The Search for the ERIC JOHNSON Tone is OVER

The amazing thing about all your videos is that you sound like you even with the 'Eric Johnson' style cascading pentatonic licks. That's really the best thing. Nobody is going to be anybody else so be the best 'you' you can be.

Genuinely genuinely Genuinely one of the most beautiful tones you’ve showcased here. Btw, loved the PG Spark 2 vs Katana video.

Pots were changed mainly cause the old ones were starting to fail. Bare knuckle only cause they do a 280kohm and i wanted values at the top end of what you could normally get with the standard tolerances on the normal 250k pots. The 500k prs volume pot was a bit of an experiment, but also i learned after that Eric used a 500k pot on Virginia to counter the slightly darker hs2 bridge pickup and i was basically doing the same thing to make sure the P90 i put in the bridge didn't get too dark. I like the taper on prs pots so that's why i picked it. The stainless steel frets are mainly cause they were getting quite worn and i just wanted the replacements to stay the same as long as possible

Spot on EJ tone!

Beautiful sound/tone... love the EJ sound, and you do it justice here.

Wow that nice. I saw Eric twice last year. I close my eys and hear him.

The Manhattan-inspired improvisation was nice. Love that tune. Tone is EJ all the way.

Exactly what I was waiting for man. Great video! Appreciate the content JC

Yep, you’ve really nailed it, well done 👍

Beautiful playing and tones!

ive owned a tube driver for multiple decades.. mine has tube bias knob on back..loving your interest in this piece of gear

Loved the playing and sound.

Great video John! This tone is the definition of a "driven" tone. Not distorted, just gainy and driven. Essentially, the Tube Driver is acting like a preamp, and it sounds fine. It would be useful if you explained the entire chain, including amp, delay/reverb, everything.

To preface, I'm not commenting as any authority, so please don't take anything that way. I love the search for tones, and especially the tones of people I admire. It's certainly a great jumping off point for learning what you like and don't like. Eric's lead tone has always been a little darker than I think people imagine. I think he's also said it before, and others have reiterated similar concepts, but the louder and more high gain the sound, the more he rolls off the high end. That's why you see the eq on the Tube driver almost off (or off). I also think the missing ingredient(s) are Eric himself, and we have to accept that there's always some added studio adjustments within the mix. So we're often chasing a recorded tone, that might be different from what was in the room at the time. Lastly, great playing. Love the Tube Driver dive. I've messed about with variants, but never with the real thing. And as you said, there are many paths to similar tones, and it doesn't have to be the exact gear. It's fun to do that, but you can also get in the ballpark with a variety of gear, and you might just find your own sound while you do it.

There are really two separate matters with Eric Johnson, when it comes to tone. There is what he does, up to and including the amp, then there is how it is recorded (mic -> tape/daw -> mixdown/busses -> mastering). He is pretty open about his guitar gear/rig. That's the solid foundation of his sound(s), but what he does in post is very important to the tones we hear on the LP's. In his interview w/ Rick Beato, he talks a little bit about what he does to blackface Fenders in terms of eq in post, but doesn't go through his process in great detail. To my ear, he uses a bit of plate reverb in post, which mixed with his lead tone, creates this impression of beautiful singing sustain. Obviously, he does a lot more than that - but that's one aspect that I've heard through the years... Great work JNC. You are rapidly becoming my favorite channel!

One of my favorite guitar tones ever.

I think the feel of EJ is the key more than anything. I saw him last week in Lewiston NY, and he was playing a very stripped down rig with his SG. Still sounded like him. He even plugged into an old Silvertone amp in case. Still sounded like EJ.

Wow what a cool sound! so close to EJ! Beautiful!!! :face-blue-smiling:

I remember you featuring this guitar before. It's clearly been played a lot since! I've got the thinline version and I really love it

EJ has many tones. He only uses the Tube Driver for the most overdriven lead tone (which IMO sounds like a broken vacuum cleaner). He plays 90% of his live set with the dirty rhythm amp and Fuzz Face, which is far more articulate than the Tube Driver.