You gotta give this guy credit just for the work he puts in on getting the sounds as close to perfect as he can. You can tell he's passionate about trying to nail those tones. It shows his respect for the Yardbirds and their fans. I also love that he has a very original setup... 57 Jr. into custom pedals into Vox amps. And the sounds he gets from it, like on N.Y. City Blues... What a tone! Dirty yet clean and full of harmonics. Being at one of their shows must be very enjoyable on the ears. Like with Joe Bonamassa, It's earvana!
I have seen Johnny with the Yardbirds twice now and saw his solo band last October (2017) in a very small club in Asbury Park, NJ. He is absolutely a great player and can hit any genre from jazz to heavy rock. He is also a very approachable and friendly guy and I enjoyed having a nice conversation with him in Asbury Park. If you ever get the chance to see the Yarbirds go now while they are still touring. If not get to one of Johnny's solo band gigs. You will not be disappointed. I also have the Epiphone signature and it is great. I own quite a number of guitars but over the past year since I got it, it is my favorite gig guitar so it goes out often.
Johnny is prerty cool and knows wtf he is talking about. Met him a few times at work. Took time from his busy schedule to sign my axe in my bosses office. He is. a pretty humble guy and funny too
Awesome Tone Tasting Johnny B on Johnny A! You are the Rig Rundown Master! I hope to meet you and hear you play in Nashville someday! Keep up the good work. You Rock!
Saw Johnny with the Yardbirds on Cape Cod. Amazing ability to channel early Clapton, Paige, and even Beck, and then be his precise self at the same time. tour de force with a period guitar and no obvious pedels and boxes.
More like Johnny A++++ It goes without saying, but I’m gonna say it again. He is one phenomenal guitar player. Intelligent, studied, he’s worked very hard at every aspect of it. He has a great ear, a strong and likable personality, his recordings are terrific and just go see him live. It’s another world….. do I sound like he’s my favorite guitar player? He’s worked his way high up among my favorites. I haven’t seen him in quite some time I’m gonna get off my ass and go. If you get a chance to talk to him and spend a little time with him, do it… You won’t be disappointed. He’s one of those guys that can play just about anything from any genre.… Solo or with his 3 piece He doesn’t have to sing. I guarantee you, he will never ever bore you….. you’re about to go on a journey, chasing sound and tone that you might can only hear in your imagination otherwise… Yeah, it is that good, trust me I’ve been around too long lol. Hey, one more thing… The Yardbirds did great putting him on board. He’s back on his own now as unfortunately, the Yardbirds are passing away. Just hoping God continues to bless Johnny on his journey and bring him around for many many more shows. I think the A stands for aces… That’s who this man is !!!
I recently purchased the Johnny A epiphone, Sadly it's sitting in its box waiting for UPS to pick it up because I am returning it. It's a beautiful guitar but it was defective. They routed out the bridge pup hole to large and you can see the hole, just slightly, when you are playing the guitar. I noticed the bridge pickup poles were slightly off set with the strings and I think this was done to compensate for that mistake. Also, the binding is painted on and frankly it in a couple of spots looks very cheap. For a $1,000 Epiphone I would expect better quality. The guitar feels and plays great though!! So if you're in the market for one, I strongly suggest you go to someplace that has several of them and pick out the best one.
I'm keeping mine but I hear ya. Epi QC is a roll of the dice sometimes. For a similar price I have a Reverend Tricky Gomez & a Manta Ray. Both superior & not by a little IMo. Still I have to pull the Epi out & play along with some Johnny A from time to time,,,,,, as best I can.
greatvanzinni I own several epiphone les Paul's and had a Rivera. I've had to return other brands of guitars. An Ibanez iceman, and a Jackson but this is the first epiphone I have to return. I buy 99% of my guitars through zzounds and they never give me any hassles on returns. It's a gorgeous guitar and like I said it sounds wonderful. One thing that is an absolute must when I buy an epiphone is has to have either gibson pups or at least another quality pickup.. I'm not a fan of epiphone pups..
