"Ask Norm" Q&A - Episode 8 | Guest: Joe Bonamassa at Norman's Rare Guitars
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- On this 8th episode of "Ask Norm" we have Joe Bonamassa as a guest on the couch with Norman and Nick. Again thank you for all the questions, keep them coming! We will try our best to answer as many as we can. Let us know what you think about this episode. Thanks for watching!
I did an interview with Joe a few years ago. We were backstage and he noticed that I'm a guitar geek, too. So he let me play a 1960 burst he had in the room.
I first thought it was a reissue, and when I realized it was the real deal I nearly fell off my chair ;). Never been so close to a real burst before and the fact that he handed it to me - some journalist he never met before... What a great guy!
Always a pleasure to meet him!
Guys, I'm from Brazil, 39 years old, have been learning english and how to play guitar by myself, self-student, and from the videos of yours, Norman, Joe, I've been learning a lot about new things as tone, vintage guitars and amps, I mean, a new culture! And it's for free! You guys spent five, ten, 28 minutes of your life thinking that you're just talking about guitars, but I'd tell you what: You guys are helping some people like myself to change our lives for the better, knowing a world of new things and stuff! Really thank you for this and I wish to visit your store there and buy a real and good par of equiment! God bless you all! 👏👏👏
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Cristiano Miranda Well said. Hope you’re doing well!! Rock on!! 🤘🏽
this is the kind of show that makes youtube cool and tv old.
With my monthly budget, I had the choice of either cable tv or internet service, well I chose internet for one reason...YOU TUBE
Yes, one of the reasons I haven't watched tv for about 4 years.
I would love to see Joe play the most affordable guitar in the store just to hear how amazing he could make it sound!
That would be awesome!
Good call!
Almost like Lemmo Demos
He's too much of a snob
His playing would probably get faster and less tasteful because the guitar is less inspirational to him and the tone would be different. But I kind of agree that the better players make cheap guitars sound better than most players
This was so entertaining. Joe is bloody fantastic. Listening to you guys talk about guitars was such a treat:-)
hello nelson
Joe's a fucking idiot
I just love, love, LOVE the stories of all the different vintage guitars. I've got a great story that involves my all-original, but well-played 1961 stack-knob Fender J-Bass. I gave a post-dated check for $75.00, a 1/2 oz. of shitty commercial Mexican weed, and a de-fretted Fender American Squier Bass that I traded my next door neighbor, who'd just moved here in WV, from Detroit, Mich. He had used that bass in his high school garage band he was in with his childhood friend, Bob Seger. And, yes. He had gave me a picture that had the bass in it with the band.
That was in 1984. And, I still gig with that bass every weekend.
Awesome story!
He is the best. I saw him in concert a few years ago and I am still talking about how great that concert was.
Joe Bonamassa is a REAL Bluesman...everytime he stops talking, a cool Blues line starts till the next phrase...thats a call and response in every situaton...
Nope, that's your friendly neighborhood annoying guitarist.
Was lucky enough to go into norms today, and Joe just happened to drop in. Most genuine, "rockstar" I've ever met, he didn't like to talk about himself, but when I asked about his guitar and what made it unique he opened up and loved talking. Great dude
God Bless you Dear Norm I just posted this yesterday about Joe using his vintage instruments the Audience gets to see these Legendary Guitars WOW !
Beautiful. I could watch these three for hours and be perfectly content.
Thank You For Making ME SO HAPPY !!!!!!
Make my DREAM COME TRUE JOE BONAMASSA!!!❤
Joe's videos are always the best, you learn something about guitars every time the genius speaks
I think Joe may be becoming my favorite guitarist of all time and let's face it there are some real greats out there... Love Slash's playing... Page was increadable... Hendrix possibly pushed blues rock the farthest. BB and Albert King have such warm spots in my heart, love Eric Claptin and yet the only hold out I can think of is Stevie Ray Vaughn...
Honorable mentions: Brian May, Petricci, Kieth Richard's, Jerry Garcia, Jeff Beck, EVH, Dwane Allman, Santana, David Gilmour, Mr. Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry, Pete Tounshend, John Lee Hooker, Billy Gibbons, Tony Tommi, the Edge, Angus Young, Muddy Waters, George Harrison, Jim Crocci, Johnny Winter, Robert Johnson, Joe Perry, Dimebag Darrell, Willie Nelson, buddy guy, Trimony, Buddy Holly, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett (sp?)
