Bill Johnson

I thought I'd put a few photos up of guitars I perform with. I don't collect old guitars, but I do have a few with sentimental value like a 1964 Fender Stratocaster my dad bought me, and a 1960 Guild Capri CE100DP which has inspired many of my best moments on the fretboard. 

These are the guitars I actually take with me in the van, or on the airplane. The ones that I modified to suit my playing.

First off is a 1993 Telecaster. The body is made of Swamp ash and the neck is birds eye maple. It was custom ordered with the biggest neck they would make. It feels like big old V shaped acoustic guitar neck with a very flat radius to suit slide guitar. It's usually tuned to open G, and I use it mostly for slide. The pickups were made by a fellow is Australia under the name "Slider". One on my expert guitar mechanic friends gave me a set to try, and they were just beautiful. Exactly what I wanted. Notice Danny Gatton autographed it in 1993, and Otis Rush too. Oh, and I changed the stock saddles out for a set that are compensated. Strings are D'Addarrio .011-.049 with a .012 in place of the .011. 

My main guitar right now in a Japanese Fender 57 RI Stratacaster. It sounded great right away in the first few seconds I played it. I did have it loaded with a set of Slider SRV pickups pretty quick. Again a great choice. I loved the tones Stevie Ray would get from a strat so with out much thought I ordered Sliders SRV replicas. They are wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing. I set it up my self with four springs and the tremolo disabled. I use Fender bullet .011-.049 strings. I suspect it's basswood or alder, and the neck has a fairly large V shape too.

I recently bought this Guild Starfire IV. It was a guitar I had wanted for many years, but could not find. I think it is a 1994 as it is still loaded with the original and unique Guild hardware and pickups. The label says made in Waverly RI. It's a very pretty guitar with a pronounced flamed maple all over the instrument, and gold hardware.

Some time later Fender bought the Guild Company and unfortunately replaced all the hardware with generic stuff, and Seymour Duncan pickups. It's a shame as the Guild company built all their own products and that gave them their unique tone. Of course this is now a moot point as Fender discontinued the electric line. And that's big business ladies and gentleman.

The Starfire IV is very much like a Gibson ES-335 to look at but they sound quite different. The Guild has a twangy treble pickup and a more jazzy sounding neck pickup. They are really beautifully made and if you like the tone, they're a much nicer vs the Gibson in detail and quality. It's a gorgeous guitar that stays in tune well and sounds fat and full. It has an ebony finger board and many improved features over its cousin. If you have a Fender built Starfire they're still a great guitar, but they made an effort to make it more like the Gibson es-335.

I recently sold my beautiful Santa Crus OM. I play amplified so much of the time it really was no advantage to own, and again a risk to travel with. I found that "good old Canadian Seagull Guitars" made a model that is perfect for me. It comes with a great pickup installed, a cutaway, and a very practical headstock which makes tuning a little more stable. A thin finish for extra resonance, and a brilliant case that weighs next to nothing, but protects the guitar real well. All that with a replacement cost under $900. It's a great guitar and I'm happy to show it off anywhere, I even wrote Seagull to tell them how I felt. I recently carried it all over europe and it was such an effortless job. Those people at Seagull are clever!!!

Sexy beast ! Doesn't this just make you salivate? My resonator slide guitar is this National Vintage Steel Tricone. it's a beautiful cross between the sound of the Style O, and a Dobro. Ken Hamm, a brilliant, and inspiring country blues guitarist, traded me this guitar for and old wood body National. I'm not sure who got the better of the deal, but I love playing this guitar. I have a nice travel case for it, but check out this hand made/tooled leather one. It's quite a sight in this case. Well I think so anyways....

Last of all, these were all photographed on a solid, 100 lbs, rosewood coffee table from Costco. My luthier friends just gasp when they see it. 

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Man, the good people at The Toneliner Amplifier Company have made me this incredible little club amp called Sweet Baby 19. I loved it right away and it's become my favorite amp to work with. I own a 65 Vox AC30, 56 Fender tweed Bassman a 100watt Mesa Boogie Mk iib, but I was was gigging mainly with a 65 Fender Deluxe Reverb. I sold the Deluxe the day after Don from Toneliner dropped this amp off at my house. He is on to something with these amps, and I love mine. It's made my job so easy. No pedals. Just a cable straight in to the high input for a Strat or the low input for my Les Paul. It's lighter than usual as it's pine and its loaded with a Vox alnico gold speaker. I'm told they make a limited number of these per month so if you're lucky enough to find one, buy it. If not try toneliner.com They are a bargain at $2200.00 CND

Update: Over a year of playing it hard and no failures. Retubed once recently and it's still my favorite amp. I never use my Bassman or my AC-30. They are for sale. email me if you want a piece of history that sounds great.

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I buy my Strings in bulk 25 sets at a time. They are dirt cheap this way, but since they come in a bulk container it's a pain to keep spare strings with you. It's gets far worse when you must keep special sets for slide guitars and various acoustic guitars.

Here's a way to solve it. Get one of theses common CD holders. They're about $3.00 in a dollar store.

Put labels on each page I.E. .009 -.049. What ever you need to store.

There you go. Store fifty strings in one of these things, and it fits in your case with your guitar. It looks like this when done. It makes a great string holder and its cheap and works great. You can even fit the paper package some strings come in. Who said I never gave you nothing free?

These people seem to be the best dealer in guitars strings. Selection, price, speed in shipping, and the odd new product like the Rock Lock are all great.

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I go through lots of strings. To get the best out of your guitar you got to consider your strings. They're not all the same. I use D'Addario EX, and EJ, strings on my electric and acoustic guitars. I get them here in bulk. Please tell them I sent you.

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/

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