New 2009 EJ

[Marcondo]

Model Name Eric Johnson Stratocaster® RW
Model Number 011-7700-(Color #)
Series Artist Series
Colors (854) Dakota Red,
(897) Tropical Turquoise,
(898) Medium Palomino Metallic,
(899) Lucerne Aqua Firemist,
(Thin-Skin Nitrocellulose Lacquer)
Body 2-Piece, Deep Contoured, ‘57 Style Lightweight Alder Body
Neck Quartersawn Maple, Soft “V” Shape,
(Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish)
Fingerboard Bound Round Laminated Rosewood, 12” Radius (305 mm)
No. of Frets 21 Highly Polished Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups 3 Specially Voiced Eric Johnson Single-Coil Pickups with Countersunk Mounting Screws (Neck/Middle/Bridge)
Controls Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
Pickup Switching 5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
Bridge American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo
Machine Heads Fender/Gotoh® Staggered Vintage Style Tuning Machines
Hardware Nickel/Chrome
Pickguard 3-Ply Parchment, (8-Hole)
Scale Length 25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut 1.650” (42 mm)
Unique Features Quartersawn Maple Neck with Soft “V” Shape and Vintage Tint,
Bound Round Laminated Rosewood Fingerboard,
Extra Smooth Neck to Headstock Volute,
Special Neckplate with Engraved EJ and Kokopelli,
2-Piece Deep Contoured ‘57 Style Lightweight Alder Body,
1957 Style Body Cavities,
12” Radius Fingerboard,
Countersunk Holes in Pickguard for Pickup Mounting Screws,
Pearloid Dot Inlay Position Markers,
Height Staggered Vintage Style Tuners which Eliminate the Need for String Trees,
Vintage Tremolo with Silver Painted Block and ‘57 Style String Recess (No Paint Between Base Plate and Block),
3-Ply 8-Hole Parchment Pickguard,
5 Tremolo Springs and No Back Tremolo Cover Plate
Strings Fender Super 250R, Nickel Plated Steel,
Gauges: (.010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046),
P/N 073-0250-006
Accessories Deluxe Blonde Hardshell Case, Levy’s® Woven Strap, 15’ Koil Kords™ Cable, “Ash Tray” Bridge Cover
Case Deluxe Blonde Hardshell Case with Brown Ends (Gold Interior)
Introduced 1/2009

[Marcondo]

cool new colors here are more

[Marcondo]

I like the bound rosewood fretboard and the new colors!

[melody]

The first pic is the color I'm painting my strat....Bound fret board yummy!

[Gris]

Aha! 'Tropical Turquoise' is what they are calling that color that stumped us all a few months ago on that beater I sold...

[Offshore Angler]

No string trees? I know they use staggered, but none? Better have the wife's scrunchy handy.

[elicross]

Those look niiice.

[Stonefreefuzz1]

I dig, Far out.

[NTBluesGuitar]

No string trees? I know they use staggered, but none? Better have the wife's scrunchy handy.

The previous EJ models also did that. They're pulled down far enough...not to worry.

[toxpert]

The previous EJ models also did that. They're pulled down far enough...not to worry.

The stepped tuners, angle of headstock and lack of string tree help to contribute to the 'harp'-like tone you get from the EJ model.

My first Strat was ...well ..waaay back when the orginal 50s vintage instruments were just old guitars...and you had to wrestle with string tree drag back then. The tuning stability for the EJ is much better than 'vintage' instruments IMHO...and the EJ model that I recently picked up is the closest/better to 'vintage' that I have seen/played.

[deepblue1963]

Man, I wish they came with taller frets. I tried one out, took it home actually for a week. I just cant get used to flat fret wire. Otherwise id have one. Olympic white would be a nice option as well.

[69strat]

I'll pass, sorry guys. Did you see the price on these? In those funky colors and a bound neck? ecchh, not on a strat. Gimme one of those new battered MIM strats over this, and I'll save almost $2K and have some nicer frets, imo.

One thing that'll help the EJ is a rosewood fingerboard. Give some depth to that guitar. Everyone I've owned or played has been a bit too twangy.

[deepblue1963]

and I'll save almost $2K and have some nicer frets, imo

So its not just me whos not crazy about the frets?...Its a shame because its a sweet guitar.

