Joe Bonamassa Gear Interview Part 1 of 3

Guitarist Joe Bonamassa shows us the guitars, amps and effects he is currently using onstage. In part one Joe shows us his signature Gibson Les Paul, his amp rig and pedalboard.
www.musiciansfriend.com/

[@TheUnforgiven0002]

Is it not OK for a guitar player to be influenced by the likes of Eric Johnson? Damn... a lot of haters! The man can flat out play - he is genuinely passionate about guitar - has found his own niche and fan base - and doesn't let the music industry steer him wrong. Respect and nothing more Joe B! For all you saying "Eric Johnson wants his riffs back" - all I can say is thank god there are still guys around willing to dig into such a bag of riffs because most of the music biz today sucks major balls. Stop hating - Joe B is an animal!

[@millskaviar]

Amen.

[@johanndaart7326]

Yeah, there's nobody complaining that every second guitarist tries to copy Jimmy Page. Try getting one lick from EJ and you are a rip off..

[@elenaskrypnikova3472]

Well said. This is the one of the wise comment I ever read. But just one point, IMO Joe 's not an animal. He is BonaAngel

[@vladzubac5360]

if we take it like that 90% of us, guitar players, should be "sued" because we all took pentatonic liks from Eric Clapton...geez..what a world of haters we live in...and it's even worse now in 2020...

[@vladzubac5360]

It's so interesting to see how much Joe has changed over the years, more calm, more "calculated", more profound, and down to the bone with his rig, he really perfected himself into only using guitars-amps and an overdrive. He really is the Blues phenomenon of his generation! So glad to be able to listen to his music!

[@Lukehart1953]

I think Joe has a good public appearance,i have been following his career since i saw him at the age 15 or so when he played with Danny Gatton he has worked very hard to get where he is, I've seen him twice in the last 2 years and each show was absolute perfection i can't imagine what that must feel like to be able to do, so rock on Joe we love seeing you play with the world's best musicians

[@Blues71]

Technically speaking, probably the best guitarist I've ever seen. I've been to a dozen shows and I honestly can say, I've never heard Joe make a mistake. If you can see him at a guitar clinic with an acoustic guitar in his hands, you'll leave with your lower jaw scraping the floor!......Roy

[@georgenaschke1868]

I know Joe personally and he was always hyper. He moves constantly, talks nonstop and genuinely enjoys being the center of attention. I asked him to autograph my telecaster when he was about 22, and he practically wrote a whole paragraph on the back.

[@skidjs]

HA! Anybody who hates on a player of this magnitude is just a hater in general. I want what he's got!

[@vikiryan822]

His excitement is infectious. His children! I love it 😍💙🎸🎶🎤❤️

[@timtim-hf3ut]

Joes the best . always so generous with his time to make all these videos. .and his alternate picking is the best ever

[@lennylionstar]

Saw him last night in Reading Pa. Absolutely stunning performance. I think this current tour with Joe and his band will go down in rock history as the greatest Rock/Blues tour ever. Best concert I've ever been too. And, I've seen them all. If you get a chance to see him don't miss it. It's history in the making.

[@prisonerofrnr]

saw joe a couple of nights ago. he was fantastic and so were the band. all musicians steal from others. so what? isn't imitation the highest compliment you can pay??

[@radtone]

Not for nothing guys but when your in the spotlight you have to be open to critique. He definitely has incorporated some of EJ's style into his playing. To me it seems more recently, his older stuff doesn't seem to have as much EJ style. Most of us are guitar players here and we all feel strongly about our opinions and views. We should all keep an open mind to that and respect others thoughts whether we agree with them or not.

[@kylekoplien2924]

I don't get why people get so on joes case, he just seems like an excited 12 year old talking about his gear here haha

[@kimmolingonheimo]

Hes the one who made the MXR Fet Driver happen: just bought 3 in a weeks time, the 3rd one black JB signature box!!! with a Strat its T H E JAZZ Pedal!!! every note just pure velvet!!!

