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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Joe's guitar tech
To the veteran JB guys here. Has Joe's tech ever come on here and discussed "a day in the life" sort of thing? I came across some old EVH tech interviews and they were very insightful not only as to the gear and how hard he was on it but what he was like as a boss etc... Joe seems so level headed I would imagine teching for him would be a dream job!
If Dave Pate posts on here he uses a pseudonym. Warren Cracknell is usually the one to pop in here and repond to gear related issues. If you haven't been lurking around that long, Joe will make a post here too on occasion.
Joe seems so level headed I would imagine teching for him would be a dream job!
I have one of Joe's broken strings off of the "bass boat" strat from 2005 when he used to open up with You Upset Me Baby. So the high E broke pretty much during the 1st song. I'm not really sure what the tech was doing at the time, but he must not have been watching. Joe had to do some crazy thing on stage until he could get the tech's attention. Both played it cool, but I think Joe was pretty annoyed at the time. So I think of Joe as sort of a perfectionist. Which is good. I would imagine teching for Joe would be stressful because you'd want to work so hard to keep the quality top notch. That's a lot of pressure! 
...All the little nuances that happen at a show. The show was completely jaw-on-floor. He had this old Airline guitar he played some slide on, and some various strats, and of course the Gigliottis. I think the only songs he played a Les Paul on was Pain & Sorrow and Had To Cry Today. Crazy good shows.
xcorporate wrote:Joe seems so level headed I would imagine teching for him would be a dream job!
I have one of Joe's broken strings off of the "bass boat" strat from 2005 when he used to open up with You Upset Me Baby. So the high E broke pretty much during the 1st song. I'm not really sure what the tech was doing at the time, but he must not have been watching. Joe had to do some crazy thing on stage until he could get the tech's attention. Both played it cool, but I think Joe was pretty annoyed at the time. So I think of Joe as sort of a perfectionist. Which is good. I would imagine teching for Joe would be stressful because you'd want to work so hard to keep the quality top notch. That's a lot of pressure!
...All the little nuances that happen at a show. The show was completely jaw-on-floor. He had this old Airline guitar he played some slide on, and some various strats, and of course the Gigliottis. I think the only songs he played a Les Paul on was Pain & Sorrow and Had To Cry Today. Crazy good shows.
I think that's the reason Joe had poly saddles (for the B & E strings) used on the bridge on his "Inspired by" Les Paul - to cut down on broken strings. I've seen Joe live 12x now, and have yet to see him break a string. And that's about 24 hours worth of playing!
As most of us know, he rarely (if ever) plays one guitar for more that 2 or 3 songs before changing. And I'm sure at that point Dave is changing out the strings on the one he's just handed off.
We are seeing him for the first time in Cleveland April 29th! I've read all his gear posts and it's great to see him so engaged in his rig. So many guys seem to be steered towards certain gear depending on the endorsements that are offered. He seems to have risen above that B.S.
What brought this to mind was the Van Halen video on youtube when they were playing in North Carolina and Eddie was completely out of tune with the backing track (keyboards on this song.) They claimed that the front of house messed with the pro tools in a way that raised the pitch of the keyboards. But Eddie was the only one out of tune! Subsequent to this I read an interview from his tech that he bumped his guitar on a cabinet and knocked it out of tune. He is supposedly so ornery that he just kept playing out of tune and didnt' swap guitars. So reading these sort of accounts from the guys behind the scenes give you a real insight as to what he's like. Doesn't really mean anything, I just find it interesting I guess.
NPB_EST.1979 wrote:xcorporate wrote:Joe seems so level headed I would imagine teching for him would be a dream job!
I have one of Joe's broken strings off of the "bass boat" strat from 2005 when he used to open up with You Upset Me Baby. So the high E broke pretty much during the 1st song. I'm not really sure what the tech was doing at the time, but he must not have been watching. Joe had to do some crazy thing on stage until he could get the tech's attention. Both played it cool, but I think Joe was pretty annoyed at the time. So I think of Joe as sort of a perfectionist. Which is good. I would imagine teching for Joe would be stressful because you'd want to work so hard to keep the quality top notch. That's a lot of pressure!
...All the little nuances that happen at a show. The show was completely jaw-on-floor. He had this old Airline guitar he played some slide on, and some various strats, and of course the Gigliottis. I think the only songs he played a Les Paul on was Pain & Sorrow and Had To Cry Today. Crazy good shows.
I think that's the reason Joe had poly saddles (for the B & E strings) used on the bridge on his "Inspired by" Les Paul - to cut down on broken strings. I've seen Joe live 12x now, and have yet to see him break a string. And that's about 24 hours worth of playing!
As most of us know, he rarely (if ever) plays one guitar for more that 2 or 3 songs before changing. And I'm sure at that point Dave is changing out the strings on the one he's just handed off.
NPB_EST.1979 wrote:xcorporate wrote:Joe seems so level headed I would imagine teching for him would be a dream job!
