Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: Matt77 on March 14, 2011, 10:21:09 PM

Title: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Matt77 on March 14, 2011, 10:21:09 PM
http://www.youtube.com/user/premierguitar#p/u/1/rMyVy7KqCWQ
Well maybe not so new but in good nick the age
Skip to 1:47 on this vid.
Good to see he is taking it out on the road and not keeping it in the vault.
On his forum he says he plans to re-fret it in future.
Maybe he could BareKnuckle it too?  :)
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: gwEm on March 14, 2011, 10:46:12 PM
Maybe he could BareKnuckle it too?  :)
nah, EMGs mate..
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Ian Price on March 14, 2011, 10:48:11 PM
Ooooh, that's nice. Not helped my LP GAS at all!!

It looks in remarkably good condition for a '59.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: FernandoDuarte on March 14, 2011, 11:05:09 PM
:o

(http://jenden.us/storage/JD/img/do_want.jpg)
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Twinfan on March 14, 2011, 11:48:08 PM
Fair play to him for using it as it was intended.

But he's still a right arrogant c--k.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Telerocker on March 15, 2011, 12:11:55 AM
I don't find him very arrogant or maybe I miss something cause I'm either Yank nor Tommy.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Twinfan on March 15, 2011, 08:32:35 AM
if you follow his Tweets for a while, it'll soon become clear...
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: blue on March 15, 2011, 02:54:07 PM
i can't watch the video at the minute, but i do wonder what all the fuss is about bonamassa.  what i've heard is kind of... dull.  rock and blues for people that don't like too much excitement!  all the hype made me get the black country communion cd, and it's dull as ditchwater!  maybe i'm just missing something?
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Twinfan on March 15, 2011, 02:59:06 PM
I'm kinda with you, blue.  I like several of his tracks and then went to see him live, and that started to kill it for me.  It was a bit too 'staged' - I prefer players who fly by the seat of their pants a bit more.

Some of his Tweets really hacked me off, so I unsubscribed and switched off from being interested in him.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Stevepage on March 15, 2011, 03:05:49 PM
I saw him live and thought he was great but I did get a bit bored by the end though. I have to listen to him in small doses.

I'm surprised he didn't already have a 59 LP
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: darkbluemurder on March 15, 2011, 03:24:04 PM
Funny - even though I am a big fan of Les Paul tones I think he sounded better on a Strat. With a LP his sound is a bit dull, dark and too compressed for me. Still I would love to play half as well as he does.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Philly Q on March 15, 2011, 03:31:27 PM
I'm kinda with you, blue.  I like several of his tracks and then went to see him live, and that started to kill it for me.  It was a bit too 'staged' - I prefer players who fly by the seat of their pants a bit more.

Some of his Tweets really hacked me off, so I unsubscribed and switched off from being interested in him.

I've always been interested in his career because I saw a TV show about him when he was only about 12 or 13 years old.  It showed him meeting Danny Gatton and he already had some nice guitars (like a mid-'50s hardtail Strat!  :o ).  Then he joined a band called Bloodline which featured the sons of various well known musicians (Berry Oakley Jr, Waylon Krieger, Aaron Hagar, Abe Laboriel Jr). 

Then he disappeared.  So it was quite surprising to see him suddenly re-appear a few years ago and become a big name!

As for his music.... he has great talent, but I also find his blues stuff a little dull, and the Black Country Communion album was underwhelming.  There is something a bit "lacking" but I'm not sure what it is.

Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Twinfan on March 15, 2011, 03:41:29 PM
It's "fire" Phil  ;)
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Philly Q on March 15, 2011, 04:05:52 PM
I think you're right, but then I like Robben Ford and he isn't "firey"..... but maybe that's not true, Ford does have a relaxed, just-go-for-it quality even though his actual sound is quite mellow.  Smooth fire.  :lol:

Like many blues artists, I think Bonamassa is a bit lacking on the songwriting front too.  Which makes it boring even when the playing is good.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: shobet on March 15, 2011, 05:24:52 PM
Having seen Bonamassa several times, you get to know where he's going to stand for which part of which song. I quite like some of his music, but listen less and less to him. He's a very skilled player and has great tone. However as you say a certain fire is missing, it's more safe for want of a better word.

