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 think it's safe to say that if anyone other that EJ plugged into his rig and attempted to make music would likely be rendered useless and run home with their tail between their legs! lmao
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.
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.
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
"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.
I worked audio on this show and when he kicked on that flanger the entire FOH stereo mix was spinning my head like a top! That Barracuda flanger kicks ass!
@@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".
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 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
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.
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....
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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!
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
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.
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 !
@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.
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!
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
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!
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.
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.
Conclusion i get from watching this: U need 4 different amp to get 4 different sound (4 different decent sound like eric johnson of course). I've been using one amp to get clean, dirt and lead sound but always dissatisfied with either clean or lead tone.
Orbsee Yep, and with dpdt footswitches you can make all the routers you want, I built a pedalboard with a dpdt switch at each pedal so you can take each pedal out of the loop or reroute directions.
@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.
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.
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.
I like Eric OK, but it cracks me up that all these players on the Jimi Tribute Tours have to spend all that time running through their pedal boards (to even TRY & get close to what Jimi did) when he only used a VOX Wah Pedal... Fuzz Face... Octavia.... Uni-Vibe & Marshall 100w amp for the most part.
You would think they would use an actual audio recording setup to capture this. It always amazes me that folks that care about music use camera mics that are so limited in fidelity with inferior preamp and frequency response. Let me know you want to do one of these, I'm be glad to help out.
Nice to see a great musician without an ego the size of a 53 Caddy! He doesn't mind giving other guitarists tips. The man can play like a humming bird on steroids!
aldo rampolla ...amazing considering Johnson is from Texas [southern states] and Kobain was from Seatle [northern states]....total opposite ends of the country
![Rig Rundown - Eric Johnson [2018]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Nx6cUuH7QGw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Rig Rundown - Eric Johnson [2018]](/img/tr.png)
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
I think it's safe to say that if anyone other that EJ plugged into his rig and attempted to make music would likely be rendered useless and run home with their tail between their legs! lmao
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.
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?
Saw the Red Bank NJ show on this tour; absolutely phenomenal, one of the best concerts I've ever seen
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.
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....
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.
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.
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.
I just love his fuzz tone!! And…….you can’t beat a clean Strat through 2 Twins, which he owns those sounds 😍🥰
Yup Fenders for clean, Marshalls for dirt. Period! (with the JC running a close second for clean)
This guy is so humble. He just gave us the masterclass of our lives
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
"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....
He never ceases to amaze me.
"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.!!!
I worked audio on this show and when he kicked on that flanger the entire FOH stereo mix was spinning my head like a top! That Barracuda flanger kicks ass!
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.
Dude!! the best clean strat sound I've heard in my life
He was the highlight of the Hendrix show for me when it came to Chicago!! He killed May This Be Love!!!
He's astonishing, utterly.
I could just get lost closing my eyes and listening to him play that luscious clean sound.
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!
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
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.
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
Saw him play with the G3 Tour. Incredible talent and sound. All together with Satriani and Vai,,,,,,,,,,,whoa.
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
“On 10 of coarse because there is no other volume for lead” - Eric Johnson
"Ours go to eleven"
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.
He is so unassuming friendly and incredibly talented. A guitar players guitar player.
That pedal board is reeking havoc on my OCD!
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....
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.
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.
He genuinely does. I have noticed that in all of his gear videos.
Eric’s got his own! Awesome! In the mind of a master!
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.
Oh no, now I've got to take the banana peels out of my tremolo cavity.
I switched to mangos.....
Those twin reverbs sound great!
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.
Twin Head into a marshall cabinet or open cabinet (with wheels) - awesome idea.
Not only is he a master guitarist he is a tone master.
Wow that clean tone through the twin reverbs .
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
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
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!
Like Eric, cause he`s a awesome down to earth guy
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
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!
such a cool and chilled out guy!
This guy is so chill.
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 !
7:16 (amp tech praying to the Marshall gods)...
All that gear and then......when he plays....sounds like Eric Johnson
This rig is almost identical to his regular rig
@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.
I like his clean tone. It's awesome
I fucking LOVE his clean tone!
He uses an 8 ohm 4x12 for his lead Marshall head.
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...
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!
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
Hendrix is his influence like me and many other guitarists around the world
Thank You Eric!!! Sounds Fan Tastic ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆.
4 amps for 4 different sounds and several A/B switches so his board is like an algorithm. Mind blown.
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。
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!
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.
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.
Conclusion i get from watching this:
U need 4 different amp to get 4 different sound (4 different decent sound like eric johnson of course). I've been using one amp to get clean, dirt and lead sound but always dissatisfied with either clean or lead tone.
Orbsee Yep, and with dpdt footswitches you can make all the routers you want, I built a pedalboard with a dpdt switch at each pedal so you can take each pedal out of the loop or reroute directions.
You on the money! I just gave up an bought each amp I like! A/B marshall and vox , or fender twin. Job done!
It's that old gear he uses that gets his sounds that we all know and love.
That's what I call a home made pedal board...
The very first edge-bound neck I have ever seen on a Fender Stratocaster.
Also dudes got a lovely clean tone.
That clean tone from the twins is made in heaven..
all i can see is buttons & wires & boxes... can't believe how he explains it all... he deserves a medal just fer that.
The Sound from 7:00 is HEAVEN
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!
@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 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.
His clean tone is just .... GOD
eric johnson is 57 yrs old now! dam! he looks pretty good and sounds great. (:>)
Phenomenal player. His set up tells me I know crap sometimes.
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.
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.
Eric could play a Squier through a cheap peavey and still sound awesome!
a 69 Marshall for just a tube driver. Mine is the same metal panel 100 watt head & big cabinet like yours. Not a scratch on it.
I like Eric OK, but it cracks me up that all these players on the Jimi Tribute Tours have to spend all that time running through their pedal boards (to even TRY & get close to what Jimi did) when he only used a VOX Wah Pedal... Fuzz Face... Octavia.... Uni-Vibe & Marshall 100w amp for the most part.
the above items for stage performances. many fender twin and other amps for studio...especially clean.
true that. so much gear for 3 songs : /
Do you reckon Hendrix's chain was guit, to fuzz face, to wah to massive wall of basic Marshall's all maxed out
You would think they would use an actual audio recording setup to capture this. It always amazes me that folks that care about music use camera mics that are so limited in fidelity with inferior preamp and frequency response. Let me know you want to do one of these, I'm be glad to help out.
Exactly man! Vais guitars and satrianis are basically superstrats effectively
Love his dirty rhythm sound, anyone know what other amps have the same voicing as that Fulton-Webb head?
Great Tone...what can I say?
That first riff screams cliffs of dover. All in his fingers, just the way he plays can tell you alot.
Nice to see a great musician without an ego the size of a 53 Caddy! He doesn't mind giving other guitarists tips. The man can play like a humming bird on steroids!
aldo rampolla ...amazing considering Johnson is from Texas [southern states] and Kobain was from Seatle [northern states]....total opposite ends of the country
Just saw him at the wharf in gulfshores he is freaking amazing. He was the best player on the stage.
That clean tone is so pristine! The dirty rhythm sound seems thin and hollow though. The camera mike may not be doing justice to EJ's tone.
you know youre an insane player when they make an 8 minute video on your soundchecks x.x