The big-toned guitarist talks about his latest songs, discovering the allure of acoustic guitar, and the power of dividing by two.
Joe Bonamassa tends to go big. Big tones, big solos, big tours, a big gear collection, and a big road backline. His touring B rig boasts two Marshall Silver Jubilees, two Van Weelden Twinklelands, a Dumble Overdrive Special, a Benson rotary speaker, and a pair of his signature Fender High Power Twins. There’s also his A rig. That’s big.
And yet, as Bonamassa spoke from his hotel room in Frankfurt, Germany, he was planning to quietly celebrate his 48th birthday over pizza with his band. Then get a good night’s sleep. And recently he’s truly fallen in love with unplugged acoustic guitar—although when he used one to cut a song for his new album, Breakthrough, he ran it into a Fender DeVille and says, “It just exploded.”
That’s logical. Every great guitarist is a master of dynamics. And that sense of difference and balance reverberates in Breakthrough’s 10 songs, from the hard-edged, riff-driven title track, which features some blasting solos and stellar wah guitar, to the classic soul-pop flavor of “Life After Dark,” with its potent sustain and expressive bends, to the slide-dappled boogie of “Drive By the Exit Sign.”
Like nearly every post-Cream Eric Clapton album, regardless of how steeped in rock, pop hooks, and other flavors Breakthrough’s songs are, there is always the taste of blues, his bedrock, in the palate—whether it’s a lick, or a tone, or phrasing. And like Clapton, he uses expert songwriting to transcend the limitations of the timeless genre in the modern music marketplace. Still, it’s extraordinarily pleasing when Bonamassa goes all in on the slow blues “Broken Record,” a full-hearted essay in expressive playing and singing, evocative of Gary Moore.
When we spoke, Bonamassa talked about how acoustic guitar has impacted his evolution as a guitarist, explained the significance of the new album’s title, his DIY business model, and the power of dividing by two.
Joe Bonamassa digs into his 1962 Gibson ES-335 during a show in Birmingham, Alabama.
Photo by Haluk Gurer
Joe Bonamassa’s Gear
(Note: Joe has similar A and B rigs that are hopscotched to suit tour logistics.)
2 Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555s (presence, 4; bass,10; midrange, 6; treble, 4; out master, 10; lead master, 6; input gain, 5.5; each amp runs through half of a split Van Weelden 4x12 cabinet with Electro-Voice speakers)
2 Van Weeldon Twinkle Lands w/Twinklelator buffered effects loop (volume, 6; bright, on; deep, on; hot, on; treble, 6; midrange, 6.5; bass, 4; level, 6.5; ratio, 7; master, 7; brilliance, 6.5; each amp runs through half of a split Van Weelden 4x12 cabinet with Electro-Voice speakers)
Twinkelator effects loop settings: send, 7; return, 7; bright, off
Dumble Overdrive Special head (volume, 5; British, off; deep, off; rock, on; treble, 4; midrange, 6; bass, 4; overdrive level, 4; ratio, 6.5; master, 4; presence, 6; into 2x12 with TC Electronic Stereo Chorus)
Benson Rotary Speaker
2 Fender signature Joe Bonamassa High Powered Twins (volume 9; bright on; treble, 9; bass; 0, midrange, 9, presence, 7.5)
2 Kikusui PCR2000MA Power Supplies
Joe, when you’re at home hanging out with a guitar in your hands, what do you play?
You know, up until about five or six years ago, my answer would be completely different. I bought a guitar—a 1941 Martin 000-45, and it’s mint. It’s the one they based my model on. And it was so clean that I couldn’t play it. It’s so preserved. And right after that, I got a 1942 000-18 from my friend Jim Hauer in Dayton, Ohio, at Hauer Music. And once I had the neck set and it came back, I was like, “You know what? I get it now. I get the acoustic.” I’ve played a bunch of herringbones and stuff, but I was so focused on electric that acoustics would all sound the same to me. And then at some point, I said, “My God, I get it!” For years, I would just say I’m an electric guitar player, but I had that moment with the acoustic. So when I play at home, I vacillate between two guitars.