Thank You Joe!! for bringing out stuff (vintage guitars) to play for audiences, that is after all, why they made the things.
In my youth, you could go into a bar and hear a guy playing an old '52 tele through a beat up bassman, usually because
that's all he could afford but now it tends to be rich collectors who own them and I find that sad.
So a BIG thank you for letting people hear this stuff again!
rf
People that will appreciate Unconditionally
Great interview! Very entertaining....down to earth. Thank you for doing these.
Thank You JOE for Sharing Your BEAUTIFUL GUITARS with Us!!!!
My local shop had two identical rigs set up. Les Paul into a JCM 800. One rig was all 2008, the other was 1968. He even went as far as used an original 1968 cloth covered "coily" cable and a new one. The guitars were identical in specs and setup. All the knobs on the amps were the same. He would have you play through the new one, then play the same thing through the old one. The difference was not as pronounced as I would have thought, but the old rig just had this mojo about it that I could not pin down. It was smoother on the clean side, gnarlier on the dirty side. The guitar was more comfortable to play, the amp on the old rig had a much different response and the feedback was more natural and musical. Both were stellar and there was no inherent "flaw" with the new rig, but that vintage thing is really an eye and ear opener. I bet Norm could set up something similar in his shop and Mark could really show off the difference between the two. Hey! There is a new video series. Modern Vs Vintage!.
Charlie Foxtrot The 3rd a 1968 JCM800? that doesn't exist
Charlie Foxtrot The 3rd p
I've enjoyed every episode so far, & just love the whole Music World, so glad i play a guitar, always practicing, but it is good medicine for the soul, & "Music is the Doctor!"(Brother Doobies!), Keepin' the Blues alive!!! Peace, Love & Just feel the Groove!
Such a good guitar player. Humble guy as well. Knows what he's talking about
Joe can come back any time. Greatly enjoyed this installment.
Joe is so good. Not only his music, but the way he honors and tributes the old greats Like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. I have had kids say "who the hell is that" and they then proceed to RUclips old videos and it keeps that old groove going. To get a 16 year old searching for tabs to Smokestack LIghtning is a very cool thing
Norm, now we need more guitarists on this show. We love to geek out to what the guitarist plays or stories of the road. Awesome show!
I loved this conversation with Joe and you guy's and his underlying playing around 😂👍👊👏💥🔥 LOL Mark UK
Late post, who cares. What a great session, I could sit in there all day and listen to this stuff.
Great video. Joe is a class act. I really enjoy this series. It would still be a treat to hear about the original Fender Starcasters.
I would love to spend a day with Joe, talking guitars, jamming and just being normal, ie me not being a complete fanboy. But what a day that would be. He seems so cool and knows his stuff when it comes to guitars.
I had a mahogany Gibson acoustic, 1963, the year that I was born, that I had to sell for groceries. I will never be the same. The guitar was given to me by an uncle.
Norm. Have you ever bought a vintage guitar and found out it was fake? Have you ever seen a fake that is indistinguishable from the real thing?
Good question but how would you know? I'm not sure they'll admit to making mistakes and being corrected later by another party.
Like all dealers I'm sure he has accidentally bought a fake once or twice (and re-sold it for a profit)
Just watched the video, and dug it, as usual - thanks guys!!!
