I've been following this guy since the late 70's. I remember taking my Sony Walkman cassette recorder to Fitzgerald's in Dallas in 1980 and recording his performances. There's no one else on the planet like him! Never met him. He rushes the beat. But he's a guitar god. It doesn't matter what gear he uses, or carbon batteries vs. alkaline, or the feng-shui of his pedals, Eric is a bonafide guitar god.
I would definetly sit down and play guitar with him. Then leap towards him, wrap my hands around his head and chant a demonic verse so I could drain all of his guitar knowledge right out of him! Then I'd be arrested, put in a mental hospital and given fucktons of seroquel until I calm the fuck down and realise that I still suck at guitar XD
Saw EJ on the EH tour last year and it was so damn cool to see him work. Video recordings do not do EJ justice. You MUST see this guy live to get the true feel.
It's honestly just a treat that ej is not gonna let up being ej even for a hendrix tribute tour. He just has something so good going! So incredibly good
Eric is a very nice guy. I met him one day a few years ago at Austin Vintage Guitars and we hung out for a few hours in the workshop while he had work done on a Showman amp.
His clean sound is incredible. Twin Reverbs and a Strat. What else? I'm hearing a chorus pedal turned on pretty light settings, along with some type of delay pedal. But it can't be that easy because NO ONE else replicated that sound that I know of. I call that the Austin Texas sound. Limestone cliffs over a crystal clear river and the smell of juniper trees.
I loooooooove his lead tone sooo much. His clean sound has always been good but I am not the biggest chorus guy in the world but his memory man sound is stunning. Basically everything about his tone is original and amazing.
"Neurotic stuff that I'm known for...." he's laughing about it, but most of what he finds is dead-on true. He LISTENS closer than most people do. If everyone tried to re-focus their hearing, they might catch much of what he does. As he told me once long ago "2% here and there, over and over again adds up to maybe a 40% better tone, which is a lot." People tend to accept what they have, but many many things affect tone, and if you've heard him IN PERSON - that tone is obviously something wonderful.
I’m sure he has a good ear but I’m not sure anyone can tell what brand of battery is in a stomp box by listening. I have a pretty good ear myself and I could maybe tell if it’s on battery or AC. And by the time you factor in the other instruments, room size, reflective properties, etc you are never going to get exactly the same tone every time you play
As a older guitar player ..I use to see him around Austin back in the early 80s.way before.he was.famous ..some kid wailing on a guitar .. it was frightening .. How could a kid be that fucking good ..
It makes no sense actually. If the speakers are 16 ohms like most old Marshall cabs, it can only be wired at 4 or 16 ohms. If the speakers are 8 ohms, nobody would wire it at 2 or 32 ohms, 8 is the only way to go.
@@patrickluszcz7801 I wouldn't say boring, not even close. I believe most of us here would call it immersive, ear pleasing, and as I've read in most of his comments on his videos, "orgasmic".
He is a really cool,humble person.I met him in Raliegh during the Venus Isle tour outside the venue about three hours before the show.He is just a regular guy,but extraordinarily talented.
I like the stuuf you do. Its 'old-school'. The board has cords all over the place... looks like my way. The best thing is the sound, no matter how you create it and you di it very well. Thanks.
Eric treats and represents the Hendrix Arrangements with his own style and respect, after having the opportunity to check the 3 G Tours,, it's special, and we can see why he was invited....
Amazing. Eric Johnson is the only guy on the planet who could go thru a dissertation on how he has configured his setup to give him his ‘Hendrix’ sound ...and then proceed to play, not a single Hendrix chord. Not a bend. In fact, I’d say that of the 12 notes that exist neither he nor Jimi shared one. Wonderful playing but when I make it to see EJ it will be to hear his own work.
