NGD Eric Johnson signature Stratocaster black and maple (2005)

rze99 · August 2020

I couldn't resist this Eric Johnson Strat in EC "Blackie" configuration. My first maple neck Strat ever. It's the one @JohnCordy had for sale very recently (thanks John).

It's from 2005 but it looks relatively unscathed. The finish is sinking in a bit which I love and it feels silky. Two piece alder. body Came with all the case candy, etc. No signature on the neck itself, just the neck plate.

I made some very minor changes to help my puny old man playing. I put .009 to .46 strings on. Cut back all the gloss on the back of the neck with scouring pad and micro finishing pad which stopped the bit of of nitro gloss drag completely. It wasn't too bad and definitely not sticky. At .86 at the first fret it's a fairly substantial / chunky neck but not baseball bat thick. It has a pretty subtle V at the headstock end that uickly becomes a substantial C. Very nice shape in the hand. I l lowered the action, cut the nut slots just a touch deeper and used a little nut oil. The truss rod and frets were all perfect.

These EJ Strats come designed by him to have the with the bridge jammed tight with 5 springs. But I like a bit of trem action on a strat. I changed to 3 trem springs and loosened the 6 screws a little to allow a freer pivot and and adjusted for tuning stability. The 12 radius - which i find easier on my hand these days than traditional 7.25 - feels right on this and floating trem make it an easy play and bends are easy and fluid. Since I took these shots I put short saddle screws on.

I think it sounds great. It's the best overall Strat sound I've had in my hands.The bridge is bigboned and sweet and, with tone rolled off a touch, it's a full sound and actually a little more Tele-like without that usual Strat harsh top. The neck pickup is fat, clear and beautiful. The middle pickup (disconnected from the tone in this model) is no more or less use to me than the middle pickup other Strats and a bit of a disappointment. The middle pickup is still something I've not grown to find a place for.

The quack positions are the very epitome of pure Strat sounds and with the middle pickup free from the tone pot, bright and very usable. Position 2 yields a great big juicy jangly Big Star tone. September Gurls and Baby's Beside Me!

I used gig late '70s and mid '70s Fender Strat as my main instrument, along with a Les Paul. They're pretty good Strats, but this is definitely better and exudes a sense of a top class instrument. The notes kind of spring from it.

It's light and resonant and the notes are all even and resound nicely off the guitar. No "plinking notes" in the upper register on plain strings like I've had with some Strats. It doesn't really fit generally with what I'm working on these days but it's such a nice guitar to play and hear. And to look at. Pics came out pretty nice.

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punchesjudy · August 2020

Well that's bloody lovely! Enjoy.

soma1975 · August 2020

Yep on paper my least fave strat combo but it looks amazing.

Lewy · August 2020

Happy NGD. Love the way the finish is sinking.

PonchoGreg · August 2020

Not gonna lie, I was looking at that FS thread with lustful eyes... Beautiful, and I would argue a lot of guitar for the money too. Happy NGD!

rze99 · August 2020

soma1975 said:

Yep on paper my least fave strat combo but it looks amazing.

Yes, it’s not really top of my list colour wise either ( though I have a black Rickenbacker and Les Paul with P90s) but it’s just so classic and the nature of the nitro finish means it looks lovely and clearly very distinct from a poly finish. You can tell instantly.

hollywoodrox · August 2020

Happy new guitar day

guitarman1984 · August 2020

That's lovely!!!!

StefB · August 2020

Lovely.

I thought the EJ model wasn’t introduced until 2007 though?

daisie_guitar · August 2020

Weight?

captainbeeffart · August 2020

Hngd. Makes sense to me, to have the tone wired to the bridge.
I have done this to my favourite strat.

skinfreak · August 2020

Classic. Every time I see this combination of colours a small part of me goes "you want this don't you? Your wife won't mind. She wants to make you happy..."