Bonamassa 50 Broadcaster Confusion

[sherryhead]

I just received what were listed as Joe Bonamassa 1950 Broadcaster pickups but....They're Not. Anybody reading this who's into Joe's 50 Broadcaster pickups, by now knows what they're all about. My pickups just say Broadcaster under Model name, and the neck is alnico 2 while the bridge is alnico 5. These are certainly Custom Shop but Not the alnico 4 bridge and alnico 2 bridge I expected--the pickups JB demoed in that YT video. There seems to be general confusion online about these pickups. People are selling them as "Bonamassa" 1950 Broadcaster pickups, but they're just not. At first, I thought, maybe they've sold out of the OG, initial run of 250 and they're now offering these as the so-called Built-To-Order versions?! But, I don't think so--I'm seeing the real ones all over the internet, while I can't find these pickups I received today Anywhere! I wonder if these are also (unaffiliated w Joe) Ltd run pickups in their own right....or one-offs that someone ordered then sold them as Joe B.'s, thinking no one would notice, as they are kinda close? Thing that pisses me of is the 5 mag in the bridge. Anyways, thanks for reading and if anyone out there could shed light on why I can't find any info on them @ SD's website, YouTube....Sweetwater & Reverb are pushing these as legit Bonamassa pickups! What am I missing here?!
PS: For some reason, I can't upload the picture of the box these came in that has all the specs listed in handwriting. Maybe later. Sorry to ramble--All The Best!

 

[Mincer]

Did you buy these directly from the Custom Shop?

 

[sherryhead]

Did you buy these directly from the Custom Shop?

Nah, I bought 'em offa Reverb....The pickups, the packaging are legit. I'm just not sure how these pickups are being kinda 'grandfathered-in' with Joe's pickups--especially by Sweetwater...

 

[sherryhead]

Nah, I bought 'em offa Reverb....The pickups, the packaging are legit. I'm just not sure how these pickups are being kinda 'grandfathered-in' with Joe's pickups--especially by Sweetwater...

I will send picks asap--for some reason, I couldn't just upload them from my phone

 

[beaubrummels]

Sounds like Sweetwater just sent an Antiquity Tele set instead of the Bonamassa 50. Are they aged?

The limited run are sold out, so any B50 now is just going to be a custom order with those specs, but not signed by Joe and all that.

 

[sherryhead]

Sounds like Sweetwater just sent an Antiquity Tele set instead of the Bonamassa 50. Are they aged?

The limited run are sold out, so any B50 now is just going to be a custom order with those specs, but not signed by Joe and all that.

Well, that was what I was hoping for--"built-to-order", right? So I'm expecting JB 1950 specs...Without the autographs and the pomp and circumstance...

The more and more I think about it: What's my problem, exactly?!? I got the neck pickup I Really, really want..The bridge p/u--however 'period correct ' it may be

 

[sherryhead]

Well, that was what I was hoping for--"built-to-order", right? So I'm expecting JB 1950 specs...Without the autographs and the pomp and circumstance...

The more and more I think about it: What's my problem, exactly?!? I got the neck pickup I Really, really want..The bridge p/u--however 'period correct ' it may be

Might be a little "Hot....

 

[beaubrummels]

Well, that was what I was hoping for--"built-to-order", right? So I'm expecting JB 1950 specs...Without the autographs and the pomp and circumstance...

The more and more I think about it: What's my problem, exactly?!? I got the neck pickup I Really, really want..The bridge p/u--however 'period correct ' it may be

FWIW I don't believe Fender ever used A4 poles in Telecaster pickups. Duncan makes Bonamassa pickups to sound like what Joe actually has in that one guitar, but they will go against the vintage recipe sometimes to do it. For example, the Amos pickups had A6 magnets for that reason.

 

[Chistopher]

How do you know the bridge is an A5? Does it say it on the pickup?

 

[jeremy]

im curious of the specs on what you got. the bonamassa set is quite different than a "normal" broadcaster set

 

[hamerfan]

Should look look like these

Joe Bonamassa 1950 Broadcaster Set by Seymour Duncan – Joe Bonamassa Official Store

Product Details: In the history of electric guitars, few are as iconic as the Fender Broadcaster®. As few as 250 of these instruments are believed to have been built from the fall of 1950 to the spring of 1951, before Fender transitioned the model to what we all know as the Telecaster® at the...

shop.jbonamassa.com

 

[sherryhead]

Ok, these are the pickups that were passed off as the Bonamassa models

 

[sherryhead]

Sounds like Sweetwater just sent an Antiquity Tele set instead of the Bonamassa 50. Are they aged?

The limited run are sold out, so any B50 now is just going to be a custom order with those specs, but not signed by Joe and all that.

Yeah, definitely some aging...Again, seemingly really cool pickups--just not the "JB's"

 

[sherryhead]

im curious of the specs on what you got. the bonamassa set is quite different than a "normal" broadcaster set

Thanks for responding, Jeremy--please see the below photo I was finally able to post

 

[jeremy]

so the specs look right other than the magnet. i bet thats a great sounding set of pups! shady that they sell it as the bonamassa set though.

 

[beaubrummels]

Sweetwater doesn't always know the specs of what they have. I got a R0 from them years ago and they described and believed the VOS factory aging was used wear and tear.

But I will say, a Custom Shop set of Broadcasters would still be way better than stock Antiquities. The stock Broadcaster is the best Tele bridge I've played and the Custom Shop pickups I have of other types have always had some detail in the sound that was just that last 1-5% of difference between sounding 'like' a million dollar record and sounding just like a million dollar record, compared to stock counterparts.

 

[sherryhead]

CS Bonamassa neck p/u--5.86k
CS Broadcaster neck p/u--6.11k
CS Bonamassa bridge p/u--9.25k
CS Broadcaster bridge p/u--9.27k

Alnico 5 vs the 4 in the Bonamassa set. Is This really a big deal?! I'm guessing not...and maybe that extra 'bite' in the bridge pickup i received would be beneficial considering I will be playing a lot more fingerstyle-type stuff on this guitar....
I guess for me its, like, the principal of the thing, y'know? But I think I will stick with these pickups after all. Thanks All!

 

[sherryhead]

so the specs look right other than the magnet. i bet thats a great sounding set of pups! shady that they sell it as the bonamassa set though.

Yeah, I'm pretty laidback about it--it's just the principle of it, really...Fwiw, I have lost sales that I put a Lot of work into, back in my music retail days, due to these seemingly negligable differences in specs.[One time, a misinformed Gretsch rep gave me the wrong f-hole sizes on a White Falcon reissue--my discriminating international client never let me forget about it, lol]