab a 2nd ES as backup depending on how busy I get again. Every time I tell myself "ok I'm all done buying stuff" I wind up eating my words. It's really annoying.....and expensive haha. But my wife has already done this for her own acoustic stuff so hey, she can't say shit haha!

I feel that, I'm the same way. I constantly tell myself "No, don't do it!" But then I still pull the trigger. I should be focusing on amps right now to be honest because I have too many guitars but I just saw that Epiphone released a Dave Grohl model, that looks amazing! I don't have a 335 so I'm looking at those and variations of.