Vintage Sounds and Custom Quality at a Custom Price
Written: Aug 26 '05 (Updated Sep 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Superb construction, sound and playability
Cons: Cost
The Bottom Line: This is a great production guitar with quality rivaling that of Custom Shop Strats. It's more expensive that a lot of Strats, but if you take your guitars seriously....
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| buffoonery's Full Review: |
The Eric Johnson Stratocaster is the latest addition to Fender’s line of artist-named Strats (including the Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan models, see my SRV review http://www.epinions.com/content_158638247556 or my American Standard review http://www.epinions.com/inst-review-7E8B-7BE83DC-3978B007-prod4 ). The EJ Strat is a terrific Custom Shop quality guitar that will deliver vintage 50’s and 60’s Strat tones and playability at a list price more than twice that of an American Deluxe Strat (itself a high quality guitar). The key decision for the prospective buyer is: do I want to spend $2,300 list on this guitar ($1,609 at Musicians Friend). For those of you with the dough, it’s a no-brainer: this is probably the best production model Strat around. For the budget conscious, it’s perhaps best to look elsewhere unless you don’t want to have an amp and cables to go with your new Strat.
The EJ has been in the making for a couple of years. Eric Johnson, deservedly known as one of the best guitarists around and an absolute tone freak, was looking for a model that replicated many of the best features of the vintage 50’s and 60’s Strats that he owns and plays. What he and the senior Fender designers did was cull a bunch of those features, along with a little modern technology, to make a versatile, highly playable guitar that probably most closely resembles a 57 model.
The EJ has a two-piece alder body with a one-piece quarter-sawn maple neck that gives it the light (seven pounds or so) weight that Johnson favors. (Johnson says the quarter-sawn neck grain matches the body grain for better tone. How does he know that?) The paint job has a very thin nitrocellulose finish that Johnson believes enhances tone but may contribute to early paint sinking into the grain. There is no trem cover because he doesn't like it.
There are also no string trees due to a steep drop-off behind the nut and staggered tuners, which maintain tension without the tuning problems that trees can cause. (Player hint: Johnson rubs a No. 2 graphite pencil in the nut slots so the strings don't get caught in the slots.)
Frets are medium-width and rounded to make bending and sliding easier. The 12 inch radius neck changes from a V shape to a wider C at the twelfth fret. Movement up the neck is fast and clean.
The neck pick-up is based on a 54 and has oversized alnico 3 magnets for a twangy early 50s sound. The middle is based on an early 60s with reverse-wound alnico 3’s that cancel hum in the second and fourth positions. The bridge is a 50s but is over wound a little to give better volume balance with the neck and middle. The tone pots control the neck and bridge pickups (instead of the neck and mid, as is customary) because Johnson likes to roll off the treble on the bridge pickup.
I've always been a major Strat fan not only because of the sound but also because of the playability and ergonomic design of the body. This machine, naturally, is no exception. It's fast up and down the neck. The rounded frets will let you set the action low without buzzing. It's light and a great gig guitar. The pickups give an enormous host of sounds: 50s rockabilly, Beatles Drive My Car era brightness, Stones blues, and everything in-between (but don't waste your money on this guitar if you're a metal head). From what I can tell, construction is superb.
So, that brings us back to the question: is this guitar worth the $2,300 list price tag (and if you pay more than the Musician's Friend price you're an idiot)? As I said, Johnson is a tone fanatic who actually puts one of his amp heads on a chair instead of the floor because he can tell the difference in sound. His hearing must be extraordinary and that is reflected in the EJ Strat's accouterments. For the more earthbound of us human beings with average hearing, though, the question is whether we are getting an extra $800-1,000 in value over a more mundane Strat.
If I had the bucks handy, no question I would pop for this guitar. It looks cool, plays and sounds great, and probably has more collection value than an American Deluxe. Budget minded types and people who really can't tell the difference between the EJ and a lesser model should probably look elsewhere, unless you want it for the prestige value.
Guitar head note: in researching this review, I found a description of Johnson's rig that I might share with you. For the clean signal, he uses a T.C. Electronic Stereo Chorus Flanger into the Vibrato Channel 1 on a pair of 66 Blackface Fender Twins loaded with JBL D120F speakers. Dirty rhythm goes to a 60s Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face (he removes the bottom screw because it messes with the rig's polarity—the guy really is a nut) into channel 1 of 68 50-watt Marshall Tremolo head with 6L6 tubes connected to a angled Marshall 4x12 with 30 watt G12H Celestions. The dirty lead goes to a 60s Vox Crybaby to a 80s BK Butler Tube Driver (loaded with a Yugoslavian -- a YUGOSLAVIAN--12AX7 tube) that is run into 100-watt Marshall Superlead, connected to a Marshall 4x12 with 25 watt Celestion Greenbacks. Got that? Now all you have to do is play like him.
Technical specs are below:
Model Name: Eric Johnson Stratocaster®
Model Number: 011-7702-(Color#)
Series: Artist Series
Colors: (801) White Blonde,(803) 2-Color Sunburst,(806) Black,(809) Candy Apple Red,(Thin Nitro-Cellulose Lacquer)
Body: 2-Piece, Deep Contoured, 㣝 Style Lightweight Alder Body
Neck: 1-Piece Quartersawn Maple, Soft “V” Shape,(Nitro-Cellulose Lacquer Finish)
Fingerboard: Maple, 12” Radius (305 mm)
No. of Frets: 21 Highly Polished Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups: 3 Special Design Custom Shop Eric Johnson Pickups with Countersunk Mounting Screws (Neck/Middle/Bridge)
Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
Pickup Switching:
5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
Bridge: American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo with “Ash Tray” Bridge Cover
Machine Heads: Fender/Gotoh® Staggered Vintage Style Tuning Machines
Hardware: Nickel/Chrome
Pickguard: 1-Ply Parchment, (8 Hole)
Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut: 1.650” (42 mm)
Unique Features: 1-Piece Quartersawn Soft “V” Shape Vintage Tinted Maple Neck,Extra Smooth Neck to Headstock Volute,Special Neckplate with Engraved EJ and Kokopelli, 2-Piece Deep Contoured 㣝 Style Lightweight Alder Body,1957 Style Body Cavities,12” Radius Fingerboard, Countersunk Holes in Pickguard for Pickup Mounting Screws,Height Staggered Vintage Style Tuners which Eliminate the Need for String Trees,Vintage Tremolo with Silver Painted Block and 㣝 Style String Recess (No Paint Between Base Plate and Block),5 Tremolo Springs and No Back Tremolo Cover Plate,
Strings: Fender® Super Bullets® 3250 RH, Nickel Plated Steel, Gauges: .010, .013, .017, .032, .042, .052,p/n 0733250007
Accessories: Deluxe Blonde Hardshell Case with Black Ends (Black Interior), Strap, Cable
Schechter Diamond C+1
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Yes
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