I think it is incredible to see Eric Johnson willing to play Hendrix. When I think Johnson has his own Legend to deal with. I love your music Johnson as much as I loved Hendrix. But I think you are aware of that. In fact I have yet to hear you play anything I have not appreciated on lots of levels. I have not ever tired of listening to you. Playing or speaking. Nite. xo
I would imagine, the tone this man creates with his guitar, his effects pedal collection would be twice as big, just makes me realize how much he could do with a limited amount of gear (even though the amount of gear he owns is fucking mind boggling), I am a huge EJ fan and I could never get bored of his music, he truly makes his own style, he has so many tricks up his sleeve, and I would honestly rate him as the greatest guitarist of all time, as well as one of the most respected, jimi would
@TheElectromagnet true. i think most people forget that the louder you are, the less treble you actually need. what sounds like a good tone at low volumes can sound shrill at high ones. EJ is on of the ones that got it right. even his clean sound wasnt piercing at all, although it was brighter than his lead sound obviously.
My guess is that he uses specific lengths in the George L's patch cords to achieve the high frequencies that he's looking for. Longer lengths will soften the highs a bit.
Love the guys at Austin Vintage Guitar... Bill Webb is the man when it comes to repairing electronics and guitar equipment.. he fixed my Old silver tolex/white stitching echoplex and did an amazing job. SHOUT OUT TO AVG!
What a monster player and a class guy, reminds me of an American Eric Clapton, (poor Clapton hated the guitar god crap) the really great players don't need attitude and have nothing to prove they just let their playing speak for itself. Even Jimmy Hendrix was a shy and humble guy, and although his recordings really don't do him justice, real players can hear what he was trying to, there were no locking tuners or floating bridges back then, and the few effects he had were primitive.
All that cabling on his board, I always think, "Wow, he must really love capacitance!" lol I don't care how good George L's stuff is, that's a looooot of cable. Guess you can't argue w/ results, tho :P :) Thanks for posting!
I know how you feel. I seen one of those vintage fuzz faces go for more than $500 usd a year or two ago. You just got to work with what ever you can lay your hands on.
Love the fact that he could have a totally engineered swish looking pedal board but no it looks just like something I might throw together in a mad hurry with cables coming from every possible place .. dig it
fender twins With the James B. Lancing D120 's hell yeah ! over here in the USA it's Twang & snap ,but over in England I love how Jeff Beck says " A bit of a Spanky tone" pick & grin !
Look at how long and flexible EJ's fingers are at 2:45. That has to be a big part of what makes him such an amazing guitarist. He is a really great human being.
Ahh, man. E.J., I'm your age and I've been playing for as long as you have (50 years) and I can't do half of what you do. And you still have all your hair! PS: your pedal board is like doing algebra.
it's actually all strategically arranged with carefully measured patch cables between each pedal for maximum control over any overbearing treble/noise or overly powerful buffer
Some of his patch cables are long and i didn’t hear if he had some buffer to compensate for some tone loss. But he manage to get a clean bright tone. Love the piece of plywood for pedal board. Old school
I have a similar pedal board set-up. but with one amp in this order. Early 70's Thomas Organ Cry Baby wah or RMC-1 Wah, AYA R-Comp (dyna/ross), original BK Butler Tube Driver or Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod (ts-808/bk butler), Zendrive,(dumble), BB Preamp Andy Timmons signature (marshally tone), vintage Boss DD-2, vintage TC. Chorus into a Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic 100/50 amp. Wonderful sounds and tone!
the thing about eric is yes he is loud live, but his tone is still smooth and pleasing to the ear even at high volumes. i found a lot of the other players on this tour were loud and hurt my ears. him and stave vai actually were probably the only ones who didnt but i dont think vai was playing as loud as the rest.
@kaymo211 Yeah, I saw him live in Seattle two days ago. But he is using all Marshalls for this current tour-and everything sounded great. In this video, he's using a fulton webb for dirty rhythm.
I love this guy! He always sounds so remarkable.. wish i also could afford different amps for all of my different tonal needs, ok, "wants" to be true.. ;-)= well, and a roadie or two to lug the stuff around!
