Introducing The Joe Bonamassa "Greenburst" Stratocaster Pickup Set!

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Introducing The Joe Bonamassa "Greenburst" Stratocaster® Pickup Set!

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[TD]Pre-CBS Fender Stratocasters® have long held the mystique and imagination of Fender’s biggest fans. By early 1964, Fender had started to build their Strat® pickups with gray flatwork, and these gray bottom pickups were known for a notably punchy sound and higher output. Finding a pre-CBS Strat® with these rare pickups can be a challenge.

However, as Joe Bonamassa discovered, sometimes looking beyond a guitar’s originality can lead to uncovering a truly exceptional example. Joe’s 1964 Stratocaster® started its life with a three-tone sunburst finish and stock gray-bottom pickups, but was refinished with a unique “Greenburst”, which instantly captivated Joe. With the powerful sounding pickups, great playability, and striking look, Joe knew it was “an instant star”.

Lucky for guitar players everywhere, Joe Bonamassa has once again collaborated with the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop to offer the magic sound of one of his favorite instruments through a new set of signature gray bottom Strat® pickups. The Joe Bonamassa “Greenburst” Stratocaster® Set is made with period-correct wiring and staggered alnico 5 magnets. The gray bottom flatwork is pad printed with Joe’s signature, and the first 500 sets will be aged, and include limited edition packaging and a certificate of authenticity signed by Joe and Seymour W. Duncan.

Fans of Joe Bonamassa have seen the Greenburst Strat® light up the stage on tour with Joe, and now the powerful sound of “the coolest, most hideous guitar” in Joe’s collection can be attained in a Strat® of your own.[/TD]
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[Rex_Rocker]

Random thought, I would've loved it if he started blasting some Yngwie riffs through that 5150 in the background, LOL.

But in all seriousness, they sound great in the vid.

 

[jeremy]

just watched the video. seems like a great mid 60s strat set. interesting specs listed on the site. neck hotter than the rest by a bit

 

[Chistopher]

For a man who's best charting album has only sold 96,000 Joey B sure has a ton of signature pickups.

They sound pretty cool though

 

[Mincer]

Thing is...Joey B moves a lot of gear. There are a lot of people who like anything he puts his name on. He *does* have a good ear for great sounding pickups, though.

 

[GuitarStv]

just watched the video. seems like a great mid 60s strat set. interesting specs listed on the site. neck hotter than the rest by a bit

Yeah, that's weird. I thought they had misprinted it on the site and that was the bridge resistance. Not sure I'd want a hotter neck on a strat set.

 

[ErikH]

And the song he is playing at the beginning, "Love Ain't A Love Song".

I don't need Strat pickups but if I did......hmmm.

 

[ICTGoober]

Gotta admit, they do sound good.

 

[hamerfan]

What's the special twist with them?

 

[hamerfan]

Strong neck pup! Me not likely.

Magnets:
Neck - Alnico 5

Middle - Alnico 5

Bridge - Alnico 5



DC Resistance:

Neck - 6.62k

Middle - 5.86

Bridge - 5.86k

 

[jeremy]

still sounds balanced in the video, they sound really good

 

[ErikH]

That's not even a 1k difference. Not enough to make the output be overly noticeably different anyway. Sound-wise, the video sounds balanced.

 

[jeremy]

oh, i disagree. for 42 wire with a similar wind, the difference between a 6k and 6.5k pup is noticeable to me. so i wonder if the wind is different on the neck?

 

[robertkoa]

These have a hard in your face sound , but I can see how some would like them .

Not pretty sounding Strat pickups ....although maybe with reverb and delay .

But what I like abput them is Bonamassa says they sound different and they really really do .

I used To hear demos of early 60's Strats and you could not tell the difference between them and the modern ones [ depending upon which modern ones of course ] .

But I don't have a great ear for pickup differences and these are very obvious and Joe B is playing them in a very percussive way .

I have not followed Bonamassa or anyone in a long time but it is amazing how much better he has gotten every 10 years or so....

He absorbed [as he admits ] a lot from Eric Johnson but he may be more complete in some ways .....

 

[Artie]

Yup. Sound great. Another cool thing . . . given that they're signature Custom Shop pups, they're only about $50 more than say, a Classic Strat Plus set.

 

[beaubrummels]

That's not even a 1k difference. Not enough to make the output be overly noticeably different anyway. Sound-wise, the video sounds balanced.

I've had 5.9k, 6.0k and 6.5k in my 66 Strat and swapped them around and there's a tone that follows the pickup position. That extra 0.5k in the neck can tame the snap and twang noticeably.

 

[SonicMage117]

I have them and love them, they are balanced very well
https://youtu.be/WeQXarIA2ig?si=ZiGXjG-CAnxckcy6

 

[jeremy]

can you compare the cradle rock and greenburst pups?

 

[SonicMage117]

can you compare the cradle rock and greenburst pups?

Here's in my own words, best way I can describe it at least:


So far...

The Seymour Duncan Cradle Rock '63 set has been far more classic strat sounding - where you would pretty much know what to expect. Very Glassy sounding, I'd say somewhere between the Seymour Duncan Hendrix set and the Silver Sky JM pickups. Articulate, milky, definitely in that SRV territory. I wouldn't say it has alot of anything that would make it stand out or unique in a collection of 60's-80's strats. Like the Hendrix or Mother sets, when someone hears this, they may think "This is what a strat sounds like". The ideal sounds on a strat.

The Greenburst set sounds very different. A little less treble, more bass and mids projection so I feel like it's fair to say that the Greenburst set makes your sss guitar sound more like a power strat sound, strong but stays clear and doesn't muddy up. For a 64 set, to me this sounds more like a late 60's/early 70's set in both sound and feel. I feel like this set is very unique and would stand out from other strats in a collection of 60's-80's strats. You can feel the gray bottoms working, I feel like.

I'm currently waiting on a Stormbringer set, I can't wait for those. I've been experimenting with the Mother set more recently.

 

[jeremy]

interesting. the late 60s/early 70s sets ive played have tended to sound weaker than the early/mid 60s sets. but it sounds like i might like these greenburst pups as a slightly different take on a strat sound without going to anything too modern.