I've looked a bunch of their various 335 types & found something wrong on a ton of em. Well, actually all of them. From fret work to bridge & nut issues. All were at GC though so you have to take that into account. zZounds has done good with me too. My Johnny A I got through Sweetwater & as I've ordered a ton of stuff from them maybe got a hand picked. That said the 3 way is already getting scratchy. I hand picked a Swingster way back from the old Apple Music in Portland, Or. It was great but they had really gone over it. Its 3 way lasted a good year. the P 90's sound pretty good on that but I haven't had a lot of 90 experience. I'm an old guy so I'm probably not as picky on tone like I used to be. Good luck on your return. Are you going to get another?
Foottapiologist not really,if a brand new Epiphone guitar costs $1,000 I would expect the quality and workmanship to reflect that, don't You? I've recently purchased 2 used gibson les Paul's, they have minor cosmetic blemishes, that's ok since they are used and have been refinished. When a brand new guitar has issues that I, and obviously their QC, can see, what is there that I cannot See? The neck pickup was routed to large, in order to "hide " this the pick up itself is not centered on the guitar, thus the strings are not centered on the pup poles. The bridge pup hole is Actually a little too large itself but it did not affect the positioning of the pickup. Had the neck been like the bridge I would keep it.
So cool to see how his rig has changed! Saw him twice down in Virginia Beach and I had him sign my Gibson each time. I believe back when I saw him he had Marshalls and of course his signature guitar. At the time I remember him being real into having DI from his amp... or something along the lines of that, don’t remember that well. Awesome player and genuine guy and of course a super tight band!
He already mentioned he preferred JTM-45s and his proper signature guitar for his solo work, for effects I've seen him mostly use a TC Electronic multi-effect unit - I think it's the G-System? I'd love to see it too but, if you're curious I think that's what he's using. It's what he's been using the last few years anyway.
Thanks I was thinking of the pedals. You are right, he used to use a G system. Lately he has been experimenting around. Saw one thing where he had like 4 or 5 Eventides (sp?) He used to lug around a couple of the old Anniversary model Marshall combo's. Went to the EL 34 100/100 for a while. I think they D/C'd them.
You're right - that's a lot of bank on that pedalboard just in modulation. I suppose it's easier just keeping one for each present rather than cycling through the banks? Seems an expensive way of doing it though. On another note, I've noticed he's got dog-ear P90s in some of his signature guitars now, as if they weren't desirable enough.
Yeah I saw the P-90's. He talked about the problems of controlling the noise levels with the P's so I am surprised. On the other hand most of his 1st CD was recorded with a 295 & sounded wonderful. I love em.
Theres a lot of takes on the P90 but no one does it like Gibson, I like that they are light im disabled and could use something like that but im already guitared out, lol
More questions on the guitar would have been nice. If it weighs 5 pounds its probably not mahogany, so just ask the wood type, is it hollowed-out, weight-relieved, what's the scale, etc.
The guitar IS solid mahogany NOT chambered in any way. It was specifically chosen to have low mineral content in the wood. 5lbs 11oz standard Les Paul 24.75 scale length the guitar has a Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard
It's annoying that they dropped this and the Yardbirds were like "No longer need your services". That's ridiculous. I mean, the drummer is the ONLY original member right???
I also hate when PG wastes time with people that don't have shit for a rig. Nobody wants to see one guitar and amps that literally everyone uses. You'd think you guys would figure that out by the lack of views and video interaction, but NOPE. I need to run this company.
Different rigs, for different folks - they all can't be the Edge with gobs and gobs of vintage gear nor should they all be Guitar-Kemper setups. Enjoy the difference (variety is the spice of life, right?) and thanks for watching!
This rig was specifically assembled for the "YARDBIRDS" gig. Why carry around a bunch of shit just to posture? Seems dumb to me. But hey, as John Lennon said "Whatever gets you through the night"
Wait a minute. This video has over 50k views and yours have maybe 500 (which isn’t a bad thing) so I’m thinking that you may be overestimating your abilities for drawing an audience. You did get some interaction with that comment though.
![Rig Rundown: Brent Mason [2021]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YhS8bCs12N8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Rig Rundown - Jonny Lang [2017]](/img/n.gif)
Very cool getting the chance to see Johnny A in conversation. What a guitar player!!