The jtm 45 was basically a fender bassman modded by Jim Marshall to create a larger and more distorted sound for bands playing big venues during the mid 60s
ANALOG, baby! Eric loves the old-school effects, as they have a lot more character and tone than all of these digital/preset rackmounts. But I gotta admit, it takes a lot of patience and diligence to stay on top of a setup like Eric's. He probably knows more about tone and sound effects than any guitarist alive - not to mention he knows how to play and use them like almost no other.
@timmy47 amen. He keeps alot of the high range tones rolled back on those marshalls so it's not that "piercing" mosquito sound that so many shredders like to use.
I met him in 1982 and he listened to a guitar tape I made. He was very nice, humble and gave me good advice. A good person.
I've been following this guy since the late 70's. I remember taking my Sony Walkman cassette recorder to Fitzgerald's in Dallas in 1980 and recording his performances. There's no one else on the planet like him! Never met him. He rushes the beat. But he's a guitar god. It doesn't matter what gear he uses, or carbon batteries vs. alkaline, or the feng-shui of his pedals, Eric is a bonafide guitar god.
He does rush. I thought I was the only one who noticed. One of my favorites regardless
Couldn't believe I'm actually seeing him this close up even though its in video...Hes definitely one of my favorite guitarist of all time....
HE seems like just a totally cool guy the kind you'd wanna sit around and play guitars with .
+Shadow It's funny because Eric doesn't drink or eat meat
+FOOKYA MODELLE
Life is a vice! Or is it a minestrone? It's one or the other.
Eric plays, we drink and eat.
I would definetly sit down and play guitar with him. Then leap towards him, wrap my hands around his head and chant a demonic verse so I could drain all of his guitar knowledge right out of him! Then I'd be arrested, put in a mental hospital and given fucktons of seroquel until I calm the fuck down and realise that I still suck at guitar XD
FOOKYA MODELLE huh?
his clean tone sounds soo majestic man
Yeah man his tone is amazing. You could describe his dirty rhythm tone as 'organic'
Beautiful
Mismatched speakers in the dual twins is what he eventually settled on.
@@graxjpg mismatched in which sense? Could you elaborate a bit?
SansibarRacing in the sense that they were from different manufacturers, and slightly different wattage. I can’t remember what they were.
I just love his fuzz tone!! And…….you can’t beat a clean Strat through 2 Twins, which he owns those sounds 😍🥰
Saw EJ on the EH tour last year and it was so damn cool to see him work. Video recordings do not do EJ justice. You MUST see this guy live to get the true feel.
The tone guru himself. Eric is way to humble and laid back. 😁 his style is about as unique as it can get. And sounds absolutely wonderful to boot.
Saw the Red Bank NJ show on this tour; absolutely phenomenal, one of the best concerts I've ever seen
Dude!! the best clean strat sound I've heard in my life
It's honestly just a treat that ej is not gonna let up being ej even for a hendrix tribute tour. He just has something so good going! So incredibly good
Eric is a very nice guy. I met him one day a few years ago at Austin Vintage Guitars and we hung out for a few hours in the workshop while he had work done on a Showman amp.
He's astonishing, utterly.
This guy is so humble. He just gave us the masterclass of our lives
Wow. I have no idea what he talking about until 5:23. But then it all becomes very clear. Thank you Eric for decades of great sound.
He never ceases to amaze me.
His clean sound is incredible. Twin Reverbs and a Strat. What else? I'm hearing a chorus pedal turned on pretty light settings, along with some type of delay pedal. But it can't be that easy because NO ONE else replicated that sound that I know of. I call that the Austin Texas sound. Limestone cliffs over a crystal clear river and the smell of juniper trees.
I loooooooove his lead tone sooo much. His clean sound has always been good but I am not the biggest chorus guy in the world but his memory man sound is stunning. Basically everything about his tone is original and amazing.
He was the highlight of the Hendrix show for me when it came to Chicago!! He killed May This Be Love!!!
