Is Joe Bonamassa finally winding down his guitar-collecting ways?
The guitarist has an enviable collection that includes hundreds of axes and amps. Among them are numerous original Gibson Les Paul ’bursts, rare Fender Strats in original custom colors and a mint 1958 Gibson Korina Flying V he purchased for more than $400,000.
There’s also his legendary "Skinnerburst" 1959 Les Paul, and Tommy Bolin’s 1960 "Bolin Burst" Les Paul. He reportedly has more than 1,000 instruments in Nerdville, his home/museum, including over 600 guitars.
But Bonamassa says he’s putting the brakes on his collection.
“As far as acquiring stuff, I’ve really slowed down, because there’s a saturation point,” he tells the No Cover Charge podcast. “I’d like to get to the stuff that I own and discover the sounds that I can get out of those pieces, before it just starts piling up and piling up and piling up.”
As far as acquiring stuff, I’ve really slowed down, because there’s a saturation point.”
— Joe Bonamassa
He says the turning point came in January 2025, when the Los Angeles wildfires threatened Nerdville. He was out having dinner when he learned the winds were driving the fires in the direction of his home, leading to an evacuation order that prompted him to grab his most valuable pieces.
Fortunately, his home wasn’t harmed, and the wildfires helped him gain perspective on what it means to own so many rare instruments.
“You never want to go into a situation … where you’re pulling out cases and have no recollection of when, where, or how you acquired it,” he says. “And it’s probably starting to get to that point”
“Obviously, you can’t evacuate everything, so you have to prioritize. And I thought about it for years. I said, ‘Well, if we gotta go, here’s what’s going.’ This being one of them, you know.
“Mr. Skinner [Bonamassa’s “Skinnerburst” Les Paul] has to come along.”
The guitarist also reveals that he often buys several pieces of gear at a time, which is why he tends to own so many similar and matching pairs of amps.
“Like, you notice there’s two [Marshall] JTM45s,” he says. “There’s three in here, and one in Nashville. So I’m usually ‘a pair and a spare.’ And if you look at the back wall, there’s a bunch of Blackface Fender amps, and Selmers behind you, and [Fender] Tweeds and everything.”
Bonamassa adds that maintaining a good poker face is a key part of his dealing. “I never telegraph anything,” he says. “You won’t know I’m interested until I’d be like, ‘I’ll take it,’ or, ‘I’ll cut you a check.’”
Of course he’ll be saying that a lot less now.
In related news, Bonamassa recently spoke about the most influential guitarists in his life and shared a key piece of soloing advice he got from electric guitar legend Leslie West.
