GEAR REVIEW
[ FENDER ERIC JOHNSON SIGNATURE STRATOCASTER THINLINE | Doug Doppler ]
KEY FEATURES
Semi-hollow Alder Body
One-piece Maple Neck
’57 “Soft V” Neck Shape
12” Fingerboard Radius
21 Medium-jumbo Frets
WATCH DEMO VIDEO
INSPIRED BY…
For the second year in a row, I walked into the
Fender booth at NAMM and as was knocked
off my feet by another brilliant remix. Like last
year’s Stelecaster, the Fender Eric Johnson
Signature Stratocaster Thinline blends two
classic instruments together, but with one key
exception. Where the Stelecaster combined the
best features of a Strat and Tele, this Thinline
does not get its inspiration from Fender’s highly
regarded Telecaster Thinlines, as one might
expect from the name. Instead this instrument
reflects Eric’s desire to incorporate the tonal
characteristics he loves about ES-335s, without
compromising the sonic integrity of his highly
acclaimed signature Strats. After a couple
of weeks playing this guitar pretty
much nonstop, I am happy to say,
“Mission accomplished!”
NOT A TELE, BUT…
To my ear, the combination of a Fender
scale neck, single-coil pickups with a
five-way switch, and a Strat body with a
solid center block and semi-hollow
wings make this instrument sound
a bit more like a Tele Thinline
than an ES-335. It also comes
strung with a set of 10-46 NPS
(nickel-plated
steel)
strings,
which have much more of a
“Tele-like” response than the
9-42 set preferred by many
Strat players.
52
March 2018
WorshipMusician.com