"There's a contingent of people who think I'm robbing the world and other players of gear": Joe Bonamassa on vintage guitars and unfair accusations

We like to live vicariously through Joe Bonamassa – and we appreciate how he shares with fans the history and details of the vintage gear he buys. It’s not gear most of us will be able to afford anyway, but it seems like there are potential customers who think Joe is buying guitars and amps at the expense of access to them.

“There’s a contingent of people who kind of think I’m depriving the world and other players of material,” he told Total Guitar in an interview in support of his excellent fifth album with Black Country Communion, noting how he also sees his posts on

You want a black guard? There are plenty of them

Vintage shopping is also a way to celebrate the history of gears. “I always use the logic of, ‘Am I getting advantages that other collectors aren’t getting because people want to sell me crap? Absolutely!’ But I also just bought a 1959 Les Paul from a fucking music store in Boston. Anybody could have walked in and bought it.”

“There are thousands and thousands of guitars. Everything in my collection, except for about 20 pieces, you can get elsewhere. You want a Blackguard? There are plenty of them. You want a sunburst Les Paul? There are plenty of them. You want a blonde 335? There aren’t many, but if you want them in sunburst, there are plenty.”

Joe Bonamassa Fender Stratocaster 1964 | Guitar of the day – YouTube

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Joe doesn’t keep all the guitars we thought belonged exclusively in his collection. He’s happy to share ownership of some of them with his friend Charlie Daughty, the man who runs the popular Les Paul and Fender forums. Including a recent acquisition: a 1954 Telecaster with a factory-installed Paul Bigsby pickup.

“I haven’t even seen this guitar in person yet,” Joe reveals. “It’s at my friend Charlie Daughty’s house in Houston. He just picked it up and said it was really cool! Charlie and I share a few guitars here and there. It helps ease the pain and suffering a little bit, we own them together.”

Among these are some remarkable instruments that we have seen in Joe’s hands.

“He’s got the green Strat now, plus a Lazarus (1959 Les Paul) and a few other things. Usually it’s like, ‘I’ll send you this, I’ll send you that, blah blah!'”

Joe recently purchased another 1959 Les Paul, bringing his total to eight. But that doesn’t include examples from previous years.

“They shipped 536 or 539 guitars in 1959,” Joe says of the total number of Gibsons made that may still be in circulation. “The 1958 Les Paul Standards were split into Goldtop and Burst models, so the rarest variant is the 1958 Burst because they were only made for half the year. I have a 1960 Les Paul Standard SG and it has a lower serial number than one of my late ’60s Sunbursts.

I own 16 “bursts” in total, from 1958 to 1960, and I own eight 1959s

“They shipped them as they were released,” Joe adds. “There were about 1,700 guitars shipped between 1958 and 1960. So they’re not incredibly rare, just extremely sought after. I have 16 Bursts in total, from 1958 to 1960, and eight from 1959.”

And if he adds more during his regular “guitar safaris,” we’ll be happy to accompany him virtually.

Black Country Communion – “Enlighten” – Official Video – YouTube
Communion of the Black Country -

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Read the full interview on The world of guitar. Black Country Communion V is now available.