A quibble to pick though: Joe calls ES-335's "burst killers", and other great guitar players, like Warren Haynes, have said that too. However...I remember when Brian Ray (guitar and bass for Paul McCartney band) used to come over to my pad back in the day (1973-1975 Pacific Palisades, where we were raised). I had a killer stereo back then (McIntosh-JBL) which is what attracted him (along with the bud and hash I usually had). Brian was playing his vintage ES-335 (1958/9? cherry red) in the beginning, which sounded incredible to me - I had never heard a guitar played that well in person previously. Brian would play my cheap Guild Madeira acoustic, and make that sound like a million dollar instrument - brilliant playing! After he played the Madiera finger style to Dylan's newly released "Blood on the Tracks" record (which I loved), I told him he was going to be famous someday, because his playing impressed me so much. Brian replied: "there are many guitar players better than me" (butI was right!). I wasn't a "natural" guitar player myself, so it took me years to learn how to even tune and play rudimentary licks on guitar. I probably would have quit, but Brian's playing inspired me to keep at it, not that I've ever gotten very good, but I love noodling melodic lead lines. Brian subsequently brought over "Goldie", a 1957 Les Paul, right after buying her for $500, and he loved that guitar even more. He said there was something about the Les Paul that was better than the ES-335. He could feel the resonance through the solid wood more, plus it sustained better, and has an excellent sounding set of PAF's. Brian clearly preferred the Les Paul to the ES-335 back then, when he first began playing with Etta James as her band leader (his first big break). A gold-top Les Paul isn't a "burst", but they are similar guitars. Duane Allman traded his gold-top for a burst, but had his tech switch pickups, because the gold-top's PAF's sounded better to him, yet he liked the feel and look of the burst more. I wonder if the early PAF's were wound with more care, or differently? They have the same internal wiring and caps in both though - Joe explained how important they are to the signal chain. ANYways, just saying....
If I lived nearby Norm's, I'd camp out there 24 x 7........Listening to players that are so in love with the instrument, is the greatest 'story time' ever.
Another great player, who I personally don't think gets enough credit, and is a MASTER story teller, is GE Smith.....It would be incredible to have him, Joe, Norm, and others sitting around and sharing their stories....
Thanks for answering my question guys. Absolutely loving these videos, regretting not buying a guitar when I visited in May now. Next time....
great interview, thanks, Joe is a very nice man and a great talent,,
Norm and Joe my 1960’s Japanese Fender Mustang and Jazz master and Stratocaster are so good they are used in studio music and great artist and what makes them better is Fender was not first Epiphone Gibson was first and my 1969 Epiphone EA-250 is a 1970 Epiphone Matsumoto 5102T Red burst ( watermelon) finish all original and working condition. Gibson awarded Tak Matsumoku licenses for Gibson Epiphone guitars and only the fifth person to ever get this recognition for being the Mr Les Paul of Matsumoto Japan.
Best guitar shop ever!! Thanks for the video.
I love it when He Says Have You Ever Dropped a Les Paul ! Joe Has SUCH GOOD Common Sense
Super interview... Joe is just soooooo coooool
enjoyed that! What a nice humble guy!
LMAO that Buddy story
SquashPile great story, those stories are why I watch these kinds of videos.. Buddy was a hell of a drummer and singer though
I normally do not idolize anyone or have heroes but Joe is right up there! Can I play one of your 59 Les Pauls please? LOL
"I gotta run because I.. I have a... I... I gotta get my amp and... and go." That was classic. Joe Bonamassa cannot tell a lie.
So true what a trill for the fans
Great information and insight. Thanks very much.
"Here's to great tools"......😂😂 anyone catch the comedy in that?😜 Anyways, in all seriousness, what a great interview. I could have listened to them talk forever about that stuff.
My father in law took lessons from Wilbur Marker back in the late 40's and 50's at the Gibson plant. ( they offered lessons at Gibson back then) He is always telling stories of those days. His dad worked there too. One of his best stories is taking home the first les paul to try out and saying it was crappy ( before the stop bar) lololol.
I OVE THIS MAN❤❤❤
Joe is such a well of knowledge
There is nothing like a good old chinwag among guitar nerds about classic vintage guitars and amps...maybe a beer or two as well!
I really find this relaxing to listen to
Joe, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and John Mayer are today's torch carriers
Bonamassa is such a cool name.
Another fantastic interview.
Awesome discussion, love these.
geekin it man !!! - awesome
Joe is best ever.
Just saw smoking Joe in Roanoke, VA. WOW!!! He is really awesome. The entire band.
As vintage guitars become rarer and rarer do you see a time when reissues become collectable? Perhaps the new wave of vintage guitars. ( Denver from Whitehaven England )
That was so good I watched the whole thing, interesting
Cool Joe & Norman
my dream come true ,,,,was at gruhns in nashvegas
a real Gibson l5 from 1939 and a 30s D'Angelico
I giged a vintage guitar today and I always do.