Dave, you wait until we take you to see Sayce, you'll positively defecate yourself!
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Telerocker on March 15, 2011, 07:22:20 PM
if you follow his Tweets for a while, it'll soon become clear...

Ok, I will have a twit at it. Or is it tweet or tw@t?
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Twinfan on March 15, 2011, 07:27:42 PM
Dave, you wait until we take you to see Sayce, you'll positively defecate yourself!

Looking forward to it mate!

The gig, not the defecating...
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: keith on March 15, 2011, 07:43:35 PM
Thought he might have got a bank loan and bought Kossoff's Les Paul when he played it up here at the city hall in Newcastle
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: FernandoDuarte on March 15, 2011, 08:39:19 PM
and the Black Country Communion album was underwhelming.  There is something a bit "lacking" but I'm not sure what it is.

I listened to some videos of them on Youtube other day... I liked The Great Divide and One Last Soul a lot, the others not so much...
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Elliot on March 16, 2011, 06:34:38 PM
I must say I didn't think that the 59 sounded particularly good - but then his sound was way processed and you can't play Steppin Out with a processed sound can you ?
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: fbloke on March 16, 2011, 09:06:49 PM
I must say I didn't think that the 59 sounded particularly good - but then his sound was way processed and you can't play Steppin Out with a processed sound can you ?

I agree completely - the only way to hear what makes a 59 special is to play it more or less clean through an old-fashioned amp like a Fender or similar.  As soon as you whack up the distortion you merely have a very nice fat Gibson tone.  It could be a 59, it could be a 59 re-issue or just a plain old Les Paul standard with Bareknuckles in.  For a true 59 tone you have to listen to the 1st half of Brown Sugar by ZZ Top.  That is the pinnacle of Les Paul tone.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Philly Q on March 16, 2011, 09:18:57 PM
I must say I didn't think that the 59 sounded particularly good - but then his sound was way processed and you can't play Steppin Out with a processed sound can you ?

I agree completely - the only way to hear what makes a 59 special is to play it more or less clean through an old-fashioned amp like a Fender or similar.  As soon as you whack up the distortion you merely have a very nice fat Gibson tone.  It could be a 59, it could be a 59 re-issue or just a plain old Les Paul standard with Bareknuckles in.  For a true 59 tone you have to listen to the 1st half of Brown Sugar by ZZ Top.  That is the pinnacle of Les Paul tone.

I was watching Jeff Beck's "Rock'n'Roll Party" DVD the other day.  It's basically a Les Paul tribute concert during which he plays all sorts of guitars - Gretsch Duo-Jet, Gibson L-5, various Teles, his regular Strat and a reissue(?) Les Paul.  He used the Strat for the more contemporary songs, but I was surprised to hear the cleanest, brightest tones coming from the LP - even on the neck pickup!

I must admit, the fat, distorted tone is what I envisage when I think "Gibson".
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: Afghan Dave on March 16, 2011, 09:25:10 PM
Beck can make ANYTHING sound like ANYWAY he wants... blows my mind  :?
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: hunter on March 17, 2011, 09:42:48 AM

I love some of his songs, my favourite being "So Many Roads". If he would compose more of his solos like on this track, I would be much more into him. But I agree that live he falls into repetitive patterns a lot. He is miles away from the versatility of an early 70s Page, or the melodic qualities of a pre Blues era Moore.

He lacks a bit of dynamics in his speed, he is too much in 4th/5th gear for my taste.

As said, if he'd do more down the lines of "So many roads" I would be spending much more time on his music.
Title: Re: New Toy for Mr Bonamassa
Post by: hunter on March 17, 2011, 11:10:29 AM
Got inspired ... did a clip ... http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=23899.0
 8)