I have a room in my house in California … it’s, it’s … well, it’s documented how diseased I am. But if you can picture it, if I’m not playing electric, which is only if I’m working on something, I will pick up a 1929 000-42 Martin or a Joe B. Brazilian that Martin made me. It makes me happy. And I’ve found that my accuracy on the electric has improved by embracing the acoustic. I find, especially in the studio, if I’m producing a record and I’m playing on it, just the changes, my chordal accuracy, is a lot better.
And I finally figured out a way to, especially soloing-wise, embrace what Leslie West told me. Thirty years ago, his advice was to divide by two. He came to the studio in Ithaca, New York, when I was a kid working with Tom Dowd on what would be my first solo album. This was pre-production, and he guested on a track. And he, in that voice, goes: “You know, Joe, you’d be my favorite guitar player if you’d just divide by two.” I’m like, “You mean half as many notes?” He goes, “Right. Keep doing what you’re doing and divide by two.”
“It surprises me when I go into these old tracks live, and they start applauding,” says Bonamassa. “I’m like, ‘I had no idea you guys even knew this song.’”
Photo by Allan Jones
“For years, I would just say I’m an electric guitar player.”
Now, I’ve noticed a change in my playing. Especially when I’m touring and we’re playing big venues over here, I’ve been using “divide by two.” That and the acoustic thing I’ve been embracing for the last, say, 24 to 36 months has been paying off. Every once in a while you break through a frontier you didn’t even know you were gonna break through or didn’t even know existed.
I know I’m a paradox, but when I’m off the road, I try to avoid loud music and crowds. So I don’t play electric at home very loud, and I play these acoustics. When I plug a Les Paul into a Marshall or Fender Strat into a black-panel Princeton, the sounds you expect are going to come up and then it’s up to you to create something. But the acoustic … you’re just kind of wide open. I find that I’m coming up with more original ideas just by not playing electric when I’m home.
Bonamassa uses this humbucker-equipped Telecaster for slide.
Photo by Kit Wood
When you prepare for an album, are there some foundational guideposts or a specific artistic goal you’re working toward?
Historically, it was always like: this is the theme, this is what we’re doing, let’s execute it. And we have five days or seven days to do it. This record was different because I approached this album from the point of view that the world does not need another Joe Bonamassa record. So I’m trying not to repeat myself. That’s why we ended up with 20 songs that got jettisoned; 10 of which got jettisoned because we were like, yeah, I’ve heard that before. And we tried to concentrate on things that I haven’t done before, but when you have 50 albums out, including the live stuff, before you even get to the side projects, it’s hard. I think this is my 17th studio solo album.
We did this in three sessions, in Santorini, Greece; Nashville; and L.A.—with totally different approaches on each. The Santorini stuff has a certain sound because of the way we recorded it and the lack of options. I was just using the studio guitars. Like the song with Sammy Hagar, “Fortune Teller Blues”—the only guitar that was actually going to stay in tune was an Ovation acoustic, so I plugged it into a Fender Hot Rod DeVille, and it just exploded into the mic. I was like, “Okay, now that’s an interesting sound.” I had that and a Slash Les Paul, and I noticed that the pickups were hotter than what I was used to, but I just embraced it.
You just have to wrap your head around it. Any guitar that’s not in your normal comfort zone, just pretend it’s the only guitar you own. Because I bought plenty of guitars over the years from people who played them their whole lives and that’s the only guitar they owned. They did their whole musical life on that one guitar and they figured it out, you know?
Sometimes, having fewer tools is a lot better. A few records ago, I stopped bringing 40 guitars to the studio. How many Telecasters do you need? Pick one that stays in tune. How many Les Pauls do you need? The one you play every day. And then you bring the flavors: the 12-string electric, the acoustic, whatever. And I always bring my live rig and a couple of different things, like an AC30 or some sort of JTM45. Sometimes, as a collector, you’ve got to justify owning all this stuff. It’s like, man, I paid all this money for this thing; I’m gonna play it!
According to an entry on his website, Bonamassa’s collection sports three PAF Gibson Les Paul goldtops and six vintage bursts.
Photo by Eleanor Jane
“Every once in a while you break through a frontier you didn’t even know you were gonna break through or didn’t even know existed.”
Well, you don't have to justify it to me. When I was starting to play, I had a friend who said, “You should have as many guitars as you want.” I took that to heart.
