this guy, at his 32 years old it´s already a legendary guitar player, without any doubt. he owns more than 150 guitars inccluding that 59 burst... and you hear him and it seems like the guy next door.... i really admire joe
Joe is a great player and really knows his stuff on equipment. He's like a big kid that has the $ to buy what he wants now. And a polite gentleman to add to share with us.
+Kyle Koplien I don't get it either. He has a respect and admiration for the blues, can play Guitar like a pro, and has a killer guitar collection. What's not to like?
Joe is so cool. I wish I had someone like him around here to play and talk with about music and guitars. Great guy who like me loves Gary Moore. Thx Joe for being you and not being some stuck up snob.
Good on you for taking the '59 on the road. I have a friend that has both a '59 and a '58 they haven't seen the light of day for 20 odd years all they do is sit in his vault. It 's a crying shame
I've seen that '59 les paul in the 'wood'. My guitar teacher is old mates with Bonamassa's keyboard player; so me and a friend got to go to Joe's sound check and we spoke with his guitar tech for ages! was a pretty awesome night!
I like the way Joe is starting to show he's actually eccentric, and has been for a while. His music is soooo...taking off. Be free and say and play anything you want! BTW, I'm sure he's actually heard in person most of the comments posted here (about his gutars) from his friends. Good luck
+Coldacre totally agree, not a fan of the music but he seems a genuine guy and i love that he owns these guitars and doesnt keep them in a vault, just uses them for what they were intended.
I think it's great he still plays them! Why let the guitar stand or hang in a glass cage or something when you can hear them sing and do what they simply do best!
@HearingLossProvider Thats crazy, never saw that before! Yeah I saw the headstock and then the zoom out, I watched and paused it several times to make sure I was right, it's pretty damn cool. I like your name too, I still feel like I am recovering from gigging with 100 watt tube amps for years, now I am rocking the 50 watters.
to be fair ,he's just doing what any guitar nut would do ..all us guitar nuts would love to play like him and have 300 guitars and have a 59 les paul ,so folks be happy for the man he's doing what us guitarists live for ,because he still loves it.
@DRGK9 A lot of Les Paul players do that. They didn't have light guage strings in the old days. Players would wrap the strings around the tailpiece, which made string bending much easier. Though if you use light strings, doing this will pull the string from the nut when bending.
@louisalive Your talking about a special and the Jr. was only started to recive the double cutaway treatment in 58 but was offered in regular. I found the guitar and its listed as a 58' Les Paul of course reissue but I saw 1 about 2-3 months ago in guitar world Guitar Price edition they put out yearly. I copied the pic then remembered I can't attach it. I am not crazy just forgot the date but the single cutaway is a remade 58' single humbucker. I swear it was noted as an upgraded Jr
That is a prototype that Gibson made specially for Joe Bonamassa called the BonaByrd. It's a Les Paul body with only a bridge pickup and a Firebird headstock. He also has a '64(I think it's a '64) Firebird 1
What he says about glass case guitars is so true. I hate it when people say they don't want to play there vintage most expensive guitar because they are scared it will brake or something...
LOL. I use to do jams. I'd use my gold top. (Newer one) Players or so called would want to use my guitar. I'd ask "didnt you bring your guitar to the jam?" They'd say no I dont like to take it out to jams. (It might get bumped or something). I'd tell them going to the jam with out your guitar is like going to a whore house without your dick. Bring it next time if you want to play.
I feel the same about my '81 335 as Joe does about that '59! Iknow it's not 50s/60s but damn man, sometimes the magic just happens! But, beautiful neck, huge volute and headstock, coil tap PAFs, trapeze tail! My main guitar for 20 years now, 2nd owner, wherever i want to go it follows; I would honestly put it up against any 335 from any year anywhere just for fun to see if it has all the mojo i feel it has, or wether maybe it's just me: )
Hey Joe, RE the 355... the embossed logo GOLD humbuckers lasted into 1973. The chrome and nickel embossed pups on Standards and Deluxes ended in 72, but gold dragged on into 73 because they sold less high-end models with gold hardware. Also, Gibson NEVER ends any feature until their stock is depleted (unless of course Henry gets sued, held at gun point or both : )
@willeng84 if you watch the track breakdown of slow train from premierguitar, he nicknamed it the bonabyrd, just a les paul and firebird headstock, one pickup.
