Joe Bonamassa's release record for signature guitars with Epiphone is the mark of a player who knows great gear – they frequently sell out and punch way about their price points – still wish I'd bought the Lazarus Les Paul I reviewed. But was the best still yet to come? The new Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard that the Gibson Gazette has just showcased suggests that might be the case.
This is based on a rare Les Paul finish, but it's also about the pickups – many of you will already know that early Les Paul's predate the PAF humbucker pickups Gibson would go on to debut. Instead, they featured P-90s. And for some, that's when Gibson's pickups peaked.
This year's model is based on two guitars that I own from 1955
"Most people who are real dyed-in-the-wool Gibson people, they'll say behind closed doors, when the internet's not watching, that their favourite pickup is a P-90," he tells the Gibson Gear Guide's Dinesh Lekhraj in a new video above announcing his 12th Epiphone signature model since 2013.
"This year's model is based on two guitars that I own from 1955," adds Joe. "And they just found a third in Copper Iridescent. If you start twisting it, it's like one of those new cars that change colour – it looks brown and then it looks copper. They did a really good job tracking down the original paint colour… they're based on two Copper Iridescent 1955 Les Pauls that I own."
It was a standard Gibson colour at one point, but as Joe has only tracked down three so far, it's certainly not a common one to find in the vintage market nowadays. Though Joe notes he's known as a humbucker player but he owns a lot of P-90 guitars, and often sings their praises Vs PAF examples.
"They clean up really well, " notes Joe as he demonstrates on the new model. "Leslie West did well with them, Charlie Starr does really well with them – Jared James Nichols does really well with them."
"I can already tell you this one sounds better than one of my original '55s," Joe observes after giving the new Epiphone a run-through. That one still has its original flat-wound strings on, admittedly, but as ever he's clearly all-in on this signature guitar.
I'm just happy we did a P-90 guitar as it was long overdue
"It's got the same brown knobs, the brown ones that came with the originals, and the build quality with Epiphone has always impressed me. Because I know this guitar, which is just a random one that happens to be here, feels exactly the same as the prototype and will also feel the same as the thousandth one that comes off the line."
It's also coming in at $849 with a hard case. "I wanted to go back to doing guitars that are under 900 bucks," says Joe. "These are ready to rock and you can rule the world with them. I'm just happy we did a P-90 guitar as it was long overdue."
But it's not the only new Epiphone model he's showcasing – there's a Murphy Lab aged recreation of his famed 1958 Amos Flying V unveiled in the video. It's been 18 months in the making and Joe reveals he's been playing a replica on tour for that time.
"It's every bit as great as something old, except you don't have the liability of bringing out literally a unicorn guitar."
Check out the full video above and find out more at the Gibson Gazette. You can also order the new Epiphone Les Paul at Thomann.
