@@nimitz1739 Listen to Venus Isle. Killer album with lots of this clean stuff, and dirty stuff too. Cool ambient tracks as well so your not just listening to straight guitar. His new album and the Mike stern collab album are both worth a listen for sure.
At age 49, I can't believe I'm just now discovering Eric Johnson. I've only been listening to him seriously for about 3 weeks and I've already bought 2 of his albums! Live at Austin, and Tones. I've decided to digest this stuff chronologically, haha, it's more fun that way.
+Craig Willis seriously though, i cant recall ever seeing any of his albums in music stores back in the 80's and 90's. I guess i would have seen him in Guitar Player, but it just didn't take because i didn't have access to his music here in alabama. But it's so cool because I'm still enjoying this belated discovery. Over the last 3 months or so I've literally listened to 'Live at Austin' more than anything else in my collection. That's got to be the best live performance (and there are alot of good ones) of anyone else i've ever listened to. The way he articulates the fast scale and arpeggio amalgamations and then ends up on that single high note, so well, is what amazes me. That last note is always so clear and authoritative and inspirational. Its as if he's standing on the highest peak. Have a great day man!
And still delivering some of the best live performances I’ve ever seen! Eric isn’t a musician…he’s one of those ultra rare individuals who act as a musical conduit from some other dimension. It just flows through his heart to his fingers and to our ears.
+niptodstan Which is why he plays the same guitar and equipment all the time, right? Tone is mostly in the equipment. Note choice, style is mostly the brain (hands).
+TruthSurge I know you've been around a long time sir, just to clarify- style and technique are definitely in the hands right ? It almost sounded like you were implying that equipment defines the player. Eddie, Yngwie, Eric, Allan, Greg, Etc. can pick up a piece of shit guitar and sound like themselves.
Francois DuJour "just to clarify- style and technique are definitely in the hands right ? It almost sounded like you were implying that equipment defines the player." No, it's not primarily in the hands. It's partly in the hands because longer fingers, different hand shapes can affect the techniques and possibilities. But a player's note choices and how they play is almost totally in their MIND. Their minds told their hands what to do, their muscles REMEMBERED most of it and they got to where they could go on autopilot some and think some. It's ultimately in the mind. And you bring up an interesting topic ref equipment making or defining the player. YES! It partly does. When you play on a different set of equipment, the feel of the guitar, the sound of the amp... it actually is a FEEDBACK loop which does affect how you play. I'm not saying Eddie would sound like Brian May on Brian's equipment. But he would not play exactly the same and he sure as hell wouldn't sound the same. The sound he heard while playing and the feel of the guitar especially would affect his playing a little bit. So, these players are gravitating to the sounds they prefer and the guitars they prefer. Some "hand" exceptions might be Shawn Lane (who can really copy his style?), Holdsworth, Gilbert.... these guys have LONG fingers so their styles can adapt to that. People with shorter stubbier fingers have a harder time and have to work harder to do even the common stuff like long stretch arpeggios BUT you can work harder and accomplish a lot with shorter fingers. Look at Michael Romeo. So, yes, if Eric Johnson played a $100 guitar into a cheap practice amp in some music store, you could tell it was him by the note choices and his pentatonic patterns which are pretty unique to him (a few others latched on... Shawn Lane, Eric Gales, Joe Bossanamo etc). But TONE (how the guitar sounds) is really all about the equipment. Style/note choice is all about the player. But each one affects the other to a degree. IOW, nothing is in a vacuum. My opinions. :)
+Richey Rose I disagree. WHen you press a string and pluck it, there are only so many ways to pluck it. I guarantee you, if Eric Johnson picked up a strat in a blind test and merely plucked on note, you would NOT be able to tell it was him vs me plucking that same note. Tone means the AUDIO sound and that is almost entirely a function of the guitar and amp and effects. Very little is the person ref how the thing actually SOUNDS. His style is what makes him recognizable. The notes he chooses. Well, plus his tone is pretty recognizable and that is the combo of strat, Marshall and echoplex (plus Twins for the clean). I think people who keep repeating this "hands" bullshit are not guitar players or very poor ones.
Mox_au As much as I love Eric's clean tone, I agree though. Maybe you(pablo) could filter it with "(For me,) Eric Johnson has the best clean tone for an electric guitar."
