The #85 Guitarist of the Rock Era: Richie Sambora

Recapping our list so far:  

100.   Mick Barr, Orthrelm

99.    Jerry Cantrell, Alice in Chains

98.    Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band

97.    Danny Kirwan, Fleetwood Mac

96.    Daron Malakian, System of a Down
95.    Sam Totman, Dragonforce

94.    Kerry King, Slayer
93.    Robbie Krieger, Doors

92.    Ted Nugent

91.    Jason Becker, David Lee Roth

90.    John 5, David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson
89.    Jake E. Lee, Ratt, Ozzy Osbourne

88.    Michael Wilton, Queensryche
87.    James Munky Shaffer, Korn

86.     Uli Jon Roth, Scorpions

Up next, a cowboy, with a steel horse he rides...

#85:  Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi

30 years as an active guitarist
(compilation of some of his best solos)

Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora was born July 11, 1959 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  He has been the steady lead guitarist and one of the main songwriters that made Bon Jovi a special group for so many years.

Richie taught himself to play the guitar at the age of 12, shortly after the death of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.  Sambora is one of those natural talents--as he says, if he hears a song on the radio, he can start playing it and know the guitar part within five minutes.  I'm envious but I greatly respect it. 


Sambora graduated from Woodbridge High School in New Jersey.  He was influenced mostly by blues and rock & roll in the 1960's, specifically the Beatles, Hendrix, Jimmy Page, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.  Spanish classical music appealed to Richie and led him to a lifetime of playing the Spanish guitar.  Sambora has also said that Janis Joplin's singing had a big influence on his style and classical music too has had its influence.


Sambora reportedly saw a Bon Jovi concert and approached Jon Bon Jovi about the possibility of working together.  The two hit it off immediately and Sambora was invited to a rehearsal.  That rehearsal went so well that Richie was hired on the spot.

Sambora was the missing piece of the puzzle and the group has thrived ever since.  Their album Slippery When Wet has now sold over 28 million copies worldwide.  The group's follow-up New Jersey was itself wildly successful and many songs are still demanded at live shows.


Sambora has also released two solo albums and he has been working on a third.  He has also done session work for Pink and Bo Diddley.


Sambora's favorite guitar of over 120 in his collection is the 1959 Gibson Les Paul.  In the 1980's, Sambora played Kramer, Jackson, Chavel and Hamer superstrats and custom Les Paul guitars, such as his Rod Schoepfer model.  In 1987, Kramer released a Richie Sambora signature guitar with three humbuckers, a pointy drooped headstock, gold hardware, star-shaped fingerboard inlays and a Floyd Rose Original locking tremolo. 

Since then, Sambora has been seen often with a custom black Jackson, but he's also played a Floyd Rose tremolo system along with vintage Fenders and Gibsons.  In 1991, Fender issued their own Richie Sambora signature, a Stratocaster with an original Floyd Rose tremolo system and an HSS combination of DiMarzio PAF Pro humbucking and two Fender Texas Special single-coil pickups. 

Sambora has used Ovation acoustic-electric guitars from the early 1980's through the present day.  He plays a custom-made doubleneck designed by Gary Douglas.  Not wanting to miss out, Taylor began production of a Sambora signature model in 2000, a six-string acoustic made of koa wood, called the RSSM.  Martin put out two of Sambora's signature models as well since Sambora likes to use those on recordings.  Sambora mentions the 1930 Martin OM-45 as his favorite and he will also use a Yamaha double-neck acoustic at some live shows.

In late 2007, Sambora endorsed the ESP Guitar Company and they debuted the Richie Sambora signature, the LTD SA-2.

On early work for Bon Jovi, Sambora used Marshall amplifiers, including the JCM800 models with 4 x 12" speaker cabinets and a variety of rack and pedal units.  In 1995, Richie started using Fender ToneMasters with 4 x 12" cabinets.  On tour, he used up to 12 cabinets on stage.  In 2000, Sambora began using Marshall JCM2000 DSL. 

Richie employs an A/B box, the Frampton Talkbox, the Jimi Hendrix Dunlop ah, the Keeley SD-1, Stock SD-1, Roger Mayer Octavia, the Boss CH-1 and the EHX Electric Mistress Deluxe.  Beginning in 2010, Sambora started using a rack system that includes the Furman Power Conditioner, Lexico and Eventide rack effects.  He uses the following pedals:  BOSS OD-1, Hermida Audio Zendrive, Tone Freak Effects Naked OD and Abunai 2, Klon Centaur, Analog Man Octron, EHX Micro POG,Tone Freak Effects MelloTremo, BBE Soul Vibe, Retro-Sonic Chorus, MXR EVH Flanger, MXR Phase 90, Maxon Auto Filter and the EHX Deluxe Memory Man. Sambora runs all of these effects through a MIDI Controller.  He also uses the BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner, Moollon Wah, and an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal running from his guitar to his amplifier.

In 2009, Richie was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Sambora not only has speed but is one of the most melodic of The Top 100 Guitarists*.  He ranks #85.