I have one of Joe's broken strings off of the "bass boat" strat from 2005 when he used to open up with You Upset Me Baby. So the high E broke pretty much during the 1st song. I'm not really sure what the tech was doing at the time, but he must not have been watching. Joe had to do some crazy thing on stage until he could get the tech's attention. Both played it cool, but I think Joe was pretty annoyed at the time. So I think of Joe as sort of a perfectionist. Which is good. I would imagine teching for Joe would be stressful because you'd want to work so hard to keep the quality top notch. That's a lot of pressure!
...All the little nuances that happen at a show. The show was completely jaw-on-floor. He had this old Airline guitar he played some slide on, and some various strats, and of course the Gigliottis. I think the only songs he played a Les Paul on was Pain & Sorrow and Had To Cry Today. Crazy good shows.
I think that's the reason Joe had poly saddles (for the B & E strings) used on the bridge on his "Inspired by" Les Paul - to cut down on broken strings. I've seen Joe live 12x now, and have yet to see him break a string. And that's about 24 hours worth of playing!
As most of us know, he rarely (if ever) plays one guitar for more that 2 or 3 songs before changing. And I'm sure at that point Dave is changing out the strings on the one he's just handed off.
You have been lucky to never see a broken string. I've seen 3 in 7 shows. Twice, the communication and handoff was so smooth that a note was never missed and the tech was all over it immediately. He must sit there with a replacement in hand on each song! The third time, during Woke Up Dreaming, Joe let the tech play one note continuously while the swap was made onstage and the crowd laughed in approval. Each time, it was absolutely professional, smooth and very unobtrusive.
Rick
Now that's a pro! ahahahah Wow.
RICjunkie wrote:NPB_EST.1979 wrote:I have one of Joe's broken strings off of the "bass boat" strat from 2005 when he used to open up with You Upset Me Baby. So the high E broke pretty much during the 1st song. I'm not really sure what the tech was doing at the time, but he must not have been watching. Joe had to do some crazy thing on stage until he could get the tech's attention. Both played it cool, but I think Joe was pretty annoyed at the time. So I think of Joe as sort of a perfectionist. Which is good. I would imagine teching for Joe would be stressful because you'd want to work so hard to keep the quality top notch. That's a lot of pressure!
...All the little nuances that happen at a show. The show was completely jaw-on-floor. He had this old Airline guitar he played some slide on, and some various strats, and of course the Gigliottis. I think the only songs he played a Les Paul on was Pain & Sorrow and Had To Cry Today. Crazy good shows.
I think that's the reason Joe had poly saddles (for the B & E strings) used on the bridge on his "Inspired by" Les Paul - to cut down on broken strings. I've seen Joe live 12x now, and have yet to see him break a string. And that's about 24 hours worth of playing!
As most of us know, he rarely (if ever) plays one guitar for more that 2 or 3 songs before changing. And I'm sure at that point Dave is changing out the strings on the one he's just handed off.You have been lucky to never see a broken string. I've seen 3 in 7 shows. Twice, the communication and handoff was so smooth that a note was never missed and the tech was all over it immediately. He must sit there with a replacement in hand on each song! The third time, Joe let the tech play one note continuously while the swap was made onstage and the crowd laughed in approval. Each time, it was absolutely professional.
Rick
new and unbroken-in string have a faulty tendency to break IMO
Dave, Joe's tech since Amarillo in 2006 when he flew in just after the show ended and I got called in to duty to hand Joe his guitars. That is all I'm qualified for, doesn't use the computer much if at all. He is techie in the world of guitars only.
He is the real deal as professional as it gets and a fine player as well. Don't expect him to post any time soon. But if hell freezes over anything could be possible.
That would be a blast to get small role in the show! hahahaah
Dave, Joe's tech since Amarillo in 2006 when he flew in just after the show ended and I got called in to duty to hand Joe his guitars. That is all I'm qualified for, doesn't use the computer much if at all. He is techie in the world of guitars only.
He is the real deal as professional as it gets and a fine player as well. Don't expect him to post any time soon. But if hell freezes over anything could be possible.
I don't know if Joe has his strings changed before shows or what but I can say I've read in numerous interviews that the composite E, and B saddles is because he finds Nickle coated brass to harsh a sound and the plastic saddles help mellow out the tone of the string. As big as he is I would be surprised if they didn't change the strings after each show. As hard as he is on a guitar bending and hitting the string you would almost have to change the strings... He uses Jazz III Dunlops and those are really hard plastic picks, and very sharp.
We are seeing him for the first time in Cleveland April 29th! I've read all his gear posts and it's great to see him so engaged in his rig. So many guys seem to be steered towards certain gear depending on the endorsements that are offered. He seems to have risen above that B.S.
