The lightness of the EJ is a revelation: you can play it for hours and hardly know it was there. All these sounds are ideal for rhythm and riffs, sparkling clean leads and of course Johnson's legendary chord voicings layered with dreamy effects. Renowned tone-hound Eric was looking to create a lightweight instrument that offered a subtle but distinctively different voice to that of a conventional Strat. This model teams the iconic contoured Strat body shape with the semi-hollow construction of a Telecaster Thinline. Bath © Visit our corporate site. When it comes to solid versus semi-hollow we can broadly state that while a Les Paul tends towards a tight, defined tone with even response across the tonal spectrum, an ES-335 will seem more scooped in the middle, thus creating a less in-your-face sound with more dynamic choices for the player. Eric suggests it might: “It’s a little thicker on the bridge pickup,” he affirms, “especially at higher volumes. "All my guitars are like that," he confirms. If you had to trust one guitar geek to talk you through what makes the perfect Stratocaster, say hello to Texan jazz fusion legend Mr Eric Johnson. "The reason I did this is because the guitar stays in tune better," explains Eric. Eric's shifting of the tone pot from the middle to the bridge pickup allows this - and by default the bridge-and-middle positions - to be adjusted. Thank you for signing up to Musicradar. The Stratocaster Thinline isn't Johnson's first signature Fender but it is the most radical. And while you can already do this latter move on most Strats, via the middle pickup's tone pot, there's a subtle but noticeable difference here: in the standard combination the middle pickup's tone gets rolled off, but here it's the bridge pickup and that creates a tone that's just as thick, but much more defined. We can’t fault fit or finish so perhaps the question should be, does Eric favour this instrument over his all-solid signature models? "All my Strats are wired this way," grins Johnson, "I've actually been doing it since the 1970s. Eric likes his Strats to be fitted with the full five springs but not 'blocked up' as with Eric Clapton's guitar. How much of that was down to the maple neck versus rosewood and the Fat 60s pickups compared to the Johnson-Fender voiced set, who’s to say? Reviewed an Eric Johnson Stratocaster. But we realised that was not enough ‘solid’; it was a bit too airy sounding. Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors? ‘A Strat is a Strat is a Strat,’ you might say. The best of MusicRadar in your inbox Eric wants to evoke the smooth, singing voice of the violin in his lead passages and so hates sounds that are thin and spiky, preferring thick tones that fall from his guitar like liquid. You will receive a verification email shortly. Who is the best acoustic guitarist of 2020? Please refresh the page and try again. After testing several prototypes Eric settled on a newly sculpted ‘soft V’ neck, said to evoke the perfect meeting of vintage and modern. CLA EchoSphere: Waves’ free Black Friday VST plugin is a slap delay and plate reverb from Chris Lord-Alge, Arturia responds to Behringer’s KeyStep MIDI keyboard lookalike Swing: “This is not fair competition”. Action is set dead right - low enough for comfort but with enough purchase under the strings for easy bending. We check over 130 million products every day for the best prices, The model is based on Johnson's favourite 1957 sunburst with maple neck. MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Maple fingerboards usually feel better with slightly heavier fretwire, as inevitably the frets are buried somewhat in the lacquer - even when it's as thin as stipulated by Johnson. Eric Johnson is a charming and intelligent man, and a sophisticated guitarist capable of playing almost anything extraordinarily well. Matched alongside this reviewer’s own Custom Shop Strat and both fired up through our ubiquitous Blues Junior test amp, the EJ felt immediately lighter underfoot than the dark toned, rosewood boarded Relic. These weren't copied from my guitar, but Michael Braun and I sought out magnets and copper wire close to the 1950s specs.". Michael Frank-Braun of Fender's Custom Shop, who co-created the guitar with Johnson, noted that the guitarist has spent years researching what makes guitars sound good, down to the bobbins and screws. There was a problem. This is one of the secrets of EJ’s sound: for those chiming, open-voiced chords he looks for the cleanest, brightest output from the bridge pickup; while for his trademark ‘violin tone’ solos he winds this pot back for an almost ‘woman tone’ effect, adding a fuzz or Tube Driver and lashings of delay. Several pundits here weren’t sure about the f-hole, opining that a Strat doesn’t take such a powerful visual statement as well
as a Tele (which raises the question; why didn’t they simply chamber it, put the alder cap on and forget the f-hole?). The EJ's cellulose -acquered neck is a touch bigger than the average Vintage Reissue Strat, with a chunky 'C' meets 'V' feel that's designed to be a comfortable palm-full and bring an ounce or two more tone to the guitar. Who is the best online guitar personality of 2020? Although the EJ features Fender’s vintage vibrato system, here it’s locked down with all five springs fitted; there’s no back plate either, and no pre-drilled attachment holes should you want to fit one. A true aficionado of vintage Fender Stratocasters, Johnson is someone who knows better than most how the world's favourite electric guitar could be 'improved'. It seems to activate the resonance of it and I feel like there’s more energy happening with the new wood. He understands aesthetics, is a stickler for playability and his views on great tone are legendary. The pickups echo Johnson's love of vintage Strats. So while the resulting sonic palette is distinctly classic in timbre, there's super clarity on offer too. CLA EchoSphere: Waves’ free Black Friday VST plugin is a slap delay and plate reverb from Chris Lord-Alge. Traditionally Strats don't have a tone control on the bridge pickup, leaving this often harsh-sounding single-coil as many people's least favourite selection. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. There was a problem. Some may not like the f-hole look, plus it’s £500 more than an American Original Strat. Who is the best online guitar personality of 2020? Buyers' guides to all the best music gear, 11 best studio headphones 2020: recommended headphones for music production, 11 best laptops for music production 2020: portable computers for musicians, producers and DJs, The best studio monitors 2020: 10 affordable to high-end studio speakers for musicians and producers, The 12 best audio interfaces 2020: top audio interfaces for music-making and production, Free music samples: download loops, hits and multis from SampleRadar. And anyway, who’s going to argue with the ears of Eric Johnson? But there's more to it than that. All the expected clean sounds were there, but somewhat ‘prettier’. Thank you for signing up to Musicradar. JGT REVIEW: Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Thinline After years of collaboration with one of today’s most respected guitarists, Fender has introduced the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Thinline. "Again, this is taken from my favourite '57 Strat," says Eric. Think of Eric’s sounds and they are never ferocious, just big, fat and controlled, and that’s clearly what he was going for here. Receive news and offers from our other brands? But it's not all hyper-fat lead; Eric also loves sparkling bridge, classic Texan neck and spanky middle pickup tones, as well as those 'vocal' sounds so ably served by positions two and four. “Well, we experimented with different types of wood and settled on alder,” Johnson told us. Other personal features include a parchment-coloured, single-ply scratchplate, an authentic vibrato block - "It's closer to those used in the 1950s and 1960s; the holes are smaller and the string doesn't go in as deep" - and a discreet neck-plate bearing the guitarist's initials and the figure of Kokopelli, a Native American character symbolising the 'mischievous minstrel'. Anyone familiar with Eric Johnson will know that, apart from his magical touch on the guitar, he strives for the perfect tone.

eric johnson strat review

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eric johnson strat review 2020