Some guy is selling Joe Bonamassas Clapton Strat on Ebay for $3,999 buy it now or best offer. As usual my handicapped PC skills dont let me show you a direct link. I have to learn to do that as it annoys even me.lol But it seems legit as he has a dvd to document it and written papers from Joe to say it is authentic. It is a 95 or 96 model and not a bad price if you are a big fan.

Hi StrayCat: this the one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Stratocaster ... 439b82d23e

How much does a Clapton Sig of that date normally go for? How much is the seller adding to that price on the basis that JB may have handled it?

In a dusty side room at the cathedral in Siena, Italy, I saw shelves and shelves filled with Saint's relics (finger bone of St Catherine, fragment of the "true cross", etc etc). Given that they were shoved away in that lonely storeroom it seemed even the Catholic Church had lost interest in that stuff.

I like Bonamassa a lot, but I'm not convinced a guitar might have gained anything important from the saint-like touch of his hands. I'll buy the next CD instead...

Cheers - C

WOW!!
I guess this is the final straw in Joe's fight with Fender. He's shedding his Strats!! Damn...if he EVER sells 'Goldie'....I'll sell my car to get that one!!

Can't say I blame him. Fender were a bunch of A@@holes to Joe. Blatently copying the aforementioned 'Goldie' down to the scratchmarks....and NOT giving Joe ANY credit!! They told him he didn't sell enough to warrant a signature model!
I thought that SUCKED!!!
Gibson...on the other hand...was MORE than happy to take Joe into the family fold and grant him his own signature Les Paul.
Fender.....I love you....I'm a "Strat Guy"....but that was a DUMBA@@ move!!
I, personally, LOVED Joe's Strat work! I thought he sounded GREAT on a Strat!!
I'm sorry that there is that much corporate greed over at Fender that they would rather give teeny-bopper Avril Lavigne a signature model before a REAL artist like Joe.
OFF my soapbox....

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

Let us see how long it takes until he's with Ernie Ball Musicman....

Ooo - that's interesting.

Hi HWY1Strat: care to share more on that? This obviously refers to something you know about but it's news to me. Tell me more!

Cheers - C

Yeah saw that music man in the Royal Albert Hall DVD and to my surprise it sounded phenomenal in Joe's hands. Once I had a chance to play EB music man (don't remember which model) and I felt nothing special about it.

Ceri... I am still trying to locate you in the crowd on that DVD (joking )

I am a member of Joe Bonamassa's website forum in which Joe himself participates regularly.
I brought up the subject/thread of why Joe does not play Strats anymore.
I am proud to say,....my thread got something like 2000(!!!) responses!!!
including several from the man himself.....giving a detailed account of the story I mentioned!
Here is the link:
http://www.jbonamassa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5927
(He "claims' the reason is SRV comparisons....but THIS was the REAL reason!!)
Trust me me....I'm NOT pulling this out of the corner of my butt!!!
If, indeed , you were to go on said chatboard and mention this subject, you'd get some very cranky responses because it has been discussed on there ad-nauseum!
AND I GUARANTEE....you're NOT going to read about this in FRONTLINE!!!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

way to go hwy 1. yeah i like joe bonamassa, that was a pretty dousche move on by fender.
keep rockin joe.

yeah i dont blame joe atall thats pretty low from fender, like he said hes not good enough but his guitar is.
u gotto love JB, hes so true to him self. theres no rock star side to him atall.

great post hwy1strat.

Interesting thread- I wonder if there are any administrators that care to shed light on this subject??

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Hi HWY1Strat: very interesting, thank you for the headsup!

Well, this is Fender's website so I won't comment further here, but...

And on this:

Hi Daniel: I went through the whole double DVD keeping an eye out for myself, because we were very near the stage. No dice - till the "bonus track" in the extras section. In Woke Up Dreaming from about 7:01 there is some idiot in the crowd in a blue rugby shirt who first is whispering something in his wife's ear and then raises a little Fuji FinePix camera and fools about trying to compose a shot. Why isn't that guy just listening properly to the music?

That inattentive bloke is... me.

Actually, what I was whispering to my wife was that Forum user ZZDoc doesn't like the classical music takeoff (Bach I think?) Joe is about to go into at that point. The second time ZZDoc's views had been mentioned in the course of that gig...

Oh, and earlier in the show that little camera had been used to film this clip of JB and EC jamming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DydslPSlyaE

Cheers - C

I LOVE Fenders, particularly the Stratocaster.
But Fender site or NOT....I WILL call a spade a spade........and a douche....a douche!

Well.......I am prone, in life, to be the one to stir the poop in the pot!

I will hold my freak flag high and shout from the rooftops that that was a DUMB ASSED move on Fender's part!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

There ALWAYS has to be ONE tattletale in the bunch!!

Do you honestly think ANYONE at Fender will 'fess up to this??!!
Nevermind DISCUSS it !!!

Again....this is coming from the man himself....why would he lie!??

He's obviously hurt! He has used Stratocasters all his life and this was an insult!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

Can't blame a business for making a good business decision. Just because you like him doesnt mean he'll sell guitars.

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GOOD BUSINESS DECISION!!???!!! ('ya get all types on here!)
So I guess turning away one of the hottest Blues/Rock guitar players on the planet is a GOOD business decision?

" Just because you like him". Hmmmmm..... I am NOT alone on this one. I....must have been the only one there when he single-handedly sold out the Royal Albert Hall recently.

Gibson had the common GOOD business sense to give this extraordinary talent a signature Les Paul .

Shame on Fender!!!

Just because we love and play their guitars DOESN'T mean that they are all knowing and almighty!

They screwed up!!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!