I'm getting what I think is a pretty good JBon-ish tone. Well there we have it, everything you need to sound like Joe Bonamassa. Loading cabinets with EV200s, Joe’s speaker of choice, can also help put you in the Bonamassa ball park. U.S. Summer Tour 2021; Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean II; Fans. As far as the Great Grammas go, yes I have one and it's pretty neat. As I wrote about in more detail here, the guitar strings you use do have implications for both your tone and the playability of your guitar. By If you haven’t checked out the sensational rock band Radiohead, you really should. And we know what his settings are. I know Sterling [Ball] hates it when I say it, but it’s been 11 to 52s forever. Bonamassa also has a set of Seymour Duncan Skinner Burst Humbucker pickups, based on those found in his 1959 Les Paul. I find Instagram and, Be back in 5 mins to never. “If you listen to BB King, it was like a human voice speaking. Peter Frampton has been active in the professional music scene since 1966 when he was only sixteen years old. It's really a combination of things. He has also ensured that the whole package is personalised: “There’s a sample settings card on the top of the amp that has one setting – my setting!” So we’ve got the amp. mid shift off, and bass boost off..  Thats what I use for fly gigs only use two of them through one cab.. For example, the vacuum tubes found in vintage amps, when pushed to their limits, would emit a distorted or crunchy sound. No. press@jbonamassa.com. I use one under my cab and I don't ever want to do without it. To me, the early Jimmy Bryant stuff was on a flatpole. They do a low-mid thing that, when you hear it out the front, you go, ‘Man, that is just digging a big trench on the bottom.’. Now it helps control the tremendous lows I get from my new rig. I'll have to try JB's settings next time I turn the beast on instead of the class 5. A very similar approach to his, and many other’s idol, Jimi Hendrix. Remeber that Joe was a Strat guy until the last two years or so. Buyers' guides to all the best music gear, Brian May rig tour: “Brian’s not going to use a Fractal rackmount and in-ears; he wants to hear three screaming AC30s behind him thumping him in the back”, The 25 best VST/AU plugin synths in the world right now: all the best soft synths you need in your DAW, Forget the iPhone 12 - the big news is that Apple silicon Macs could be announced in November. The JB FUzz on top pushing it over the edge sounds....very, My settings are pretty close to this. I just don’t have the ability to back up the attack enough to where I find the sweet spot.”. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but something you need to be aware of if you’re looking for a more versatile set up. Volume/tone control manipulation is a MUST. So the Twins and the Dumbles do make a really nice combination. Receive news and offers from our other brands? With some, no matter what you plug into it, it’s an instant Robben Ford or Larry Carlton, or those classic Dumble sounds. If you want to sound like Joe Bonamassa, you need to make proper use of your volume and tone controls. Those searing bluesy rock tones that feature on songs like ‘Sloe Gin‘, ‘Mountain Climbing‘ and ‘Different Shades of Blue‘. You could get the Faustine Phantom but its pricey $$$! If you read out the PAFs in the ’62 ES -335, they’re high sevens, low eights. So, the .011s keep me from going there all the time. For those that want the Bonamassa tone but don’t fancy a signature model due to the name on the headstock, or because gold’s not their colour, fitting new pickups on a Custom Shop model or USA model is worth a punt. But they are an extension of where the Twins leave off. Clean or Crunch??? However, Greenwood is more than just a guitarist. And then what’s the point in having them? On this brilliant clip here, he shows the huge variations in tone that he achieves by using nothing more than his volume and tone controls. You shouldn’t focus on fancy effects; you should instead focus on honing your craft and getting the best ‘natural’ sounding tones from your guitar and amp. If the amp is too distorted and too compressed, I might as well just play miniature golf. His 1976 album Frampton Comes Alive! Stevie loved them so much that he owned all three versions that came out. They’re biters and not moaners. Our engineer, Scott, probably tweaks that depending on the room a little. Sure, we can attempt to replicate a specific sound, but even if we purchase the exact equipment, it will never sound 100% the same as the original. So, where I like it is when you roll the guitar down, the tone cleans up and spreads out. For example, in the tune “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin, John Bonham’s drums were set up in a hall way of their recording studio, with high ceilings. There was a problem. But I don’t know, it sounds great.”. Over the yeas his obsession grew and now he has one of the largest effect rigs of any musician. Les Paul, Tele… it doesn’t homogenise their sound like some of those types of amps do. Here’s what he has to say…, “With the Dumbles, it seems like a lot of money to drag around. Conversely, some people have no top-end in themselves, either, and you’re, like, ‘Man, they travelled all the way up and it still sounds like midrange.’ That is 100 per cent in the hands.”, “If you read out those pickups on the ’55 Strat, they’re high sixes, low sevens [in kohms DC resistance reading]. He is also a skilled keyboardist, cellist, and orchestral composer. Known as the pioneer and king of Texas blues, Stevie Ray Vaughan has one of the most iconic blues tones that is instantly identifiable. Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud....(sorry). If like Bonamassa you are gigging at large venues, then you need look no further. If you’re just going to drive the shit out of the clean channel, you can do that with the Twins, the same thing. Also, artists or producers would set up amps, mics, or drum sets in various locations in orders to achieve varying tonal ambiances. A guitarist’s tone is unique and special. “To sound like a fucking snob, it’s a 1955 Tele. Figuring out the perfect combinations of effects, guitars, and amps is a talent in its own in my opinion. If it’s a dark room, the same but Fender versus Dumble.”. Both of these are great for getting that creamy and wide Bonamassa tone, but it has to be said that his signature set does possess a marginally clearer tone with more of a bell-like quality. Here's a clip of me going for that Joe Bonamassa type sound on the Maz 18 Jr. (I know I am pushing it... ). Hopefully it’s easy to see that Joe’s sounds can be achieved regardless of the size of your wallet. It helps just to keep the guitar in tune. This means that if you are playing at lower volumes, you have to use a smaller amp. There's the now-famous picture circulating of him on a nearly basketball court-size soundstage packed with gear. BA1 1UA. Who is Joe Bonamassa? “I’d rather play an evening where the guitar sounds a bit dull, than an evening where the guitar sounds a bit, ‘Holy shit… is that bright.’ Ear fatigue is a big thing about going to a guitar show. Contributor: WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)Gibson, Amazon, Unsplash, Unsplash, Amazon, Dialling in a beautiful blues tone is no easy task. I really want to get a Z Brake Lite for it. “I love talking about amps. These amps have great clean tones, but you will need to add pedals to get those Bonamassa style distorted tones. But to a point, the more you pay for a guitar or amp, the more you get. Sadly, most of us are not able to play at high volumes all of the time. It’s 60/40 on some nights, Dumble versus Fender. You have two [input] sockets and this section here is to make power. “Those flat-poles didn’t squeal as much, by far they didn’t squeal as much as things that came subsequently. As a result, there are a few different routes you can go down here if you want to sound like Joe Bonamassa: The first of these options is to buy a ‘pedal platform amp’. To my mind, Joe Bonamassa is one of the most technically skilled guitarists in the modern blues scene. These can generally be found on Ebay for anywhere between $1500 to $4000, depending on whether you purchase a studio or custom shop model; they also all feature the classic appointments found on a Les Paul. “With Strats, I tend to use 10-gauge strings, unless they’re used with an open tuning, which one or two are. Out of all the distorted effects, fuzz totally clips your signal, producing an effect that sounds like you have a blown speaker. I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment and it really helps keep the bass rumble down. This not only makes the guitar sound cool, but is extremely entertaining as an onstage gimmick. “A low-wattage amp in the bathroom will do the same thing as all this will on a big stage. If you can't afford it, don't need it and have no room left, buy it anyway! He composed the entire soundtrack to the popular movie There Will Be Blood back in 2007. About halfway through the set, you’ll hear it, it just starts going, ‘Wooooo…’ You either hit it on the top [of the cabinet], or you stick these towels wrapped in tinfoil on it, and it’ll stop. Pedal effects are used to enhance a particular sound as well as to capture a tone in a guitarist’s mind. They’re hard and they have 11s on them. © Luckily, you don’t need to buy a vintage Les Paul to sound like Joe Bonamassa. I’m taking a break, This error message is only visible to WordPress admins, September 28 – October 4th – This Week In Rock. But it’s worth being aware of his preference. These are typically amps with great clean tones, that respond very well to pedals. It’s 11 shows and if we hate them, we can go back to the Twins.’. The ones that come in the latter part of ’60, from 07000 to the finale, they tend to have an extra ping to them. That is because every guitarist has certain nuances to their touch, different tone settings on their amp or guitar, and favorite pedal effects used in conjunction with their rigs. The second and bigger challenge, is that Bonamassa plays at very high volumes. Budget dependant, my recommendations are as follows: If you are more price conscious, then your best bet is the Epiphone range: After Epiphone, there is quite a jump up in price, as you get to the standard Gibson range: If you’re looking to make a serious investment, then beyond the standard Gibson range, the Gibson custom shop models are also worth considering: Finally, if you are a serious Joe Bonamassa fan, then a number of years ago, the Gibson Custom Shop released 300 replica models of Bonamassa’s ‘Skinnerburst’.