Fender Stories Collection Eric Johnson 1954 "Virginia" Stratocaster - 2-Tone Sunburst (2024)

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

A Re-creation of Eric Johnson’s Vibe-packed ’54 “Virginia” Strat

To guitarists and music aficionados (including those at Sweetwater), few modern axemen are as revered as Eric Johnson. Known for his unique, genre-hopping style, matchless virtuosity, and relentless tone chasing, Eric knows how to spot a great-sounding and soul-inspiring guitar. Looking back over his lifetime as a guitar connoisseur, certain instruments stand out to Eric for their sound, playability, and other intangible qualities impossible to define. One such guitar was Eric’s 1954 “Virginia” Strat, which had a starring role in Eric’s Grammy-winning albums Tones and Ah Via Musicom. The 1954 “Virginia” Strat was a gem among Eric’s collection, featuring a rare sassafras body, maple neck, a gorgeous nitrocellulose lacquer finish, and customized electronics, designed to produce a sublime vintage tone with a clarity fit for Eric’s intricate fretwork. Released as part of The Fender Stories Collection, the Eric Johnson 1954 “Virginia” Stratocaster is loving replication of one of Eric’s favorite guitars, and it’s one you’re sure to love, too.

Sublime tonewood combination

1950s Fender Stratocasters are known for their ash bodies. However, in some of the early 1954 runs (of which Eric Johnson’s 1954 “Virginia” Strat was a part), sassafras entered the mix. Sonically similar to mahogany and walnut, sassafras has creamy mids and lows and a shimmering high end with superb note separation. Moving on from the body — the guitar’s single-piece maple neck contributes a strong fundamental tone and crisp articulation, and its Soft “V” shape sinks into your hand for an exceptionally comfortable feel. To cement the classic vibe and vintage aesthetic of this superb instrument, both body and neck are finished in gloss nitrocellulose lacquer — just like they would have been in 1954.

Eric Johnson spec’d electronics

The Eric Johnson 1954 “Virginia” Strat features Eric’s custom wiring and personal pickup selection, including a DiMarzio HS-2 with an active top coil in the bridge and a Fender-original ‘57/’62 single-coil Strat set in the middle and neck. The HS-2 possesses a clean and crisp humbucking tone, with a more natural quality different from comparable humbuckers, and, in single-coil mode, it has a throwback sound that complements the 1954 “Virginia” Strat’s vintage character. The 57’/62’ Strat set contains period-correct replications of old-school Fender Strat pickups, reverse-engineered from an authentic 1963 Strat. Containing Alnico V magnets with Formvar-coated wire, fiber bobbins, cloth-covered lead wires, and staggered, hand-beveled pole pieces, the 57’/62’ Strat set produces a timeless Fender tone full of glassy highs and rich lows.

Fender Stories Collection Eric Johnson 1954 "Virginia" Stratocaster Features:

• Re-creation of one of Eric Johnson’s favorite vintage Strats
• Rare combination of a sassafras body and maple neck
• Comfortable Soft “V” neck shape is a pleasure to play
• Gorgeous gloss nitrocellulose finish
• Eric Johnson spec’d electronics
• Bridge pickup: DiMarzio HS-2 humbucker with active top-coil
• Neck/middle pickups: Fender original ‘57/’62 set
• Vintage-style tuning machines
• 6-saddle American Vintage synchronized tremolo with GraphTech High E saddle
• 5-position blade, volume/tone/tone knobs
• Includes a deluxe tweed hardshell case