@louisalive I don't know what year its a copy of just a guess but did you even see the guitar im talking about? You have to pause the video and pay attention right after the first les paul gold top comes out. Its the desert burst Les Paul body with a firebird reverse headstock and only a single pickup like the nice Les Paul Jr. they made and I thought it was in 59 that those were put out but probably wrong, seen 1 like it before but never with a fire bird head stock!
WOW!! Did you notice the super custom guitar behind the first one he pulled out? I am a guitar freak and that my friend is questionably a 59' Les Paul Custom BUT it definitely has a Firebird headstock and only one humbucker in the bridge. Thats crazy. The flame top looks awesome but what a strange guitar. The Desert Burst one, I thought it was his 12 string but its not.....
@willeng84 yeah I can see it, i doubt it'll be based on anything, purely custom shop. The 59 junior is a double cutaway, with a P90, and the custom shop is that groovy lookin jimmy page one with the 3 pickups... and yeah, nothing Firebird came out untill 63, so we can only assume it's a guitar mashup
@andreastrato thems fightin words haha, i love strats but i have a mexi that just will not stay in tune anymore, i havent played in a week bc it frustrates me too much, i just ordered a new 50s gibson les paul studio goldtop and i plan on playing non stop for the next month to make up for this week =)
@sirgerry Bonamassa isn't signed to an endorsement contract, its something Fender and Gibson rarely if ever do. He used Strats and Tele's a lot in earlier album such as " So Its Like That" and "New Day Yesterday" but lots of people reckoned he sounded too SRV which Is a common problem even for the best post Stevie strat player.
@xljeraldlx Depends on condition, Joe's has had a head break (before he got it) and been re fretted by him and had some replacement pots and tuners (that is what he said in an interview last year). So it's probably worth a lot less than one that is all original and has sat in a case for the last twenty years or the Green/Moore guitar which has it's own story. It's still worth a lot but it's insurable.
@dokokai 1.- iam a huge fan of joe 2.- I never compared myself to joe or page 3.- I said I would love to have the oportunitty to play one 4.- what´s your problem?
@xljeraldlx not all of them the value depends on the condition and the top, the more pronounced the flame the better, thats what i hear anyhoot, you could pick up a 59 for anywhere from @200k & up..
yea plus one on the glass case guitars, there isnt too much magic in a 59 if you cant hear it or play it and you lock it away. Ultimately we love and others love the instruments we play and use to make great music.
I'VE SEEN THIS GUY 3 TIMES ,,HES CHANGED MY PLAYING....THX jOE..!! MY QUESTION TO ANYBODY...I'M LOOKING TO BUY A LES PAUL(USED)..ARE THE OLD PICK UPS BEST OR INSTALL NEW ONES (ie P90) is it the solid body is what gives you that tone...?? I have an SG w/ les paul pick ups ..too thin....thinking of trading it in for the paul....ur thoughts..??
+Bruce Hicks get yourself a Gibson Les Paul Traditional. It's as close to a '59 as you can get without spending $6,000+ on a re-issue. Great pickups too.
D: i had an anurism at 2:55. Joe, i wish i could casually pull a $200,000+ guitar out and hold it like that everyday for the rest of my life. i am truly jealous
Freddy king another who rocked major tone with the the Gibson t top pickup for all the love pafs get and rightfully so Gibson patent number and t top pickups are responsible for just as much great tone as the t tops . All of our most legendary SG tones came from patent number and t top pickups and a shit tonne of legendary 355 and 335 tones came from patent number t top and even tarbck/superhumbuckers . Alot of people do not realize that from 1972 onwards 335s actully had tarback pickups. Weird to think of 335s with ceramic magnets pickups but they did however the 335s had the low output version of the superhumbucker same version that was in the late 70s explorer reissues and 73 to 84 SGs they also used those pickups I the L5S . The L5s with low output tarbacks nail jimmy page tone despite being very diffrent from what page actully used .
