“It’s gotten so crazy. We need to return to raw basics – just playing straight into an amp”: Eric Johnson says the ever-expanding world of guitar gear has resulted in “so much option anxiety”

Eric Johnson has said the ever-expanding modern guitar gear market – and the overwhelming options that guitar players are faced with these days – has given him “option anxiety”.

As such, the electric guitar virtuoso believes “we need to return to the raw basics”, instead of diving deeper into the realm of expansive guitar gear and digital guitar tones.

The high-velocity bluesman, who starred in the G3 tour earlier this year alongside Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, has had his say on the complexity of digital amps and modelers, stating that he finds the near-endless tonal possibilities they offer to be a bad thing.

During a recent appearance on the Boomerocity YouTube channel, Johnson explains how he has responded to such hurdles with a back-to-basics next record that will be “a little bit more straight ahead, and not tons of pedals and gimmicks and stuff.”

“Everything's just gotten so... There's so much option anxiety, as far as gear, and then the whole digital technology and everything,” he says [via Ultimate Guitar].

“It's just gotten so crazy. I thought, 'Well, we need just to return to raw basics; just playing straight up into the amp, you know?'”

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It’s an interesting take. Naturally, digital modeler marketing hinges on widening the spectrum of sonic possibilities, with Mooer’s latest budget-friendly GE200 Pro modeler – to use but one example – delivering nearly 300 amp sims and effects for “endless signal chain combinations”.

At the higher end of the scale, the Quad Cortex and Fender Tone Master Pro place even more versatility and tonal authenticity at a player’s feet. That certainly can be overwhelming, especially to someone who is approaching the world of digital gear for the first time.

Polyphia's next-gen virtuosos Tim Henson and Scott LePage will no doubt sympathize with Johnson's comments. They felt lost trying to ride the waves of the modeler world when they first waded into its waters. However, they offered guitarists a sage piece of advice for getting the most of their modelers back in June.

Johnson’s conversation with Boomerocity then turned from futuristic gear to a legend of a previous era: Jimi Hendrix. After years of playing his material, he’s still finding nuances in Hendrix's style to savor.

“It's unique. It's not only great lead playing, but some of the tones, and the rhythm guitar playing. I mean, he was a great rhythm guitarist, and that was important to him.

“He didn't just shred on guitar, he had this whole orchestrated thing going on,” Johnson continues. “I think the bigger picture was [that] he was a music writer, and he used the guitar for his medium.”