Eric Johnson on the G-DEC® | Fender

[@tigerbalm666]

I've never heard anyone that plays like EJ...his scales are so different and refreshing! His tone is amazing.

[@Chaoticsmelt]

I had the privilege of doing a lesson with EJ at his studio a few years ago, and he let me play his prototype EJ Strat through one of his '65 Twins, and it was the sweetest clean tone I've ever personally produced in my life. But I sounded absolutely NOTHING like EJ did through the exact same guitar just moments before. We even used the same pick. One huge secret to his tone is that his articulation and synchronization between his left and right hands is impeccable. He's simply amazing.

[@cyclist4now]

I just bought a used G-DEC 30 with the optional footswitch controller from Craigslist for $175. The original owner didnt even use it that much because he said it was too complicated. Its in brand new condition and plays and sounds great for what it is designed to do. Its not too complicated if you have some patience and intelligence. Its great for practicing and jamming solo. Perfect for me!! Glad I got one before there all gone.

[@slowpokerhino]

Just proves that tone is in the hands.

[@boogiechillen123]

Ive been playing this amp for 3 years and am happy with it. I'm not a pro so I play for fun and its a great practice amp. Before this I had a 200 dollar Marshall and the G-DEC beats the pants off that! I'd like to start a channel where G-DEC owners can put their songs up, would be fun.

[@Rcracer1]

Eric Rocks! I have seen him at least 5 or 6 times w/Satriani and mad what a show! This is real music. What a cool guy!

[@crisDAwog]

the thing i love about eric is he has such a distinct sound in his playing my god incredible

[@dirtjumpbandit]

Tone is all in the hands. A good player can make anything sound good.

[@rodrigoguitarlover]

You re absolutly right man. He is one of the gratests of all.

[@MikeWylde]

This man has an absolute/complete mastery of the instrument. Give him a $200 P.O.S. guitar and plug it into my stereo system and he'll still have that monster tone and soul that few mortals will ever possess.

[@cxd090]

only one word for this man "awesome"!!!!!

[@hogwild6161]

Eric Johnson's rig includes a line 6 delay unit. Also, he usually has 2 to 3 Fender twins on stage with him. And I do agree with some of the Fender comments made here. There is no hiding how you truly sound when playing a TUBED Fender amp. There's a reason why Eric sounds so good on this video, because he IS that good....

[@SnakeRiverFishing]

5 months now with My GDEC 3 Thirty and most impressed. It's not just probably the best value for the money, the thing does spooky come close to nailing a rance of tones and styles. As far as the top comments go, my philosophy is you must have good gear to feel the inspiration to play in the first place, I think this is especially true for beginners with a cheesy beginner package. They may have been inspired by Clapton or Johnson to get into it but cheap gear dont give em what their stereo does.

[@tak178]

You're right. The light on this video is deceiving. :)

[@TheBlackCrayon77]

Eric's Strat model has to be one of the best playing guitars you guys have built in a long time. The one he's playing in this vid is different though, it has the string tree. Anyhow, I can't wait to see a newer model with the classic colors.

[@Manolian]

EJ is a great great player ,musician, composer. One of my all time favs.

[@hogwild6161]

When I seen him in 2006, I was lucky enough to get to go on stage, before the show, and he was using a line 6 delay unit. He did not have the echoplex on the stage, and for the next 3 nights, he didn't. But, I seen him a year later at a small club, and he did have it.

[@robelinda]

Eric is Eric, superb player.

[@aliensporebomb]

One of his best recorded tones was with a Les Paul on the Electromagnets recording when he was 16 years old, really gorgeous - that was a jazz fusion project too so the music was different than what you usually hear out of him.

[@coal4life]

I just got one of these amps today. Haven't even scratched the surface yet and I love it. Makes me wanna get into playing my new strat. Never liked Fenders but I just needed a change from all my old Gibsons.

[@JaySuschrist]

Just because he's talented, doesn't mean everyone has to like the amplifier! To each their own.

[@oneofthemodels]

Well I own one and I have to disagree with you I think that's the best practice amplifier ever made and yes you could play gigs with it too

[@tak178]

Those inlays are gold, my friend.

[@Stratocastermark]

I was thinking the same thing - if he had any amp and guitar combo it would still be his fabulous tone... It's all in the fingers - if anyone wants to challenge me on this, you ain't living in the real world... OwnedRL hit the nail on the head.

