Bringing to life the vision of one of the most respected guitarists in the world, the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Thinline is the perfect marriage between a semi-hollow body and a traditional Stratocaster. Johnson is famous in guitar circles for questing for his ideal tone - liquid and articulate, it perfectly complements the playing style that earned his place in the modern guitar pantheon. In 2015 he approached us to co-design a lightweight, resonant instrument that combines the tones of his favorite semi-hollow body guitars and his Stratocaster. Two years later, we hit the formula for tonal nirvana with the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Thinline.
We finished the custom-chambered body with nitrocellulose lacquer, allowing the wood to “breathe” with character. The three single-coil Stratocaster pickups were specially voiced to meet Johnson’s specifications, and are mounted to the semi-hollow, two-piece alder body with countersunk screws for even more vibration transfer. The comfortable “’57 Soft V” shaped quartersawn maple neck bears a 12” radius maple fingerboard and 21 medium-jumbo frets for enhanced playability.
Other custom features include a vintage-style tremolo with silver-painted block, ’57-style string recesses, thin headstock with vintage-style staggered tuning machines, ’57-style parchment pickguard and “ashtray” bridge cover. A tour de force, the Eric Johnson Stratocaster Thinline is the first semi-hollow Strat that combines custom chambers with traditional Stratocaster arm and body contours.