Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is an American guitarist and recording artist from Austin, Texas. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, New Age, gospel and country and western music into his recordings. Johnson also composes and plays vocal pieces, and is an accomplished pianist.
Guitar Player magazine has called Johnson "one of the most respected guitarists on the planet".Johnson's stylistic diversity and technical proficiency with the guitar have been praised by Bill Hicks, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Allan Holdsworth, Larry Carlton, Steve Morse, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter, Jeff Baxter, B. B. King, Joe Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughan.^{[citation needed]} His critically-acclaimed, platinum-selling 1990 recording Ah Via Musicom produced the single "Cliffs of Dover", for which Johnson won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Guitars

Johnson is best known for playing stock Fender Stratocasters and Gibson ES-335 electric guitars through a triple amp setup that consists of Fender amplifiers, Dumble Amplifiers and Marshall amplification. Johnson has also played other guitar brands such as Robin, Rickenbacker, and Jackson Charvel, which appears on the cover of the Ah Via Musicom album. In 2001, Johnson added a Gibson Custom Shop '59 Les Paul Reissue to his guitars of choice.
Johnson has had several models built to his specifications for sale in the mass market. In 2003, C. F. Martin & Company released a limited-edition Eric Johnson Signature MC-40 guitar built to his specifications. Johnson donated 5 percent of the profits of the guitar's sales to his father's alma mater, Jefferson Medical CollegeIn 2005, Fender released an Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster also built to his specifications. Johnson has also released other signature gear such as GHS Eric Johnson Nickel Rockers Electric Guitar Strings, DiMarzio DP211 Eric Johnson Signature Custom Pickups, and a Fullton-Webb amplifier. Jim Dunlop also has released an Eric Johnson signature Jazz III plectrum. In early 2009, Fender released the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Rosewood model, featuring the same specifications as the Eric Johnson Maple Neck guitar, with the addition of an unusual 3-ply, 8-hole white pick guard, hotter treble pickup and a bound rosewood laminate fingerboard with pearloid dot position markers.

Effects

He uses effects pedals such as the Ibanez Tube Screamer,Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, BK Butler Tube Driver, TC Electronic Stereo Chorus, Vox Cry Baby wah-wah, Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Delay, a MXR Digital Delay, a Line 6 Echo Pro Studio Modeler, and a Maestro Echoplex tape delay. All of these are connected to multiple A/B boxes to create sounds and tones that are both clean and distorted. Although the majority of Johnson's setup is vintage, he has recently started using more modern equipment, including a stereo chorus made by AnalogMan.^{[citation needed]}

Recording

In late 2006, Johnson switched from recording in analog to digital format. en.wikipedia.org