Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson is an Austin, Texas guitarist known for a fluid, refined lead tone and a famously meticulous approach to gear. His best-known guitar is a 1954 Fender Stratocaster nicknamed "Virginia", used to record the albums Tones and Ah Via Musicom. Fender made a replica in its Stories Collection in 2020, with a sassafras body, a "Soft V" maple neck, Original '57/'62 single-coils in the neck and middle positions and a DiMarzio HS-2 at the bridge, of which only the upper coil is used. The name is variously said to come from a masking-tape label in the tremolo cavity or a note in the pickup milling.

He has also owned 1957 Stratocasters, sometimes replacing their pickups with Seymour Duncan Antiquities, and has sold most of his vintage Strats over the years. His signature Fuzz Face, developed with Fuzz Face specialist Jeorge Tripps, uses hand-selected BC183 silicon transistors and is inspired by his own Fuzz Faces; Johnson has said he first heard the pedal around age 12.

Fan-compiled gear guides disagree on which 1954 guitar he still owns, so details of his current setup should be checked against recent interviews. Guitar Radar follows Eric Johnson's signature gear and tour news.