Never understood why he is not more well know. Beautiful tone, musical phrasing and sense of melody.
You gotta give this guy credit just for the work he puts in on getting the sounds as close to perfect as he can. You can tell he's passionate about trying to nail those tones. It shows his respect for the Yardbirds and their fans. I also love that he has a very original setup... 57 Jr. into custom pedals into Vox amps. And the sounds he gets from it, like on N.Y. City Blues... What a tone! Dirty yet clean and full of harmonics. Being at one of their shows must be very enjoyable on the ears. Like with Joe Bonamassa, It's earvana!
He is amazing live. He truly makes that thing talk. Totally pretty or balls out gritty, he does it all.
I have seen Johnny with the Yardbirds twice now and saw his solo band last October (2017) in a very small club in Asbury Park, NJ. He is absolutely a great player and can hit any genre from jazz to heavy rock. He is also a very approachable and friendly guy and I enjoyed having a nice conversation with him in Asbury Park. If you ever get the chance to see the Yarbirds go now while they are still touring. If not get to one of Johnny's solo band gigs. You will not be disappointed. I also have the Epiphone signature and it is great. I own quite a number of guitars but over the past year since I got it, it is my favorite gig guitar so it goes out often.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. Excellent interview with one to the great rock guitarists of today, Johnny A.
Really really look forward to your interviews John…there always so damn good. Peace out
Johnny is prerty cool and knows wtf he is talking about. Met him a few times at work. Took time from his busy schedule to sign my axe in my bosses office. He is. a pretty humble guy and funny too
Superb. Love this video, the interview and Johnny A. And I love his Epi. Lucky enough to own one. Fabulous.
Oh man...John, you are interviewing the cream of the cream man. Just wow....Johnny A....love it.
So GOOD So GOOD. I liked this about 5 times it just displays once.
Smh... Dork.
??? juvenile response
Great rig rundown. Played a lot of Yardbirds songs back in the '60's. Johnny really gets the sound. Wish list for rig rundown - Dave Alvin!
That is one helluva tidy rig, really loving it
I hope heaven has endless rig rundown/triple d episodes
Saw Johnny A. & The Yardbirds at the Bellyup in Solana Beach a few years back. One of my favorite concerts!
Hey Ronnie...got that right....Bellyup is my favorite venue. I've seen Joe Walsh play there several times......amazing:)
Awesome Tone Tasting Johnny B on Johnny A! You are the Rig Rundown Master! I hope to meet you and hear you play in Nashville someday! Keep up the good work. You Rock!
these musicians have fabulous gear but that jr is the king of mojo wow beautiful
Saw Johnny A open for Jeff Beck at house of blues in New Orleans ages ago,great guitarist both of them!!
Love learning about the special wiring Johnny has done to get more gain from the guitar!
Love his signature guitar as well!
Gibson “owed me” a guitar. Oh to live the life where Gibson owes me a guitar. That would truly be living the dream.
2:10
Gibson "owed" everyone, they're bankrupt! It would have been better if they had limited their debt...
Saw Johnny with the Yardbirds on Cape Cod. Amazing ability to channel early Clapton, Paige, and even Beck, and then be his precise self at the same time. tour de force with a period guitar and no obvious pedels and boxes.
He looks like an old, white Prince.
Lol true
The great Johnny A with the great John B!
One of my favorite players.
It's just a shame he's not playing with them any more :(
First time seeing johnny A standing
More like Johnny A++++
It goes without saying, but I’m gonna say it again. He is one phenomenal guitar player. Intelligent, studied, he’s worked very hard at every aspect of it. He has a great ear, a strong and likable personality, his recordings are terrific and just go see him live.
It’s another world….. do I sound like he’s my favorite guitar player? He’s worked his way high up among my favorites. I haven’t seen him in quite some time I’m gonna get off my ass and go. If you get a chance to talk to him and spend a little time with him, do it… You won’t be disappointed. He’s one of those guys that can play just about anything from any genre.… Solo or with his 3 piece He doesn’t have to sing. I guarantee you, he will never ever bore you….. you’re about to go on a journey, chasing sound and tone that you might can only hear in your imagination otherwise… Yeah, it is that good, trust me I’ve been around too long lol.
