GALLERY: Joe Bonamassa’s Three Kings Gear
1954 Gibson Les Paul
Bonamassa used this ’54 goldtop for Freddie King’s “You’ve Got to Love Her With a Feeling” and “Sittin’ on a Boat Dock.” Tech Mike Hickey even went so far as to remove two knobs and adjust the selectors to match old photos of King.
1958 Gibson Flying V
This original V was previously on loan to Nashville super picker J.D. Simo before Bonamassa got his hands on it. Nicknamed “The Wing” due to headstock modifications, it’s completely stock, with tiny frets that make it nearly impossible to play—except for Joe.
1960 Gibson ES-345
After seeing video of Freddie King's 1966 performance of "Hideaway" on The !!!! Beat show during rehearsals, Bonamassa purchased this mint 345 from Gary's Guitars. He opened the show with this guitar for "See See Baby."
1966 Fender Stratocaster
On B.B. King’s “Hummingbird,” Bonamassa pulled out this completely stock 1966 Strat that was purchased from its original owner. Famed luthier Dan Erlewine was on hand when it arrived to get it in shape for that evening’s show.
1972 Gibson ES-355
This vintage 355 is hard to play and buzzes quite a bit, and it remains Joe’s only eBay purchase. It sees the stage for the Freddie King classic “Goin’ Down.”
This quartet of late-’50s amps (two high-powered Twins and two Bassmans) is fed via a pair of Lehle P-Splits. Only the Twins are miked—according to Hickey, the Bassmans are “more for Joe’s enjoyment, since they are more Marshall-like and saggy.” All feature Celestion speakers expect for a single original Jensen in each Bassman.
2014 Gibson Bona-Byrd
Although this photogenic Les Paul-meets-Firebird axe didn’t get much play on the 3 Kings tour, it served as a backup. According to Mike Hickey, Bonamassa’s tech, it might soon be a production model, but not under Bonamassa’s name.
1959 Gibson ES-345
You can’t play B.B. King tunes without a handful of Gibson semi-hollow guitars. Bonamassa played this ES-345 on “Ole Time Religion,” “Nobody Loves Me But My Mother,” and “Boogie Woogie Woman.” Joe Glaser converted the output from stereo to mono and reversed the pickup magnets to prevent an out-of-phase sound.
2015 Gibson ES-355
The B.B. King portion of the show opened with Bonamassa playing this newer 355 on “Let the Good Times Roll.” Bonamassa doesn’t care for ebony fretboards—this one features rosewood, plus a Bigsby.
1958 Gibson Explorer and Flying V
Originally purchased by a pair of Cincinnati brothers in 1958, this matched set of “Holy Grail” Gibsons is called upon during the Albert King portion of the set. The story goes that one of the brothers, named Big Ed, agreed to sell the Explorer to former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Rick Vito on one condition: Vito would need to buy his brother’s ’58 V as well. Ed’s brother was a lefty, so they kept both pickguards on and simply retooled the bridge and added fret markers.
1959 Fender Stratocaster
The original plan was to not use any Strats on the tour, but when this beauty came in during rehearsals (via Seattle’s Emerald City Guitars) Bonamassa had no choice but to break it out.
Albert King’s “Lucy”
Crafted by Dan Erlewine in 1972 and made famous by the great Albert King, “Lucy” is on loan from actor/collector Steven Seagal. (Seagal owns two more of King’s Flying Vs, a ’58 and a ’67.) When Seagal heard about Bonamassa’s 3 Kings tour he suggested that “Lucy” be used. Joe pulled out Lucy for “I’ll Play the Blues for You” and “Born Under a Bad Sign.” Over the years it’s been restored and refretted, but it remained King’s main guitar from ’72 until his 1992 death.
For this tour Bonamassa stripped his “pedalboard” down to bare essentials: a Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby Wah and a Way Huge Overrated Special. The pedal, designed as a joke by Jeorge Tripps and based on the company’s Green Rhino, may see a formal release in the future. Behind the amps sits a TC Electronic Stereo Chorus+ Pitch Modulator and Flanger on a subtle setting.
1969 Gibson ES-355
Taking inspiration from B.B. King’s Live in Africa performance, Bonamassa searched out this walnut-finished ES-355 for “The Thrill is Gone.” “It has all the features that vintage collectors hate,” laughs Hickey.
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