Of course, Stradivarius instruments played live are carefully taken care for, because of their rarity and value, a very different life to that of a rock n roll guitar. Though, i do think instruments, specially the greatest ones, are meant for the road.
I once played a glass case Les Paul :) I pretended to be interested in buying it :) collector guy! NOT!! I wasn't allowed to use a pick! anyway, I sat there playing for a few mins until they wanted it back!! then asked if I was thinking of buying? I said sorry, i'm not a collector :) it was so worth getting my hands on the Les Paul but I felt it sucked that it sits in a damn case!!!! should be on a stage!! singing
@xljeraldlx Plus no '59 Les Paul comes anywhere close to the values of violins and so on used by classical players. As for refrets vintage guitars don't need them as much because back then they used higher quality frets than they do now. PRS spent years replicating old fret stock which is why there frets last longer. You can see the difference with a standard PRS and a Grissom with Dunlop frets when they come up second hand.
Yeah but I heard his case was stolen, which included his pride and joy - a sweater made entirely of pony ass hair, stitched with alpaca balls and a nonexistent button to represent his nonexistent penis. Estimated $450k USD, so yeah…like two of those 59 les pauls.
this guy, at his 32 years old it´s already a legendary guitar player, without any doubt. he owns more than 150 guitars inccluding that 59 burst... and you hear him and it seems like the guy next door.... i really admire joe
He is just so mellow and cool. this is the kind of guy you just want to hang out with.
I'm all for hearing and seeing these old rare guitars being played in public-Thanks Joe
Joe is a great player and really knows his stuff on equipment. He's like a big kid that has the $ to buy what he wants now. And a polite gentleman to add to share with us.
I don't understand all the grief joe gets, he seems just like a normal guy who's just as obsessed with his guitars as we are : )
+Kyle Koplien I don't get it either. He has a respect and admiration for the blues, can play Guitar like a pro, and has a killer guitar collection. What's not to like?
Stupid haters ...are still on the road....
I almost cried at the part he talked about the '59... so beautiful... and what he said... :') a worthy owner :)
Joe is so cool. I wish I had someone like him around here to play and talk with about music and guitars. Great guy who like me loves Gary Moore. Thx Joe for being you and not being some stuck up snob.
This guy makes me love my Les Paul. I am a Telecaster guy, but man his passion for Gibson is inspiring
I am the same way!
yeah I use to have a les paul custom....sold it...now I know what I had..shit
love my American strat ..but im getting a paul..
Bruce Hicks I just bought a ES-335. I will not be buying another LP unless it is over 60 years old haha
I was kind of shocked he didn’t buy greeny.
I love Joe! Jesus and Joe are all I need! 🙏🏽❤️🙏🏽
Good on you for taking the '59 on the road. I have a friend that has both a '59 and a '58 they haven't seen the light of day for 20 odd years all they do is sit in his vault. It 's a crying shame
I loved that 57 les pauls with black parts and that took me to Joe, now I am a huge fan. He have changed my life.
I've seen that '59 les paul in the 'wood'. My guitar teacher is old mates with Bonamassa's keyboard player; so me and a friend got to go to Joe's sound check and we spoke with his guitar tech for ages! was a pretty awesome night!
I like the way Joe is starting to show he's actually eccentric, and has been for a while. His music is soooo...taking off. Be free and say and play anything you want! BTW, I'm sure he's actually heard in person most of the comments posted here (about his gutars) from his friends. Good luck
that was actually kinda beautiful when he was talking about the 59' saying how he doesn't believe in glass case guitars, great man, great player.
dont particularly get into Joe's music, but absolutely love his attitude on vintage guitars. play those 'bursts. bravo!
+Coldacre totally agree, not a fan of the music but he seems a genuine guy and i love that he owns these guitars and doesnt keep them in a vault, just uses them for what they were intended.
I think it's great he still plays them! Why let the guitar stand or hang in a glass cage or something when you can hear them sing and do what they simply do best!
joe is one SICK guitar player!!!!!! one of the greats
Could you ever imagine if his equipment u-haul/bus/trailer ever tipped over.. He'd write a whole album about that blues..
