How to get Eric Johnson LEAD TONE | B.K. Butler Tube Driver

Here is a walk through of how I get an Eric Johnson inspired lead tone. I'm not preoccupied by achieving an exacting recreation of his tone, but one that works for me and my rig. I find it inspiring to play and I hope some of the things I've learned in the process are helpful for you in your tone quest!

One of the key things that I've learned is that the famous Tube Driver pedal in and of itself does not contain the sound, but it is one piece of the puzzle. It works more as a tone shaping boost into an already driven source. In this video I demonstrate how I run the Tube Driver into an overdrive pedal for this effect. My overdrive pedal of choice is a Vemuram Jan Ray, but I believe the concept is more important than the specific pedal used so experiment with what you have!

Another key thing I learned is that it won't really sound like Eric Johnson unless you play in a similar style. I wrote the opening music using some of the techniques that Eric employs including spread triads. That said, the tone is still useful otherwise and it inspired that heavy riff at the end of the opening which is not in the vain of EJ whatsoever - but I think it sounded huge! (almost fuzz like).

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For more cool guitar tones and original licks follow me at on Instagram: @ratherberiffing.

Thanks and rock on!
-Johnny Z

Guitar chain:
- Gibson Les Paul 1959 reissue with Wildwood spec'd humbuckers
- Friedman BE-100 amplifier
- Suhr Reactive Load with OwnHammer IR of Friedman 4x12 cab
- B.K. Butler Tube Driver with Bias mod
- Vemuram Jan Ray overdrive
- Chasetone Secret Preamp (recreation of Echoplex preamp circuit)
- Ibanez Echo Machine Delay (in the amp's fx loop)

Recording chain:
- Neve style mic preamp
- Apogee Symphony converter
- Cubase

Видео How to get Eric Johnson LEAD TONE | B.K. Butler Tube Driver канала Rather Be Riffing