Eric Johnson's Fender Stratocaster Rap Session | Fender 

Was anyone else expecting Eric to throw down some fresh bars about Strats?

Grew up around Austin - seen him a hundred or more times. Talked with him numerous times at Ray Hennigs, whole foods, etc..Like Mr.Davemiley said - just a quiet, genuine guy. Very nice, no ego, friendly, good sense of humor. TOTALLY dedicated to guitar and music. Zero drug use. First met him in the 1970's, post Electromagnets / pre- major label recording. Already phenomenal. Plays day and night every day of his life and it shows. I don't think theres a style of guitar music that he can't play perfectly - electric or acoustic.

He was just noodling, but I could listen to Eric J just noodle all day. I've opened for Eric J twice , 12 years apart. Once in Lubbock TX at "The ROX" in 1981 and later at Billy Blues on Richmond ave in Houston. in 1993 and have chatted with him for a while both times. He is a very quiet and polite person. Nothing fake about him at all. His tone is always wonderful. He let me fondle his 57 Maple neck Strat for a few minutes and I tell ya, to play through his rig for that one minute was just too cool ! I have owned a Chandler Tube Driver ever since.. . Though I can not make it sound like he does.

2019. Thanks Fender for not deleting old videos like this.

Eric Johnson is one of my favorite guitarists of all time. He is tasteful and clean with his playing and he knows when to pull back and when to let it rip. Intelligent, classy, top-notch guitarist who also seems like a nice guy on top of it all. I wish him continued success, I can't think of anyone who deserves it more.

My favorite guitarist! A truly dedicated and amazingly talented musician!

I can't figure out what amazes me more about him - his unbelievable lead technique and tone, or his chord knowledge and ability... and tone, of course. Both just simply astound me.

ERIC is a perfectionist, when it comes to his playing he always makes sure he gets it just right, you wont find any sloppy playing outta this guy, it just down not happen, he is very much like a Carl Vehayen type player, very melodic and long runs of sweetness with little or no error at all

My man. I'm on the outskirts of Austin. And you're correct about Eric's parents and where they live. First met Eric in 1984, before he was ever signed. By 1994, he was pretty well-known by then. And with the guitar community OUTSIDE of Austin. He was international at that point. His parents are great, and Eric really is the NICEST guy you could ever meet. You'll never meet anyone that's ever said a bad thing about him. And just too damned talented!!! A favorite of mine, as a player and person!

man, he's got to have one of the best, smoothest styles of playing ever.

Johnson has the most beautiful smile on earth. It literally makes me sappy. Every damn time.

Eric Johnson's a beast.

Love his accent, 'Fender Stryats'... the dirty tone could be almost any guitar, but the clean really jumps out at 6:20

Eric has like 0 % stress in his body !! men he is so relaxed . I could watch his videos all day long!!

For several years whenever I'd visit my favourite guitar store I'd see the Eric Johnson signature strat, but didn't really think too much about it. I did notice that it was a little pricier than, say, a '57 or '62 reissue model and, I suppose, that is why I didn't give it any thought. Back in August for some reason I decided to take down an EJ strat and play it. Within a minute, I was sold. I bought the EJ maple neck strat. No regrets. Take my word for it; this is some strat! Almost custom shop.

I'm not a huge fan of Johnson's tone but it is pretty cool that he's developed his own sound on what is probably THE most popular electric guitar. When you hear it you know it's Eric Johnson playing. Now I feel like listening to Live From Austin Texas.

I first "discovered" Eric Johnson about 10 years ago and I was deeply impressed by his playing. I've been playing guitar for 48 years now and I consider myself to be a damn good player, but suddenly I felt the compulsion to get one or two of his CDs and do some serious woodshedding. Why? Well, cuz I hear certain styles in my head that I wish came out on my guitar, but it doesn't always work out that way. Eric has a style that very closely resembles one of these styles, so it's a given that I would like Eric's playing. As for his signature Strat, well personally, I like the bound fingerboard. I have two Gibsons with it, and used to own a Fender that had it (Squier Venus, Courtly Love Special in seasick green). I think it adds a touch of Custom Shop class. He was also pretty conservative as to the changes in the pickups -- tweaking more than modding -- an attitude I prefer as well. I also prefer a flatter fingerboard radius, as does he, so this is another reason to like his guitar. Despite all this, I won't be buying one of his Specials because I already own a '96 American Standard -- with rosewood neck -- that I deeply love. I can live with the differences.

