Decoding the Eric Johnson Tone. Woodshed Ep. 105

Hello music lovers and welcome back to the Woodshed!

I know its been a while but tour season has kept me BUSY! A couple weeks ago we had an amazing Woodshed guitar experience event and it was inspiring to get to hang with and learn from Eric Johnson. Man it was so great!! we have footage of the concerts coming at y'all soon! So obviously while I was there I got some very serious "insider trading" from Eric talking about his guitar tone, current overdrive pedals, guitars, eq, all of it! I hope you enjoy the video, remember to like and subscribe for more content!

[doctorgeneral]

I have a B.K. Butler drive. I asked them to built it exactly like Eric Johnson's and told them that I would pay more. They said, "No that's okay, we will build it exactly like his even with the same tube inside for no extra I have had it for about 12 years. It is one of my most favorite pedals ever. :)

[MascarasMil]

I play strats because of EJ. I bought a Suhr bc of Andy.

[nitrobw]

You're right that nobody but EJ sounds exactly like EJ, but this is the closest I've ever heard anybody get

[DavidFeilyMusic]

I think the addition of the Dover drive here adds slightly too much darkness to the tone. I think I would try cutting less highs from the Dover and maybe try using the tone knob instead 🤷🏻‍♂️

[wakjob]

The smirk on your face and sparkle in your eyes when you hit the final tone...

[franknguitars]

Great great playing - you got that magic Cliffs of Dover tone far nicer and closer to the original studio recording than anything I have heard from the man himself in years

[curtisprice]

Marshall Superleads were great foundational amps for lots of guitar legends. What separated the different sound of each was the guitar used and effect pedals. Ace Frehley used a LPB-1. Yngwie Malmsteen a DOD 250. Eddie Vanhalen a variac. Randy Rhoads cascaded both half's of the first preamp tube and also used a MXR Distortion Plus. Jimmy Hendrix a Fuzz Face. Etc., etc., etc.!!! Eric Johnson's tone is awesome and he creates great music!! Really cool video

[DavidFeilyMusic]

Closest I’ve been able to get is RC booster with treble off > BB Preamp > EP Boost with knob all the way down > DD2. Had better results on EJ lead with Les Paul bridge PU than Strat. Even sounded decent through DRRI.

[Aaron.k]

Well bloody done Andy, great content.
You did a fantastic job replicating that violin tone and had the playing to back it up.

[mpaige]

Venus Isle is one of my favorite albums from Eric. Great tones and great songs.

[gregditmore]

Venus Isle is my absolute favorite album from EJ. Outstanding playing and info as usual!

[stevestan]

You sound fantastic with that set up! Hopefully everyone understands that being identical to someone else is neither possible, nor the point. This is more than plenty close enough. Glad you got that amp; what a perfect home for a historic peace of gear. Cheers

[Fed_Guitar]

Do you pick every note in the really fast descending pentatonic runs? Does EJ pick them or pull-offs? I could never figure that out for sure
Thanks, great video

[surveyordave]

wow! sounds pretty darned close to me!

[cnak]

Great job! Now I'm super excited to see EJ in concert tomorrow night and hear his tone live.

[jamesprice]

Ive got a Dumble #124 i built, n put a serious trick or 2 in it, W/OD channel NO boost set LOW and shoving the EJ fuzz into a TS-10, its ab INSANE, That has a Intellifex and outboard Dumbleator, ive nailed AVM stuff w/it...

[RequiemDead]

This was amazing!!! Thank you so much, Andy! You absolutely nailed the recreation of his tone, absolutely magical!

[jasonwilliams]

This is pretty much spot on IMO, as close as you can really get. Amazing.

[Dave-nmxc]

There's no better person to break down the EJ techniques and tone.

[overdriveguitarchannel]

I am writing this after coming home from an EJ show. Incredible