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EXPLAINED: 2 | Vintage Vibes

“You never want to pull out cases and have no recollection of when, where or how you acquired it”: Joe Bonamassa is cutting back on his gear collecting habit

Bonamassa was forced to rethink his collection following the LA wildfires last year

Guitar World

“I’ve had great luck doing the exact opposite of what the internet tells me”: Joe Bonamassa on the ‘unorthodox’ Marshall hack he nicked from Zakk Wylde

The bluesman turned to the former Ozzy guitarist to get the most out of his Marshalls

Guitar World

“More than anything, I wanted to go, but I just froze”: Warren Haynes on the time he missed the chance to play with B.B. King

Haynes had witnessed the King play live years earlier – but when he first got the chance to jam with the blues icon, nerves got the better of him

Guitar World

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“There’s nothing they did for me that other amps hadn’t done before”: Eric Gales says he doesn’t understand all the fuss about Dumble amps

Yes, they sound great, says Gales, but they're not the only amp in the world to give you great tone

Guitar World

“Every modern guitarist from Joe Bonamassa to Jared James Nichols gets the same haters who say, ‘Everything you play is pentatonic’”: Meet Eric Steckel, the high-gain firebrand painting a new shade of blues guitar

The Knaggs signature artist has grown an international profile by importing heavy distortion into the blues and bending it to his will

Guitar World

“I’ve gone after three Soldanos. Eric Clapton’s, Mark Knopfler’s... and finally Gary’s came up”: Joe Bonamassa test drives Gary Moore’s iconic Soldano amp – which has been unplayed for 20 years

Bonamassa bought the historic amp head at auction last year

Guitar World

“I met him in 1990 when I was 13 years old. We became lifelong friends”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to B.B. King – and shows us why blues starts and ends with the King

Bonamassa says King was the kind of player who could say it all with one note – “Just one stinging vibrato and you know it can only be him”

Guitar World

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“The night he died, I was at Buddy Guy’s club waiting for Buddy, Stevie and Clapton. Then we were told they’d all gone down”: Larry McCray on rubbing shoulders with blues royalty and playing through Joe Bonamassa’s epic rig

Living blues legend Larry McCray is keeping on keeping on and keeping the blues alive, and on his latest LP, Heartbreak City, he's taking his guitar to places his voice can't reach

Guitar World

“Does this young lady get it or what?” Joe Bonamassa and Slash team up for blues classics in New York – but did their young special guests steal the show?

The two guitar greats played a host of blues classics for charity, but two next-gen stars have made startling impressions

Guitar World

“Sometimes simplicity wins the day. Our namesake song, Black Country, was written by accident”: Joe Bonamassa on the art of writing a heavy guitar riff

In his latest GW video lesson, the blues-rock superstar recalls how some of his heaviest riffs came together, and to your shock – and maybe even horror – they were written in standard tuning

Guitar World

“With that said, you all can stop asking me if I am buying it now. Muchas gracias”: Joe Bonamassa has his say on the future of Norman’s Rare Guitars

Once described as a "good fit" for the store, Bonamassa says he is more than happy to see Norman Harris's vintage guitar institution join the Carter Vintage Guitars family

Guitar World

“I am extremely excited to see my Uncle Norm enter into this new chapter in his life and career”: Joe Bonamassa gives his blessing as Norman Harris sells Norman’s Rare Guitars and says the future of his iconic LA store has been secured

TNAG Global, which owns Carter Vintage Guitars, is the buyer, and under CEO Ben Montague, it promises to preserve the soul and grow the business of one of the world's most-loved guitar stores

MusicRadar

“It's the most iconic guitar shop in the world, and we are honored to help extend its story into the future”: Norman’s Rare Guitars acquired

The acquisition includes the 1,000+ guitars currently housed at the store, along with proprietor Norman Harris’ personal and private collection

Guitar World

“I’d say, ‘Man, that guitar riff sounded killer.’ He’d respond, ‘Well, I’m sure I’ll mess it up next time’”: John Mayer, Trey Anastasio and Steve Vai lead tributes to Bob Weir

His 60-year career, and the “mystical” man behind the music, have been remembered by a score of guitar greats

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I could never play a Strat – with Stevie Ray Vaughan being my first influence, every time I play one it’s like I’m 13 again, hacking through Pride And Joy”: Joanne Shaw Taylor on how the blues helped her find her voice, and why she'll always choose Teles

Having embarked on a journey from classical guitar to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins, Taylor is determined to keep the blues alive... until she can open that dog shelter

Louder

"I probably should have retired years ago but I really love keeping the band alive": Ten Years After are down to one original member but there's still gas in the tank

One of the great British blues-rock bands of the 60s and 70s, Ten Years After are keeping the blues flag flying

Guitar World

“A Tube Screamer is a Tube Screamer. It’s one of the great cons of the guitar industry. They got these dirt boxes right the first time!” Why Jared James Nichols stopped obsessing over gear – and honed in on his playing instead

Freedom, says Nichols, is the knowledge you can pick up anyone's guitar and sound like you, and now the Nashville-based Les Paul wrangler is finding that freedom in songwriting

Guitar World

“I think they sound in between a Fender and a Gibson”: Blues ace Larry McCray names the unsung guitar brand that convinced him to switch after a life of playing Gibsons

McCray says this brand is the perfect middle ground between two of the industry's big guns

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Louder

Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: December 15, 2025

Eight songs you need to hear right now, from Starbenders, DeWolff, Stanley Simmons and more

Guitar World

“When people ask, ‘Why do you need so many?’ They don’t get what it is to be a collector. You have the ability to preserve things”: Joe Bonamassa on why he takes gear collecting so seriously

His pocket money is perennially spent on acquiring vintage gear, and he won’t change the habit of a lifetime any time soon

Guitar World

“I don’t need tons of gain on my guitar because everyone else is distorted!” Joe Bonamassa reveals the secret to writing heavy riffs – and his methods might surprise you

Step back from the overdrive pedal, dial the gain back, and that extra clarity could well sound heavier in a band mix

Guitar World

“There is no greater story of triumph than that of B.B. King. I’m humbled to help bring it to life”: A B.B. King biopic is on the way – and it will chronicle the blues legend’s life, legacy and Lucille

The film will chart B.B. King’s rise from extreme poverty to global stardom – and his life-long partnership with his iconic ES-355 will be at the heart of it all

Guitar World

“Words fail me in describing his impact on music”: Steve Cropper, 1941-2025 – the guitar world pays tribute

The influential soul guitar legend has passed away at the age of 84, with Joe Bonamassa, Tyler Bryant, Dave Mason, Mick Fleetwood and more sharing tributes

Guitar World

“Time to add a 5th JHS pedal to my rig? With 25% off this just-launched distortion, it’s hard to resist”: All the guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the unmissable Black Friday gear discounts I’m eyeing up

The Kilt celebrates its 10th birthday, Fractal goes up against IK Multimedia and Line 6, and Tom DeLonge reaches for the stars (literally)

Guitar World

“My right ear pretty much lost 80 percent of its high end”: Joe Bonamassa reveals temporary hearing loss diagnosis following an incident at one of his recent shows

The condition, Acute Acoustic Trauma (AAT), is characterized by sudden hearing loss due to an injury to the ear drum

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