Hey, one more thing… The Yardbirds did great putting him on board. He’s back on his own now as unfortunately, the Yardbirds are passing away. Just hoping God continues to bless Johnny on his journey and bring him around for many many more shows. I think the A stands for aces… That’s who this man is !!!
That's just incredible.
His pedalboard is awesome. Clean. Compact. Versatile.
I want to know what the buttons are on the peddles. Anybody know what they are and where I can get them?
Les Paul Juniors are so cool
That was terrific
okay Gibson take notes and make that Jr a production model!!!!!
Where can I get some cd music of yours and DVD?
I recently purchased the Johnny A epiphone, Sadly it's sitting in its box waiting for UPS to pick it up because I am returning it. It's a beautiful guitar but it was defective. They routed out the bridge pup hole to large and you can see the hole, just slightly, when you are playing the guitar. I noticed the bridge pickup poles were slightly off set with the strings and I think this was done to compensate for that mistake. Also, the binding is painted on and frankly it in a couple of spots looks very cheap. For a $1,000 Epiphone I would expect better quality. The guitar feels and plays great though!! So if you're in the market for one, I strongly suggest you go to someplace that has several of them and pick out the best one.
I'm keeping mine but I hear ya. Epi QC is a roll of the dice sometimes. For a similar price I have a Reverend Tricky Gomez & a Manta Ray. Both superior & not by a little IMo. Still I have to pull the Epi out & play along with some Johnny A from time to time,,,,,, as best I can.
greatvanzinni I own several epiphone les Paul's and had a Rivera. I've had to return other brands of guitars. An Ibanez iceman, and a Jackson but this is the first epiphone I have to return. I buy 99% of my guitars through zzounds and they never give me any hassles on returns. It's a gorgeous guitar and like I said it sounds wonderful. One thing that is an absolute must when I buy an epiphone is has to have either gibson pups or at least another quality pickup.. I'm not a fan of epiphone pups..
I've looked a bunch of their various 335 types & found something wrong on a ton of em. Well, actually all of them. From fret work to bridge & nut issues. All were at GC though so you have to take that into account. zZounds has done good with me too. My Johnny A I got through Sweetwater & as I've ordered a ton of stuff from them maybe got a hand picked. That said the 3 way is already getting scratchy. I hand picked a Swingster way back from the old Apple Music in Portland, Or. It was great but they had really gone over it. Its 3 way lasted a good year. the P 90's sound pretty good on that but I haven't had a lot of 90 experience. I'm an old guy so I'm probably not as picky on tone like I used to be. Good luck on your return. Are you going to get another?
Foottapiologist not really,if a brand new Epiphone guitar costs $1,000 I would expect the quality and workmanship to reflect that, don't You? I've recently purchased 2 used gibson les Paul's, they have minor cosmetic blemishes, that's ok since they are used and have been refinished. When a brand new guitar has issues that I, and obviously their QC, can see, what is there that I cannot See? The neck pickup was routed to large, in order to "hide " this the pick up itself is not centered on the guitar, thus the strings are not centered on the pup poles. The bridge pup hole is Actually a little too large itself but it did not affect the positioning of the pickup. Had the neck been like the bridge I would keep it.
My type of rig: no bullshit, pure Rock n' F'n' Roll! ⚡🎸🤘
The Tonebender is a weird pedal. I've tried one before and it throws me off and have no idea how to control it :-)
Thank you.
Johnny A Played Les Paul's 100 Anniversary Celebration
after years of hard work and grinding away,
i finally bought pants like that.
Where did he buy his hair?
So cool to see how his rig has changed! Saw him twice down in Virginia Beach and I had him sign my Gibson each time.
I believe back when I saw him he had Marshalls and of course his signature guitar. At the time I remember him being real into having DI from his amp... or something along the lines of that, don’t remember that well.
Awesome player and genuine guy and of course a super tight band!
Excellent! Now show us his regular solo set up he uses these days.