@HearingLossProvider Thats crazy, never saw that before! Yeah I saw the headstock and then the zoom out, I watched and paused it several times to make sure I was right, it's pretty damn cool. I like your name too, I still feel like I am recovering from gigging with 100 watt tube amps for years, now I am rocking the 50 watters.
to be fair ,he's just doing what any guitar nut would do ..all us guitar nuts would love to play like him and have 300 guitars and have a 59 les paul ,so folks be happy for the man he's doing what us guitarists live for ,because he still loves it.
Guitars are meant to be played, no matter what they've cost you
@DRGK9 A lot of Les Paul players do that. They didn't have light guage strings in the old days. Players would wrap the strings around the tailpiece, which made string bending much easier. Though if you use light strings, doing this will pull the string from the nut when bending.
He has a real 1959 burst and plays it, amazing.
It's called the Bonabird, a one-off single pickup Les Paul with a firebird headstock made by the custom shop for Joe.
@louisalive Your talking about a special and the Jr. was only started to recive the double cutaway treatment in 58 but was offered in regular. I found the guitar and its listed as a 58' Les Paul of course reissue but I saw 1 about 2-3 months ago in guitar world Guitar Price edition they put out yearly. I copied the pic then remembered I can't attach it. I am not crazy just forgot the date but the single cutaway is a remade 58' single humbucker. I swear it was noted as an upgraded Jr
@thinghurlos and i like how he got all humbled when he pulled it out and talked about it, like he feels honored to play it
JB...forever driving up the prices of guitars for us regular human-beings!!! Thanks a lot.
That is a prototype that Gibson made specially for Joe Bonamassa called the BonaByrd. It's a Les Paul body with only a bridge pickup and a Firebird headstock. He also has a '64(I think it's a '64) Firebird 1
What he says about glass case guitars is so true. I hate it when people say they don't want to play there vintage most expensive guitar because they are scared it will brake or something...
I wouldn't bring it on tour with me but I would defiantly play it at home.
Plz re-upload jack white at glastonbury
Jason Craig I try, It just gets removed every time within about 5 mins :P
Oh alright. That's cool.
FUCK YOU RUclips!!!!!!!🔫🔫🔫
LOL. I use to do jams. I'd use my gold top. (Newer one) Players or so called would want to use my guitar. I'd ask "didnt you bring your guitar to the jam?"
They'd say no I dont like to take it out to jams. (It might get bumped or something). I'd tell them going to the jam with out your guitar is like going to a whore house without your dick. Bring it next time if you want to play.
Oh nice, thanks, yeah the firebird is one of my favorites, but the bonabyrd looks very cool aswell.
@landguitar ?
"Plain tops" were used in 58.
A closer look will reveal some nice subtle flame in that 59 burst.
ANY 1959 Sunburst LP IS a HOLY GRAIL
I feel the same about my '81 335 as Joe does about that '59! Iknow it's not 50s/60s but damn man, sometimes the magic just happens! But, beautiful neck, huge volute and headstock, coil tap PAFs, trapeze tail!
My main guitar for 20 years now, 2nd owner, wherever i want to go it follows; I would honestly put it up against any 335 from any year anywhere just for fun to see if it has all the mojo i feel it has, or wether maybe it's just me: )
Hey Joe, RE the 355... the embossed logo GOLD humbuckers lasted into 1973. The chrome and nickel embossed pups on Standards and Deluxes ended in 72, but gold dragged on into 73 because they sold less high-end models with gold hardware. Also, Gibson NEVER ends any feature until their stock is depleted (unless of course Henry gets sued, held at gun point or both : )
That's a guitar locker from heaven!
If I'm not mistaken, judging by the headstock, he's got a Firebird lurking in there \m/ \m/
wish he was still playing strats...his strat tone was sooo gooood.
I really like it that he plays that '59.
@willeng84 if you watch the track breakdown of slow train from premierguitar, he nicknamed it the bonabyrd, just a les paul and firebird headstock, one pickup.
god damn it, im a huge joe´s fan but I have to say... lucky bastard.... That 59 burst, I could sell my soul for that one
@louisalive I don't know what year its a copy of just a guess but did you even see the guitar im talking about? You have to pause the video and pay attention right after the first les paul gold top comes out. Its the desert burst Les Paul body with a firebird reverse headstock and only a single pickup like the nice Les Paul Jr. they made and I thought it was in 59 that those were put out but probably wrong, seen 1 like it before but never with a fire bird head stock!