[Cogs]

Just looks like a mish-mosh of parts to me. Mid '60s round lam (& bound, too), early '60s dot spacing, 8 hole, three-ply white 'guard...
huh?

[deepblue1963]

I really liked the weight. Nice and light. The 1/4 sawn neck was sweet too, but some were gorgeous to look at and some were very plain. Id definately have to check out 5 or 6 and pick the best.

[Totally bored]

Just when you thought that the thousands of EJ threads would finally stop and then they come out with a Rosewood EJ. Holy crap it's like the best guitar ever, like Totally, OMG and BFF.

[deepblue1963]

Just when you thought that the thousands of EJ threads would finally stop and then they come out with a Rosewood EJ. Holy crap it's like the best guitar ever, like Totally, OMG and BFF.

Nope...The best Strat I have ever played is the one I own. Believe me when I say that I have played/tried many Stratocasters in my time.

[JM3]

They are very different than standard strats The neck has jumbo frets and a dual contour, q sawn
Even the tuners have smaller input holes on the last 2 stringscounter sunk pickup screws. etc etc

[phantomman]

It's an attractive package but as Rob noted, a curious mix of parts from various different eras. I s'pose if'n you have the alleged cred of EJ you can con the Custom Shop into buildin' anythang you want. I'm bettin' that FMIC will sell more of these guitars than Eric will sell records.

I'll give one of these a look-see next time I'm in a store but I'll prolly pass on it......too easy for me to jus' build one.

Jus' mah 'pinion, y'unnerstan'......

[Totally bored]

Nope...The best Strat I have ever played is the one I own. Believe me when I say that I have played/tried many Stratocasters in my time.

Dude , everybody has the best Strat ever made.


Mine is better than yours BTW.

[deepblue1963]

Dude , everybody has the best Strat ever made

Re-read what I said. I said the best Strat "I" ever played, not ever made. My teen years were tough too....dont sweat it.
btw...Heres the inside of my Strat. Nothings stock.

[elicross]

*I* have the best Strat you ever played. And I left no fingerprints.



Made you look.

[Totally bored]

Note to self: Never use the word "Made" in a thread.

[Cogs]

It may be a great guitar but that doesn't mean it can't also be a dumb guitar as well.

[Gris]

I made the best Strat that no one ever played. Digest that!

[NTBluesGuitar]

My Tele can beat up your Strat.

[Marcondo]

The original EJ's looked great on paper but Ive played at least 10 of them and not found one yet I like as much as my Vintage player Strat with a lightweight MIJ body.

http://www.marcondo.com/marcondo/VPOTS/index.html

[JM3]

Yes
I love mine but beleive it or not I do not like the pickups!!!

[Doc W]

I'll give one of these a look-see next time I'm in a store but I'll prolly pass on it......too easy for me to jus' build one.

Phantom, there is a lot of wisdom in what you say, as usual. I will disagree with you a little. If you wanted to make an EJ or something like it from parts, I don't think you could swap just any neck. I may be mistaken, but I think that the headstock angle relative to the neck is slightly different so that it doesn't need string trees.

In my opinion, the EJ is a deal, if those are the features you want. Last summer when I was on my StratQuest, I found that the only way to get what I wanted in a Strat was to go to the custom shop. I wanted a lightweight alder body and a quartersawn neck with a V shape and a 12 inch radius. I would have liked it in blue with a rosewood board. With tax, that would have been close to 3 grand. Although, I got most of what I wanted by putting together a partscaster with an EJ neck for about $1200, the new EJ still sells for under 2 grand.

It may not be for everyone, but if you are looking for those features, it is a helluva deal. I hope Fender doesn't figure out that they are making a fabulous, virtually custom shop guitar, for that price.

[NeoFauve]

It may be a great guitar but that doesn't mean it can't also be a dumb guitar as well.

It will all be a waste if he powers his stuff with a cheap power cord.

[toxpert]

The EJ model is a outright bargain. You're getting custom shop attributes and quality ... at a reasonable production guitar cost.

[coldsteal2]

The original EJ's looked great on paper but Ive played at least 10 of them and not found one yet I like as much as my Vintage player Strat with a lightweight MIJ body.

http://www.marcondo.com/marcondo/VPOTS/index.html

Blasphemer

[phantomman]

The EJ model is a outright bargain. You're getting custom shop attributes and quality ... at a reasonable production guitar cost.

Really......?

