Eric johnson amplifier setup

From what I understand, he used the ES when he recorded the song but performs it with his Strats. Do you happen to remember what song s he performed with the SG? Yeah, i noticed the SG also. Whether he uses an SG, a or a Strat, it really does not make much difference now does it. I saw him play a on a G3 recording. Anyway, first time I heard Eric was on the radio or so yrs ago and the DJ never ever said who the guitarist was. My band was auditioning a drummer and we played a few tunes for him.

One of my greatest compliments ever and did not realize just who Eric was until much later after doing a lot of research into those 2 tunes. No matter—with the right tone setup, hammers sound just like picked notes—very legato.

I know— I have accomplished that in my 57 yrs of playing. I have used an early EP-2 tube driven echoplex with stunning results. I have also found that a Ibanez TubeKing gives much smoothness like Eric. I have always preached to my students to practice without an amp—get the fingering down.

It is all in the fingers, brother, make the fingers do the work and you will never ever regret it. Sorry, did not mean to preach. If I may continue about something I forgot to mention re the open wide voicings of chords, as Eric says. With overdrive, this is paramount. I learned this a long time ago.

For example, I will play an E-chord voicing in octave 5ths as B-E-B-E starting at the 2nd fret and ending up with the pinky playing the high E 2nd fret, 2nd string. Well this type of voicing is much better. The real beauty of this is that it works over major or minor structure with astounding effect. Here is another example of chord voicing. Ok, play a standard C major chord, 1st fret, and instead of playing it with index-middle-ring fingers.

What do you have? Now you have a free index finger that can barre the first 3 strings as you move each fret for a 5-note chord. If you want to be more venturesome, barre all six strings with the index finger to get a 6-note chord all the way up the fretboard. Once again—train your pinky and you will never regret it!

Correction to the above. I meant to say 5th fret, 2nd string for the high E. Sorry about my brain freeze. Something else occurred to me while reading this article. You get a LOT of even harmonics higher frequencies produced. Hence, no need to add more treble when the harmonics are covering the ground and give a very smooth tone. Comment Policy: You're down to leave a comment?

That's awesome. Please avoid any spammy keywords or a domain as your name, otherwise your comment will be deleted. Let's stay on topic, keep questions relevant and have a meaningful conversation. All the best. Don't subscribe All Replies to my comments Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.

You can also subscribe without commenting. Eric Johnson is one of the best. No question. He's just a really good player. We'll look at Eric Johnson's lead tone from primarily two angles: Eric Johnson's Guitar Gear Eric Johnson's Lead Technique All of the information I've found, whether second-hand or from Johnson himself, speaks to one of these two contexts.

This is particularly true concerning his lead tone. We'll answer all of the following questions: Johnson's distortion source? Amp settings and guitars he routinely uses both live and in the studio? Picking technique? Scales he gravitates towards? Solo construction?

It sounds ambitious, but all this information is out there. I'm just putting it all into one place and sorting out the fluff. Let's get started. Use the Free Trial. OR, Try the Promotional Offer. Specifics of Eric Johnson's Rig. The "Cliffs of Dover" Setup. Eric Johnson's Marshall Amp Settings. Eric Johnson's Pedalboard and Signal Processing. Alternate picking or hammers-on and pull-offs? Eric Johnson's Gear All the specifics of Eric Johnson's guitar rig are readily available and are, in many cases, explained by Johnson himself.

Johnson admits to using them routinely, particularly in the studio. The morale of the story is: Don't always default to Fender Strats when you're after Eric Johnson's lead tone.

It's not that simple. Clean Tone Amp and Setup Johnson has several different amp setups, though in most cases you could break them down into two different categories. Johnson has his Marshall JMP amplifier turned all the way up. This puts our settings at something like the following numbers: Presence: 2 Bass: 4 Middle: 3 Treble 0 What probably surprised me the most about this image is that Eric Johnson has his treble knob set at ZERO. Now, I have to add a disclaimer here: In all of the research I did for this post, I found little if any info on Johnson's specific amp settings.

Again, if this is correct, it's telling us that Johnson keeps the treble on his amp at zero. Here's a look at the volume settings on his Marshall JMP cranked to Here's a closeup of his Tube Driver, which looks to be on a fairly low setting.

We'll get into those in the next section. Yet, in that case, Marshall heads still seem to be handling the lead tones. Why he's going without the Marshall heads during certain gigs isn't certain. Eric Johnson's Pedalboard and Signal Processing When assessing Eric Johnson's lead tone, it's important to consider how it differs from his rhythm tones and the other sounds he uses.

Let's start with this shot of Johnson's pedalboard as of First of all, what a mess. No wonder this guy has horrendous noise issues with his Strats. Oh well, I digress. That was for free. Eric, buddy - time to clean up.

Here's the version:. Eric Johnson's AB Switches The most important pieces of gear, when it comes to deciphering Johnson's pedalboard, are those two little silver boxes near the top of the photo.

