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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Give Strats a Break.
I'll check them out right now. Thanks. Corby...what did you think of the clip I sent ya? That was the PRS and the Fuchs
Gonna listen asap - been swamped today!
I checked out Oceanefx's site. Great pedals. I know Joe likes the the Pearl Drive a lot...for good reason but check out the clean boost, the comp and the vintage echo...I'll take all four, please! I'm blown away.
...and four thank you's, Danny
I use Lindy Fralin Blues Specials in my favorite Strat.
i've heard good things about them, but never actually been able to hear for myself. how do they sound compared to texas specials.....brighter, warmer...? thats what i put in my guitar that i put together and man they scream.
The Duncan Five-Two's as described on the duncan website:
Alnico 2 magnets provide warmth and softer attack on the three high strings. Alnico 5 magnets provide punch and brightness on the low strings. It's like having two separate presence controls: one optimized for the high strings and one for the low strings. The result is a very balanced pickup with a bright and springy bottom end, and a smooth and rich top end.
Don't they sound perferct...especially for soloing?
To get back "on topic", I thought I read somewhere on one of the threads that Joe's main reason for chucking his Strats was that some idiot music critic(s) kept referring to him as a SRV wannabe. He went over to LPs so they couldn't make that comparison. No disrespect to Stevie Ray, but I for one think that Joe is a more complete (accomplished?) guitarist. But SRV was very influential in getting many of today's premier Blues artists into the genre (Kenny Wayne and our own Joe).
I can't trash Stats - I think they are great guitars. Everyone has his or her own preference. When I do get a chance to play I may grab a Strat, a Les Paul or something else depending on my mood, or how long it's been since I've played a particular guitar. Joe, anytime you want to dust off Goldie or another of your Strats and let it rip, it's fine by me!
It's hard to play a Strat and modern blues music without the Stevie influence creeping in. His style and tone has pretty much shaped modern blues as it stands.
I did the same thing in the '90's when I was playing a lot of blues gigs. At the time you had Kenny Wayne, Stevie, Johnny Lang, Chris Duarte, Tommy Castro, Indigenous, Kelly Ritchie, Ian Moore...and countless others all doing the "Stevie" thing. Sure, they all bring their personal touches to it but you can't help but compare. I consciously took another route and shaped my playing off of guys like B.B. King and Robben Ford. When I need the Stevie thing I can pull it out, if I need a Ford vibe or even a Brad Paisley vibe...that's how we shape who we are.
Joe did a great job of taking THAT influence and making it his. All the ingerdients make us who we are. The critics missed the boat saying (way back when) that Joe was just another Stevie clone.
P.S. By the way, I'm surprized that Joe isn't being compared to Slash. Isn't Slash the one who brought the Les Paul back to the fore front?
Comparing every Strat player to Stevie is ridulious as comparing every Les Paul player to Slash.
To get back "on topic", I thought I read somewhere on one of the threads that Joe's main reason for chucking his Strats was that some idiot music critic(s) kept referring to him as a SRV wannabe. He went over to LPs so they couldn't make that comparison. No disrespect to Stevie Ray, but I for one think that Joe is a more complete (accomplished?) guitarist. But SRV was very influential in getting many of today's premier Blues artists into the genre (Kenny Wayne and our own Joe).
I can't trash Stats - I think they are great guitars. Everyone has his or her own preference. When I do get a chance to play I may grab a Strat, a Les Paul or something else depending on my mood, or how long it's been since I've played a particular guitar. Joe, anytime you want to dust off Goldie or another of your Strats and let it rip, it's fine by me!
More accomplished I would never say. That would be like saying he's more accomplished than BB. Let's just leave it at Stevie's great, Joe's great, and thank God for the both of them.
It's just really unfortunate that "Texas Specials" are so popular as the thing to get. With LP's it seems like its the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates bridge and SH Jazz or whatever in the neck. I mean it's dumb when people are looking for a unique sound, they end up getting what everybody else does. for pickups in strats or pauls anywayz.
I give props to people who either stick with their stock pickups or go for something unconventional in their guitars. just me.
Amen there. It's like "I'm trying to be unique, so I'm going to get the exact rig that (insert famous guitar player here) has."
I own several Strats Fenders, Squiers, Tokais etc... At first i changed the pickups to all Seymour Duncans but always proved too expensive. I took a chance online a few months back and bought a set of Premium Overwound Alinco Single Coil pickups from Guitar Fetish Store for approx 62 USD and never looked back. The bridge pickup is a screaming 10k mid 9.4k and neck 9k. If you want something unique try these.
GFS pickups are the absolute B**l**ks and gave my strats a unique sound put it this way they sound how a strat should sound. I have since ripped out all the Seymours in my other 7 Strats and replaced them with GFS pickups. I even have a gorgeous sounding Hendrix set to die for. Do not under estimate GFS pickups these are stunning and well worth the money probably better than some of the big name pickup manufacturers including Seymour.
Check out the link below
http://store.guitarfetish.com/pickups.html
I take it you think GFS are good? Yeah, I agree!
I put GFS "Dream 90's" in a Les Paul of mine. It's a humbucker sized P-90, much like Gibson's P-94 or Seymour Duncan's Phat Cat. I simply LOVE those pickups. I will be getting GFS again, perhaps the RAILS or the lipstick tube pickups....
I wondered about GFS but for bass...don't think they do 5 string pups yet.
I take it you think GFS are good? Yeah, I agree!
I put GFS "Dream 90's" in a Les Paul of mine. It's a humbucker sized P-90, much like Gibson's P-94 or Seymour Duncan's Phat Cat. I simply LOVE those pickups. I will be getting GFS again, perhaps the RAILS or the lipstick tube pickups....
The lipstick pickups they make are really good. I've got them in my black mongrel Strat.
Spider wrote:I use Lindy Fralin Blues Specials in my favorite Strat.
i've heard good things about them, but never actually been able to hear for myself. how do they sound compared to texas specials.....brighter, warmer...? thats what i put in my guitar that i put together and man they scream.
I use them in a hot rod 57 body along with a EJ maple neck so they sound a bit brighter. I can get a really nice Trower vibe when I use my old Jen wah.
My next guitar is actually going to be a Strat, I've got nothing against them...In fact I play my Paul 90% of the time but I've got (technically) 2 strats! They're both frankenstrats of each other, kind of interesting...
Danny, why don't you just start another thread titled "Show your rigs" or something and we can get a bunch of pictures to look at from various people!
When I saw Bonamassa for the first time, I was disappointed that he did not use a strat. Like at all.
I'd like someone to elaborate as to why he is boycutting them, or whatever he is doing. Did he have a falling out with Fender, did he turn to Gibson to get away from the SRV clone talk or does he just prefer humbuckers over scoils? (Who would do that? 
) I always knew he was more of a gibson guy, but it seems like there are some pretty harsh principles involved?
An explanation appreciated!
Edit: Found the thread.
Search the board. There are plenty of topics on the subject, including from Joe himself.
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Give Strats a Break.
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