Eric Johnson
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Eric Johnson and his signature Fender Stratocaster expertly navigating the
classic “Are You Experienced?”
Striking up a conversation with a player like
Eric Johnson—a guy who personifies flawless
tone—was one of many fantastic moments at
the festival. “I don’t know if you can ever build
the ‘right’ sound,” he explained, “it just has to
happen serendipitously. I’ve spent a lot of time
trying to manipulate my tone, but sometimes it’s
like trying to capture wind in a jar. You just have
to experience and enjoy it when it’s there.”
Johnson is notorious for his gear obsession—
for stuff like being able to hear the
difference between battery brands in his
pedals. But while many guitarists know
about his guitar and amp proclivities, he
spoke to us about less-obvious
elements
of his tone. “The way [the gear] sounds is
very important, but it’s more about how it
responds to my picking technique. When
the flow and bounce are working together
just right, it just facilitates being able to
move to different places musically. The
amp, for better or for worse, is part of the
instrument. It can be a great tool, but also
an Achilles’ heel. If the amp is matching
your picking technique and blooming and
interpreting your fingering style well, it just
helps you be a better guitarist.”
Like Hendrix, Johnson is a noted fan of plugging
Fender Stratocasters into non-master-volume
Marshall stacks. His rhythm tones are
often projected from vintage Fender Deluxe
Reverbs, but he decided to change it up a
little for this tour. “For rhythm tones, I have
two Fender Twins driving a semi-openback
Marshall 4x12 cabinet. I’m also using my
50watt
Marshalls onstage to keep the volume
from getting too out of control.”
Asked about being on the tour with so many
notable guitarists, Johnson couldn’t have
sounded happier. “I’m so glad they got a hold
of me to do it again, because it was such a blast
last time when I got to meet Billy Cox and Mitch
Mitchell, it was the last tour that he did before
he died,” he said. “There’s a real nice, fraternal
vibe to it, where you all get to concentrate
together on someone else’s music, which happens
to be really wonderful music, too. And
the fact that everybody is a really good player,
but they all have a different take on Hendrix’s
music, just showcases how diverse his music
is. Everybody has his or her own version of his
blues style, or his psychedelic style. It’s just very
powerful.” Johnson was particularly fond of a
recent jam with Sacred Steel lapsteel
guitarist
Aubrey Ghent, who performed with Robert
Randolph’s band. “We just did that a few hours
ago, and that was one of the highlights of the
tour for me. He’s just great, and he taught
Robert a lot of stuff. He’s a wonderful player.”
What struck us most during our time with
Johnson was that he is most certainly a tone
chaser, but he’s not a tone snob. One might
have expected him to talk only of his legendary
gear and tone, but he was very cordial and personable.
He was particularly interested in the
vintage Marshall Super Bass head PG associate
gear editor Jordan Wagner mentioned owning,
and he asked several friendly questions about it
during our conversation. It felt like hanging out
with a regular Premier Guitar reader.
A true classic—Johnson’s 1962 Fender Stratocaster. This instrument was stolen
from him almost three decades ago, but was returned in 2006.
Johnson’s Maestro Echoplex EP-3 tape delay.
The infamous pedalboard of Eric Johnson. In addition to a few custom
switchers, the board houses a vintage Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, a Boss DD-3
Digital Delay, a late ’60s Vox wah, a BK Butler Tube Driver, an early ’70s Dallas Arbiter Fuzz
Face, a TC Electronic Stereo Chorus, a ToadWorks Barracuda Analog Flanger, a Prescription
Electronics Experience octave fuzz, and a Maestro Echoplex EP-3.
Johnson ran his mid-’80s BK Butler Tube Driver and Maestro Echoplex EP-3
through this 1968 Marshall 50-watt Lead head, which drives the lower of two stacked
Marshall 4x12 cabinets. Its cab is loaded with 80-watt Celestions. The 50-watt Lead and a
Marshall Tremolo head were the core of Johnson’s dirty rhythm tones.
Johnson’ signal hits a Fuzz Face before going into his 1968 Marshall
50-watt Tremolo head. It drives the top Marshall 4x12 in his stack, which is loaded
with Celestion 30-watt speakers.
A rear view of the stereo Marshall open-back 4x12 cabinet used for Johnson’s clean tones. Each side of the cabinet was fed by a mid-’60s Fender Twin Reverb. The cab was loaded with two JBL Lansing D120s and two Electro-Voice EV12L’s.
A frontal view of Johnson’s 1968 Marshall Tremolo head sitting on a specific
wooden folding chair positioned at a 90° angle behind the Marshall stack.