DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Guitar-rock sensation Joe Bonamassa releases the Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby in conjunction with Dunlop, a leading manufacturer of electronic effects, picks, capos, slides, strings and other musical instrument accessories. This new pedal comes on the heels of the previous Dunlop-Joe Bonamassa pedal which received rave reviews. Whether it’s with his bluesy solo career or with the rocking Black Country Communion, Bonamassa’s playing is fiery, deep, and powerful. And when he really wants to express himself in a solo, he steps on a Cry Baby wah. That’s why the folks at Dunlop worked with Joe to develop the signature pedal, specially engineered to fit in perfectly with Bonamassa’s tone. The pedal can be purchased exclusively on Bonamassa’s website. Each pedal comes with a free Bonamassa Cry Baby Shirt.

Bonamassa currently uses the pedal on tour and in the studio, including on his last record Dust Bowl where he plays the pedal on the song “You Better Watch Yourself.” For your free download of a track from Dust Bowl, click here: http://bitly.com/joebfalltour

On the outside, the pedal sports a classy copper top with a smooth-finish black body. On the inside, it features large, vintage-style thru-hole components, a Halo inductor (for added harmonic content), an output buffer (to prevent impedance imbalance with vintage fuzz pedals), and a switch for true-bypass or non-true-bypass operation. With its huge vocal sweep range, this is one of the most expressive Cry Babys ever and it’s Bonamassa’s tool of choice to accentuate every soulful bend and bluesy wail.

“The first pedal I ever purchased was a Cry Baby, 25 years ago,” he says. “I am so honored to have my name on this pedal and hope it brings you as much fun as it brings me every night on stage.”

Bonamassa’s popularity has been steadily rising with no end in sight. He was named 2010′s #1 Billboard Blues Artist with most recent album Dust Bowl (J&R Adventures) debuting at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart and #37 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart, making it his highest-selling and chart-ranking U.S. debut to date. His side project, hard rock band Black Country Communion – with bandmates Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian – was named “Best New Band of the Last 10 Years” by VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show. He just collaborated on an album of soul covers called Don’t Explain (J&R Adventures) with one of music’s most powerful female voices – singer-songwriter Beth Hart. After the enormous success of his 2009 sold-out concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall – which included a career-changing duet with Eric Clapton – and subsequent live DVD release, Bonamassa filmed his two recent sold-out shows (Nov. 4-5) at NYC’s famed Beacon Theatre. Special guests at the shows included John Hiatt, Paul Rodgers and Beth Hart. The live concert DVD and PBS special capturing the magic of both nights will be released in early 2012.

Source: PR Newswire

In upstate New York, Bonamassa Guitars is now open for business. The shop is operated by Joe’s Dad, Len Bonamassa. Len had a guitar shop while Joe was growing up and he is just getting back in the shop business. Len has never stopped collecting guitars. Great to see him back in the business…

You’ll find a large range of guitars, from Fender to Gibson and everything in between. Not looking to buy guitars? That’s not a problem, the store is stocked with any equipment you may need. They have a large selection of amps, including vintage amps. Len also has a good amount of pedals in stock. Oh you need strings too? They got the strings too…

Everyone is welcome at Bonamassa Guitars.. stop by and pay them a visit! Bonamassa Guitars is located at 4520 Commercial Drive in New Hartford, NY. Also follow Bonamassa Guitars on Facebook, where you can keep up to date with the latest news. The website is soon to follow. Best of luck to Len and everyone else at Bonamassa Guitars.

The fifth Joe Bonamassa Lithograph is now available for sale via Joe’s online store. The picture features Joe soloing during the Black Country Communion tour. It was shot by Christie Goodwin on July 30, 2011 in Manchester, England.

All lithographs retail for $399 (which includes shipping) and as a bonus you’ll get two tickets to any Joe show plus meet and greet. They are still in stock at the time of this post.

Nothing new really, but Joe has become a bigger icon on Ebay. Just checked tonight and I saw 13 pages of auctions on Ebay. Since Joe has grown, it seems that most of the auctions on Ebay are ticket listings. There are a good amount of people looking to make money on Joe tickets. Some sellers are also trying to sell autographs for near $100. That’s insane if you ask me!

How can this be stopped? It’s not easy. But I can give you some advice, so you do not end up paying top dollar..