[@timcollard6437]

I have a G-dec 30 , been playing it for over 10 yrs and love it... Once you figure it out it's a beast.... I can make my telecaster sound like any kind of guitar.... !!!!! 👍👍👍⚡⚡⚡✨✨✨😎😎😎🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🎸🎸🎸

[@TheNoobyGuy1]

Thank you for clearing up that misconception that people have and enlightning the subject.

[@1971SuperLead]

I've got the G-DEC3 15. I've had it for about 4 years now. I play it every day. There are only a couple things I like about it, but the best thing going for it is the tone. I have tons of vintage Fender and Marshall amps, but this thing has better tone than anything I've ever heard. I like the Tweed Drive amp setting with everything dimed but the volume, it's on 7.0. I'm using the overdrive pedal. It has the gain on 6, volume on 10, low on 5.4, mid on 5.4, high on 5.4.. Just a hint of mono delay. Delay level on 2.1, time 250ms, feedback on 5.2, brightness on 7.8, attenuation on 2.3. Reverb on small hall, level on 1.3. Compressor off, Timbre is Bright Light, Noise gate on high, Go ahead and try it and let me know what you think. I frikkin love it.

[@BullToTheShit]

Too bad it's discontinued. I'd like a new one. I guess you can get them used on eBay.

[@Tinfollowshisbliss]

Hello SuperLead, all good? I was wandering if you have any other cool presets for GDEC15 amps... I really like the above written preset! :)

[@sidthekidlives]

just goes to show it's all in the hands eh? A practise amp and he still sounds just like himself ! amazing

[@codemonkey615552]

Holy crap! eric johnson playing on a G-DEC got to get one myself! Eric Johnson is the bomb.

[@tomh124]

His tone is Godlike.

[@costamesa22]

Great video it's amazing to see Eric in his natural element warming up thanks for the post.

[@SnakeRiverFishing]

I have one and the sound is amazing for the price and I haven't hooked up any external monitors. Y'all can ramble back and forth about it's audio but no question I have been able to take my playing to the next level jamming with the backing tracks regular. Been playing over 40 years now, seen the whole gamut of equipment available over the decades and must say this is one cool little amp for 300 something and real nice to be able to pack it around so easy and patch it right into a board.

[@tractorKing]

LOL. I love when he's trying to get feedback from it. "Need a 100 watt version!"

[@Hylandren]

Back before Eric had gotten signed, he came into a booth I worked at at a guitarshow, and he asked to try an old strat. I got it down for him, apologizing that the owner had only brought a piece of crap Crate amp to plug into. EJ just smiled, said " No problem" and wailed away. I had been to MANY of his Dallas shows then, and even with no tube screamer,(which he used then) no echo, and a crappy amp it sounded just like Eric. Its in the legato and lack of pick attack. Its in the hands, man.

[@guitarprism]

I seen him at the experience hendrix concert, he tickled my ears with his playing. awesome tone.

[@fendercrate1]

Yo, Thunder: I have the original 15-watt G-DEC. It's not very loud by itself, but with the closed back, it has great tone for the guitar and backing tracks (drums, keyboard, bass) as loud as it goes. Easy upgrade: Just run a line out from the stereo headphone jack to one or two amps, or to a stereo-ready Fender Princeton Chorus or Ultimate Chorus. The amp models and FX are fantastic. Like a Cyber-Twin, on a budget! I only play it when I have an hour, because it's hard to stop.

[@sargentppeper]

Pretty cool how his fingers gets his tone on this little amp!

[@tvtuber12]

i love that riff from 0:46 - 1:03

[@TCMx3]

I think he means that its eric making it sound so good.

[@suryopras]

Eric is the most versatile guitarist in my opinion

[@nomadman123]

I wish Fender would list some of the G-DEC settings that guitar slayers like EJ use.

[@ThrashMetal]

I've got a G-Dec 30 and I love it.

[@BonzoMcBonzo]

you would be surprised what cheap amps like these can do nowadays. Ive gotten pricesly the same tone Eric used on Righteous through my Marshall MG100DFX. Its really cool!

[@stingraybeach572]

Let the Holy music flow! If you are a great enough artist, you can make a ball point pen look like "the thing you need to buy."

[@pantoum]

I love using the g dec 30. It works well on many different levels. I even gig with it.

[@tonepoet67]

It Doesnt sound like a Fender Twin but it will do alot for the money...Eric will sound good on anything!!!!!!

[@guitarcrazy019]

They probably got EJ to demo it because if you go to the music store all you will hear is drop c chuggin. It really is in the hands!! It also helps that he has played for 50 years.