On the internet sometimes, the notion is that I’m depriving other people of having these guitars, because I have such a large collection, one of the biggest in the world. It’s such specious reasoning. How many of these guitars are for sale right now … at the Dallas Guitar show, the Heritage auction, Reverb, eBay, every guitar shop? They’re out there.
I’m surprised by some of the conversations I see about you online from the blues police. Complaints that if Joe wasn’t out there, some old bluesman of note would have those gigs. Except for Buddy Guy, nobody who was a sideman for Muddy Waters has a shot at headlining, say, Royal Albert Hall.
There’s a lack of critical thinking. You know all the gigs that I do, the arenas that we’re playing over here? Do you know who the promoter is? Me. So I’m not taking anybody’s gig. I’m creating my own weather pattern. Twenty years ago, we started promoting our own shows.
It’s proof of concept. Many times was I told, and anybody in this genre has been told, “See those big places over there? Those are not for you. Musicians like you don’t get to play those places.” Well, somebody had to try, and we wouldn’t still be doing that if nobody showed up. I can do everything but make them come out. And if people have a problem with that, if people have a problem with the guitar collecting that I do and the success I’ve had, that’s on them. It’s not on me to apologize for any of it. Because I grew up lower middle class in Utica, New York, and decided that I was gonna do something with my life or die trying. There’s always someone who works harder, who deserves it more than you. You have to just accept that. Then, there’s some luck involved. And what we’re doing as a team is connecting. That’s the records, the production, the marketing, all of it. There’s something there that’s connecting to a wider group of people that don’t normally go to blues shows.
Taking a moment to hold a note at the Hollywood Bowl.
Photo by Christine Goodwin
“I approached this album from the point of view that the world does not need another Joe Bonamassa record.”
You mention a “do or die” attitude. At one point, you were trapped in the blues barbecue joint circuit, before you worked your way out.
It always felt that way. The really magic moment for me was 2009 at the Albert Hall when Eric Clapton came out to play with me, and I will always be extremely grateful to him for that. But you realize that if that was May 5, the day after that show, May 6, we were broke. We had put all of our money in the DVD we made there. And when it came out, it did okay. And we had just enough money to keep the machine going and try to build. And then it hit PBS. And after PBS, life changed about six months later. But when you're watching somebody on a DVD seemingly have it all, sometimes the story behind the scenes is way different than the reality.
Getting back to Breakthrough, it’s an eclectic album, and you’ve been co-writing with some of the most respected songwriters in Nashville roots music, like Tom Hambridge, Gary Nicholson, Keb’ Mo’. And is there something of a personal breakthrough that sparked the title?
I think there is a meaning there. I’m trying not to repeat myself, but not abandon ship. The only thing I’ve abandoned is the notion that anything I’ll do will be pop music at all. I’m a niche guy. I don’t have a radio voice. I’m not looking to get invited to the Met Gala.
I’ve written a lot of songs for other people as well, like Jimmy Hall and Eric Gales. You’ve got to come in with some sort of idea, riff, or a title. A title is great because you can write something about that. A riff is like, “Okay, then what are we going to say?” Then you’ve just got to have a conversation and start riffing on it. You try to find a broader concept and try to make it something that’s personal to you that will also be personal to your co-writer and the audience.
It surprises me when I go into these old tracks, live, and people start applauding. I’m like, “I had no idea you guys even knew this song.” I just assume everything I put out over my life has not been a hit, and we’ve survived and navigated like that, almost like a jam band.”
I’m not looking for a hit. And I don’t want anything to do with that shit that’s coming out of Music Row. None of it. And I’m not looking for radio. So it’s, “Let’s have fun and write a six-minute banger, shall we? With a big fat guitar solo that has no chance of being played on the radio.”
“Any guitar that’s not in your normal comfort zone, just pretend it’s the only guitar you own.”
Bonamassa gets support on bass from the late Michael Rhodes. The guitarist estimates that the Nashville MVP stage and session player appeared on roughly 700 gigs with him.
Photo by Kit Woods
Speaking of big fat guitar solos, my favorite song on the album is “Broken Record.” I’m a sucker for a slow blues, and over its 7 minutes, it goes to a lot of interesting places and has a cool tonal palette. I even like small, nerdy things about it—like the way the delay hangs at the end of the song. How did you put the tonal palette together for that one?