He genuinely does. I have noticed that in all of his gear videos.
"Neurotic stuff that I'm known for...." he's laughing about it, but most of what he finds is dead-on true. He LISTENS closer than most people do. If everyone tried to re-focus their hearing, they might catch much of what he does. As he told me once long ago "2% here and there, over and over again adds up to maybe a 40% better tone, which is a lot." People tend to accept what they have, but many many things affect tone, and if you've heard him IN PERSON - that tone is obviously something wonderful.
I remove the spring cavity plate on my guitars because it sounds better.
@@Diax1324 funny, i leave mine on cause i feel like it gives a more reverby springy sound unplugged. I cant tell a difference with the amp going.
I’m sure he has a good ear but I’m not sure anyone can tell what brand of battery is in a stomp box by listening. I have a pretty good ear myself and I could maybe tell if it’s on battery or AC. And by the time you factor in the other instruments, room size, reflective properties, etc you are never going to get exactly the same tone every time you play
@@scottarivett496 I always believed Energizers sounded better in my Tube Screamer than Duracells....
"I kinda like 8 ohms for lead"
Don't we all Eric?!
I like them for breakfast
I prefer 4 for clean .
As a older guitar player ..I use to see him around Austin back in the early 80s.way before.he was.famous ..some kid wailing on a guitar .. it was frightening .. How could a kid be that fucking good ..
It makes no sense actually. If the speakers are 16 ohms like most old Marshall cabs, it can only be wired at 4 or 16 ohms. If the speakers are 8 ohms, nobody would wire it at 2 or 32 ohms, 8 is the only way to go.
16 ohms on a 100watt marshall cab is the best tone ever.!!!
Eric Johnson ,,, The perfect player , no more needs to be said .
Hes fuckin boring.. how does boring equate to perfect?
@@patrickluszcz7801 I wouldn't say boring, not even close. I believe most of us here would call it immersive, ear pleasing, and as I've read in most of his comments on his videos, "orgasmic".
@@infamousrockstar275 orgasmic? Hmmm...
@@patrickluszcz7801 Or so I've read
Eric your a truly nice man and absolutely a skillful musician. Robin Trower And Hendrix, Malmsteen are my Favourite Guitarists . Take Care
Hey Trevor this is Eric! (Secret account) Thanks brother! on behalf of Jimmi Hendrix and myself rock on!
Saw him play with the G3 Tour. Incredible talent and sound. All together with Satriani and Vai,,,,,,,,,,,whoa.
I could just get lost closing my eyes and listening to him play that luscious clean sound.
Those twin reverbs sound great!
He is a really cool,humble person.I met him in Raliegh during the Venus Isle tour outside the venue about three hours before the show.He is just a regular guy,but extraordinarily talented.
Im in Moravian Falls n miss that show, my son in Albuquerque saw Venus Isle show n gotta pic with him!
I like the stuuf you do. Its 'old-school'. The board has cords all over the place... looks like my way. The best thing is the sound, no matter how you create it and you di it very well. Thanks.
This guy is so chill.
Eric treats and represents the Hendrix Arrangements with his own style and respect, after having the opportunity to check the 3 G Tours,, it's special, and we can see why he was invited....
Not only is he a master guitarist he is a tone master.
Eric you are the SHIT... Always the best.. keep rockin. cliffs of Dover fan from back when....
Amazing. Eric Johnson is the only guy on the planet who could go thru a dissertation on how he has configured his setup to give him his ‘Hendrix’ sound ...and then proceed to play, not a single Hendrix chord. Not a bend. In fact, I’d say that of the 12 notes that exist neither he nor Jimi shared one.
Wonderful playing but when I make it to see EJ it will be to hear his own work.
I think it is incredible to see Eric Johnson willing to play Hendrix. When I think Johnson has his own Legend to deal with. I love your music Johnson as much as I loved Hendrix. But I think you are aware of that. In fact I have yet to hear you play anything I have not appreciated on lots of levels. I have not ever tired of listening to you. Playing or speaking. Nite. xo
Twin Head into a marshall cabinet or open cabinet (with wheels) - awesome idea.
