Joe Bonamassa’s gear assortment is kind of one thing; it even warrants two museum areas – Nerdville East and West – in Nashville and Los Angeles, respectively. 

One spotlight of his assortment – of which there are clearly many – is his 1959 Gibson “Black Magnificence” Les Paul Customized. Because the story goes, the guitar is certainly one of solely a “handful” made – “possibly 20 or much less in existence,” Bonamassa says.

“My one got here from slightly outdated woman in Pennsylvania,” he says. “The household didn’t realise it was a really particular, uncommon variant.”

JoBo’s “Black Magnificence” Les Paul Customized was uncommon on the time of manufacturing for its two-humbucker configuration and Bigsby vibrato, and now it’s been recreated as an Epiphone signature mannequin.

Designed to be “each devoted and accessible”, the Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ‘59 Les Paul Customized sports activities a stable mahogany physique with an Vintage Ebony end, accented by aged multi-ply binding on the highest and again.

Its mahogany neck contains a 1959 Rounded Medium C profile, and is topped with a certain 22-fret ebony fingerboard and pearloid block inlays.

Elsewhere, the guitar contains a multi-ply certain ‘60s Kalamazoo-style headstock with the Epiphone emblem and the basic Customized Cut up Diamond inlay in mother-of-pearl, whereas there’s additionally a low-friction Graph Tech nut for tuning stability.

True to the Black Magnificence, the Epiphone recreation additionally contains a Bigsby tailpiece. The run of 1959 Gibson Les Paul Customs featured some with Bigsbys and a few with Cease Bar tailpieces.

“Bigsbys are nice as a result of they’ve their very own distinctive sound. They’re not like Floyd Roses or Fender trems,” Bonamassa says. “They’re slightly brighter; it’s slightly extra hi-fi, however it should rock.”

The guitar additionally boasts Grover Imperial tuners – the identical that enhance JoBo’s unique Black Magnificence Les Paul. “The Grover Imperial tuners got here inventory on my guitar, so they arrive inventory on yours as effectively,” he explains. “So it offers it a fancier look.”

When it comes to electronics, the Joe Bonamassa ‘59 Les Paul Customized contains a pair of Epiphone ProBucker Customized pickups, wired to particular person quantity and tone controls utilizing high-quality CTS potentiometers for “excellent tonal versatility and reliability”.

Finishing the devoted look is a run of gold {hardware}, together with the guitar’s Tune-O-Matic bridge, Grover tuners and Bigsby B70 tailpiece.

Every Joe Bonamassa ‘59 Les Paul Customized comes with each a certificates of authenticity and a hardshell case with “Nerdville” graphics.

The guitar is proscribed in an preliminary run to 1,000 items – accessible through Epiphone, the Gibson Storage and authorised Epiphone sellers. A run of 300 with an unique customized fretboard inlay may also be accessible through Joe Bonamassa’s webstore.

The Joe Bonamassa ‘59 Les Paul Customized is priced at £949 / $999. For more information, head to Epiphone.