4:27 thank you. The “les paul” was not created by les paul.. give credit where credit is due, but a lot of other great minds went into creating those guitars.
We Love You In Cleveland Joe !!!!!!!
Dangerous Dan Toler was a hell of a player.
Hey Norm, I'm sure most, if not all, Vintage guitars are old, but I'm also pretty sure that not all old guitars would be considered Vintage. What characteristics of an old guitar would make you classify it as "Vintage". Also, how old should a guitar be (5 yrs, 15 yrs, 25 yrs, older?) before you start considering it to be a vintage guitar?
YES HE IS THE GREATEST BLUES PLAYER !!!!!!!
What do you think of Fender reissued Strats? I ask this as a player that has had some original 60s Fenders, bought in the 60s. I sold them for obvious reasons, but I find that the Fender American Vintage 59s come pretty close.
really cool.. thanks for sharing.
Norm, with so many copies and attempts at recreating the original PAF pickups (be it Seymour Duncan's, Gibson Tim Shaw, '57 Classics, Burstbuckers, etc.) do you have opinions on which ones thru the years have truly come closest to the original PAF's?
Norm, given the vast amount of acoustics in the store, I'm curious if you guys are familiar with Collings? Do you think they make good acoustic guitars and do you ever have them in the store?
hey norm, I want to know if the new Rickenbacker hi-gain pickups are better or worse to get the classic Rickenbacker jangle than the old toaster pick ups. is the up charge to get the toasters worth it?
I really enjoyed this video :) thanks!
Make sure you switch your mobile phone off after that Joe wants to leave that pissed him off 😂 LOL Mark UK
side note. the B52 was designed in the biltmore hotel on the corner of monument and main st. in dayton ohio on the 3rd floor conference room over the course of a week in 1952
Hey Norm, that was stupendous keep 'em coming. I have a question/suggestion for a topic of discussion: What can you tell us about the history and evolution of the various versions and any problems concerning the Fender Telecaster Bass.
Every new boutique guitar I've played has been superior to every old guitar I've played. I think it comes down to individual attention in build quality, materials and parts. Just my personal 40 years of playing experience speaking. YMMV.
I feel exactly the same. Absolutely love my '78 Les Paul , but the craftsmanship and attention to detail on my brand new LTD Eclipse blows it away. :-)
+Rik J. Smith I've been been around tons of Fenders and Gibsons. I worked in music equipment retail for many years. My '86 Jackson Soloist and my '14 Teye Coyote trounce them all in sound, playability and looks. I don't even currently own a Fender or a Gibson. Given that you can buy a Teye, Duesenberg, Knaggs or many others for a comparable cost to a Gibson Les Paul Standard or Custom, there's just no comparison.
teerexness m
I've experienced exactly the opposite. These guitars did have the individual attention. Obviously depends on the instrument, but I've played plenty of Gibsons and Fenders from the 50's, 60's and even 70's that blow anything made today out of the water.
Go to see the 12 year old Dustin Tomsen playing and sing Joe Bonamassa's song Blue and Evil. Included guitar solo. He reminds me a lot of the young Joe.
He played through the Deville! My question is now: was "the eq at noon with a touch of reverb?" Haha
Jacob McKinney Joe seems to be quite used to the hot rod deville and deluxes, I'm not sure if he likes them too much but he doesn't mind them at least!
Class act!!
Hey Norm i was wondering why i do not see very much difference in prices of old say custom les paul's and standard's also I'm in love with the early 90's les paul standard's they sound close to the "burst" sound to me is there a reason for this or do you have a different opinion on them.
"well, guys I really gotta leave because I gotta get my amp..and go.." lmao excuses. awesome clip.
Hey Norm, could you talk a bit about your take on the differences between pre/post CBS Fenders and likewise pre/post Norlin Gibsons - specifically, any positive shifts that you feel came out of their respective "post" eras?
I played a 1967 maple cap telecaster that felt surreal In my hand awhile back. I could feel the neck resonating, the wood literally expanding in my hand as I played (best guitar ever!) I'm trying to determine if all vintage fender maple caps are like this or the reason. I've only played 1 vintage maple cap, but several vintage tele and modern maple caps like a custom shop 67 smugglers tele ; none of them came close. Like I said, I could literally feel the wood expand in my hand as I dug in or struck a chord....this never goes over to well when I try explaining this.