[@ZACKSONFIRE]

He makes the guitar sound liquid. Amazing.

[@jonw82]

One final point.. these are practice amps, tubes sound better at louder volumes where the flaws of lesser sounding amps can be exposed more. Never seen this amp before but it looks and sounds great for practicing at reasonable volumes.

[@Inyourfacepunk]

i must say he's become much cooler as he got older.

[@jetjock015]

I think the black one is the signature model prototype, and the sunburst one is his vintage 1957 Strat he's had for a while...

[@stratorarious]

This guy can make anything sound good . .. he's like King Midas LOL. Really though his sound is mostly from his hands, technique, incredible phrasing etc. Also the way he has his Strats set up. A friends kid who I am teaching left one of these at my place so I have been playing around with it. It's fun to play with but of I can't make it sound as good as Eric.

[@TheDistortionist]

I run the line out straight into a mixer and then the EQ. Sounds great.

[@RobertFairweatherMusic]

this little amp is the latest and greatest thing from Fender... I teach. And when my students ask what amp to get for practice...this is it. Fender, send me one. I'm schilling big for ya cus this thing does rock your sock off. Not a stage amp. The tone is bad ass. Of course, not for the staqe. Duh.

[@Jeepjones85]

I just bought a mustang 3v2 and its outstanding the tones are great

[@bluekiss2]

living legend.

[@birdiejoehoaks]

And i would agree, but at the same time, i would say that Eric Johnson is going to sound like Eric Johnson no matter what he plays through

[@AshStrat1]

hmmm johnson is saying in the clip he uses the amp back stage , not on stage , people like jeff beck have used very small amps on stage in the past with a mic up, because i believe he said at the time it does not drain the tone from the guitar , however the amp is what it is , and i for one think its a great amp for home or back stage use , if they had those 30 years ago people would have done albums with them ive no doubt .

[@donostia13]

I agree...so many guys try to find the "SRV" Texas blues tone, etc. etc. which only makes them sound like imitative poseurs. I think that, more than any other electric guitar, the Stratocaster is the one instrument that should remind us all that creativity is what counts. Hendrix walked away musically from what the Strat originally sounded like in '54, but now the dopes out there think that's the "way to play it."

[@gregtoolson]

@Savatage420, he uses a brass saddle on the high e to give the string more sustain, particularly for harmonics.

[@Thirdgen83]

You're 100% correct. No matter what guitar or amp he uses, it's still the same "EJ" tone...

[@peavyt15]

its probably the Eric Johnson signature model since its eric johnson playing

[@Dazsturbed]

He could plug into a 2 watt practice amp and still sound like a god haha

[@SalvoVecchioGuitar]

Amazing sound and playing

[@JustHach]

holy crap people, it's a practice amp! it's not supposed to be a Dumble and for a practice amp, it's damned good.

[@worthound]

Would have been nice for him to break down his settings for those tones. He could have easily done that. Maybe even share a MIDI download so you could just load an set of ERIC tones. Fender really drops the ball on supporting the awesome MIDI power of ths remarkable amp. All in all I would buy one NOW. I have the 15W and the 30Watt just like he is playing with and I would highly reccomend to any level player. They are amazing even if your on your own with the MIDI.

[@RickInRock84]

I don't know how the G-DEC could sounds.I know just one thing....0:47 - 1:03...Eric is definitely the Beethoven of the electric guitar ! Let me say another point: it's great that he,in this vid,got his same sound even using another gear.This means:the sound is in your HANDS!!!!

[@JoeyOMusic]

Love his spirit.

[@Product1999]

wow thats absolutely hilarious my girlfriend just said 3 minutes ago and i quote "can you turn that guitar music down its past midnight i would really like to get to sleep"....i saw your comment directly after and it had me laughing.

[@skubee23]

I was thinking the exact thing!!!

[@Igamikun]

@jimidom True it is all in the fingers, but the reason people slam solid state gear is because of the fullness of the sound in comparison. I went through probably 4 different solid state amps, and 2 tube amps till I settled on a blues deluxe. I love the tone as it's great for blues. Solid state amps definitely have better crisper cleans though, and for metal the fullness tube amps give isn't necessary. All depends on what you play, and how you play. For me it's tubes from here on out.

[@phallystorm]

ERIC RULES!!!

[@guitarspeare]

@ibanez777vbk Hendrix used a fender bassman for most of eclectric lady land. Esp on Voodoo Child slight return, and the titile track. EVH's new amps are made by fender, B.B King uses a fender twin, GreG Koch uses fender exclusively, C;apton uses a 50 era twin, Eric Johnson here uses two twins for his clean sound. would you like more?