What brought this to mind was the Van Halen video on youtube when they were playing in North Carolina and Eddie was completely out of tune with the backing track (keyboards on this song.) They claimed that the front of house messed with the pro tools in a way that raised the pitch of the keyboards. But Eddie was the only one out of tune! Subsequent to this I read an interview from his tech that he bumped his guitar on a cabinet and knocked it out of tune. He is supposedly so ornery that he just kept playing out of tune and didnt' swap guitars. So reading these sort of accounts from the guys behind the scenes give you a real insight as to what he's like. Doesn't really mean anything, I just find it interesting I guess.
RICjunkie wrote:NPB_EST.1979 wrote:I have one of Joe's broken strings off of the "bass boat" strat from 2005 when he used to open up with You Upset Me Baby. So the high E broke pretty much during the 1st song. I'm not really sure what the tech was doing at the time, but he must not have been watching. Joe had to do some crazy thing on stage until he could get the tech's attention. Both played it cool, but I think Joe was pretty annoyed at the time. So I think of Joe as sort of a perfectionist. Which is good. I would imagine teching for Joe would be stressful because you'd want to work so hard to keep the quality top notch. That's a lot of pressure!
...All the little nuances that happen at a show. The show was completely jaw-on-floor. He had this old Airline guitar he played some slide on, and some various strats, and of course the Gigliottis. I think the only songs he played a Les Paul on was Pain & Sorrow and Had To Cry Today. Crazy good shows.
I think that's the reason Joe had poly saddles (for the B & E strings) used on the bridge on his "Inspired by" Les Paul - to cut down on broken strings. I've seen Joe live 12x now, and have yet to see him break a string. And that's about 24 hours worth of playing!
As most of us know, he rarely (if ever) plays one guitar for more that 2 or 3 songs before changing. And I'm sure at that point Dave is changing out the strings on the one he's just handed off.
I don't know if Joe has his strings changed before shows or what but I can say I've read in numerous interviews that the composite E, and B saddles is because he finds Nickle coated brass to harsh a sound and the plastic saddles help mellow out the tone of the string. As big as he is I would be surprised if they didn't change the strings after each show. As hard as he is on a guitar bending and hitting the string you would almost have to change the strings... He uses Jazz III Dunlops and those are really hard plastic picks, and very sharp.
xcorporate wrote:We are seeing him for the first time in Cleveland April 29th! I've read all his gear posts and it's great to see him so engaged in his rig. So many guys seem to be steered towards certain gear depending on the endorsements that are offered. He seems to have risen above that B.S.
What brought this to mind was the Van Halen video on youtube when they were playing in North Carolina and Eddie was completely out of tune with the backing track (keyboards on this song.) They claimed that the front of house messed with the pro tools in a way that raised the pitch of the keyboards. But Eddie was the only one out of tune! Subsequent to this I read an interview from his tech that he bumped his guitar on a cabinet and knocked it out of tune. He is supposedly so ornery that he just kept playing out of tune and didnt' swap guitars. So reading these sort of accounts from the guys behind the scenes give you a real insight as to what he's like. Doesn't really mean anything, I just find it interesting I guess.
RICjunkie wrote:I think that's the reason Joe had poly saddles (for the B & E strings) used on the bridge on his "Inspired by" Les Paul - to cut down on broken strings. I've seen Joe live 12x now, and have yet to see him break a string. And that's about 24 hours worth of playing!
As most of us know, he rarely (if ever) plays one guitar for more that 2 or 3 songs before changing. And I'm sure at that point Dave is changing out the strings on the one he's just handed off.
I have only ever broken a few strings live- memorably when doing the massive 4 1/2 tone B string bend on Another Brick In the Wall- which then sent my entire (floating trem) guitar terminally out of tune.
I reckon Gibbo saddles are a little tougher on string wear than strat saddles.
Eddie Van Halen recorded with old strings...no doubt to facilitate the ''brown sound'' he wanted.... just like a distortion pedal sounds nice and warm when the battery is dying.
He also boiled a new set of strings to stretch them out so he could lock them in tune with his locking tuner system.
New strings feel great, but can sound harsh...especially if you dont want to tweak your settings. The poly saddles, would take the higher end off the new E & B strings. I dont think the hard poly saddles would help prevent braekage. >> DAN
To the veteran JB guys here. Has Joe's tech ever come on here and discussed "a day in the life" sort of thing? I came across some old EVH tech interviews and they were very insightful not only as to the gear and how hard he was on it but what he was like as a boss etc... Joe seems so level headed I would imagine teching for him would be a dream job!
Ha! Ever been on the road? 
IMO, Joe the perfectionist, is a consummate professional. Dave is a consummate professional. From what I've seen, the deal seems to work. The whole crew becomes family...dysfunctional or all peace and love. Dave plays, as well.
It's only a guess, but most pros on the road are level headed when everybody does their jobs and makes decent decisions pertaining to their jobs.
It's a very cool question.
MuchLove
BigJeff
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