White nitrocellulose finishes are both totally
gorgeous, especially when combined with the
iconic looks of an F-hole. What I do try to look
for in an instrument is tonal versatility and
great feel, both of which this guitar has in
spades. Per the demos, this guitar has a
great clean sound, which for worship is a
must. Also on my worship “must” list is a
guitar’s ability to retain clarity with an overdriven
tone, which again this guitar really delivers on.
As we were discussing this mod, master-luthier
EJ BRIDGE PICKUP TONE CONTROL MOD (and guitar repair tech extraordinaire) Joe
Like all of Eric’s signature Strats, this guitar Riggio pointed out that, “Even on 10, having
features what I call the “Eric Johnson Tone the tone control assigned to the bridge pickup
Control Mod”. Like a Tele, this allows you to has an effect on the over-all tonality of the
back off the treble on the bridge pickup via bridge pickup, removing a small amount of the
the lower tone control, dramatically expanding high frequencies many players don’t like about
the tonal palette for both the #1 and #2 pickup a Strat bridge pickup. In the #3 position, this
selections. Lincoln Brewster uses this mod mod also adds some high frequencies into the
on his Strats to tame the bridge pickup for middle pickup, creating a “bright pickup tone”
his Van Halen-infused dirty tones – without alternative to the bridge.”
DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN…
Speaking of overdriven tones, I’d like to invite
you to check the interview I did with Eric for
the cover story in our sister magazine, Gear
Tech + Recording (www.geartechrec.com).
That issue will be out March 15, and will also
feature a “higher gain” review of this lovely
instrument. In the meantime, I encourage you
to watch the companion video for this review
so you can hear (and see) how much I’ve
enjoyed playing the Eric Johnson Signature
compromising the spank factor on the neck
Stratocaster Thinline!
pickup. This also allows you to tame the #2 HEY GOOD LOOKING… position for killer lead sounds ala “The Cliffs While I try not to buy guitars based on FENDER.COM
looks, the 2-color Sunburst and Vintage $1999.99 MAP
of Dover”.
March 2018
WorshipMusician.com
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