If that guitar vault got dropped on the road and everything inside got damaged it would be a major tragedy.
That's an understatement.
Amen to that brother.
no paypal... no guitar for you, joe...i love it.
that 59 is not the one in the video of jackson´s rare guitars? that store in Australia.... It seem identical.
Hey cameraman...lrn2camera. All those guitars are magnificent.
WOW!! Did you notice the super custom guitar behind the first one he pulled out? I am a guitar freak and that my friend is questionably a 59' Les Paul Custom BUT it definitely has a Firebird headstock and only one humbucker in the bridge. Thats crazy. The flame top looks awesome but what a strange guitar. The Desert Burst one, I thought it was his 12 string but its not.....
Why didn't that guy on ebay accept a cheque from Joe Bonamassa? That would be so cool...
Joe is the shit, I love how down to earth he is.
guitars are meant for one thing, to be played no matter how beautiful or expensive or old.
@willeng84 yeah I can see it, i doubt it'll be based on anything, purely custom shop. The 59 junior is a double cutaway, with a P90, and the custom shop is that groovy lookin jimmy page one with the 3 pickups... and yeah, nothing Firebird came out untill 63, so we can only assume it's a guitar mashup
@willeng84 there's definitely no '59 custom... U'd be seeing an extra pickup, and it'd be a lot darker...
@andreastrato thems fightin words haha, i love strats but i have a mexi that just will not stay in tune anymore, i havent played in a week bc it frustrates me too much, i just ordered a new 50s gibson les paul studio goldtop and i plan on playing non stop for the next month to make up for this week =)
Everything is impermanent...life will go much better for you once you accept that ;)
@bluebrowne13 it must be his new acquisition!
And also... Is that an acoustic Gibson with a Firebird headstock? O.o
@Antiks72 yeah ill fix it up and do something with it one day, its a sentimental guitar if nothing else
@bluebrowne13
At least this is what the Bursts are built for, right?
I can't believe he travels with a real 59 LP ...
+WileECoyotey he travels with up to 3 of them, at times.
LOL and plays the hell out of it.
He does actually play some strats in some videos... From the beginning of his solo career I believe
on the 59 the strings were wraped around the stopbar tailpiece? ive never seen that.
@sirgerry Bonamassa isn't signed to an endorsement contract, its something Fender and Gibson rarely if ever do.
He used Strats and Tele's a lot in earlier album such as " So Its Like That" and "New Day Yesterday" but lots of people reckoned he sounded too SRV which Is a common problem even for the best post Stevie strat player.
Is the serial number 001 Bonamassa Les Paul made by Gibson Custom Shop?
he talks about the '59 one, just like any guitar model: "yeah this is gibson, and it's called 59 or something, i love that"
@usalespaul59 Those guitars are meant to be played, regardless of the worth.
@soaring138 you can buy just about everything on it. it' s a website
AMEN BROTHER!
@xljeraldlx Depends on condition, Joe's has had a head break (before he got it) and been re fretted by him and had some replacement pots and tuners (that is what he said in an interview last year). So it's probably worth a lot less than one that is all original and has sat in a case for the last twenty years or the Green/Moore guitar which has it's own story. It's still worth a lot but it's insurable.
God that 59 is a dream boat....
@dokokai
1.- iam a huge fan of joe 2.- I never compared myself to joe or page 3.- I said I would love to have the oportunitty to play one 4.- what´s your problem?
Glad he finally speaks up about Gary Moore
There are some that should be in glass cases lol we said naa at the same time! pretty funny.
@15jonasbros15 in the bunk above his. keep a good eye on it at all times
@xljeraldlx not all of them the value depends on the condition and the top, the more pronounced the flame the better, thats what i hear anyhoot, you could pick up a 59 for anywhere from @200k & up..
yea plus one on the glass case guitars, there isnt too much magic in a 59 if you cant hear it or play it and you lock it away. Ultimately we love and others love the instruments we play and use to make great music.
