“When I first plugged into it, I realised this s***’s good. I really wanted to dislike it! But I couldn’t”: Joe Bonamassa on digital amps winning him over
There’s something to say about how far digital modelling technology has come when even a self-confessed tube aficionado like Joe Bonamassa ends up using it on tour.
The blues guitarist has recently been “beta testing” Fender’s Tone Master range on the road and it’s clearly made more of an impression than he expected.
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Speaking to MusicRadar, Bonamassa admits he went into the experiment ready not to like what he heard: “I’ve got to be honest with you and admit when I’m wrong,” says the virtuoso.
“I still have my other tube amps behind me. It’s just that the [Fender ‘59] high-powered Twin is now a Tone Master. When I first plugged into it, I realised this shit’s good. I wanted to dislike it, I really wanted to dislike it! But I couldn’t.”
The reaction wasn’t just his own, either. According to Bonamassa, the people around him on tour were hearing the same thing.
“My production manager, my sound tech, even my other guitar player Josh Smith – they were all telling me it sounds better and feels right. And I was like, ‘I know!’”
The “trick”, says Bonamassa, “is to be physically pushing out sound.”
“You have to be moving air. By having the right speakers, the Tone Master works. It’s not like I’m plugging into a direct box, which I could, but I don’t think that would sound good.”
“That’s where a lot of this digital modeling stuff can start sounding a little generic,” he continues. “With a lot of the things out there, you’re not moving air, and the dynamic range is limited. For me, moving air is essential, just like playing loud.”
First introduced in 2019, Fender’s Tone Master range was developed to digitally recreate the sound and feel of the company’s most iconic tube amplifiers. The lineup has since expanded to include digital versions of classics such as the Twin Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, Princeton Reverb and more.
The post “When I first plugged into it, I realised this s***’s good. I really wanted to dislike it! But I couldn’t”: Joe Bonamassa on digital amps winning him over appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