[@CashCurran]

Love this guy. Great player, awesome attitude and he gets to do what he loves almost every night! I mean how awesome is that?! God bless you JB, God bless you

[@Guitarmike]

Dreamland! I love it! Joe is such a cool man, thank God we still have some living guitar heroes!

[@coreyfellows9420]

You can tell he's never had alot of friends... He's always so happy to talk to anyone who will listen...

[@sewagedump]

He looks nervous from a guilty conscience due to always being full of shit. Dude plays boring as hell.

[@Jay0Uticano]

I got Joes back...Rock on!

[@Deyvis71]

I love how that guitar sounds it makes me wanna play all day !!

[@texaswyatt0]

This is a great interview / gear walkthrough and I've found it to be very informative and interesting. I'm only left wondering what, if any, effects from the pedalboard were used on the Marshal Silver Jubilee.

[@eevylcheekin]

Its really sad that hes not as popular as he is in Europe in America because he is really amazing. I just saw him live last week and it was the most amazing thing evar!!!! I love guitar and Joe Bonamassa's my favorite guitarist!! He ROCKS!!

[@ShadyLeo66]

Tone! Loves sharing no ego involved!♥️🦁☮️

[@seanalbertson7836]

I'm surprised everyone is commenting over the past few months about a video from 5 years ago. If you're a musician, you'd understand people go through phases. He studies players and he was probably on an EJ fix that day. EJ was inspiring to him and everyone plays based on what inspires them. Not trolling. Not hating. Making a point that he sounded like that 5 years ago. He's probably different now. Famous or not, talented or not, take what you got from it and make your own.

[@AliKHAN-mq8br]

+Sean Albertson You are right!!! I think,the time of the really great guitar-heros like Hendrix,E.Clapton,Rory Gallagher,Jeff Beck,John Mclaughlin is gone. I see no really good innovative guitarists of a new generation come. Maybe the time is over!!!

[@MartyFriedmanRulez66]

I get if you don't like his playing (although why you're on this video to begin with is beyond me) but why are people calling him a douchebag and an asshole? Joe has never been anything but genuine and nice in any video I've seen and in this one he happens to sound like a little kid talking about his toys. The world isn't made of sunshine and farts but why the fuck does everyone have to be so mean (not that he really cares) to a guy that does nothing but give back to the musical community.

[@robertwhitcomb6105]

Well said L; I bought an bonamassa album a few years back that I really didn't care for. Since then I've been soaking these videos up. The dude can play! I love he puts out a lot of videos, helping me to get back to the fretboard more often....keep them coming, Joe!

[@rolteus3706]

Jealousy and personal insecurity make people say the stupidest things. Small, tiny, little people.

[@atukcurse]

I caught a concert on Palladia and loved it, I rarely see a modern player I like so much. The Marshall Silver Jubilee is Slash's favorite also.

[@BEETEEGUITAR]

Great player and seems like a fun guy to hang with.

[@MitchelHastings]

♣ ♣Thank you for your upload, blessing on you all. ♣ ♣

[@Blues71]

@BigDDe Well, RAH may have been a "precursor" as you said, but I was there in London sitting in the first row and it sure was one heck of a special night. Then Joe introduced Clapton and that pretty much put it over the top. That is, until he and his family came to a private party that I was at that was thrown in his honor after the show. That really was a great time! :)

[@dadude7]

Beginning to really like this guy.

[@lastdaysguitar]

I think Joe is just great, he's a consummate player, yet one of the most humble and grounded cats out there - a true virtuouso.

[@2010metalmaster]

This guy is great, great personality, good sense of humour and topped with liquid awesome playing XD

[@willeng84]

See how when first fired up the fuzz face is smooth and a little articulate but as he rolls off the volume of the guitar it comes to life and really opens up and then its SUPER articulate. I probably would NOT run this pedal if I didn't run 2 distorted amps and 1 clean. My Ampeg Gemini for small shows will get cranked with a H and K tube factor run through it and NOW my other side is a Tweaker 15/40 and I have a marshall if it comes to it/ Either of those amps run the Fuzz face. Sounds amazing.

