“Monster lineup here”: Eric Johnson and Michael Landau honor Jeff Beck with a fretboard-burning Freeway Jam cover By Phil Weller published 8 April 24 The two Stratocaster masters recently shared the stage for a Beck-honoring jam
A master of pickslanting, economy picking and pentatonic flurries, Eric Johnson is one of the smoothest soloists on the planet – and his techniques will really make your solos pop By Andy G Jones published 22 March 24 Take a leaf out of the Texan Strat master's book and improve your picking technique, melodic sensibility and position shifting now with this lesson in Johnson's lead guitar style
“You don’t have to shred, play fusion or reinvent guitar technique”: Steve Vai’s co-guitarist watched every night of the G3 reunion tour – this is what he thinks makes a virtuoso By Matt Owen published 4 March 24 Dante Frisiello watched Steve Vai, Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani night in, night out, during the recent G3 tour – and it's helped him develop his own definition of what it means to be a virtuoso
“It sounds like a bunch of 18-year-old kids having fun. There’s something to be said about that energy”: Eric Johnson reveals a G3 live album from the 2024 reunion tour with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani is in the works By Matt Owen published 1 March 24 The three virtuosos are currently wading through live recordings from their recent tour as they look to compile a new record to celebrate the OG G3 reunion
“Saying it was an honor to be up there is a wildly drastic understatement”: Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai have wrapped up the G3 2024 tour – here are the biggest guest guitarists who joined them along the way By Matt Owen published 12 February 24 Progressive pioneers, heavy rock royalty and even Satch's son took to the stage with the G3 trailblazers at various points across the hotly anticipated tour
“Steve Vai and Joe Satriani’s setups are amazing examples of streamlined innovation. But with my maple neck Strat, it would be hard to do what they’re doing”: Eric Johnson on G3, profilers, and the custom pedal he “might actually put on the market” By Andrew Daly published 6 February 24 Reunited with old friends for a new run of shows, Johnson still swears by his custom Strat and pedal – and rejects the idea that Joe Bonamassa owes him an apology
“Technology is coming along. It's going to keep getting better to the point that maybe they will replace tube amps for a lot of people”: Eric Johnson has been experimenting with amp modelers, but he still isn’t fully convinced – here’s why By Matt Owen published 5 February 24 The gear purist branched out when he began exploring the Neural DSP Quad Cortex last year – but as things stand, he's not going to make the switch permanent just yet
“Sounds better than ever!”: Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai shred classics and jam Crossroads as the OG G3 lineup reunites for the first time in nearly 3 decades – and now fan footage has surfaced By Phil Weller published 25 January 24 It’s the first time the trio has embarked on a joint G3 jaunt since 2000 – and the opening show in Tucson proved to be quite the curtain-raiser
“Every time we play together it takes me back to when we were teenagers… pushing, challenging and helping each other to be the best we could be”: For the first time ever, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are working on new music together By Matt Parker published 8 November 23 The two virtuosos have also announced a huge tour marking their first co-headline dates outside of their G3 shows
“The perfect blend of tradition and innovation”: Fender releases all-new Suona Collection of Thinline Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jazz Bass models By Matt Owen published 14 September 23 The elegant limited-edition instruments arrive with Violin Burst finishes, color-matched headstocks and an Eric Johnson flair thanks to the semi-hollow construction
“Reuniting the original G3 lineup is a dream come true”: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson are hitting the road for a G3 reunion tour next year By Matt Owen published 12 September 23 The three fretboard heroes will link up early next year almost three decades after they launched one of guitar's most influential events back in 1996
“All of the Eric Johnson signature sounds are inside this preamp and power amp”: Vertex Effects played Eric Johnson’s $400,000 Dumble rig – here’s what it sounds like By Jackson Maxwell published 8 September 23 The “rarest of rare” in the Dumble line, this custom-made Manzamp preamp and Odyssey power amp are said to be among the legendary amp builder’s “weirdest and most unobtainable” builds
“We’re going to explore how I shape my signature tone and dig into some of my favorite technical and creative approaches”: Eric Johnson launches TrueFire online masterclass – featuring in-the-works material By Jonathan Horsley published 17 August 23 Play like Eric Johnson? We can dream. Or we can subscribe to his interactive video masterclass and In The Jam play-along sessions – which feature "tunes you might hear on an upcoming record" from the guitarist – on TrueFire
Eric Johnson is experimenting with the Neural DSP Quad Cortex – but it hasn't replaced his current rig just yet By Matt Owen published 27 June 23 Despite dabbling with one of the most powerful profilers on the planet, Johnson maintains his stance that “the gear’s really secondary”
John Mayer's maple-fretboard PRS SE Silver Sky is finally here – and so are some sleek new finishes By Jackson Maxwell published 6 June 23 First road-tested by Mayer in the spring, the SE Silver Sky Maple comes in its own set of smart colorways
Joe Bonamassa explains why he prefers Stratocasters with maple fretboards over rosewood By Matt Owen published 1 June 23 Though he's partial to playing both, the blues-rocker leans towards maple ’boards for one key reason
PRS once made a prototype thinline model for Eric Johnson – and it’s one of the strangest 'what if?' guitar designs you’ll see By Matt Owen published 15 May 23 The quirky guitar was on display at the recent Dallas International Guitar Festival, alongside a particularly intriguing Fender signature model
Meet the Hell Kitty – the evil twin of the Squier Hello Kitty Strat hell-bent on destroying the meme guitar By Matt Owen published 12 May 23 Built from the bones of a battered Bullet Strat bought for $50, Zakk Farkas's Hell Kitty might be 2023's gnarliest home build, created to destroy a meme its maker says has gone too far
Orianthi and Eric Johnson tackle technical issues and trade freestyle solos in searing cover of Never Make Your Move Too Soon By Matt Owen published 11 May 23 The two titans shared the stage at the Dallas International Guitar Festival and overcame a dodgy backline to take on the track released by B.B. King in 1978
Joe Bonamassa says he regularly apologizes to Eric Johnson: “Every time I see him I’m like, ‘I’m sorry for stealing your style’” By Matt Parker published 15 March 23 The blues giant reports he says sorry whenever he meets the Texas guitar great – and he has issues with anyone calling Jimmy Page sloppy