Topic: Sparkle Gold Strat
Any info on the strat JB is playing on the beginning of the show on the Rockpalaste DVD? By the way, it is an incredible DVD!
thanks!
Joe
- stratpaulguy86
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Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
Uh oh another Gold Sparkle Strat topic back from the dead! 
Joe has uh...since retired that Strat along with most of the others as well. Anyways to answer your question I believe the body was from the Fender Custom Shop and the neck was from an old '60s slab board strat (spare parts laying around). The hardware is vintage too I think. I believe the pickups are Fralins but again I could be wrong. Either way it was a good sounding Strat and Joe played it very well. Shame what they did to him...he might have still played it to this day.
BTW welcome to the JB Forum! 
'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.
3 2009-04-18 00:32:46 (edited by blueshand 2009-04-18 00:33:35)
Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
stratpaulguy86 wrote:
Uh oh another Gold Sparkle Strat topic back from the dead!
BTW welcome to the JB Forum!
Thanks for this! The first thing I tried to do when I joined this forum was to look for the search forum box. Did not find one. Is it hidden somewhere?
What did they do to him?
Just saw Joe at the Birchmere in Alexandria. Incredible show!
Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
Joe gave that Strat to the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame for them to display.
"Music Washes Away From The Soul, The Dust Of Everyday Life"
- ken
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Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
blueshand wrote:
stratpaulguy86 wrote:Uh oh another Gold Sparkle Strat topic back from the dead!
BTW welcome to the JB Forum!
Thanks for this! The first thing I tried to do when I joined this forum was to look for the search forum box. Did not find one. Is it hidden somewhere?
What did they do to him?
Just saw Joe at the Birchmere in Alexandria. Incredible show!
Quick synopsis to get you up to date in as few words as possible...
Joe went to Fender to get an endorsement based on the gold sparkle.
Fender said no.
Then... Fender came out with a relic gold sparkle strat that Joe felt was based on his strat (same wear marks...etc).
Joe's pissed, and vowes to never play a fender strat on stage again.
Joe gets signature Les Paul and is very happy again.
Now you're up to date 
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Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
Bravo! Well done!
'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.
Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
Thanks for the info, Ken. That is really sad. Fender lost out big time on this one.
Quick synopsis to get you up to date in as few words as possible...
Joe went to Fender to get an endorsement based on the gold sparkle.
Fender said no.
Then... Fender came out with a relic gold sparkle strat that Joe felt was based on his strat (same wear marks...etc).
Joe's pissed, and vowes to never play a fender strat on stage again.
Joe gets signature Les Paul and is very happy again.
Now you're up to date
8 2009-04-18 15:04:05 (edited by JBJHJM 2009-04-19 00:09:18)
Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
ken wrote:
Quick synopsis to get you up to date in as few words as possible...
Joe went to Fender to get an endorsement based on the gold sparkle.
Fender said no.
Then... Fender came out with a relic gold sparkle strat that Joe felt was based on his strat (same wear marks...etc).
Joe's pissed, and vowes to never play a fender strat on stage again.
Joe gets signature Les Paul and is very happy again.Now you're up to date
But there are also great non-Fender Strats available!! *snif* he doesn't have to play fender strats!! 
Here are my tabbed songs by "Smokin' Joe": http://www.jbonamassa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7236
I LIKE MUSIC!
I LIKE MUSIC!
9 2009-04-18 23:09:45 (edited by stratpaulguy86 2009-04-18 23:11:08)
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Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
Yeah there are a lot of companies that offer Stratocaster clones and some may even be better. G&L's are nice, as are the Suhr guitars. The only problem is that to most people they all look like a Fender and on stage a couple rows back some fans could easily mistake it for one. Besides it's the TONE and buying a $3000 Suhr is still going to make kids who can't afford one to go get the cheaper Fender alternative. It still helps Fender even if he doesn't play one 
. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the tones he got out of them but make no mistake, I think his tone is wayyyy badder now with the Gibsons!
'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.
Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
stratpaulguy86 wrote:
It still helps Fender even if he doesn't play one
So it's completely indifferent if he plays strats (from Fender or from others) or if he don't play them...
You're right, his current tone is great, but come on, if you listen to anything of the blues deluxe album, or Pain And Sorrow, or Are You Experienced etc., at least I can only tell you 'it sounds different, but his strat tone is perfect to - and it was a great alternation of tone!!!
Here are my tabbed songs by "Smokin' Joe": http://www.jbonamassa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7236
I LIKE MUSIC!
I LIKE MUSIC!
- stratpaulguy86
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Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
I'm not knocking Joe's strat tones at all. They were stellar as well as his usage of them. However, I discovered Joe when I was on my mission to sound exactly like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. To me it can be harder to find your own individual voice on a Stratocaster. It's hard to play a Stratocaster and not sound like Jimi Hendrix, SRV, Jeff Beck, or Eric Johnson. With no disrespect intended to Joe, I kind of lumped him in with guys like Mayer, KWS, Lang, etc that were very talented but could not get past their influences. I feel that Joe has FAR surpassed those guys now (along with just about everyone else) because he has his own signature sound. If you still listen to those other guys they are still stuck in SRV-ville milking that cash cow. IMO Joe will be remembered years later for what he is doing now moreso than his early work. I still love my Strat I have just grown more on Gibsons.
'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.
- NPB_EST.1979
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Re: Sparkle Gold Strat
History lesson & after-Effects
Since the whole "gold sparkle strat fiasco"... it's left message board posters reluctant or even bashfull to say the Fender name and usually do some kind of sensorship that ends up being pretty funny. I won't go over the list of ways in efforts to not be redundant. 
I think it's funny.
I like to think of it as a quasi-beef or even a faux-beef. I don't really hate Fender. I just think... well - nevermind.
- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
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Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping.