Who owns or has played the Eric Johnson strat?

[Sonic Reducer]

I've been looking for a good maple neck strat for a while. Here is what appeals to me about it:

Chunky neck
Med. Jumbo Frets
12 radius
Vintage style bridge

It's hard to find all of those appointments on a strat unless you custom order a custom shop strat.

The only problem is that I can't find one near me. I'm thinking about calling Wildwood Guitars and seeing what they have in stock. I trust Bruce's ears and hands. They have the ones at wildwood all listed at 7.6 lbs.

What have been your likes/dislikes of the guitar? Have they been pretty consistent in build quality and tone?

How are the pickups on these? Are they pretty low output? I'm looking for something with lower output.

What is a good price for a new one?

 

[ducmike]

I have had one for 6 weeks now. My neck seems chunkier than most that I have tried. It is my lightest guitar by far, very light. Very resonant too. I can really feel it vibrate when I play it. My only complaint is the sticky feel of the neck. But that is getting better. A few guys on the FDP have complained that the neck isn't figured, but mine is pretty flamey. The pups are well balanced, they are not hot or weak. The pups are the best feature on this ax. It is the first strat bridge I have used alone with out rolling back the tone pot.

Check out the fender forum under strats, alot of posts on the EJ.

EM Shorts has the best prices and will set the guitar up to your specs. I paid $1399.00 + 20 shipping.

http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html?db=&topic_number=508694&lastpost=2005-11-2317:00:25

 

[Sonic Reducer]

The bridge pickup is wired to the bottom tone pot, right?

I'm not into flamed necks so if most aren't, that's good for me.

 

[JPenn]

I messed with one in the Memphis GC for a few minutes and wasn't just floored by it. The neck felt way too sticky for me, but I'm used to the finish Tyler puts on their necks. I didn't plug it in, it was Sunday afternoon and there were 14 year old rock stars everywhere!!

You might like the guitar, I've never seemed to get along with Fender guitars for some reason.

 

[1959burst]

i own two a sunburst and a white one...........i absolutely love this axe!

 

[ducmike]

The bridge pup is wired to the tone pot. I do that mod on all my strats anyway. The EJ bridge pup just sound fatter to me. I also love the inbetween tones. I played an EJ for the first time in May, and I new I would have to get one for the tone. I normally like the smaller C shape neck, rosewood, and satin finish, so I had to get used to this one. The tone and vibe of this guitar are worth it to me.

 

[ducmike]

Originally posted by 1959burst
i own two a sunburst and a white one...........i absolutely love this axe!

I would get a second one in white if I didn't have a Koll coming in a couple months. I had a hard time deciding between the white and CAR, and basically Shorts got the CAR first.

 

[Tone_Terrific]

As weird as this is going to sound I almost bought a Mexican Deluxe Player's Strat recently because it has a slightly chunky D-ish neck, 12 in radius, vintage whammy, extra mini pup switch already installed, ash body and rosewood neck (although I believe maple is available). The pups are some variation of noiseless that do not stand up to comparison with an EJ, which I have tried. The rest of the guitar is astonishingly good and your fave pups would fit fine........I have enough stuff, right dear?

 

[martie6621]

I own one in Sunburst and think it's a great Strat, not to mention that it's one of the best values from Fender today. I own and have played a lot of CS and Masterbuilts and these are their equal in every way. I mean we are talking about a bolt-on, slab guitar here. I am amazed at the prices that Fender is asking for newCSs (over 3k list) these days. And the Masters? - Puhl-leaze! The new John English Strat lists for 8K? Give me a friggin break here. That is more than double what Grosh, Suhr, Tyler, - you name it charges. I saw John Cruz assemble a CS Relic last year at the Fender stand at Crossroads and it took him about an hour. We are not talking anywhere near the time it takes to make a Collings acoustic guitar and those are less money than a Fender! And they talk about a housing bubble! Fender is nuts, but I guess they are getting it so who is to argue? - That said, and sorry to ramble ......the EJ is a steal. Best price at 40 off is $1400. Nothing else to touch it.

my $.02...and worth every penny you paid me for it

 

[Craig Walker]

I got one last weekend - the first strat that I like better the more I play it. I feel of the guitar is super, for me. Chunky neck, but not over-the-top.

I'm still tweaking to get sounds I like from single coils [always been a humbucker guy]. Still trying to get used to, and eliminate, the single coil noise.

But I believe this is my first 'keeper' strat after a long hunt for one that was *me*.

 

[Jon Silberman]

Originally posted by ducmike
My only complaint is the sticky feel of the neck.

The why not eliminate it with a couple of minutes of light sanding? All you need to do (as I did with my '52 RI) is lightly sand the back of the neck. Remove the neck, put a line of tape on the top and bottom (for a pro-looking contrast between the area you play and the rest of the neck) and sand only enough to essentially scuff up the finish (i.e., do NOT go down to the wood). That's it.

 

[ducmike]

Originally posted by Jon Silberman
The why not eliminate it with a couple of minutes of light sanding? All you need to do (as I did with my '52 RI) is lightly sand the back of the neck. Remove the neck, put a line of tape on the top and bottom (for a pro-looking contrast between the area you play and the rest of the neck) and sand only enough to essentially scuff up the finish (i.e., do NOT go down to the wood). That's it.

I actually don't have a problem with the back of the neck. It is the fingerboard that I stick to. I plan on doing Scott Peterson's micro mesh trick on it the next time I restring.

 

[buddastrat]

I was going to sand one down to the wood. That was the plan with the EJ, but I just couldn't get into several that I tried. I LOVE the neck's feel and shape. But sanding the neck would leave nice white maple with that orange headstock. The vintage tint is really orangey and that kind've bugged me. I could live with that though.

the ones I tried were all very light and had no meat to the tone. I've never played a lightweight alder strat I liked, they lack fullness that heavier ones tend to have. They were 100% chime and came across as too thin sounding for me. But they do have a nice sparkle and really cool Mark Knopfler, airy thing goin' on. I think if I find one that's a little heavier in weight, I might like it.

 

[Jon Silberman]

Originally posted by ducmike
I actually don't have a problem with the back of the neck. It is the fingerboard that I stick to. I plan on doing Scott Peterson's micro mesh trick on it the next time I restring.

Same advice, then - just scuff it up.

 

[KLB]

I have had a black one since May. Since receiving it, I have kept it out of the case on a guitar stand. The finish is not sticky any more. This guitar was appealing from the start and has only improved since starting to break in. In 10-20 years of regular playing it will be even more special. I had to remove the finish from the sides of the frets, which took a couple of hours. I may convert the neck finish to satin using a Scotch-Brite or 0000 steel wool.

This EJ Strat is better than the extensively modded 1989 '57 RI it replaced. I replaced the '57 pickups with Wagner SR, had it refretted with 6105 and Plek'd, replaced the tone block and saddles with Callaham hardware. This made it a nice guitar, but not up to the tone and feel of the EJ.

Fender and EJ have created a fine Stratocaster that compares favorably to boutique S-guitars costing hundreds more.

Be sure to try the EJ 10-50 Nickel Rocker Set!

- Ken

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I'm listening to Little Feat, Live @ Ultrasonic Studios 9-19-1974, available for free from Archive.org