I remember this: The solo that’s on there was basically a placeholder because I got the call to pick up my car at the shop. I’m at the console, dialed up a quick sound, get a call from the mechanic going, “Hey, your car’s ready.” I called the Uber, and as I’m waiting for the Uber to take me to get the car on a Friday afternoon, because I didn’t want to leave it over the weekend, I go, “Let me just give you a placeholder and I'll be back in a half hour.” I come back in a half hour and everybody’s going, “I think that solo’s good.” And I go, “Okay.” And it was literally just stream of consciousness. The whole song—vocals, everything—was done in an afternoon. And that’s the way I like to work. I like to cut in the morning, get the two or three that we’re gonna do that day, buy the band lunch, tell them to fuck off, then I’ll sing and play, and that’s it. You’re gonna sing, play, and once you’re happy, that’s it. If you’re prepared and know how to do it and hit the marks, three takes of vocals, we’ll comp it, done, move on. We’re at dinner by 6 o’clock. I learned that from Kevin Shirley. [The producer who’s frequently collaborated with Bonamassa since 2006’s You & Me and returns forBreakthrough.]You burn very intensely from about 10 a.m. to about 5:30 or 6, and that’s it. I’m not a night owl in the studio.
I want to talk to you a little bit about Journeyman Records, which is a pet project label of yours and your manager, Roy Weisman. What’s the impetus? What do you get from it personally?
We have Joanne Shaw Taylor and Robert John, and we’ve invested in those two because what we see in them is little glimpses of what was happening with me right before it hit. You’re a very talented artist, but if a tree falls in the woods and nobody’s there to hear it, does it sell any tickets? [laughs] No. I learned that. So we’ve created a vertical integration of business for those artists—everything from concert promotion to T-shirts to having ownership of their masters.
If I said to you 20 years ago that I do my own T-shirts, I do my own record company, and I promote my own shows, the notion, on Sunset Boulevard at the Chateau Marmont, would be, “This person clearly is not talented and has to do it by themselves because nobody will help them.” Now, the conversation taking place is, “My god, I gotta re-record my album because I don’t own my masters.”
So we’re using Journeyman Records as a proof of concept. It’s like, if I could do it, anybody can. It just takes hard work. And Vince Gill said it best: “If you don’t bet on yourself, how are you going to get anybody to bet on you?” And that’s so true. Maybe it’s ego, it’s bravado, it’s blind belief … whatever you want to call it. It is so important to have that chip on your shoulder before you even enter into this. Because if you don't believe in what you’re doing, you’re going to encounter some headwinds that may not be surmountable.
YouTube It
This performance from the Rudolf-Weber Arena in Oberhausen, Germany, is from April 29, 2025 and showcases Bonamassa’s range as an artist.
Mick Ralphs’ burly guitar tone and arrangements made “Ready for Love,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Bad Company,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” and others part of the soundtrack of the ’70s.
English guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Mick Ralphs was among a select group of performers who achieved both consistent commercial success and artistic triumph throughout a career that extended from the mid-’60s until 2016, when a stroke led to his hospitalization and, eventually, retirement. Ralphs, who died on Monday, June 23, at age 81, was a founding member of two seminal British rock bands, Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. But he also had other collaborations and led groups that faithfully performed the other idiom he loved besides rock—the blues. Bad Company was recently voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with its induction ceremony scheduled for November. His co-founding Bad Company member Paul Rodgers issued a statement Monday on the group’s website shortly after the news broke.
“Our Mick has passed; my heart just hit the ground,” Rodgers said. “He has left us with exceptional songs and memories. He was my friend, my songwriting partner, an amazing and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humor. Our last conversation was a few days ago, we shared a laugh, but it won’t be our last. There are many memories of Mick that will create laughter. Condolences to everyone who loved him—especially his one true love, [Ralphs’ wife] Susie. I will see you in heaven.”
