Fender Stories Collection Eric Johnson 1954 "Virginia" Stratocaster - 2-Tone Sunburst Reviews

I truly feel this is Fender Custom Shop quality and the best non-Custom Shop Stratocaster I've ever seen or played. Everything about this guitar screams quality. I love the pickups on here as they really got them right. Everything else on the Strat seems like Custom Shop; Especially the Sassafras body. Also a shout out to my guitar guy Tom Koch who always gets it right for me!

Beautifully finished in all details. It has a great tone and I really like the feel of the neck, even with the 12" radius fretboard. The neck does feel a little thick but it's still easy to play; and the soft V profile is quite comfortable.

This is by far my favorite Stratocaster I've ever owned or played. The neck shape is big and comfy for whatever you're trying to play, one of the quicker maple necks I've played. The best part of this guitar is by far the hand-wired pickups, they have a great range of tonal possibilities between positions and achieve EJ's sound. Besides what makes it a joy to play the Nitro finish on the sassafras body is stunning and the build quality is superb, couldn't be happier with it. Shoutout to my SW rep Frank for helping me purchase it and answering all my questions.

This is truly an amazing Guitar. I have always wanted an American Strat but, I couldn't decide on the right guitar until alone came "Virginia". This is the best Stratocaster I have ever played in my life and the tones in every position sound exceptional. I'm so glad I waiting for this one. If you have a chance to purchase one for yourself I can assure you of one thing you will not be disappointed.

If there was ever a guitar that was mined to the core for mojo, then is was Eddie's Frankenstrat, but this is like a distant second. Guitar dorks everywhere love to debate the tones of certain woods and materials and whatnot, but this thing is basically like just going to the source and getting it all, no questions asked. Sure, it has some artist quirks that may not be for everyone, but it's mostly the real deal. Honestly, I think EJ's wiring is the only way any Strat should be wired, with the debate being that out of phase setting, but even that is pretty cool. The neck feels great, absolutely love the neck and middle pickups. The Dimarzio at the bridge is really good, but it takes playing with the tone knob to get it to play nice. The in-between setting of the middle and bridge pickup is cleanly sublime. Really nice, quirky instrument.

Have had my Eric Johnson "Virginia" Strat for about one week now. Absolutely love it. Fit and finish is great, fretwork is great, setup was great from the factory. Attention to detail is spot on. Tones are fabulous. It even smells good lmao. This isn't just some run of the mill "artist" model that someone endorses simply by slapping their name on it. The tiny details are there as spec'd out by Mr. Johnson himself. If anyone is on the fence about springing for this model, I can attest first hand you will not be disappointed.

I have never been a strat guy. Ive owned a few cheaper strats and never kept them for more than a couple months. I never understood what people loved about them....until I got this guitar. It is magical. full and sparkly clean tones and a wonderful bridge pickup that never gets shrill. I took some time adjusting the pickup heights to fit my needs and now it is just about perfect. It comes setup with the tremolo decked and with 5 springs, so don't bother trying to use the tremolo that way. You will just bend the bar. It is pretty much set up as a hardtail. Try it that way before you change anything...because it just WORKS. THe tuning stability is as good as any of my locking tuner guitars. Its really a testament to what a brilliant design Leo Fender made. I can picture this guitar being my number one, even though I have a 3 wonderful Musicman guitars that I also love.

Very pleased with this purchase. I viewed several promotional Youtube reviews on this latest Eric Johnson model and was skeptical in the beginning - having already owned several earlier Eric Johnson Stratocasters that did not meet all the hype.

This model is as unique as the reviews state. I would buy another if I lost this one.

I've had this awesome guitar all of 9 days now. I just can't put it down. Setup on it is fantastic. I pulled it out of the case and it hasn't gone back in it since I received it. I've played it every single day. Finish is flawless but what really stands out for me is the neck. Fret work is really good and the feel is very vintage, early 50s. Haven't had a strat in my mix for a couple of years and am glad I picked this one. Sounds incredible through a Dr.Z head and ZBest cabinet. WOW. I was thoroughly impressed with how this was packaged. I've purchased at least a dozen guitars that had to be shipped. This was the very best packaged one I've received yet. Kudos to the shipping department at Sweetwater. Pickups are where this guitar really shines. The bridge pickup is listed as a Dimarzio DS-2 Single Coil. It's actually a Dimarzio Humbucker shaped just like a single coil that is wired, as EJ did, only using one of the coils. Sounds incredible. True vintage sound. This is the very first player endorsed model I've ever purchased. I'm not a big fan of buying something with the impression I'm trying to sound like that. That's not something I ever would do. I purchased this one because this had the options I was looking for on a Strat that should have cost at least $3K. I do love the story this one has though. Every bit a custom shop worthy guitar without the custom shop pricing. This is the 3rd guitar I've purchased from Sweetwater to date. Let's just say, they have just about perfected the art of buying on the internet. I was able to go in and select the very guitar I would be receiving. They had several reviews online that gave me a good feeling on what I would be getting. They have a Sales Engineer that always has answered any questions I've had. Mine is Alden Debee. He's been there any time I've needed him. I also like the understanding that if anything I purchase from Sweetwater, if I am not 100% happy with it, I can return it. I've returned 1 item with them and that process was handled very quickly and efficiently by them. Love the process and have already set my sights on another amp purchase with them very soon. As for my '54 Fender "Virginia" EJ Strat, if you are looking for something vintage sounding, this nails it. I recommend a purchase. This will be a keeper for me.