Great.
Has anyone noticed that the 3rd guitar from the right has a firebird headstock with a ( i think) les paul body? what is that?
that 59 les paul almost made me faint. i now want to be bonamassa.
@Antiks72 bc i was ready for a new guitar anyway
I'VE SEEN THIS GUY 3 TIMES ,,HES CHANGED MY PLAYING....THX jOE..!!
MY QUESTION TO ANYBODY...I'M LOOKING TO BUY A LES PAUL(USED)..ARE THE OLD PICK UPS BEST OR INSTALL NEW ONES (ie P90) is it the solid body is what gives you that tone...?? I have an SG w/ les paul pick ups ..too thin....thinking of trading it in for the paul....ur thoughts..??
Bruce Hicks Throbaks are probably closest to a real 57-60 PAF
I got pair of Duncan Antiquity on my 82 Standard. Sounds amazing. Check my Video, i uploaded it couple months ago, i think.
+Bruce Hicks get yourself a Gibson Les Paul Traditional. It's as close to a '59 as you can get without spending $6,000+ on a re-issue. Great pickups too.
Wow Joe tours with a '59 'burst?!
D: i had an anurism at 2:55. Joe, i wish i could casually pull a $200,000+ guitar out and hold it like that everyday for the rest of my life. i am truly jealous
i want that case
lol The Slayer Repentless intro!!!
Freddy king another who rocked major tone with the the Gibson t top pickup for all the love pafs get and rightfully so Gibson patent number and t top pickups are responsible for just as much great tone as the t tops . All of our most legendary SG tones came from patent number and t top pickups and a shit tonne of legendary 355 and 335 tones came from patent number t top and even tarbck/superhumbuckers . Alot of people do not realize that from 1972 onwards 335s actully had tarback pickups. Weird to think of 335s with ceramic magnets pickups but they did however the 335s had the low output version of the superhumbucker same version that was in the late 70s explorer reissues and 73 to 84 SGs they also used those pickups I the L5S . The L5s with low output tarbacks nail jimmy page tone despite being very diffrent from what page actully used .
Where are the Strats?
@murfdog19 really? i always thought they did. well thanks for telling me man, that was bugging me since i saw the video lol
Of course, Stradivarius instruments played live are carefully taken care for, because of their rarity and value, a very different life to that of a rock n roll guitar.
Though, i do think instruments, specially the greatest ones, are meant for the road.
I once played a glass case Les Paul :) I pretended to be interested in buying it :) collector guy! NOT!! I wasn't allowed to use a pick! anyway, I sat there playing for a few mins until they wanted it back!! then asked if I was thinking of buying? I said sorry, i'm not a collector :) it was so worth getting my hands on the Les Paul but I felt it sucked that it sits in a damn case!!!! should be on a stage!! singing
Hes able to rock that 59, so its worth it.
@bluebrowne13 He keeps it on his bus with him(:
1:25 ... nice time to fkk with the focus Mr. Cameraman ...
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️❤️
Oh god... I would cry if that happened.
Glad I'm sitting down
Why? The violinist Anne Akiko Meyers tours with a Stradivarius made in 1730. A far more delicate (and valauble!) instrument
Sorry, I don't understand the stuff about eBay... Please help me !
I wonder how many of us would really see the difference between an original 59 and a relic'd reissue.
@xljeraldlx Plus no '59 Les Paul comes anywhere close to the values of violins and so on used by classical players.
As for refrets vintage guitars don't need them as much because back then they used higher quality frets than they do now. PRS spent years replicating old fret stock which is why there frets last longer. You can see the difference with a standard PRS and a Grissom with Dunlop frets when they come up second hand.
Justin Bieber has a large case like that but for his show outfits, it's way cool.
JB's clothes can suck a dick in comparison to vintage guitars
Justin Biebers case is for his dildo's.
bonamasa has one for his sunglasses and suits , talk about cliché
Yeah but I heard his case was stolen, which included his pride and joy - a sweater made entirely of pony ass hair, stitched with alpaca balls and a nonexistent button to represent his nonexistent penis. Estimated $450k USD, so yeah…like two of those 59 les pauls.