[@micahguitar14]

eric johnson=godlike guitarist...

[@mag0024]

@1971SuperLead thx but abit late.. however ive bought the gdec 3 and i am :) with it..

[@ToothyGus]

they say 50% of ur tone is in ur fingers. they're wrong it's 90%

[@lanlanbinks]

@jimidom i agree with you totally, but lets not forget who really is the biggest tube/gear head in the world!! Mr Eric Johnson!! There are two sides to the gear coin!

[@lividmonky]

Funny, because I noticed the wear on his fretboard. You can tell the majority of the notes he uses. For example, 2nd fret has wear all across the board where the 11th fret has no wear. The wear is predominately on the upper three strings down to the 12th fret. I find that kinda stuff interesting.

[@vanarve]

Thats so true.

[@TheDistortionist]

its on the website. the exact settings.

[@kyle.buss_guitar]

hendrix actually did use fender amps at one point. and im almost positive that so did the rest of those guys, at some time or another.

[@marquesjunior6593]

awesome !!!!!!!!!

[@Twistchawa]

@ibanez777vbk Beatles had fantastic tone. EVH's new amp is Fender. Malmsteen uses Fenders in the studio.

[@AnitCsah]

that's got to be the best comment I've ever seen. You actually have made my day with that, hahha brilliant!

[@niptodstan]

I'd like to hear him and Bonamassa together. They have a similar style and sound.

[@GregLynn]

I can imagine Fender holding a revolver to Eric's head telling him to say this amp "sounds good." ANYONE who knows EJ, knows he is REALLY REALLY particular about gear and tone. This amp to him is the opposite of what he believes in.

[@toomanygittars]

Oh dear... this means that buying a vintage Marshall rig, an Eric Johnson siganture strat, a Tube Driver and and Echoplex WON'T make me sound like Eric Johnson??? Life is merciless!!!!!

[@studiomonster2012]

Tone is not just in the hands. It's being sensitive to the amp at hand. Being able to adjust the amount of dirt to the signal, putting a delay and adjusting the treble, mids, and low end. Couple that with the fingers and you can make any amp sound good. I truly think the player has to learn to listen and be tonaly sensitive. Also, having a real guitar helps. After all, that is what you are amplifying isn't it?

[@donostia13]

The key is to just play...a lot. Eric himself said that he's spent too much of his time chasing tone, which ultimately takes time away from making music. It's all so subjective anyway, tone. As for a person's playing style, it has to be one the main factors affecting tone. Eric's on this site playing a Les Paul somewhere, and it still sounds exactly like Eric Johnson...

[@OlviMasta77]

That was a compliment people. Look mid-end way and look me in the eyes and tell me that he hasn't begun to look more like the great Allan Holdsworth?

[@drcpilotflyer]

i agree with you,he is a great player but has some OCD issues,i saw him in fayetteville and he spent 3 hours on vocal sound checks.

[@stratplayer96]

What I wouldn't give for HIS presets!

[@jonw82]

There are exceptions though, and you don't need to spend $6000 for a hand made tube amp blessed with alien urinine to get good tone. There are also some great solidstate amps out there for any style. For me, I find for "blues breakup" tubes are best, but for styles with higher gain the higher headroom the better. That means avoiding the tube breakup "sag" sound.

[@GuitarDoco]

good playing

[@rixills]

@ibanez777vbk hendrix did in fact use lots of fender amps, as did satch and vai. fender is also the producer of the EVH 5150 III. i guess i dont get your point.

[@andythrash.]

lol I unconsciously turned my volume up when he was waiting for the guitar to feedback

[@joeyzeeguitar]

you are so right cause i bet Eric sound exactly the same unplugged lol

[@babyjesus323]

what type of setup would you guys use to get that tone that he uses at 3:22-3:45... cause i have a g-dec 30 but i don't seem to get a clean tone outta it

[@Fenstrat62]

@ruffles272 Eric Johnson uses "technique" in his way of picking and string dampening that others haven't used, and it makes his tone better. He up-picks alot which opens up the tone, and he will dampen his none picked strings with his palm when he picks, and with his hand on the neck....that's what "tone is in the hands" means. Also he has perfected some pickup re-wire techniques that are his alone...and make great sound.

[@bingefeller]

Still sounds like Eric!

[@randallace]

Wish he would share his settings