My very favorite Fender Commercial of all.

The guy is just an amazing guitarist. I first checked him out in the '90's, when "Cliffs of Dover" made the charts. That chording and fretting at the very end of this video- "Who Does That??!?" Eric Johnson does! Amazing.

His Hendrix influence is so all over the place,but still so nicely integrated in everything he plays. Johnson rocks.

Those are hot looking strats and sound freaking amazing! I love the binding!

I sooooo want to be as good as Eric someday. His style, his tone choices, his guitar modification preferences...they're just all so brilliantly put together to produce the most beautiful sounds!

Love the small tweed

Y'know, I played the exact red model he's holding - the binding threw me for about 30 seconds, then I forgot about it and fell in love with the rest of the guitar. The best strat this side of a 3000+ custom shop. Wonderful pickups, neck radius, lovely nitro finish. Loud unplugged. Love it.

I love the colors on his strats. Especially the two blue guitars.

" Pure Sound' s ". .. Great Playn'g. .. Thank' s so Much " Maestro " Johnson ... ☺😊😀/👍👌👏

i love the binding on these strats.

He is one of the nicest guys around...as Carlos Santana once said "Eric Johnson is such a meek, gentle guy..you'd expect him to be a Texas gunslinger but he's the opposite." One of the finest guitar players ever to go with it..

I really like what he plays around the 6:38 minute area, with that cleaner sounding tone, the rhythm of that one part is awesome.... this guy inspires me...i hope one day I could play maybe about 3/4 as good as him...

Tryed this guitar out today and i have to say.... its bloody lovely.

I love the binding on the neck.

Pure sound ... Rispect ... Mr. E. Johnson ... 👍👌👋

This commercial is so good because you spent time sharing your life with us. That is what makes this great. Ok. Well, it is the second best part of this. This is my V.E.R.Y. favorite about your newest thin line, F- hole, Signature Strat.

ive got one!!!! amazingly beautiful sounding guitar

An excellent vid which explains the product well. I enjoyed the explaination for the guitarist who wants to explore 1960's style playing but with some modern twists in the gear. It teaches me, by default, about the strats I own, which adds to the strat experience. I agree,mt he fingerboard DOES need a flatter radius and bigger frets for 2010 era playing styles. They sound like brilliant strats to me! Get them!

I love this video. Johnson is adorable here. Really🌹

i built the deck on the back of his dads house and he dad was surprised i knew who his son was!!! ha ha ha!!!! HE LET ME GO IN AND SEE ALL HIS STUFF. AMAZING!!!! a real treat.. real nice man

Yo yo, I thought you were going to give us some rap EJ. You just talked bout your awesome strats.

Simply amazing.

. Fender Strat with neck binding ? Love it !

Good thing this video still exists

He's so chill & relaxed. Found his mojo :)

I wish they still make the Dakota red, they were only out for a couple years and they're hard to find. I have an 08 EJ in Candy apple red that i was fortunate to find. It seems like the original EJs when you see them used are 80% two-tone, then white (for some reason) and black. Even on the original model the red ones weren't out for a long time.

I've had A LOT of Strats. This is one of the 2 greatest strats I've ever played, the other one was an original 1955.

I don't see why anyone wouldn't like him. Very informative video and a nice demonstration of the guitar's sound. I only wish I could afford one - not that the price is unreasonable at all. Thanks, Eric!

wow.......such a amazing tone control....the plug doesn't make noise even if is not pluged on the guitar

Cant imagine that mr. Eric here is 60 years old

I own one and OMG what a guitar! It doesnt get any better than this! When u buy it....it needs.......NOTHING! This guitar plays itself! Kudos E.J.

I was like... always jealous of Mr. Johnson's clean tones. They're top notch.

beautiful guitar!

Every time I watch these kind of gear vids with Eric Johnson it surprises me what a thick and rich sound he produces from the treble pick-up of a strat! It that the Rap part, lol?

first time i heard eric johnson voice......so cool

I luv mine. Thank you E.J. !!

that tone is a winner in my books.

