![Joe Bonamassa Performs on Gary Moore's Soldano Amplifier]](https://backingtracksfullcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Joe-Bonamassa-Performs-on-Gary-Moores-Soldano-Amplifier-758x426.jpg "Joe Bonamassa Performs on Gary Moore's Soldano Amplifier] 1")
After splashing the cash on Gary Moore’s legendary Soldano SLO-100, Joe Bonamassa recently brought it to the No Cover Charge podcast studio – where it was fired up for the first time in 20 years.
Bonamassa admits he’s not usually partial to celebrity gear purchases, but when the chance to own Gary Moore’s Soldano SLO-100 landed on his lap, it proved too good to pass up.
During the test drive, there’s a moment of tension as Bonamassa goes to flick the standby switch for the first time, awakening the Soldano from its 20-year slumber. Though it works – and sounds effortlessly magnificent – it does showcase a habit for powering down.
“It wasn’t happy going past six,” Bonamassa laughs. “I’m an idiot. This thing just came out of a crate from London. It’s scaring me a bit.”
Still, the look of satisfaction etched on JoBo’s face says it all. The amp more than justifies the £19,200 (approx. $25,100) Bonamassa paid for it. Plus the price of a much-needed health check.
“I’ve actually gone after three [Soldanos],” he says in the podcast episode. “Eric Clapton sold his Journeyman rig in the 2010 Crossroads auction, but there was a guy who literally bought everything. I was going after the Cornish rack and the Soldanos.
“The next time we went after a Soldano was Mark Knopfler‘s [from] the Money for Nothing era. Finally, the Gary Moore one came up. I’m like, ‘Let’s get it.’ No regrets.”
In other Bonamassa news, the blues guitar has paid tribute to B.B. King, explaining why the blues starts and stops with him.
