Young Smokin Joe Setting a Strat. on Fire..

[Blaze]

Obviously some of you guys are missing to watch Joe play on a Fender since he has a Gibson endorsement..

Here's a way cool jam that young(17) Joe made for an Arlen Roth Hot Licks serie video,showing his skills and versatility..Pure talent!


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[mainestratman]

Nice.

[sunvalleylaw]

Cool, though I thought you meant he was burning the guitar. LOL! I had heard (from Jimi75) that he used to play a strat, but had never seen it. I really like his strat sound! Maybe even more than his LP sound.

[sumitomo]

Yessssss Sir!!!!! Smokin! That's a great find Blaze.I'll be wearin' that one out!!!!
Sumi:D :dude:dude:cool:

[tjcurtin1]

Wow - seemed like he was just opening a tap and letting it gush!

[jpfeifer]

Wow, that was just what I needed !!

[Lev]

Ah, the Gold Sparkle Strat, the reason he doesn't play Fender products anymore


Joe Bonamassa wrote....

When I got mad at fender was when I saw the back of the neck aged EXACTLY like my guitar... The color is the same, the pick guard is the same , the logo is the same.. I was willing to chalk it all up to coincidence but the aged back of the neck told me that someone took pictures of my guitar and copied it... The back story being in 2001 my manager contacted Fender about a endorsement... We were basically told in a politically correct way that they were only interested in platinum acts and we could get a slight discount... Which frankly I and you all as well get a better deal at Guitar Center... So I took it as... Im not good enough for them, but my guitar is...
Jus the lifetime ban of "New " Fender products on my stage... I dont hold a grudge against Leo made stuff.. I mean Im not a barbarian..or maybe I am..the jury will come to a verdict when its all said and done:-) Anyway everything happens for a reason and I wouldnt have my own JB Les Paul coming out. Which is a honor of a lifetime to me... I cant describe in words what it means to a dorky kid from Yorkville (my sister calls it Dorkville) New York.
Joe Bonamassa

[jpfeifer]

Sometimes these companies do some really stupid things with artists for endorsement deals. Fender as well as Gibson. I think that Joe Bonamassa did the right thing by going with Fender's competitor.

When I lived in California I went to a music clinic hosted by Larry Calton. At the time he wasn't playing Gibson 335's anymore, he had switched to a custom Strat from Valley Arts Guitars. Someone in the audience asked him why he quit playing Gibsons and his story was similar to the situation that Joe Bonamassa had, but not as underhanded. Larry Carlton had done so much to promote Gibson's brand through the 70's especially. He was THE guy that was playing the cool solos on so many hits, and TV shows, etc. He said that Gibson approached him during that time for an endorsement deal. Their offer was for $10K per year. He was really offended by this since he had done so much to influence a whole generation of people buying 335's to get his sound, etc. He figured that it was worth way more than this small offer. He was so upset that he quit paying his 335 altogether, and asked the Valley Art's Guitar guys to build a custom model for him. However, this is old history. Currently, he is playing his trusty old 335 again, so he must have made amends with Gibson, and they probably realized what a mistake they made way back then, fired the old marketing guy, etc.

-- Jim

[sunvalleylaw]

That story is too bad. I love his strat sound.

[Blaze]

http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageiconguitars.html

Vintage guitars from UK had already done a copy of Joe s Gibson model,he does nt seem too upset about it for now as it shows on his Forum :



'' Hey dudes!!
Im flattered really. It says a lot that kids want a cheap JB version.
Its really cool, I do wanna play one though and see if they are good playing guitars at least.
This is actually inspiring me to make a phone call to some friends at Epiphone..
Thanks for the heads up.
If someone gets one let me know how it is.
Cheers ''

Joe Bonamassa

http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageelectric/V100MRJBM.jpg

[sumitomo]

Man I watch that vid every morning with breakfast! Sumi:D

[Lev]

That story is too bad. I love his strat sound.

I agree Steve, i have a hunch that he'll play strats again at some point. His LP tone is absolutely amazing but there are sounds on a strat that an LP can't give you and Visa Versa.

Blaze, That Vintage LP replica looks really cool. Zman you getting one? ;-)

[duhvoodooman]

Yeah, for his first several albums--up through Had to Cry Today, I think--Joe was primarily a Strat player. You seem to see him mostly with that same gold metal-flake one in this video, but he had several others. If you check out the YouTube videos from his trio days with Eric Czar and Kenny Kramme, you'll see it's mostly Strats he's playing, except the acoustic and slide numbers.

As much as I love his LP tone, I agree 100% that there are tunes that just don't sound right unless they're done on a Strat. A couple that come immediately to mind are You Upset Me Baby and Man of Many Words off the Blues Deluxe album--just classic Strat blues tone on those tunes! It's too bad these "endorsement wars" limit what artists can record and play live with....

[MAXIFUNK]

WELL DAMN THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF! :applause :applause :applause :AOK

[hubberjub]

I remember seeing him with a sunburst Strat when he played with Bloodline.