Your favorite Bonamassa guitfiddle... (Page 3 of 4)

Tara, I don't think I have ever seen Joe play this quitar, thanks for the link on the Airline.

I read somewhere that the gold strat is 1963 model, which he had repainted in the gold flake colour.

Usually repainting like this kills the sound but I have to admit it does sound very sweet. I've got an American Vintage Series 1962 strat and they do sound very similar to each other.

A lot of Joes tone comes from using his fingers to do the picking in his quieter moments - its just fabulous! I can't get anywhere near it.. he's probably got calluouses on the ends of his fingers which give him a rally snappy fat sound.

I've got the Rockpalast DVD. Anybody know what amp he's using? I can see that he's got a Marshall Blues Breaker. Is this his only amp or is there more?

I think the Gold sparkle strat pickups were re-wound by Lindy Fralin- check out this article which is a pretty in-depth interview with Joe on his gear...
http://bonamassabluesrock.com/TQRFeb04Proof.pdf
-no doubt most of you have already seen it! 
Hey,  anyone know what year & neck type the Trans Amber Gibson Les Paul is featured on the Rockpalast video?

Cheers!

Hey Tara, cool photo! 

I've seen the Airline in the guitar rack at shows, but honestly I can't recall seeing Joe ever play it.  Maybe, someone can enlighten me, what's the lure of this guitar? A lower-end guitar that can sound great because of the skilled player who knows how to work it? I don't claim to be a guitar expert and don't even play yet, but I like learning about them and my son was telling me about this guitar a while ago because Jack White plays one.  Is it from the late 60's- early 70's and was it originally only available at Montgomery Ward/Two Guys stores and considered a low-end guitar?  Is the sound suppose to come off as raw, kinda' garage band effect or does it depend on what you plug it into?

Another fan told me part of the answer to my Martin guitar question was right on some of the CD liners, two different models listed, vintage from 1962 and 1970.  Thanks.

For Jim- It's the Gold Sparkle Strat
For Kat- It's the Black (Clapton) Strat &
of late- The Gilotti (with prejudice).  The way he plays "Mountain Time" on the Rockpalast DVD is just Wicked Killer Outta Site !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  In other words,  The Gilotti on a song by song basis, but the black strat all day, everyday !

"Joe took the stage armed with the guitar rack filled to capacity with axes waiting to be unleashed. Joe played a vintage Airline guitar for The River that really shined. The lighting was very cool in that the Chandler Electro-slide seemed to change colors during Wild About You Baby. Burnin Hell followed Wild and Kenny and Joe had a lot of fun with the ending. The crowd, in turn, went wild about the solos. Joe turned to the acoustic for Woke Up Dreaming, and set us up for a rockin Pain and Sorrow to end the set that had the black Clapton Strat making sounds that it was not really designed for, but damn I sure admire Joe in creating new and different ways of expressing himself through these guitars."

"Had To Cry Today served as dessert for the full meal deal show."

This is the review that RockinRon wrote, for the blog from the 27-Jan-05 show, at Boulder Station in Las Vegas, where I took the picture of the Airline.  So, I think it would be safe to assume that he played it on both songs.  Thanks, Jane!

I'm not 100% sure about this, and Joe, feel free to chime in, but I'm pretty sure that in the shows that I saw him play it, the Airline was tuned in an open tuning (for slide, i.e., The River/Burnin' Hell/Wild About You Baby) and would not lend itself to "Reconsider" which is a standard tuning song. Just my $0.02.

Keep on rockin' the blues...

Carl

I think I like the Gilotti best, but I change my mind all the time, for the guitar he plays always fits the song! But I do like the look of the Gilotti!