He seems to be a great guy. Great player.

[@Lukemcefc]

i think everyone should watch the videos of Bonamassa playing on stage with EJ and see how much Bonamassa outplays him in every way ;)

[@radtone]

Exactly. Thank you!

[@TexasJackdaw]

The Category 5 amp is Killer. I use several Cat 5's -- the most incredible amps I've found yet.

[@JgHaverty]

the more I hear him and johnson, the more I NEED that fuzz face in my life...

[@postaflip7]

@1978AceKISS It's surprising that an artist would actually demo his whole rig! I think it's great

[@jaycheek254]

He's a beast!

[@charles4hl]

I love that guy when he taks about gear, he goes berserk and just tells you everything hahah

[@crazycarpes]

great equipament !!!

[@willeng84]

@stratocasterfranck The JBF3 were specially designed by George Tripps and Joe Bonamassa, Hand built, and Hand wired and the reason they put them out is they found a good size ration of the NOS russian Germanium transistors somewhere, probably some businesses storage units that lost them or something but they are the real deal. Had mine about 3 or 4 days now and I LOVE IT. Now with that said the average guitar player would probably not like it at all. It can be dark and not like you think.

[@mini0705]

Love the rig,just right for my bedroom !!Mw

[@DaveDexterMusic]

He seemed happy enough to play with Joe.

[@celula00959]

@diehard93 i know!!! his voicing's are like eric so much yet hes a little more shredy . love both of them

[@chumbels]

what a great vibrato!! to me, it sounds exactly like claptons vibrato like on crossroads and that period... ahhhhh..... wonderful

[@thelowercasepeople]

@whynottalklikeapirat I completely agree. Live, he is so much more blues based. Maybe he just likes the EJ style for these demos. But when I saw him live last month, I didn't hear a single one of these EJ licks.

[@NintendoSinceBirth1]

I saw that same silver jubilee in my guitarcenter today! i wish i wouldve asked o plug into it i will nex time

[@chekocheyenne]

stereo cabinet, Stereo mode separates the 4 speakers into 2 pairs. One head will work with one pair while the other head will work with the other pair.

[@Goldeneraguitars]

Wow... such a lot of hate from a bunch of jealous non guitar players. Now THATS original (not). Joe sounds great, good tunes, always positive. Some of you should take a leaf outta his book

[@TheOldOakSyndicate]

Where else other than the "House", would you get a Musicians Friend catalog?

[@Veaseify]

@beannie60 - He plays a lot of different guitars in a show so each of them works best with different Amp combos. Also some Amps 'clean up' better than others so for songs with quiet dynamics you use the one(s) that sound best with a clean tone or when you roll off the volume on the guitar. Unfortunately great tone doesn't come straight out of the box - if you take iconic sounds like Van Halen's 'brown' sound that involved rewiring the amp or Robin Trowers sound was down to custom pedals..

[@olystercrowley]

Joe Bonamassa is one of the greats. He has incredible execution ... He plays since he's a child .. This is dedication ... He's a master. If you don't like him or his playing ... could you tell me WTF are you here ??

[@badaxxe5366]

olystercrowley why do you think Joe is one of the greats? A great has his own sound such as Eric Johnson who Joe cops quite well BUT it still is Erics riffs/style just a observation?

[@olystercrowley]

Badaxxe Well it's not Eric Johnson 100 % He admits that he picked some EJ along the way but he masters the blues and other styles. Do you really think Gibson would put out 3 signature models and that he'd fill the Royal Albert Hall if he was just a copy cat ? I don't think he has an impact as big as EVH, Jimi, or Page but he's a guitar master.