Here they are again in a Harmony Central demo video. The first is a master AB box, pictured here:. This box switches between lead and rhythm, overall. Assuming he's got the master AB box on the "rhythm" setting, his signal is then routed to the second AB box which gives him two rhythm choices: Clean rhythm Dirty rhythm. To summarize, Eric Johnson's signal essentially has three landing spots: Clean rhythm through effects pedals Dirty rhythm through a Fender or Marshall amp Dirty lead through a tube driver and Marshall JMP Here's the video where Eric Johnson explains it all.

It's the bedrock of his signal and the simplest way to understand his tone. However, gear is expensive. Let's delve into the Eric Johnson technique. Eric Johnson's Technique The first "lane" of Eric Johnson's technique is how he picks the strings or his "right hand technique. What is hybrid picking? Practicing Hybrid Picking To practice hybrid picking, let's start off with something basic. Here's a quick key for the right hand fingering labels:. Media New media New comments Search media.

Merch Shop. Members Current visitors. Log in Register. Search only containers. Search titles only. Search Advanced search…. New posts. Search forums. Log in. Change style. Contact us. Close Menu. Click Here. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.

Thread starter msid Start date Mar 4, Messages I am looking for recommendations here. This is going to be my first tube amp. I am aware of the original rig used to produce these tones and only looking for a close approximation. Ideally, the amp should provide a good basis for getting close to the desired tone, with or without the use of pedals.

Last edited: Mar 5, Messages 7, If you are playing with other musicians, or even just using an overdriven tone, the differences between maple and rosewood are much less obvious. Having said that, there is a difference in feel between the different woods.

And this is true whether you are playing alone or in a band. When I bought my Strat, I opted for one with a maple neck. This was not because of the tone, but rather because it felt better when I was playing it.

If you want to sound like Eric Johnson and you are looking for authenticity, then I would recommend choosing maple. Conversely, if you much prefer the feel of rosewood or a similar material like pau ferro or laurel , then I would recommend going down that route.

After all, if you like the feel of your guitar, you are more likely to play at your best. And that is significant, regardless of the specific tone you are looking to recreate. And there are variations on each of these shapes.

The former has a neck that is a rounded V shape. Conversely, the latter has a neck that is shaped to a sharp point. There are also variations in the depth of the neck. This is because it is comfortable and suited to a range of different playing styles.

To find a neck like this on a Fender Stratocaster is rare. Many players prefer this, as it allows them to grip the neck of their guitar more easily. Having said that, it all comes down to personal preference. There are a lot of different guitars out there that have thicker necks.

The Gibson Les Paul is just one obvious example. Ultimately though, whether you opt for a Strat with a similar neck shape and width is purely a matter of what you find most comfortable. The neck shape has no impact on your tone at all. It just impacts feel and playability. So if you are able to do so, try out a number of guitars with different necks. In this way you can find what feels most comfortable for you.

There are three final changes that Johnson made to his guitar to try to improve his tone. It is worth stressing at this point though, that I have listed these changes for academic interest, more than anything else. For whilst I am sure these changes do have an impact on tone, their effect will be limited within the context of a rig.

And of all of the advice and recommendations listed here, these are the last elements that I would consider. These are as follows:. Initially, Johnson was unhappy with the sound of his high E. He found the tone too piercing, and wanted it to have the warmth and roundness of his B string.

Originally Johnson and his guitar techs shaved away part of his saddle and inserted a small piece of delrin plastic, which he felt improved the tone of his high E. In more recent years though, he has found the easiest way to produce the same effect is to replace the saddle of his high E string with a Graph Tech saddle.

A lot of modern Strats come fitted with saddles similar to these. But if you have a vintage style instrument and you want to test out the difference that a Graph Tech saddle makes, then you can replace the saddle of your high E with a piece like this.

Johnson has somewhat of an aversion to string trees, which he believes affect intonation. As such, on two of his three signature guitars, there are no string trees. Instead, the tuners are staggered. He then added a small nylon spacer underneath the tuner, which he felt helped to improve intonation. Most modern Fender Stratocasters are already fitted with string trees similar to the one that Johnson fitted on Virginia. As for nylon spacers — those can be picked up very cheaply — either from guitar shops, or even just from hardware stores.

Many years ago Johnson had some work done on his guitar, and the tech working on it placed a flat washer underneath the bolt in his jack input. Although at first Johnson was skeptical that such a small change could make a difference, he has since accepted that it does. And he has maintained that the smallest changes can sometimes make a big difference to tone. Like the nylon spacers, adding one of these to your guitar will cost next to nothing.

And your best bet here is to head to your local hardware store. This is perhaps not so surprising. And as I will explain in more detail below, Johnson does a lot to ensure his tone never sounds overly sharp or strident.

So if you want to sound like Eric Johnson, and are specifically interested in recreating his lead tone, then opting for a Gibson ES or a replica could be a great choice. This is particularly the case if you are also interested in dialling in a range of vintage blues tones like those Eric Clapton created in his early career.

And if you do decide to go down this route, then the great news is that there are a range of options across different budgets. Some of my top recommendations are as follows:. This guitar has many similarities to a Strat, yet it is also a semi-hollow body guitar. And this fundamentally changes its tonal characteristics. So if you want to sound like Eric Johnson and you are looking for a single guitar that will help you to produce a range of his classic tones, this guitar could be a brilliant option.

When we look at the amps that Eric Johnson has used during his career, things start to get a little more complicated. This is because, unlike most players, Johnson does not use just one amplifier. In fact he uses three different types of amp in his set-up. He never uses these simultaneously. Instead he relies on each type of amp to create one of three specific tones. For his clean rhythm sound, Johnson has long used a pair of Fender Twin Reverb amps.

He uses two speakers for each amp, and runs them in stereo. Until recently, he used a Marshall Plexi amp for his dirty rhythm sound. At some points he used a watt head, and others a 50 watt head. In the last few years though, Johnson has altered this element of his rig. He now uses a Two Rock Traditional Clean amp, and sets it up to have a slightly crunchy and overdriven tone.

Finally, for his lead tone Johnson has long used a Marshall Plexi amp. Again this is either a 50 or watt head, which Johnson runs into a Marshall cabinet. In other words, he sets the volume on 10 and drops the treble and presence right down. The first of these is financial. This is extensive, even when compared with the set-ups of other professional musicians. And so it is a set-up that is likely to be far beyond the reach of the majority of guitarists.

And as is so often the case with famous blues and rock guitarists, the main challenge here is one of volume. The amps that Eric Johnson uses are large and powerful. This pushes them into a beautiful bluesy overdrive, which sounds amazing. But it is not a practical option for the majority of guitarists, who have family and neighbours to consider, and so have to be mindful of their volume.

Instead, I think there are two different options you can consider. This is assuming that you want one, rather than three amps, and that you are somewhat constrained by the volume at which you can play. The first of these options is to look at Marshall amps. After all, Johnson uses a Marshall amp for his lead tone.

And until more recently, he also used a Marshall amp for his dirty rhythm tone. The second option is to look at Fender amps, along with similarly voiced boutique amps. These types of guitar amp will provide you with a clean base tone, which you can then alter through the use of various guitar pedals.

I will cover the specific pedals that Eric Johnson uses in much more detail below. The specific Marshall amps that Johnson has used throughout his career are large and very powerful.

As such, they are inappropriate if you are doing most of your playing at home. This is particularly the case when you consider that Johnson cranks his amps. And if you want to create a similar sound, then you need to crank your amp in a similar way. So if you want to dial in a beautiful overdriven blues tone, but at a lower level, I would recommend looking at a smaller Marshall amp. And the good news here is that there are a range of options to suit different budgets.

Some of my top choices are as follows:. So if you want to build a stack, one of these smaller heads could be a brilliant choice. I recommend a silverface Fender Twin or Pro Reverb…You want an amp with pure tone, something with which you can create a clean and simple sound.

From there, you can add an overdrive pedal or any other effect you want, but you have to begin with a good clean sound. So of the two options laid out here, this is the one that Johnson himself would recommend.

Having said that, at 85 watts and with a huge amount of headroom, the Fender Twin is not going to work so well if you are predominantly playing at home.

But the great news here is that Fender offer a number of brilliant alternatives. As such it breaks up quickly and would be a great option if you are playing at lower volumes. This makes them a good choice if you are playing with other musicians and need a bit more volume, or if you want an amp that has a great clean tone, even at higher volumes.

The final option to consider, is to look at boutique American voiced amps. And the good news here is that there are a whole range of beautiful boutique amp brands out there. However despite this, I think these amps are worth including here. This is because they have the qualities that Johnson recommends looking for in an amp. They all have high quality clean tones, and they also all make a good platform for pedals. And they will enable you to get a great tone at a lower volume. This is particularly the case with the Tone King amps, which have built-in attenuators.

These allows you to dial in a great blues tone without disturbing the neighbours. The next and significant piece of the puzzle to consider if you want to sound like Eric Johnson, are your guitar pedals. Over the course of his career, he has used a vast array of different effects.

To list them all here is both beyond the scope of this article, and also not particularly useful. Johnson has experimented with many different sounds and pedals, and to try and source every pedal that has ever appeared on his board would be prohibitively expensive, and also impractical.

Having said that, there are a number of key pedals and effects that Johnson has used consistently throughout his career. These play a fundamental role in his tone, and so will definitely help you to get closer to his sound. Here are the most important effects, as well as the specific guitar pedals that you need to consider if you want to sound like Eric Johnson:. One of the most important guitar pedals to consider if you want to sound like Eric Johnson, is the Tube Driver, by B.

Johnson has used this consistently throughout his career and it has played a key role in helping him to craft his searing lead tones. The pedal has also appeared on the pedalboards of other famous blues and rock guitarists, including Billy Gibbons and David Gilmour.

So if you want to sound like Eric Johnson and also to dial in a range of vintage blues and rock tones, this pedal could make a great addition to your pedalboard. The original Tube Driver pedal is still available, and hand built by B.

Butler to the exact specifications of the original pedals. But when you consider the quality of the pedal, in addition to the fact that it comes with a 3 year warranty, I still think it offers great value for money. If however you would like to look at alternatives, then there are some great pedals out there across a variety of price ranges.

Some of my top choices here are as follows:.