Ralphs was born in 1944 in the Western English county of Herefordshire, and began playing with blues bands in his teens. As a soloist, Ralphs could deliver either flashy, speedy licks or thoughtful, intricate riffs and phrases. His songwriting prowess reflected an ability to create catchy lyrics and pen engaging melodies that would hook audiences. His fame and recognition expanded during his tenure in Mott the Hoople. Initially known as the Doc Thomas Group, and later the Shakedown Sound and/or Silence, the band began in 1966 with Ralphs on guitar, vocalist Stan Tippis, and bassist Pete Overend Watts. Later they added drummer Dale “Buffin” Griffin and organist Verden Allen.
They changed their name to Mott the Hoople after signing with Island in 1969, doing so on a request from producer Guy Stevens. He’d read a novel by Willard Manus titled Mott the Hoople, about an eccentric working in a circus freak show. Before releasing their debut album, Ian Hunter was recruited as frontman. The band’s early records didn’t make much impact, but David Bowie was a fan of their sound. He penned their first huge hit, “All The Young Dudes,” and produced their breakout LP of the same name in 1972. The Bowie influence heavily shifted the band’s idiomatic focus to glam. Still, Ralphs had one of his first big hits as a songwriter, “Rock and Roll Queen,” while with them. He also wrote a tune that would become a much bigger hit later: “Ready For Love.”
Ralphs’ dynamic guitar style would be headlined on yet another Hoople hit, “Roll Away the Stone.” This came right before he departed the band in 1973, in large part due to tensions with Hunter. Their beef even reached the rock press, though Ralphs’ decision would lead to a different pathway and subsequently more personal success as an instrumentalist and songwriter. He’d developed a friendship with vocalist Paul Rodgers, who’d also recently left the band Free. What was first viewed as only a writing partnership blossomed into a recording session, and drummer Simon Kirke asked to sit in. They would recruit former King Crimson member Boz Burrell as the bassist, and Bad Company was born. The self-titled debut LP topped the charts, Ralphs’ tune “Can’t Get Enough” (also known as “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love”) reached number five on Billboard Hot 100, and the album was ultimately certified as a five-times-platinum seller.
Instantly identifiable power chords, crackling riffs, and engaging, entertaining lyrics were the assets of the best Bad Company singles and albums. Ralphs’ array of compositional gems also included “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad,” and a re-recorded, bigger hit version of “Ready for Love.” In addition, he co-wrote “Bad Company,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” and many other staples of the classic-rock canon. Bad Company cut 12 albums in one incarnation or another between 1974 and 1996. Ralphs and Rodgers would maintain their friendship and work together periodically during Ralph’s later years. He’d also have reunions with his mates in Mott the Hoople (2009, 2013) and Bad Company (2008, 2010, 2016). He even toured with Hunter in 2002. One of his finest post-Hoople/Bad Company achievements was co-writing “Flying Hour” with George Harrison in 1988, plus he toured with David Gilmour in the mid-’80s, for Gilmour’s second solo album, About Face.
“Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Ready for Love” might be the most familiar essays in Ralphs’ guitar style. He favored Marshall stacks and explored both their clear and overdriven characteristics. In “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” his blend of acoustic and electric guitar helped define that classic rock trope, and the crushing chords of the refrain are the stuff air-guitar fantasies are made of. Plus, his closing solo, a backdrop to Rodgers’ singing, is pure Les Paul and Marshall bluster. In the latter, his sweet-toned playing walks a line between blues and rock balladry, with a pre-chorus and chorus reinforced by his stinging chords. And while the solo is yielded to Rodgers’ piano, it’s Ralphs who creates the song’s spine. His usual tools: Gibson Les Paul Standards and Juniors, Firebirds, SGs, and a Flying V in the video for “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” as well as Fender Stratocasters, Telecasters, and Esquires.
Ralphs’ forays into solo albums wouldn’t prove quite as successful as his group projects. He cut Take This, his first, in 1984, and released It’s All Good in 2001, and That’s Life—Can’t Get Enough in 2003. None of those replicated the success of the Mott the Hoople or Bad Company releases, but in 2011 Ralphs would return to his early musical love. He formed the Mick Ralphs Blues Band. Though his final performing years weren’t marked with the big hits that characterized his greatest commercial period, Mick Ralphs had a lengthy and impressive career, and he’ll long be remembered for being a prime contributor to some of rock’s finest ensembles. His brawny guitar tones will remain a signature of classic-rock radio as long as the format exists. PG
Spector Bass unveils the Doug Wimbish Euro 4 Signature Model, meticulously designed in partnership with the legendary bassist himself. Featuring custom-voiced EMG pickups and a slim neck profile for unmatched speed and comfort, this bass is a player's tool and a piece of history. Available worldwide from Spector Dealers.