I remember some years back watching a program where Christian guitarist Phil Keaggy was asked who were his favorite guitarists. Keaggy, who is a guitar genius himself, humbly responded that he loved Eric Johnson's style of playing and sounds. What's funny is that both Keaggy and apparently Johnson play the guitar in linear form (the way a violin is played) as opposed to the typical box form (the five note patterns applied in Rock, Jazz, and Blues). 🤔
I've been watching Eric Johnson since at least 1976. Fell in love with his guitar playing first few notes. He's been smoking the house ever since. Never even heard of Joe Bonamassa back then.
Still one of my favorite guitarists of all time, just a treasure of a player. I'm so lucky to have come of age in Austin, Tx catching just about all his shows. A band i played with in the early '80's had a rehearsal room in the same complex as he. I loved listening to him stretch his chops. He'd come down occasionally and jam with us. (Nice guy)Yeah, I'll always be a huge fan. His is a unique talent.That flanger is groovy, I wonder if he tried the Vox Time Machine delay pedal it's a sweet substitute for Echoplex EP3.
National Treasure. A genuinely honest, oool guy. No face or ego. A genius in his genre. And making his great music with what most people would call a rat board. Well done Sir. Well Done!
thank you Eric for showing us all how to do it.. way back in '79.. we're still learning.. and you're still burning.. I'm glad some things never change.. like you.. we love you brother.. God bless..
Eric Johnson is one of the greatest guitarists of ALL times! So innovative and I love his tone. His compositions are musically Interesting and complex yet very enjoyable to listen to. Cliff ofDover my fav. Keep on rocking Eric!!
when he starts out on the strat, its' CLEAN and crisp and SO well defined! Love it. When he jumps to the Les Paul, it sounds dark, muddy and unclear. I know many players swear by the Les Paul, but I'll take a Startocaster any day of the week..
This is a newer Gibson R9 in this video , he used to have a vintage one he sold that he used in the awesome jazz fusion band the Electromagnets . The vintage Gibson cherry sunburst was also seen in a live video of him playing with Carol King
saw eric on my birthday a few years back,my wife bought the tickets and suprised me that night....by far one of my favorite guitar players...and live he had his shit right...it soundedawesome! I love how no one else sounds or plays like him. i give him the most respect out of all players.as a player myself,I always try to find some of his sounds but I try and keep myself in my own search for sound...
You can't beat a Fender twin reverb! The one I had, had 2 JBL's in it. Whenever I would jam with anyone, any jam, it would cut thru the din like a knife thru butter!
I've been listening to Eric since he opened for Rush back in the 1980s and I have to say this, get it off of my chest once and for all, every time he plays I am reminded of when Mr. Rogers (yes, THAT Mr. Rogers, the one from PBS' Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) would play the piano. It's not a subliminal trick of the mind or reference to one particular instance, it's across the board. As a musician, he plays in the style of Mr. Rogers, period. Go back and listen, cross-reference the two and you WILL hear what I am talking about. His choice of phrasing, of inversions, of arpeggiations, of time, of the spaces between notes, all of it. Eric doesn't just have a ''sound'', he has a musical mannerism and that mannerism is closer to Mr. Rogers than any other musician I have ever heard and I've been listening, a lot, to everything available since the mid 1970s.
Eric is number 1 in my favorite people i would just like to shack his hand and say thank you for all the years of great music for me, since the late 70s.. Thank you Eric
I've seen several of Eric's rig rundowns and can't believe there's not a compressor in the loop somewhere. He gets incredible sustain and his volume is so even that I can't see that happening without some form of compression.
He's great no doubt and VERY hard to copy! And I've tried. To clear up an earlier comment Bonamassa copied him not the other way round - Eric used to teach him.
I own every EJ signature ever made and an LP just like that one he's playing, same exact model and finish. I buy every EJ guitar available. I have over 20 EJ signature series, some never played in its original case with all the Fender candy.
Eric is such a down to earth person, and very humble,,,but a stomp down awesome guitarist,,and on austin city 1988 at the end he does jimi hendrix experience, and wow does he do a great job,,,check it out,,Go eric,,,,,,
finally saw him...small bar....ten ft away...loved the sound check too ..standing in the alley behind the joint....he played it all...got it...made me forget about trump..war...and hateful people and friends of the devil