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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Why dessert the strats?
I always thought that Les Pauls were easier to play than strats. To me, I have to work a strat (not mine...the neck was made to similar specs of my PRS) but Les Pauls generally have lower, smoother action, a flatter radius on the neck and well...nicer necks in general.
A strat where I find it's a more expressive guitar you have to really coax the sound out of em.
But I agree in one point...woman certainly do help the song writing process.
If knew the real person my ex girlfriend turned out to be.. you would hold a grudge too.. LOL!!! Got a great album from it though. Thats really is the lesson for people who date songwritters.. be careful cause the songs we write about you will last forever!!! Honestly she will go down in history as the worst girlfirend ever!! Bad for real life, great for the blues.. She hates when I talk about her in Public!! You can see how that effects me doing it!!!! HAA Wait til she hears the "Ballad of John Henry" LOL! OH.. back to the topic.. LES PAULS Rule..!! Strats are great and will always be no matter what I say.. They just carry a stigma with them... SRV is a icon but theres always that comparison whether u sound like him or not.. Plus Strats are easier to play than Les Pauls, for young guys thats taking the easy way out.. Think Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, , Jeff Beck...
Joe B
Yep. I do. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt, the empty wallet, and the scars to prove it.
.
Just an important note, apparently Joe's ex in Georgia and FENDER Strats are in the "dont exist / never happened / wish I never met them/her". I was shocked to see the Stonetree Baritone Strat on stage at the Coach House earlier this year...check it out.
http://www.stonetreeguitars.com/Bonamas … ritone.JPG
Libby took that picture, cool huh?
She hates when I talk about her in Public!! You can see how that effects me doing it!!!! HAA Wait til she hears the "Ballad of John Henry" LOL! OH.. back to the topic..
Hahaha Jesus...pissing off an ex and making money doing it...what a life.
We should also keep in mind he's a star. He can play broom stick and make it sound like Joe Bonamassa is playing. I say we let the man focus on playing and let him worry about what guitar he's going to play next. Personally I think I suck at playing both types of guitars so maybe a easier guitar would help me out.
Yea, we've all had those ex stories. I have to two or four myself. In hind sight the kind of women you're glad got away. But that was years ago and the best revenge is seeing what they look like now..lol
Until the Bloodline CD came out I hadn't heard of Joe but after hearing one of the cuts on the radio I went out and bought the CD as quick as I could get my hands on it.
I've been a fan ever since.
To be honest though, I had no idea he was using a strat on that album and he he certainly didn't sound like SRV, in that he had his own unique tone and playing style completely removed from what Stevie was doing.
I think a strat has it's place and it's own tone but I don't miss it on any of Joe's albums and it definitely hasn't hurt his creativity or sound.
Whatever instrument he uses, the sound is basically in his hands. I figure if Joe decides to pick up a strat again down the road more power to him. If not there are other instruments that can quite easily take the place of a strat without bringing up bad feelings associated with Fender.
Fender has screwed a few other people in the past as well, both on instrument and amplifier designs but they really dropped the ball on this one and I think it's gonna come back to bite them in the a$$.
If knew the real person my ex girlfriend turned out to be.. you would hold a grudge too.. LOL!!! Got a great album from it though. Thats really is the lesson for people who date songwritters.. be careful cause the songs we write about you will last forever!!! Honestly she will go down in history as the worst girlfirend ever!! Bad for real life, great for the blues.. She hates when I talk about her in Public!! You can see how that effects me doing it!!!! HAA Wait til she hears the "Ballad of John Henry" LOL! OH.. back to the topic.. LES PAULS Rule..!! Strats are great and will always be no matter what I say.. They just carry a stigma with them... SRV is a icon but theres always that comparison whether u sound like him or not.. Plus Strats are easier to play than Les Pauls, for young guys thats taking the easy way out.. Think Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, , Jeff Beck...
Joe B
Well just be grateful you didn't have kids mate - that REALLY complicates matters let me tell ya! Reminds me of an old joke-
Q: Why is marriage like a Tornado?
A: 'Cos it starts with losts of huffin' & puffin' & then your car & house get blown away! ;-)
Anyways (getting back to guitars) I have to thank you for helping me 'see the light' as regards the Les Paul. Having been a Strat player man & boy for over 35 years I decided a year ago to invest in a custom shop '58 LP chambered & now a CS '57 Gold Top customized with Black hardware - of course! (sorry Joe- couldn't quite afford your Gibson signature- but it remains a deep but still distant longing ;-) I have to say I've barely touched my collection of 5 Strats since- nice though they are I understand now the 'Fender signature' they force on your playing- that SRV/Hendrix thing is just too entrenched in the psyche of listeners & players (much as I love their music make no mistake). There's a recent quote by an English guitarist (sorry forget his name) that sums it up nicely- " With a Strat you hear the guitar first - then the player - with a Gibson it's the player first then the guitar- 'nuff said...
Joe anytime you want to shed one of those strats give me a holler! I'm not too proud to play a Strat ..... or a LP! Love 'em both!
Strats are great and will always be no matter what I say.. They just carry a stigma with them... SRV is a icon but theres always that comparison whether u sound like him or not..