Eric’s got his own! Awesome! In the mind of a master!
Like Eric, cause he`s a awesome down to earth guy
I fucking LOVE his clean tone!
Wow that clean tone through the twin reverbs .
such a cool and chilled out guy!
I would imagine, the tone this man creates with his guitar, his effects pedal collection would be twice as big, just makes me realize how much he could do with a limited amount of gear (even though the amount of gear he owns is fucking mind boggling), I am a huge EJ fan and I could never get bored of his music, he truly makes his own style, he has so many tricks up his sleeve, and I would honestly rate him as the greatest guitarist of all time, as well as one of the most respected, jimi would
That pedal board is reeking havoc on my OCD!
@TheElectromagnet true. i think most people forget that the louder you are, the less treble you actually need. what sounds like a good tone at low volumes can sound shrill at high ones. EJ is on of the ones that got it right. even his clean sound wasnt piercing at all, although it was brighter than his lead sound obviously.
Oh no, now I've got to take the banana peels out of my tremolo cavity.
I switched to mangos.....
I could only wish that Jimi was alive.It would be so awsome to see Jimi/Jeff Beck and Eric do a set. 3 originals,no copy kats.
dude is maxed out with stuff man
My guess is that he uses specific lengths in the George L's patch cords to achieve the high frequencies that he's looking for. Longer lengths will soften the highs a bit.
his playing is mesmerizing...so good
Love the guys at Austin Vintage Guitar... Bill Webb is the man when it comes to repairing electronics and guitar equipment.. he fixed my Old silver tolex/white stitching echoplex and did an amazing job. SHOUT OUT TO AVG!
“On 10 of coarse because there is no other volume for lead” - Eric Johnson
"Ours go to eleven"
I like his clean tone. It's awesome
What a monster player and a class guy, reminds me of an American Eric Clapton, (poor Clapton hated the guitar god crap) the really great players don't need attitude and have nothing to prove they just let their playing speak for itself.
Even Jimmy Hendrix was a shy and humble guy, and although his recordings really don't do him justice, real players can hear what he was trying to, there were no locking tuners or floating bridges back then, and the few effects he had were primitive.
7:16 (amp tech praying to the Marshall gods)...
Also dudes got a lovely clean tone.
All that cabling on his board, I always think, "Wow, he must really love capacitance!" lol I don't care how good George L's stuff is, that's a looooot of cable. Guess you can't argue w/ results, tho :P :)
Thanks for posting!
You gotta laugh... 5 minutes of detailed talking about tone and then when he hits the actual guitar the camera mic clips right out.
Hahaha yes oh my gosh
I know how you feel. I seen one of those vintage fuzz faces go for more than $500 usd a year or two ago.
You just got to work with what ever you can lay your hands on.
Love the fact that he could have a totally engineered swish looking pedal board but no it looks just like something I might throw together in a mad hurry with cables coming from every possible place .. dig it
what a nice and beautiful sound at 6:00! Sounds a bit like phil collins but also difference and i don't know how to describe!
fender twins With the James B. Lancing D120 's hell yeah ! over here in the USA it's Twang & snap ,but over in England I love how Jeff Beck says " A bit of a Spanky tone" pick & grin !
All that gear and then......when he plays....sounds like Eric Johnson
This rig is almost identical to his regular rig
The very first edge-bound neck I have ever seen on a Fender Stratocaster.
eric johnson is 57 yrs old now! dam! he looks pretty good and sounds great. (:>)
Look at how long and flexible EJ's fingers are at 2:45. That has to be a big part of what makes him such an amazing guitarist. He is a really great human being.
Ahh, man. E.J., I'm your age and I've been playing for as long as you have (50 years) and I can't do half of what you do. And you still have all your hair!
PS: your pedal board is like doing algebra.