Are the late 60s beginner acoustics from Gibson worth buying?
As much as I think the whole vintage guitars thing is interesting, I never really understood the lore of it. Electronics have come a long way in 60 years or so. As have instrument finishes, intonation in modern bridges, modern tuning pegs are better, etc. Granted, Strats, Teles, and Les Paul haven't really made much innovation since the 70's, but companies like Ernie Ball Music Man, Carvin, PRS, and the like have all come up with vastly superior variants of classic designs and are frankly better crafted as a result. I mean, if people want to spend $500k on something that's tempermental and difficult to work with and maintain, that's their thing. I just don't see the point personally.
some people don't get it, and it's fine. But the things you say can apply to about everything like classic cars for instance - cars are built much better and safer than 70 years ago, yet older cars seem to fetch the most money.
What you would could a design flaw, some guitarists will call "character", i guess some people are more prone
to being nostalgic. my guitar heroes played fender, and my main guitar is a fender which is a copy of an old model.
But i will say one thing, a 1959 les paul sunburst will not give you "100 times better sound" than a current custome shop re issue, just different, and if you are rich and bored than more power to you
Rich and overly emotional about something that doesn't make a functional difference is a more accurate term. As far as the vintage cars thing goes, those actually were built better than what's out there today. I've been restoring classic cars since I was a little kid and I can say without any hesitation that very little about modern vehicles is an improvement in terms of the build quality. The engines are far superior, as are the transmissions and a small list of creature comforts like modern climate control units, audio systems, the addition of navigation controls, etc. - and they're admittedly a fair amount safer. The suspension, metalworking, and quality of the material put into the cars back then was better. Look at a truck that's been used as a truck is supposed to be from 2010 and compare one that's been maintained similarly from the 1950's - it'll have much less rust and probably still have most of the original paint. Oil-based versus water-based makes a world of difference. And back then, cars were actually made to last. And you could work on them yourself. Nowadays, that's not the case. Here again, a large portion of why people are into these things is for nostalgic reasons. Hence the huge money. I can at least understand the logic there, however. But there is literally nothing at all superior about an instrument from those days than there is any quality instrument out there now. Hell, stable tuning was always a problem until the mid-80's. And even then, guitar manufacturers didn't really have a solid grasp on the science behind what they were doing until the mid-90's. So people that have this idea in their head that vintage is always better are kidding themselves.
Well I have to disagree. Cars were made better in what sense? Engines are now more efficient so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to commute long distances. Modern performance cars vs the performance cars of the past are no comparison. The only difference is the materials used. Both cars, guitars, and everything vintage have one thing in common: the natural resources used to make it were abundant. With the rise of the production line era, brought about a scarcity in quality materials.
That's the main thing with vintage guitars. If you think about guitars in a primitive form, it's all about the woods used. A massive array of beautiful sounding tone woods were ripe for the taking. The wood of the guitar, especially in hollow bodies and semi hollows determines so much of the tone of the guitar. Now a days, many of those abundant species of trees are endangered and illegal to be cut down. So now guitars are made with substitutes that are poor attempts of replicating the tone. Of course if you drown the guitar in effects and start diving bombing with a whammy you won't notice.
If you're ever fortunate enough to play an electric guitar from the 50s or 60s, I encourage you to play it and then play a modern version of it. Now when you play, make sure to under play and really listen to how the simple notes and chords sound. You'll realize how beautiful and lively the vintage guitar sounds, and you'll probably come to realize that the new guitar sounds sterile and sounds like it was made in a production line. The craftsmanship will be noticeably different as well.
I don't know, that's just my opinion on the matter.