Joe B
did you find you still got those labels playin the gold strat? Although I guess it's not so much the appearance that draw the comparisons rather than the easily recognizable sound they have...
You know I can understand where Joe is coming from with regards to how he was handled by Fender. I assembled a gold sparkle strat because of Joe -- one off custom with Suhr pick-up, callaham trem, sperzels and the works. I love his playing no what he plays --- but watching him play a strat, there was always a reckless abandon to his playing. I love his tone with the Pauls, but seems too safe at times.
I have read / seen where he references strat = srv -- only if you are copping SRV licks, and if someone says that about joe's playing, they surely aren't listening with open ears.
While I am complaining ( not bad for first post huh, ha!!! ) -- I miss some of the pedals --- never overdid it -- but added nice colors to tunes: the univibe, leslie, trem ( heck I bought a Flip Trem because of Joe!!! ).
So, Joe --- you are truly amazing --- but don't be afraid to color your palette, as you have in the past -- dust off some of the pedals and pull out a strat -- doesn't have to be a fender ( suhr, tyler, grosh to name a few make great strat style guitars ).
Not a troll and not looking to start a flame war here. Joe is an inspirational player to me, and can understand upset with Fender, but get over it, it was a couple people that upset you, not the entire company -- I would love to hear me some Joe on a strat guitar again!!!!!
Jay
You know I can understand where Joe is coming from with regards to how he was handled by Fender. I assembled a gold sparkle strat because of Joe -- one off custom with Suhr pick-up, callaham trem, sperzels and the works. I love his playing no what he plays --- but watching him play a strat, there was always a reckless abandon to his playing. I love his tone with the Pauls, but seems too safe at times.
I have read / seen where he references strat = srv -- only if you are copping SRV licks, and if someone says that about joe's playing, they surely aren't listening with open ears.
While I am complaining ( not bad for first post huh, ha!!! ) -- I miss some of the pedals --- never overdid it -- but added nice colors to tunes: the univibe, leslie, trem ( heck I bought a Flip Trem because of Joe!!! ).
So, Joe --- you are truly amazing --- but don't be afraid to color your palette, as you have in the past -- dust off some of the pedals and pull out a strat -- doesn't have to be a fender ( suhr, tyler, grosh to name a few make great strat style guitars ).
Not a troll and not looking to start a flame war here. Joe is an inspirational player to me, and can understand upset with Fender, but get over it, it was a couple people that upset you, not the entire company -- I would love to hear me some Joe on a strat guitar again!!!!!
Jay
Welcome to the boards Jay, I think its safe to say hes finding the tones he likes with his Les Pauls matey. This topics been discussed alot although there was somet special about Joe and that Sparkle strat. 
I liked the little girl he had on it. I bought one of those decals for my strat because I thought that might have some of Joes magic in it. BTW it doesn't I'm still playing and it hasn't brought me my own web site or forum yet. I guess I'll keep trying. Joe again play what ever the heck you wanna play and go where ever the music leads you.
Joe Bonamassa wrote:Ask the Fender Custom shop.... Strats are like my ex-girlfriend in Georgia.. Dont exist / never happened / wish I never met her/ them ooops did I say Her?? LOL!!
Joe Bhehehe.
have you found a way to simulate a single coil type sound with a les paul? or are you completely over that type of sound?
Its possible on a four conductor pickup to do coiltapping and use push/pull pots to get a single coil sound. It's the same basic schematic as the Jimmy Page Les Paul. Also possible to get phase/out of phase push/pull on the tone controls....
I've got this on my Les Paul Custom and I can get honk and jangle whenever I want it.
Yeah but they still don't sound like a strat. More like a p-90 or something. The strat gets its sound from the magnetic pull from the 6 polls under each string. Thats how the strat gets its quack is because the string is disrupted from its figure 8 pattern that it would normally travel. The string doesn't have the sustain because each magnet is as strong as the one gibson puts in one big humbucker. In humbuckers the magnet is not right on top of the string which is why they have such great sustain. Which is why you cant get a Les Paul to sound like a strat. Its much easier to get a Strat to sound like a Les Paul even though you still wont get it.
Its much easier to get a Strat to sound like a Les Paul even though you still wont get it.
yep. i agree.
It matters not what pickup or tap switch you put in a Lester...it will never sound like a Strat. Heck...you can put the exact same single-coil pups in any Tele and Strat and they'll never sound the same.....the body shapes just won't allow it.
The comparisons to Hendrix and SRV are to be expected if you play a strat...especially using the neck pup where SRV resided 90% of the time....it just has that sound that's inescapable. I just hope Joe doesn't abandon the red Gigliotti....that mofo has some real JuJu to it.
As to Joe's "fender grudge".....I can see it....principal is principal!
"I just hope Joe doesn't abandon the red Gigliotti....that mofo has some real JuJu to it".....I hear you Guitgator!!!! LOVE the Gigliotti..hope it makes the RAH!!! There was mention of him playing it in Europe during this leg of the tour...so fingers crossed. Cathy
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Why dessert the strats?
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