Asking for help with tone (Page 1 of 2)

Joe can get his tone simply picking up any guitar with any amp. Its in his fingers. I know this sounds like a cope out but that is how it works. My two cents. I know not much help sorry
cheers Ron

I would sell the Mesas, probably getting you a good financial basis for investing in an older Fender Tweed amp or a nice boutique spin off of one. Buy a power break, and fire up the amp. Pedal wise Joe has a minimal set up currently. A Way Huge green Rhino could work, but also your Soul Food could do the job. Just my personal opinion. Joe's sound is in the fingers and phrasing, of course, but just considering the basic sound character a Mesa is miles away from where you wanna go.

Well, I,m thinking I can play the Mesa clean and use the catalinbread dsl Asa a foundational pedal. And play around with either the tube screamer or the soul food to get more in the ball park.And just use the tc stuff as icing and n the cake. The epiphone Is all stock:either 57classicsor burst bunkers. I have to admit, I don't really have a desire to sell the mesas as both combos are no longer made.
This should get me in the ball park,shouldn't it?

Try this and let me know how it works...
The Mesa set the bass down low 0-5, mids at 8-9 and highs at around 5-6.
Set all volume and tone controls on the guitar to 5 (dont be afraid - most players keep all on 10, but not JB)
everything else set to taste. if you need more gain, roll guitar volume up, if you need to high end, roll up on tone.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping.

I hate to tell you this, but cindyron is the one who nailed it. I'll expand a little....

It will be a very frustrating adventure to sound like Joe. You aren't Joe, you are you. Sound like YOU. Come up with a tone YOU are happy with.

Joe's sound and gear have run the gamut, but do you notice one thing? No matter what, he has a very distinct tone. There is a HUGE difference between his RAH setup and the setup he currently runs, but, still sounds like Joe doesn't it?

The hands are the biggest producer of whatever sound you are attaining, Ron was correct in that. The second thing is, you aren't going to get Joe's tone out of Mesa's. The gear he uses are far from that in either scenario. Marshall Silver jube's, Carol Ann's, vintage Fender amps. Of course let's not forget the 59's and Custom Shop guitars.

You will spend thousands trying to get "that tone", and in the end, you will realize Ron is right. Save yourself some money and time, and develop YOUR sound.

I am sorry, and I don't mean to offend, but if you guys think that from the Budda to the Marshall phases, and from the Marshalls and their versions and with the inclusion of Two Rocks/VanWeeldens/Dumbles, and now the Twin rig, that JB "sounds the same" then you are not really listening. Vast gain structure differences through the years, and a good deal of EQ differences. Let us not forget the different guitars. Does it all sound good? Yes, of course, it is a great player with great gear, hard to sound bad. What doesn't change is JB's playing style and phrasing which does come from his fingers/brain, mood, and soul (if you believe in such things). If gear was not part of the equation, then a Crate amp with a Lotus LP would do the trick.

I think we should really focus on the part of the original question that we can address which is the gear, this is after all the gear portion of the forum, instead of discouraging tone chasing. I went through a long time of gear experimentation before arriving where I am, which is happy and with what I think is my own tone. My opinion is that you have all that you need to get close to the sound. I would suggest adding EV12L speakers to your amps and use the recto verb for some Fenderish tones. Boost the mids/low mids a bit for some Dumblesque flavors You can supplement it with the DC-5 for a nice stereo spread (though I am not really sure of what the DC5 sounds like). Run all the wet effects through effects loops. I would try putting chorus on one side and delay and reverbs on the other, BUT a full dry/wet system may work. I would run your TS into the DLS MKII (try both modes, i prefer the SuperBass in mine though JB did use Superleads). I do that with great results. It was my understanding that JB used to leave the TS on all the time.

I would do some serious tweaking and listening. Pick a song of JB's that you really love and spend the time playing and listening, and if you can recording what you play and listen. Perceived audio and recorded audio can be VASTLY different. Happy tone chasing!

i never said they sound the same. All amps sound different.  But you will not get Joes tone by simply changing amps, pedels or whatever. If Joe played his big Marshall rig then played his twins and then played with no amp at all i would know it is Joe. So do these rigs sound the same simply because of their physical characteristics absolutely but if I played the that rig and you played that rig it would sound totally different. So to think you will get to Joes tone by amp or a magical box that will never happen. At the end of the day it is in his fingers and how he approaches the guitar. So for me I think time is better spent finding who you are when you pick up the guitar. That's my approach it is neither right or wrong , Just my two cents
cheers Ron

I appreciate all the great in put guys.
As far as my gear, I'm not in a position where I can In vest more money in my rig. Not to try to milk any pity, I'm dealing with cancer and am unemployed as a result, and not really sure what the future holds. May wind up with nothing more than a fender mustang. But again thanks for all the input.