Spector Bass unveils theDoug Wimbish Euro 4 Signature Model,an inspired evolution of Doug’s iconic 1987 NS-2 bass. Building on the momentum of the 2024 USA Signature Series, this new Euro model brings Wimbish’s unmistakable tone, style, and legacy to an even wider audience. As bassist for the legendary rap label Sugarhill Records backing Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five to the pioneering Living Colour, Wimbish has lent his innovative and creative bass grooves and sounds to a roster of world-renowned musicians.
Meticulously designed in close partnership with Doug Wimbish, the Euro4 DW features a signature slim neck profile and narrow nut width to offer unmatched speed and comfort. As well as custom-voiced EMG pickups, developed alongside Doug himself, delivering that unmistakable tone that’s powered countless records, tours, and sessions. Considered a pioneer in Hip-Hop bass playing and in the use of bass effects, alternate tunings and extended hand techniques, Wimbish’s mastery of the bass is unparalleled.
“My Spector Euro4Signature Model is absolutely stunning - visually, sonically and with the feel of my original '87 NS-2 Spector 4-String,” shared Wimbish. “The stars aligned on this new model - everything came together. I knew instantly when I played the first note on this model that we had a winner! I couldn't be happier - what a wonderful instrument.”
Finished in Amber Stain, Black Stain (gloss), and a Limited Aged Nitro finish that authentically replicates the wear and feel of Doug’s original bass, the Euro 4 Signature is both a player’s tool and a piece of history. A figured maple top, classic maple body wings, and a rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl crown inlays complete the look. Gold Spector hardware adds a touch of elegance, while the Spector Legacy Preamp delivers a powerful, 1980s-inspired 2-band EQ—the heartbeat of Doug’s signature sound.
Now available worldwide from Spector Dealers, the Amber Gloss and Black Gloss is $3,499.99, and the Amber aged $3,699.99.
Halestorm announces new album "Everest" and fall tour with Lindsey Stirling and Apocalyptica. Produced by Dave Cobb, the album explores the band's journey with deep lyrics and epic musical detours. "Darkness Always Wins" is the first single impacting Active Rock radio.
Halestorm, the GRAMMY-winning band initially formed by siblings Lzzy and Arejay Hale with guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith, have announced Everest, their sixth studio albumoutAugust8 on Atlantic Records. Today the band also announced the “nEVEREST Duality tour,” a US/Canada tour this fall with Lindsey Stirling and supported by Apocalyptica. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 2 at 10 AM local time.
Last week, the band offered a glimpse of Everest with “Darkness Always Wins,” the first song to be revealed from the upcoming collection. The song teases an album, produced by GRAMMY winner Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), that dives deeply, both lyrically and sonically, into the band’s mountainous climb over the last couple decades.
“Our albumEverest is a story of our journey as a band, full of beautiful endings and new beginnings,” says Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale. “We weave a tangled web of melancholy, frustration, anger and the vast purgatory of love and love lost. It is a rollercoaster of epic musical detours, great songwriting and completely unhinged twists and turns. Everest is an auditory representation of the 4 pillars of Halestorm. Let us reintroduce ourselves and invite you into our world…if you dare.”
Rolling Stone said of “Darkness Always Wins,” "What the song has going for is its catchy, brooding, and dramatic in all the ways we love Halestorm songs to be,” and Revolvernoted "The arrangement remains lean even as the amps begin to crank into the red, though ‘Darkness Always Wins’ still sports some exquisite minor-key melodicism, a metal-chunked bridge, loud-as-hell requiem bells and a classically rippin’ rock guitar solo."
“Darkness Always Wins” impacts at Active Rock radio this week, but already debuted as the “Greatest Gainer” at the format with early airplay last week.
The newly announced nEVEREST tour follows an epic run first supporting Iron Maiden in Europe and dates with Volbeat in the US with a one night-only-performance at Black Sabbath’s final show in Birmingham, England. See below for a full list of upcoming dates.