Yeah, I've played vintage guitars many, many times before. The folklore is bullshit. Modern guitars are so far superior in both build quality and the selection of tone woods it's not even funny. "Quality materials being substituted" is a problem in foreign instruments, which were generally made from some kind of plywood or pressboard anyways. I don't deal in semi-hollows, as they have feedback and intonation issues that aren't worth the trouble. And if I dial back on the tone control on my solid bodies, you'd never know the difference in an A and B comparison. The finish in modern instruments is much thinner and allows the wood to "breathe" in a sense a lot more than vintage instruments did. They didn't have the knowledge of chemistry back then that they do now. They didn't even understand how to get stable tuning until the 80's as I stated above. Don't believe me, try a Les Paul from the 50's. I have a 50's Les Paul that was my grandfather's that has been very well maintained if you'd like to see/hear the difference between that versus modern instruments. Play a Carvin, Ernie Ball Music Man, or anything in the high-end instruments realm and tell me you can hear a difference in how the notes ring out or the colorful nature of their tone. Trees haven't stopped growing and are still readily available. I'd love to know what these woods are that are now illegal to be cut down. Because rosewood is still just as available as it ever was. The only wood I can think of that you wouldn't find is something like Chestnut, but that aside, name one. I've made my own instruments before. The selection mills have now is absolutely astounding. And modern instruments now have a proper temperature control and drying process unlike what they did back in the 50's. You're talking about an era where they didn't realize that asbestos was bad for your lungs. They didn't know shit about manufacturing instruments back then.
For the automotive world, it's not an issue of lack of materials. Gas was exceedingly cheap in the 1950's. And it had nothing to do with greater abundance, it was the simple fact that gas companies hadn't caught on to the fact that their was major money to be made and nobody could do anything about it if they raised their prices. I'm well aware how modern engines are superior. And yes, they are faster and have more creature comforts and conveniences. But close a door on a 1970 Cadillac DeVille and compare it to a modern comparable Cadillac model. Try riding in one, or looking at how the interior details are done. And consider the fact that these cars are still standing after 46 years or more. Ever see what a car from 10 years ago looks like that's been treated the same way as those old cars were? Good luck finding one that isn't entirely trashed. The modern ones are complete shit. It's an issue of both people not taking pride in their work and everything being made at a price point. Which is precisely why nothing in the modern era will amount to anything down the road. And I'm pretty well versed in the metallurgy world. Chemical engineers can make materials now that people could have only dreamed existed back then. The difference is that current society applies planned obsolescence. Things are made to be replaced rather than repaired. And that's true mainly of appliances, automobiles, and electronics. If you get more than 6 years out of any of those three things, could yourself a very fortunate (and rare) individual.
Paul Lander Sounds reasonable.
14:35! Thankyou that's what i wanted to hear, 15:58, did you hear that Mark A.? Take your rings off! You should have had Joe answer the phone when it rang and not tell anybody that it was Joe Bonamassa
That was great
What do you think Joe uses for his Reverb handle
Joe's the man
norm I have a question for you. have you ever seen a 50s strat 2 -single pick up slanted.full size neck and more like a jag body?
Why didn't you ask him about Beano?
yeah really !!
The comic, the album, or the guitar?
The guitar obviously, word has it on the internet Joe knows the whereabouts of Eric's original "Beano" Gibson
+TroubadourJuggernaut I think he dismissed that rumor in an interview for Guitarist magazine
He's just never seen the guitar in person to verify it himself, but I think among the secret collecting community it is rumored to be the real thing.
If you pay more than USD 10.000,-- for a guitar you better believe it has this magic touch.
Joe could care less if a guitar has scratches or dinks. It's a working musician's tool. Norm however makes his money from selling mint guitars to collectors who will hide them away until they have doubled in value. Rory Gallaghers Strat would never find a place at Norms. Good guitars get bashed up because they are played to death - because they sound so good. Why is a 50 year old guitar in mint condition? Presumably because it's not a player.
Wow, interesting to hear the effect that Dickey Betts show had on Joe... he's never really been into the Allmans Brothers music.. at least I'm pretty sure I've heard him say that in interviews. Am I wrong on that?
Hi Norm, i kinda like the looks and sound of 70's strats, is there anything wrong with me? ;-)
my other question would be, am i better off buying "the real deal" (197X strat) or a custome shop version of a 1970's strat?
BTW, just re watched the classic "this is spinal tap" movie and noticed your tshirt on Nigel, are the guitars in the movie from your collection?
Wow Joe's cool as hell I have never played a 59 Paul or a Mary Kay hook me up!!
Bona-seum shirt so dope!
what punchline chord is that? 17:12