1. Tickets – Do you want awesome seats? Not a problem, sign up for Joe’s street team. Sign up with your information, make sure you put in your geographical info. You’ll get emails with pre-sale information, so you can get tix before they go on sale.
2. Autographs – Too many folks are trying to rip people off on autographs. Want an autograph? Joe is always willing to sign for his fans. Just stick around after the show, he usually comes out to meet fans and take pictures.

I hope you have not been ripped off on Ebay. By not purchasing tickets or autographs on Ebay, sellers will continue to relist their items. Overtime, they will stop putting items up. You can make a difference..

The new “Arise” t-shirt hit the official JB Store today.. it has a cool retro design to it. Five percent of all sales from the 4th of July weekend will benefit Operation Home Front. Make sure to place your orders this weekend! Again, that is for all of the items in the JB Store. Hope you have a great 4th of July weekend!

The fourth lithograph of the series is on sale today. Titled “Infinity” this lithograph captures Bonamassa during one of his jaw dropping guitar solos. Each lithograph is numbered and signed by Joe. Only 100 of each lithograph is made and it will run you $399. Don’t forgot that you’ll also get two tickets thrown in (to the show of your choice) and a meet n’ greet. These lithographs look great and don’t be mistaken by the small picture  – it is huge! Buy one at Joe’s official site.

Some of you are already familiar with Strings For A Cure. Joe has recently donated strings from his 1959 Les Paul. These strings are the originals that came with Joe’s 59 LP and were also played for two shows: Sioux Falls and Kansas City.

For those of you who don’t know what Strings For A Cure is all about, here is a portion of the mission statement from their website:

The StringsforaCURE Foundation helps women and men diagnosed with breast cancer. Our mission is to provide information, education and support, so they can successfully navigate a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Our goal is to help them reach decisions based on knowledge, rather than fear.

Local, regional and national musicians donate their used guitar strings to StringsforaCURE, and I transform them into one-of-a-kind bracelets, earrings, pendants and rings.

We are a Green Foundation. Our jewelry is made in the U.S.A.  Net proceeds are used to fund the foundation’s efforts to comfort and educate breast cancer patients.

Joe was the first musician to donate used  guitar strings to this foundation. With the help of street teamer Rhonda (photogal), the foundation was able to get a hold of Joe’s 59 LP strings. More information about upcoming products with the strings recently donated can be found online here.

If you know any artist that would like to donate their guitar strings, you can read about it on the Strings For A Cure website.

Joe’s signature Fuzz Face Pedal has been released to the public recently. The pedal is made by Dunlop. It runs for $199 and if ordered from Joe’s store, you get a free bonus Dust Bowl shirt thrown in with your order. These will be harder to come across because only one batch of pedals is made per year.

So far, the pedal has gotten a lot of great feedback. Premier Guitar Magazine did a full blown out review of the pedal in their January 2011 issue.

The JBF3 marks a welcome return of many of the qualities and quirks that made the original Fuzz Face a fave of the greats. It’s not as forgiving, smooth, or harmonically even as many boutique pedals that claim the Fuzz Face for inspiration. But to this reviewer’s ears at least, that’s where the magic of this particular Fuzz Face lies. Even the sweetest sounds lurking within the JBF3 are colored by a little grit that can grab you by the throat, cut through a mix, and snarl with attitude. It’s equally at home with hot humbuckers or single-coils, particularly if you’re willing to explore the potential of a guitar’s tone knob. Subtle it is not. But this Fuzz Face can certainly sing. And if you’re willing to stake out some tone turf on the rougher side of town, this pedal will pay your adventurism back handily.

The review from Premier Guitar Magazine also offers two different sound samples. The first sample is at max volume with max fuzz and the second sample is at noon volume with noon fuzz. Check out the full article on their website.

Have you been on Ebay recently? A lot of the Joe Bonamassa Signature Jazz 3 picks are showing up for auction. A lot of people claim that these picks are rare or played by Joe. Maybe some are played by Joe, but I can guarantee that most are not. From what I’ve seen, very few show any wear / tear on them. Plus, most people who get picks that Joe has used keep them as mementos.

With that being said, there is no need to buy them off Ebay, where you’ll be charged any where from $5 to $10 per pick. If you check out the Official Joe Bonamassa Store, you can get a whole tin of guitar picks for $10. I bet sellers on Ebay are trying to make a quick buck, by just buying them and reselling them. Just a heads up.. until next time!