The Irish post-punk band’s three guitarists go for Fairlane, Fenders, and a fake on their spring American tour.
We caught up with guitarists Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley from red-hot Dublin indie rock outfit Fontaines D.C. for a Rig Rundown in 2023, but we felt bad missing bassist Conor “Deego” Deegan III, so we’ve been waiting for the lads to make their way back.
This time, riding the success of their fourth LP, 2024’s Romance, we caught up with all three of them at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works ahead of their April 30 gig to see what they brought across the pond.
Curley’s go-to is this Fairlane Zephyr, loaded with Monty’s P-90s and a Mastery bridge. It mostly stays in standard tuning and, like his other axes, has Ernie Ball Burly Slinky strings.
Blue Boy
Fender sent Curley this Jazzmaster a couple of years ago, and since then, he’s turned to it for heavier, more driven sounds. It’s tuned to E flat, but Curley also tunes it to a unique shoegaze-y tuning for their tune “Sundowner.”
You can also catch Curley playing a Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar.
Twin Win
Fender Twin Reverbs are where Conor Curley feels most comfortable, so they’re his go-to backline. The amps are EQ’d fairly flat to operate as pedal platforms.
Conor Curley’s Pedalboard
Curley’s pedalboard for this tour includes a TC Electronic PolyTune3 Noir, Strymon Timeline, Boss RV-6, Boss PN-2, Boss BF-3, Keeley Loomer, Death by Audio Echo Dream, Fairfield Circuitry Hors d'Ouevre?, Strymon Sunset, Strymon Deco, DigiTech Hardwire RV-7, Electro-Harmonix Nano POG, and Lehle Little Dual.
Fake Out
Connor Deegan didn’t own a bass when Fontaines D.C. began, and his first purchase was the black Fender Jazz bass (right)—or so he thought. He later discovered it was a total knock-off, with a China-made body, Mexico-made neck, and a serial number that belongs to a Jaguar. But he fell in love with it, and its sound—nasal on the high strings, with cheap high-output pickups—is all over the band’s first record, Dogrel. Deego plays with orange Dunlop .60 mm picks, and uses Rotosound Swing Bass 66 strings.
Deegan picked up the Squier Bass VI (left) for its “surfy vibes,” and upgraded the pickups and bridge.
Also in his arsenal is this 1972 Fender P-bass (middle). (He’s a bit nervous to check the serial number.)
V-4 You Go
Deego plays through an Ampeg V-4B head into a Fender 6x10 cabinet.
Conor Deegan’s Pedalboard
Deegan’s board includes a Boss TU-3, Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger, Boss TR-2, modded Ibanez Analog Delay, Death by Audio Reverberation Machine, Boss CE-2w, Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, Darkglass Electronics Alpha Omega Ultra, and Dunlop Volume (X) Mini pedal. A GigRig QuarterMaster helps him switch sounds.
Mustang Muscle
Carlos O’Connell favors this 1964 Fender Mustang, which has been upgraded with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickup since Romance. It’s set up so that the single-coil pickup is always on, and he’ll add in the Hot Rails signal for particular moments.
Ghost of Gallagher
Mustang Muscle
After getting to play a number of Rory Gallagher’s guitars thanks to a private invitation from the guitarist’s estate, O’Connell picked up this Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster. The jangly, direct tone of this one is all over tunes like “Boys in the Better Land.”
More Fender Friends
O’Connell runs his guitars, including a vintage Martin acoustic which he picked up in Nashville, through a Fender Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb.
Carlos O’Connell’s Pedalboard
The gem of O’Connell’s board is this Soundgas 636p, an imitation of the infamous Grampian 636 mic preamp’s breakup. Alongside it are a TC Electronic PolyTune, Ceriatone Centura, Strymon Volante, Eventide H9, Orchid Electronics Audio 1:1 Isolator, Vein-Tap Murder One, MXR Micro Amp, Moog MF Flange, MXR Smart Gate, and Freqscene Koldwave Analog Chorus. A Radial BigShot ABY navigates between the Twin and Deluxe Reverb.
![Fontaines D.C. Rig Rundown [2025]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=60290466&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
Mustang Muscle