Does anyone else always hear cliffs of dover everytime he plays a solo

He plays Ventures! :-))) Cool that binding!!

Eric , please give me some guitar lessons ! You're marvelous :)

I love the sentiment your expressing here. And, I wonder if I should feel lucky that I don't know what you're talking about. I've never met another guitarist who didn't love talking about their gear. Sound like you have. Good for you for not getting jaded. :)

I like the binding on the neck. Nice axe.

00:13 - 00:15 Spoonful ! I love this man !!

Listen to his tone at the end. I'd buy that guitar. Plus I like what he did with the headstock for tuning. I wind my strings up instead of down like Eddie Van Halen did back when he had the tone before installing the Floyd Rose Tone-Killing System.

Is this guy great or what? Love this demo.....

Amazing

I love that smile.

Well, as I'm sure you have too, I've played different brand strat-like necks that had binding. But, when it comes to the radius on those old strat necks, it just felt different. Of course, I've played Eric's '54, and he's had it planed flat as can be. So, he likes that feel. And it's a VERY similar feel to his '58 ES-335. But, the signature model doesn't have as flat of a radius as a few of his main guitars.

What a nice, articulate fella he is. You've got to like him.

Beautiful guitar! I would buy it and I'm not even a Fender guy.

Eric Johnson's guitar is one of the guitar tone i've heard.

Can you still get these particular colours in the rosewood model ? what is the difference in the measurements of the neck profile between the maple and the rosewood model ? is the neck on the rosewood model a C shape or does it still have the modified V going to a C like the maple model ? thank you

I know what you mean. Fender did that for a bit in the '60s. A buddy of mine has a few original strats with those necks. They're very rare, but it just takes away THAT FEEL of a strat.

Eric Johnson is a legend!

fender is a live legends !!!!

I'm pretty sure if it were a china EJ squier signature, it would also sound amazing just like that fender...Too bad we can't have EJ signature fingers...

This is tone art

My first electric was a Music Master :) Awesome little axes

Damn, I was hoping for some Rap / Hip Hop on that Strat! I learned on Walk Don't Run (& Wipe Out)! No better teachers than the Ventures!!!

Does anyone know what he's using to achieve that sound? Wow it's amazing.

Bang on dude! :)

I personally love it!

Ive always liked your playing Eric, and the cliff's of dover was wayyy over the top, totallly hot, still is, I had a decent strat let it go , but getting another one, nothing like them. piercing clean tone's that only a strat can make. All the best to you Eric ,

Intonation is adjusted at the bridge (to compensate for differing gauges of string, varying scale lengths, etc... To your original inquiry, I haven't noticed an audible difference in the quality of tone based on how many frets the guitar neck has.

Yes you are right...I only learned this after sanding it all the was down to the bare wood but I have gotten used to the feel...a luthier friend of mine says that I can out some bee's wax on it.

Does anyone know what model the little amp is, sounds great! Looks smaller than the hot rod series...

What is the progression at 3:31 from? It's beautiful.

Cool...I sanded down my Relic two tone Strat..even the back of the neck :)

niceeee some quality music here

very nice

On second thought about the white and black EJ maple Strats, they actually do look very nice after researching them, but I still believe it wasn't a good idea at all to get rid of that beautiful Candy Apple Red maple version as well as the Dakota Red rosewood model.

Well said.

is he playing through that champ amp?

love YA' ERIC

Eric Johnson is the man. I wish he was better known.

What was that two beautiful chords from 6:39 to 6:41?

is there a name for what he is playing on 3:30? I mean, if this is a song.

I want one so bad love em..

They do kind of look like something you would find in a 50s kitchen. I still haven't decided if I will get a Strat or not. I like the clean but I am not so sure I like it enough to spend the cash on it. I currently have a SG Standard with 57s in it and like it clean well enough.

Damn his classic EJ tone is killer in this video

It hilarious because they placed that small tweed in the room with him to make it seem like that amp will get you all these tones. Gotta love product placement!

damn that thing looks good with binding

it's actually a fantastic guitar. I went into guitar center with the intention of buying a completely different stratocaster. I randomly played this EJ rosewood model and ended up buying that guitar instead of what I originally was going to get. It just felt right.