"The EJ model is a outright bargain."

To whom? Some Mastercard Maestro who buys it as an 'investment' with the intention of flipping it 20 years from now an' makin' 50%? I see these "bargains" parted out every day an' likely nobody made a dime on 'em. An' many working musicians are loath to put such an extravagant guitar at risk in some dive.

"You're getting custom shop attributes and quality."

Custom shop, eh? Whose custom? Yours? Mine? EJ's? Unless you got Page or Fessler or Yuriy's phone number on speed-dial an' you're interfacing directly with one of 'em, you're bein' spoon-fed a guitar designed an' built by some committee who work at the beck an' call of those boys in FMIC marketing.

"...at a reasonable production guitar cost."

Uh-huh. Say that aloud often enough an' I bet you'll even convince yourseff eventually. If'n twenty-five hunnert bucks is your idea of reasonable then I'll assume your stage rig consists of two full hand-wired Tone Master stacks, you wear tear-away clothes (to provide 'souveniers' to the groupies), an' have driven a golfcart or two off of a third-story hotel balcony into the swimming pool below.

Bottom line......the EJ (both models) are nice -- albeit expensive -- production guitars. But I prefer to build instruments to my exact specs. For forty to fifty percent less.

(I should prolly dig out my Kevlar vest now......)

[Doc W]

I think we need to separate the endorsement from the guitar. It is a very light, alder, chimey-sounding guitar (which appeals to many tastes, not all) with a neck that a lot of people really like. And its under 2K.

If this were NOT an EJ guitar but had another name, there would be fewer objections. Some like it, some don't. Just like anything else. I personally think it is one of the better if not the best production Strats and it has nothing to do with the name on it.

Can you make a guitar in the same league from parts? Of course. I did and I don't have one tenth the experience with Fenders of a lot of guys here. But as I said to Phantom, I don't think you can substitute for the neck (at least, not inexpensively).

[Marcondo]

Some stores are blowing out the older original EJ's for $999.

Id think thats a good deal.

[Doc W]

Some stores are blowing out the older original EJ's for $999.

Id think thats a good deal.

Are you serious? I don't get that. The "older originals" are the same guitar with a different neck.

I will never understand guitar shoppers. Sigh.

[phantomman]

Sh*t, for grand I'd be day-amm tempted myseff! I jus' don't git along that well wif so flat a neck. But fer that price I could afford to throw a Knopfler or a Cray on it......

[toxpert]

Some stores are blowing out the older original EJ's for $999.

Id think thats a good deal.

No need for Kevlar... however...

I picked up a Olympic White EJ model..new ..for $999

To me that is a bargain. I consider the thin nitro finish and vintage-style steel tremolo block features that you don't usually see in production versions of Strats. The other features are what they are..and I particulary like the fretboard radius..it makes it easier for me to go back and forth with my old Les Paul.

The guitar I purchased is the closest to my old vintage Strat that I traded away in 1969... and I've tried Strats on and off again for almost 40 years now. Did I say closest to what I remeber feeling and hearing first hand ...yeah. The resonance, the lightweight body, the tone, the quack ...all there...plus a larger radius neck that doesn't fret out. My experience with fretting out was with my 1954 Strat ... my inexperience and trust of 'traditional' luthiers' setups back in the 60s led me to foolishly trade that guitar off for a Les Paul in 1969.

I look at this EJ guitar as a tool and myself as a player. I tend to plug straight into my Deluxe Reverb amp ... and don't rely upon pedals to generate my sound. My tone and style come are expressed through my fingers-guitar-amp ... and this EJ is very responsive to touch. If you add a bunch a pedals to your stream.. you loose much tone IMHO.

Sure, I could get a Strat for less than $999 ...but I've been that route many times over the years and have not come up with anything as good as the EJ.

I am frankly, quite thrilled with this guitar and, yes, I consider this EJ a bargain. I now have another tool for generating emotive tones that sing out what my mind is craving.

PEACE

[phantomman]

No doubt about it, Tox. $999 is a bargain indeed!



+1 on the Deluxe Reverb as well. No guitarist should be wiffout one IMO. Plus a Princeton. And a Super......and a Twin......and a 5F6A......and a......

[NTBluesGuitar]

...Vibroverb...and a Tweed Pro/Super/Bandmaster...and a Tweed Deluxe...and a...