Description

Owning a guitar that was played by one of your musical heroes is a rare opportunity, made even more remarkable when the instrument’s sound lives up to its legacy. Joe Bonamassa has long been a fan of the late great Tommy Bolin, whose captivating solo music and work with Deep Purple, James Gang, Billy Cobham, and Zephyr influenced generations of rock & fusion guitarists.

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 utilizes 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 favorite 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.

Magnets:
Neck – Alnico 2
Bridge – Alnico 2

DC Resistance:
Neck – 8.66
Bridge – 8.13

Cable Type:
Neck – 1c Braided
Bridge – 1c Braided

Unpotted, long-leg vintage-correct construction.

Les Paul® is a registered trademark of Gibson.
Telecaster® and Bigsby ® are registered trademarks of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation