Trying to get an Eric Johnson type sound!

[Telewanger]

I have been trying different amps and effects today, trying to get a decent Eric Johnson sound. I have been watching his videos from the 80's until present. His sound has changed here and there. I think I like his older sound better. I don't know any of his songs, but I want to learn some!

Here is what I came up with today! Let me know what you think!

My youtube video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7q2zza_gLo

[M29]

Man that sounds good Twanger. How are you getting it? That is a pretty thick tone for the bridge pickup. I see you have a humbucking in the bridge what model is it? Is that a coil split switch by the volume control? Is it split in the video?

M29

[hubberjub***]

It looks like a Telecaster bridge on that strat. That's interesting. In terms of the tone, maybe dial back the echo a little. Sounds pretty good though.

[markb]

It looks like a Telecaster bridge on that strat. That's interesting. In terms of the tone, maybe dial back the echo a little. Sounds pretty good though.

That is a tele bridge unless I've gone mad too. I'd agree with hub' on the fx. A wee bit overcooked. The core tone is great.

[Telewanger]

Thanks for your comments:

I have a crazy setup.

The guitar in the video is a custom made half breed thing. A friend of mine who owns Haywire Guitars and I built it last winter. ( Fender Strat Licensed Body, Warmoth Telecaster Maple neck, Tele Bridge, Dimarzio Chopper T Lead Tele pickup, Wilkinson Fender Strat middle and neck pickups, Fender Strat 5 way Switch, 3 way single coil north, double coil, single coil south switch for lead pickup.

I can make it sound just like a Tele or Strat. By flipping switches it gets 8 different sounds. The bottom tone control is wired like a Tele. It only controls the lead pickup.

For the video, I am running through an old 1965 Blackface Fender Twin in stereo to a 1987 Laney AOR Pro Tube Lead. I'm beginning to think the trick to the Eric Johnson type sound is slamming as much power as you can to the inputs of the amps, without them blowing up???

I started fooling around trying to get this sound again early this morning.

I go from my guitar to a RC Booster to a stereo splitter. I crank the booster up to almost clipping. Then I go to the tube driver, Fuzz Face, compressor noisegate, 1973 Echoplex EP-3, then I have another clean booster. I crank it to almost clipping, then into the Laney high input. This is my left side amp. The signal level is pumping hard.

Now from the stereo splitter, I go into a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde Distortion into a Voodoo Lab Sparkle drive to compressor noisegate, to Roland Rack digital delay to clean booster and then the high input of the Fender Twin. The signal level is pumping hard into that input.

I don't know if all of that power going into the inputs of the amps is bad for them or not. ( Probably ) The room volume is very low. I can have this sound, talk on the phone, and carry on a normal conversation. This is how low the room volume is, and I'm getting feedback if I take my hands off of the guitar. You know, the good kind of feedback. I have never had feedback at this low volume before, but then I have never had such a hot signal slamming into the front of my amps before.

I set the volumes of both of the amps about the same, grab my guitar. and start playing. That's about it!

In the past, I never had buffers or boosters and stuff like that. I didn't even know what they did until reading about it online a while back. They will make your signal chain "red hot" all the way to the amps. It's like giving your guitar a good kick in the ***.

Here are a few photos of my gear. Most of it is old stuff.


www.atlanticplumbing.net/rig1.jpg

www.atlanticplumbing.net/rig2.jpg

http://www.atlanticplumbing.net/haywire1.jpg

[Telewanger]

It looks like a Telecaster bridge on that strat. That's interesting. In terms of the tone, maybe dial back the echo a little. Sounds pretty good though.

I thought it was too much echo also. All of the websites say that he puts the Echoplex EP-3 delay on 24, sustain 4 and volume 4. It is 380 to 420 ms. I either need to turn the sustain down, volume, or both! Something is wrong somewhere.

[Telewanger]

Here is a backing track that I just found online. Let me know what you think of my tone on this one? I realize that the playing is not very good. I am just playing off the top of my head with no practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkGV5WUIv20

[oldguy]

I thought your tone AND your playing were both great!
Good job!
(were you going for an EJ sound on this one as well?)

[Telewanger]

I thought your tone AND your playing were both great!
Good job!
(were you going for an EJ sound on this one as well?)

Thanks for your nice comment!

I don't know what tone I was going for, but I think it sounds sort of like Pink Floyd.