Joe Bonamassa is back with some sage advice for guitarists, and this time he’s detailed how players can turn Fender Stratocasters into the “Swiss army knife of guitars” – and unlock some cross-brand tones championed by the likes of Angus Young and Eric Clapton.
The besuited bluesman’s penchant for a Gibson Les Paul is well documented, but he’s also a well-known Strat fan. And, with his trio of Rory Gallagher tribute shows in Cork, Ireland, looming, Bonamassa is currently in Strat fever.
The all-important tweaks are simple, and they help players get the utmost out of its trio of single coil pickups.
“Sometimes it takes a slight mod to one of the tone pots,” he explains to Guitarist. “You can just move it over one position on the switch, and your tone pot now works for both. Or there's a mod where you can have it run both, or just bridge pickup only. [Add in] a couple of little gain augmenters [like an overdrive pedal to give the guitar more output] and you can do anything with a Stratocaster.”
It’s about being aware of the nuances of a Strat’s tonal options, he says, which are expansive thanks to the employment of a five-way pickup switch, and how impactful small adjustments to the volume and tone controls can be.
With that knowledge, the guitar can convincingly mimic iconic sounds originally crafted on completely different electric guitars.
“If you’re like, ‘Man, I really want to get the Eric Clapton ‘Woman tone’ like he got in Cream 1966,’ [achieved on the Fool SG], okay,” he continues. “Put on the front pickup and duck the tone down to two or three. Add some gain, and it sounds like that.
“If you want a big, crunchy Angus Young tone [typically from a Gibson SG], all you do is put it on the treble pickup and roll some tone off of it, clean it up, and season to taste.
“I‘ve seen Strats perform all kinds of guitar music and flourish in that environment because of the third pickup.” For a full run through of what this looks like and to hear Bonamassa break it down, watch the video above.
He also champions the two separate tone controls that Strats have, explaining how they differ from the Les Paul’s wiring configuration.
“I know a Les Paul has two separate tone controls, but you don‘t have the third pickup,” Bonamassa expands. “Can you pick and grin and be celebrated in Nashville with a Les Paul? Absolutely. I‘ve seen people do it. Danny Gatton was amazing playing double stops on a Les Paul Custom. But the Strat is the utility knife for me.”
Bonamassa’s interviewer also points out that, on a typical night, he can be seen jumping between a 1955 Les Paul, a 1961 Strat, and beyond at will. Yet he never needs a beat to adjust to the different instruments. Why is that?
“I set my Strats and Teles the same way I set my Les Pauls and ES-335s. Now, there is a scale difference [Fenders typically have a 25.5" scale compared to the 24.75" of most Gibsons], but I have also spent 10,000 hours playing each of these guitars.
“And it doesn‘t matter if there are vintage ones that are valuable or they‘re entry-level models from Epiphone or Squier. It makes no difference. All you have to do is just take a pause in your brain and just go, ‘I just need to pretend that this is the only guitar I own.’ And it works.
“I‘ve seen guys, especially older blues players, only play one guitar, and they play them into the ground. They wear the contours down. Don‘t overthink it, just play. A guitar shouldn't be foreign to you, just an extension [of you].”
The virtuoso’s chat with Guitarist also saw him serve up buying advice for amplifiers and guitars. Picking the right guitar, he says, should be a selfish thing irrespective of trends and the reputations of others, while buying an amp needn't be expensive or complicated, so long as players follow his simple tips.
Bonamassa is already in Cork for rehearsals ahead of the Rory Gallagher tribute shows, and has retraced his hero's footsteps by buying a sunburst Strat from the same store Rory bought his $1.16 million 1961 Strat from for £100 in 1963.
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