This is truly a beautiful guitar.i just received this today and I'm throughly impressed with the fit and finish and overall build quality. The most impressive part of course are the tones. I bought the EJ signature model last year and love it, but this tops it. Thanks to Grant and the whole sweetwater team!

Received my EJ Virginia Stratocaster yesterday and found everything in working order, fit and finish beautiful. The fret work all polished and smooth - no sharp fret ends. Clean settings just pristine and crystal clear. Over-driven tones nice and ballsey. I don't have the set up yet for the Eric Johnson tones but I can't wait. Thank you Andrew Plassman for the quick and responsive customer service. I have bought several guitars from Sweetwater and never had a problem.

I'll start with the good things about this guitar:

• It's nice and solid and just has that quality feel.

• ­It's a unique build within current production with the Sassafras body, and some of the examples have some really nice grain.

• 12" Radius

• The Soft V is a little thicker than a typical Soft V, feels great in the hand. It's similar to a U thickness but the V taper makes it feel slightly thinner.

• The sound and playability (once setup properly) of this guitar is absolutely what you'd expect from a high quality strat build. It is very responsive to setup changes which makes it really easy to dial in your setup.

• It holds tune incredibly well

• The pickups are versatile with loads of legendary strat tones in this guitar just waiting to come out. The 4th posistion is really cool and gives you something different to play around with.

The Bad:

• Immediately I noticed there was what I assume to be left over/dried up buffing compound on the back. It's been a real pain to try and get off and it just looks almost like residue left over from tape or something that was just stuck and unstuck all over the back of the body. (Not sure if this was Fender or part of Sweetwaters 55 point inspection that was given the back hander special)

• The neck plate was not properly centered, although not super common, I guess it's one of those small oversights that just happens.

• Setup outside of the intonation was really bad, and the guitar was strung with 2 2nd strings for 2nd and 3rd strings. Yes, there was a .13 in both the 2nd and 3rd string posistions verified by caliper. This kinda through me for a loop for a minute, Kept wondering why the 3rd string was so easy to bend and had so much buzz and popping.

• The general attention to detail is just not what you'd expect, especially at the price of admission.

While Fender is wrong for the neck plate and wrong strings, and possibly the buffing compound. Sweetwaters 55 point inspection should have corrected all the issues besides the neck plate, that isn't something they have any control over. But the setup? the whatever it is on the back? Yeah. All of that's supposedly part of the 55 point inpsection. I'll assume they didn't touch the truss rod because you have to remove the neck to adjust the vintage style truss rod, understandable if you don't have qualified people doing the setups.

Not trying to dig on Sweetwater, The customer service is definitely awesome and I love being able to pick through guitars and look at the different grains and tops, but with that said, the 55 point inspection is supposed to be one of those things that gives you more peace of mind. Not my first issue with their inspection process. Last year purchased a Demo Mesa JP2C that was DOA. Sweetwater took care of me and cross shipped a brand new unit at no addition cost. But it's a situation that could have been totally avoided with a real inspection of the amp, it's obvious it was never even looked at when they got it back from whoever returned it. And the experience of this strat could have been avoided if their 55 point inspection was something that was actually taken seriously, just doesn't seem like it is.

Despite all of this, the guitar in itself is really REALLY good. If you're looking for a killer strat with an on the thicker side of a Soft V neck and don't have high expectations of it's condition of arrival. Then here you are.

I bought the 54' Virginia from Sweetwater and owned it now for a few of months.
It is a gorgeous instrument, well setup, larger neck, beautiful finish with distinct wood grain peering through.
Here are my observations having played two Virginias now and having overcome the "it must be awesome because I own it" syndrome. Note: I have played this through a Deluxe DRRI, a Marshall Plexi, and an AC30, clean, with pedals, sober.
This guitar is much more difficult to play. The action is great, but when doing string bends it feels like it has12's on it even thought they're 10's. I can only surmise that this is setup with 4 or 5 tremolo springs and has little give compared to my other strat or even compared to a Gibson. Just seems odd.
The pickups and selector switch architecture is frustrating.
The neck pickup is lush and loud. Position 4 is thin and Koto sounding and almost unusable by design (I think this was a departure to allow guitarists to sound Koto without having to learn the technique). Position 3 and 2 are okay, and the famous Seymour bridge pickup is disappointing. It is missing any bell like high frequency content, it does not have the output and drive of a stock Fender single coil pickup. I can honestly get more complete Ah Via Music sounds from a stock Strat.
I'm disappointed because I've decided I need to build a replacement pickup plate, mess with the Tremolo springs, and probably ditch the goofy high-E string bridge which dashes any chance of reselling this guitar. My point is don't be lured into thinking this will give you the EJ sound.

I love this guitar. Great tone, great looks, and great playability if you like soft v necks. It inspires me to play every day.

However, mine had issues from the factory that you would not expect in a guitar at this price. The bridge pickup tone knob didn't work. It had to be replaced. The D string tuner had a nasty burr on it that was sharp enough to cut your finger during tuning. Honestly, I can't believe Fender or Sweetwater let it out the door with those problems.

And speaking of price, I suspect this is the most expensive factory Stratocaster ever made. It doesn't justify the price. The Signature EJ model is much cheaper and every bit as good, and it's reputation for quality is stellar. Seriously, if you are debating between the two, buy the Signature model. That thing is a relative bargain in Fender's current lineup.