[@seanalbertson7836]

+Badaxxe to be fair, Clapton was one of Johnson's inspirations. So, Eric Johnson isn't 100% if you continue the additive that he's copping some of Clapton's phrases.

[@badaxxe5366]

Joe is a good player but a guy like Guthrie Govan that hardly gets any press is one of the best new guitarists on the planet. Guthrie has his own "thing" Joe emulates others. I am here because Bonamassa has an incredible guitar collection and I am jealous!

[@badaxxe5366]

Come on Gibson and Fender have so many signature models and there are way too many, the competition isn't like the 1960's early 70s when there were less than what I can count on my hands of quality guitar manufacturers! Gibson and Fender are NOT the same companies when the Original Les Pauls Strats, Teles, SGs,. ES series.Today everyone and their dog build good guitars.

[@apico]

"Mail Order"!!! Awesome!

[@1971SuperLead]

Thanks.

[@willeng84]

@stratocasterfranck You hear it here and it sounds bright and full and rippin. Thats because he built it to go hand in hand with a mid gainey tube amp. It itself (fuzzface) Doesn't have a ton of fuzz or a ton of volume but it is buttery smooth tone from top to bottom. I run a multi amp rig anyway and have for years and this was what I was missing from my dirty side. On a clean amp it is pretty bland, on a well overdriven tube amp THATS EQ'D in the same ballpark..Words can't explain the sustain.

[@theSonicboom100]

He´s awesome :D

[@BoxcarFred]

To all you folks that are way too critical of Joe Bonamassa and seem to have nothing nice to say about him, or at best you say he stole all his licks and tone from Eric Johnson, let me ask you this: Can any one of you play half as good as Joe? Would I want to spend $100 to come hear you play? Would I even want to spend $10 to hear you play? I'm 100% sure the answer from every single one of you should be "No." to all of those questions.

[@Creed_fan_69]

I'm p good. Not JB good but if you spent 10 bucks to see me I don't think you'd be disappointed

[@georgedickson1410]

For real! I can play pretty fast too, but Joe would bulldoze me

[@DominicSalzillo]

Does anyone notice how someone is cracking up and Joe is smiling, almost laughing at 0:54 ??

[@zanew07]

Joe makes a statement toward the end of this video say that views would say it all sounds the same. I guess its because experienced but i can tell a huge difference.

[@Comp3630]

"Please take care of it, and if you abuse it I will come and adopt it back" XD Who doesn't love Joe !

[@thecosmicstring]

been playing guitar for about 3 years now but im fairly new to the world of effects - could anyone tell me wht type of foot pedal he's using to change wht amps are on. And how does he plug 4 amp heads in to 2 cabinets?? Thanks. JB's awesome :D

[@tidepoolbay]

Thank you Joe. Woof!

[@MrHatefulgod]

I can get all that on my Gt-10! Only joking, JB is obviously awesome, I just love at the end when he says you're gonna tell me it sounds the same but it feels different to me... spoken like a true guitar nerd and star.

[@Jakub-ru8ej]

8:06 - some magic happens at this time:)

[@COBHC8890]

Joe's one of those guys....you wanna sit down at a bar, 3-4 drinks in, and you just talk about guitar knowledge.

[@lsdpoweredmotorboat]

what's up with the extra switch on the Marshall silver jubilee?

[@79thstreetsoundstage]

@texaswyatt0 the DD3 is the only effect on the Silver Jubilee.

[@TheDavidryanmusic]

Its so the settings don't get moved when you step on it not to hide what they are set too

[@skillzdatkillz900]

joe bonamassa interviewed by joe bonamassa

[@soothslayer21]

@MrShredhead777 It's called Blue and Evil, by Joe Bonamassa, off his album Black Rock. Happy hunting :)

[@lauramoore9659]

JOEY YOU'RE THE BESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST ESTEST INFINITY !!!!!!LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!

