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-hollowbody 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.An R&D 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.