Eric Johnson makes me want to be a better guitar player

Eric makes me believe 100% that tone is the hands.

Also, I'm shopping for a Deluxe Reverb now. This is a disease, right?
 
I was fortunate to see him in a small club when he released Ah Via Musicom. Two hours of him playing from the album, jamming and talking music. The thing that blew me away the most was the precision with which he transitioned chords. Another thing I noticed was he has almost freakishly long fingers and some of the voicings he is capable of contributes a lot to what he gets out of his tone.
 
iaresee said:
Are the reissues good?

I have this whole XL+ rig sitting here collecting dust I was hoping to trade on maybe a legit '65 with someone.
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This particular model seems to have some mojo...I havent t pulled the trigger but Sweetwater has that 30 day return window...but a vintage would be awesome indeed..
 
iaresee said:
Are the reissues good?

I have this whole XL+ rig sitting here collecting dust I was hoping to trade on maybe a legit '65 with someone.
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I would give a vintage Princeton Reverb a go. That's what I did. It avoids the higher price of the Deluxe but delivers some great mojo IMO.
 
You've got his whole rig in the Axe Fx!

But you'll never have his fingers or ears or ability to detect the brand and current voltage of the battery in the Tube Driver right now ;)

Also, you probably won't have his incessant problem with gear malfunction during performances (if you stick with Fractal)... Like when I saw him on the 1st date of the first ever G3 Tour at Concord Pavilion or like when I saw him a few months ago at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento on the Ah Via Musicom "anniversary" tour.

He seems to just roll with it... But it is one aspect of his musicianship that seems unprofessional to me.

Edit:

However, I do agree with you that he's super inspiring. One of my personal idols since the first time I heard him play.

Edit 2:

I think the Tube Driver is AC powered, so my joke isn't very technically accurate... Substitute Fuzz Face instead :D
 
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When I first moved to Dallas before Eric Johnson or Stevie Ray Vaughan had records out I saw both of them play on the same night. Stevie was playing at Al Bamboos. There was only the band and the bartenders in the place. He was great. A few blocks away Eric Johnson was playing and the line to get in was all the way down the street. That was the first time I saw Eric Johnson. He played all Jimi Hendrix and Cream songs and only did a few originals at the time. He used a couple of Marshall Plexis and a pair of Twin Reverbs. That is what he always used for many years. I've seen where he used 50 watt Plexis and a pair of Deluxe Reverbs for a while. I never saw him use a Dumble, but I know he has one now. Eric was great that night. I'd later see Eric Johnson and Stevie Ray Vaughan on the same bill at the Agora in Dallas when both of their albums first came out. Great show! Eric is one of the best guitarists who ever lived to me, and a really nice guy.
 
iaresee said:
@unix-guy its less about wanting his rig or to sound like him than about having a LOT of Fractal rigs here now.
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I've got a nice Budda SuperDrive II 18W 2x12 combo (early, not Peavey-era)... Not that I need another Axe Fx.

I really should try to sell it as it doesn't deserve to sit idle in the case for 4+ years :(
 
iaresee said:
Eric makes me believe 100% that tone is the hands.

Also, I'm shopping for a Deluxe Reverb now. This is a disease, right?
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I agree 100%...but:
I saw Eric a couple months ago at the Guitar Show in Dallas.
He had at least 7 amps, all mic'd. And his tone was meh.
There were other players that were using a single amp that had better tone.
Could it have been the sound engineer...maybe. But I was expecting to be blown away, but was like - his tone is 'ok'.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I have loved his musicianship since that first floppy 45RPM in Guitar player, but when I've seen him the live tone didn't sound much like the amazing recordings.
 
Admin M@ said:
I have loved his musicianship since that first floppy 45RPM in Guitar player, but when I've seen him the live tone didn't sound much like the amazing recordings.
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His live tone seems a lot darker and woolier to me... And it's LOUD!

The recent show I saw the tone was great... It was a bit "loose" and I suspect the new hollow signature Strat was a contributing factor.
 
The juxtaposition of his super glassy, bright, and open clean tone and his super wooly, dark, and sustainy dirt tone never really worked for my ears. But I like his playing a lot, inspiring for sure! And I like his recent acoustic stuff.
 
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