[@RobinMallender]

"Blue and Evil" from the album "Black Rock".

[@TheJediRabbit]

Will someone please tell me the song/riff that is playing at the beginning before he starts actually playing those licks. I'm just getting in Joe and I think he really cool.

[@ColeDrankWilly]

7:30 is the best fuzz face sound

[@BONGUSTHEDOG]

@1978AceKISS All of us!

[@leebatt7964]

Kids are like “catalog? Whats that?”. Well, its like a web page on paper that you used keep in the bathroom.

[@1971SuperLead]

How do you plug four heads into two cabinets????

[@TimBirkenholz]

Clapton called too!

[@ScottMartinD]

100w Silver Jubilee. Can you get those in a 50w with the same basic tone? I just play in my bedroom and don't need 100w (in fact, 50w is probably too much)

[@Plocky241]

Those cabinets Joe's using, are open or closed in the back??? Does anyone knows?

[@Ghostman7777]

@superlou1s Yeah, I saw him play recently in Springfield, it blew my mind. This guy is crazy. I am mainly used to going to metal acts such as Metallica, Megadeth, etc. and I thought they had a good live sound, but man, Joe's sound had such an awesome feel to it. Sure there was no head banging/moshing/beating eachother senseless, but it was still a great experience. :)

[@Azuma1973]

Friggin' beefcake sound fo-sho!!!

[@blazvignater]

Thats enough,guitar players learn from their favorites.Myself learned alot from srv,hendrix,and johnson....now these days Im learning from bonamassa....give them all a break.Im a craftsman by trade.I fabricate stainless kitchen cabinets.I learned how to design and fab. from the old guys...the ones that are dead,retired or moved.same concept.of course he plays like everybody else.get over it.Ive been playing for 20 years.Im only 26.I can mimick all the old guys,why? because I learned from them.

[@soothslayer21]

@KabCGuitar Blue and Evil by Mr. Bonamassa.

[@epeemstr]

wats the song thats playing in the first 30 seconds of this video? its very catchy :)

[@leopoldohernandez]

Hey any one know if the Epiphone J Bonamassa guitar is worth buying. It has the same pickups as the guitar on this video. Please anyone I wanna buy one, Thanks

[@Steely_Danzig]

It's hard NOT to play licks that sound like other people, when you play them using the same musical scale. If you play guitar (or any instrument, frankly) you would understand that. Bonamassa is a mind-blowingly talented guitarist, and I don't think he set out to musically plagiarise.

[@Chandler17447]

that whirlwind isnt an AB selector, its a phase 90 copy

[@thecosmicstring]

@UberNoobtard Thanks for getting back to me :) so you can plug one head into two speakers? Then how do you plug all 4 in? Are there multiple sockets on the speakers? And if he uses one whirlwind for a and b, how does he change between the other two heads (theoretically, c and d)? Thanks

[@aektzis91]

@betozurdo ive seen him play live, he definately has his own style.

[@VanHalenfreak9]

what song is playing in the beginning?

[@yjmsrv]

That $400 Marshall Jubilee crushes all the other megabuck north of $4k amp's the minute he turned it on. No comparison IMHO.

[@shearn666]

I can see why he likes that Marshall - he's got it about 5db louder than all the others....lol. Sounds great tho. You don't see many of those Jubilee heads around the traps.

[@8653011]

What is the intro and outro song called?

[@Tears4Kabirs]

the song is called "Blue and Evil" by legend truly Joe Bonamassa. Shazam for the fuckin winn!!

[@fendernat1100]

What is the name of the song in the start of the video.

[@SayeedTahseen]

whats that song in the intro and ending??

[@cosmogang]

That fuzz face sounds noice!

[@EGGJAZZ]

when he first started playing i just heard eric johnson

[@dmekas]

Marshall sounds the best!

[@rolteus3706]

Dj Mekas agree

[@MrEyelessmaggot]

What's the song right at the beginning? :D