2024 is coming to a close, meaning it’s that time of year when we all take a breath and reflect on everything that’s happened over the past 12 months. For Joe Bonamassa, that has meant singing the praises of his new favorite effects pedal – which he has recently found himself returning to again and again.
The besuited bluesman has had another typically busy year. When he wasn’t dropping a live album with a 40-piece orchestra or jamming with Matteo Mancuso, he was either ending his 15-year quest to own Lowell George’s iconic Dumble Overdrive Special Reverb amp, revitalizing a “museum-grade” acoustic for his first Martin signature, or dropping a gorgeous Copper Iridescent 1955 Les Paul Standard with Epiphone.
In between those breathless moments, though, he’s been hard at work writing and recording, and the Crazy Circuits White Whale reverb pedal has been with him every step of the way.
Speaking in the latest issue of Guitar World as part of a ‘Best of 2024’ round-up, he’s waxed lyrical about what the stompbox can do.
“It does a great job in front of any amp,” he says. “It adds a killer authentic spring – there’s spring inside it – and a believable brown amp circa ’62 Fender-style vibrato. I’ve used it on many sessions and it has become a quiet MVP in the studio.”
First unveiled in April, the reverb unit is a revamped version of the Greek firm’s flagship White Whale pedal – an all-analog, real-spring reverb and tremolo pedal described as “hypnotic and mesmerizing”.
As Bonamassa alludes to, it’s inspired by the effects built into ’60s American amps (i.e. classic Fender combos), packing three reverb flavors with a spring-style sound at its center.
Its “delicately tuned circuit” aims to emulate tube and output transformer saturation, with its tremolo side channeling the essence of the brown and blonde-era American amps of the era.
It’s perhaps a surprise Bonamassa didn’t pick his own latest pedal creation – the Deep State Klon-copy made in collaboration with Way Huge and Reverb – as his pedal of the year. That speaks volumes of the White Whale’s qualities.
In more recent JoBo news, the blues guitar star has paid tribute to the “fiery” playing of his favorite player of all time and has given his tips for how to get into – and out of – a slow blues jam, with the help of some Holy Grail gear.
Head to Magazines Direct to grab the latest GW issue, which includes conversations with Grace Bowers, Matteo Mancuso, and The Jesus Lizard's Duane Denison.
