Some guitar players rely solely on their abilities. Others take their passion for guitars to an extreme by altering them.
His innovative designs for active pickups and his versatile D-Tuna system for Floyd Rose tremolos take center stage.
It’s quite possible “Cliffs of Dover” wouldn’t have reached the same level of success as it did.
hired for factory work.
The guitar had a two-piece body made of sassafras, a type of wood that Fender often used in his early designs for the Stratocaster, and it was finished in a classic two-tone sunburst pattern, with a one-piece maple neck.
Johnson replaced the pickups with late-1950s single-coil pickups that provided a bit more punch, especially when used in the bridge position, along with a 500k volume pot, which has twice the output of the standard pots.
He then worked on the neck, planing it down and installing larger frets, a common modification from the 1970s and 1980s. The custom wiring job for the bridge pickup also gave him the ability to control its tone, as it was the most powerful of the three pickups.
But it was the wiring modification to the tremolo, which was typical of the era and involved removing the bridge spring, that made the biggest difference.
Johnson was dissatisfied with the tone and volume of his high E string, especially with chords. The metal string saddle was replaced with a traditional, block-style saddle from the 1970s. To tone down its sharp sound, he filled in parts of the string’s center with hard plastic.
Johnson has since switched to Graphtec saddles, which have graphite cores, a design that he pioneered. This highlights Johnson’s visionary approach when dealing with his issues with the Virginia’s saddles.
The guitarist also adjusted the pickup’s height on the treble side. This enabled a more even attack response from each string and improved sustain from the higher strings.
The “Cliffs of Dover” passage showcased Brian May’s skillful guitar playing, highlighting the need to improve Virginia’s high-E strings and overall playability.
released in 1990, between Eric Clapton’s “Crossroads” and Prince’s “Purple Rain”
He just told me it came to him one day out of nowhere. He said it only took him five minutes to write and described it as a kind of gift from a higher power that we can all receive if we listen and stay open.
BK Butler Tube Driver circuits and tube preamplifiers were also used to help him create his signature smooth, violin-like tones and warm sustain.
Johnson said, “It was one of my favorite guitars I’ve ever owned. It was a real career guitar for me. I recorded with it and took it on tour for years.”
While Virginia has been retired after many years of service, another model that embodies the “magic and soul” of the six-string has become a worthy substitute since then.