He's vegan !!
Eric's dad was a successful Dr. This is what can happen when you have supportive parents with $$ to protect their child. Privilege.
Thank You Eric!!! Sounds Fan Tastic ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆.
it's actually all strategically arranged with carefully measured patch cables between each pedal for maximum control over any overbearing treble/noise or overly powerful buffer
That clean tone from the twins is made in heaven..
Hendrix is his influence like me and many other guitarists around the world
The Sound from 7:00 is HEAVEN
Some of his patch cables are long and i didn’t hear if he had some buffer to compensate for some tone loss. But he manage to get a clean bright tone. Love the piece of plywood for pedal board. Old school
I have a similar pedal board set-up. but with one amp in this order. Early 70's Thomas Organ Cry Baby wah or RMC-1 Wah, AYA R-Comp (dyna/ross), original BK Butler Tube Driver or Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod (ts-808/bk butler), Zendrive,(dumble), BB Preamp Andy Timmons signature (marshally tone), vintage Boss DD-2, vintage TC. Chorus into a Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic 100/50 amp. Wonderful sounds and tone!
It's that old gear he uses that gets his sounds that we all know and love.
all i can see is buttons & wires & boxes... can't believe how he explains it all... he deserves a medal just fer that.
Yes - delay before chorus - I run mine this way and it gives the echo some variation as each repeat hits a different part of the modulation sweep...
何時聴いても、エリック・ジョンソンの音は、とても素晴らしく心地良い。とても心に沁み渡ります。
Eric could play a Squier through a cheap peavey and still sound awesome!
His clean tone is just .... GOD
Just saw him at the wharf in gulfshores he is freaking amazing. He was the best player on the stage.
the thing about eric is yes he is loud live, but his tone is still smooth and pleasing to the ear even at high volumes. i found a lot of the other players on this tour were loud and hurt my ears. him and stave vai actually were probably the only ones who didnt but i dont think vai was playing as loud as the rest.
That's what I call a home made pedal board...
Exactly man! Vais guitars and satrianis are basically superstrats effectively
@kaymo211 Yeah, I saw him live in Seattle two days ago. But he is using all Marshalls for this current tour-and everything sounded great. In this video, he's using a fulton webb for dirty rhythm.
I love this guy! He always sounds so remarkable.. wish i also could afford different amps for all of my different tonal needs, ok, "wants" to be true.. ;-)= well, and a roadie or two to lug the stuff around!
Did he just say fendery marhsally kinda clean? Wonder what that means
He mean that it sounds like a JTM 45/100!
The jtm 45 was basically a fender bassman modded by Jim Marshall to create a larger and more distorted sound for bands playing big venues during the mid 60s
It means hendrix
That first riff screams cliffs of dover. All in his fingers, just the way he plays can tell you alot.
I love how he's being sarcastic! The missing back plate makes it sound better! Ha!
6:01 clean tone heaven.
a very gifted man...
ANALOG, baby! Eric loves the old-school effects, as they have a lot more character and tone than all of these digital/preset rackmounts. But I gotta admit, it takes a lot of patience and diligence to stay on top of a setup like Eric's. He probably knows more about tone and sound effects than any guitarist alive - not to mention he knows how to play and use them like almost no other.
2:48 Audio Bliss! The tone & reverb sound is sooooo nice ; )
I like the end of his pedal board statement....and thats it.
hes obviously a gear nerd...love it!
4 amps for 4 different sounds and several A/B switches so his board is like an algorithm. Mind blown.
He uses an 8 ohm 4x12 for his lead Marshall head.
Phenomenal player. His set up tells me I know crap sometimes.
you know youre an insane player when they make an 8 minute video on your soundchecks x.x
Even with crappy audio quality his clean sound still sounds heavenly
@timmy47 amen. He keeps alot of the high range tones rolled back on those marshalls so it's not that "piercing" mosquito sound that so many shredders like to use.
God his pedal setup is a mindfuck