He already mentioned he preferred JTM-45s and his proper signature guitar for his solo work, for effects I've seen him mostly use a TC Electronic multi-effect unit - I think it's the G-System?
I'd love to see it too but, if you're curious I think that's what he's using. It's what he's been using the last few years anyway.
Thanks I was thinking of the pedals. You are right, he used to use a G system. Lately he has been experimenting around. Saw one thing where he had like 4 or 5 Eventides (sp?) He used to lug around a couple of the old Anniversary model Marshall combo's. Went to the EL 34 100/100 for a while. I think they D/C'd them.
You're right - that's a lot of bank on that pedalboard just in modulation. I suppose it's easier just keeping one for each present rather than cycling through the banks? Seems an expensive way of doing it though.
On another note, I've noticed he's got dog-ear P90s in some of his signature guitars now, as if they weren't desirable enough.
Yeah I saw the P-90's. He talked about the problems of controlling the noise levels with the P's so I am surprised. On the other hand most of his 1st CD was recorded with a 295 & sounded wonderful. I love em.
I think we all need a Butch Walker rig rundown...
That Tonebender Mk1 clone doesn't sound right to me.
That Sunbender sounds good, tho' ... Where do you get those pedal switch caps from??
Have you ever used an original MKl Tonebender? If you did...you'd realize just how close this one sounds and feels!
Yeah, I have. I own an original, or very good clone, of every TB and BMP. I love fuzz!
Might have been the lappy speakers, but the Sunbender sounded good, so ... ?
What's the riff he plays at 9:57ish from?
over under sideways down - yardbirds .. ?
Cream of the crop right here..
What amps are those? Are they both same.
Jonny A. aka Maury Finkel - founder of Finkel Fixtures. Do it..... go on do it... seriously, do it...
I like those foot pedal buttons, anyone know what they are?
Barefoot Buttons is the brand.
kimbiwa they're great!
Mooer pedal toppers are multi color, cheap..made in China.. same concept.
Theres a lot of takes on the P90 but no one does it like Gibson, I like that they are light im disabled and could use something like that but im already guitared out, lol
Nice guy
Cool, but where is Johnny B.?
immerrocknroll He’s standing next to him asking the questions silly..
He's good😉
Looks like you caught him at a good time. The guy has a massive chip on his shoulder.
John said ''wank"!!
Is that a high school auditorium?
Nashville's City Winery.
Yo My Bloody Valentine is on tour right now. If you guys sleep on the opportunity of doing a Rig Rundown of them, y'all gonna regret it
Probably just a couple black guitars and axe fx, that's not that exciting.
“Wank” means something else entirely in the UK. Lol.
Andrew Duvenhage As well as the rest of the world.
Brb gonna get my guitar and try wanking it on that thing hard
I normally wank it hard before or after playing but to each is own.
Not so much fear fix as hearing the artist talk.
Mmmmmmm that handshake was tasty
Monster player
This kid could go places if he sticks with it and stays off the weed
More questions on the guitar would have been nice. If it weighs 5 pounds its probably not mahogany, so just ask the wood type, is it hollowed-out, weight-relieved, what's the scale, etc.
The guitar IS solid mahogany NOT chambered in any way. It was specifically chosen to have low mineral content in the wood. 5lbs 11oz standard Les Paul 24.75 scale length the guitar has a Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard
Thanks for the reply, try to play some gigs in nyc soon. Your Gibson sig is an icon...GREAT guitar
Thank you @@scottyh1509
Malden
super
It's annoying that they dropped this and the Yardbirds were like "No longer need your services". That's ridiculous. I mean, the drummer is the ONLY original member right???
>Says his board is"not exotic"
>Has 3 Xotic pedals on it
Exotic the word not Xotic the pedal company
Dude's got TONE
TheTRUTH Shitty tone, but sure.
Hey, aren't you the dork who got humiliated by Scott Grove a couple of years ago! Back making and ass of yourself, huh? Get some lessons...
Dude has his tone DOWN. Sounds authentic..
TheTRUTH Just like Scott and Will, I play circles around you. These are facts. Lol
Envy is very strong in you... you will not have a happy life.
So the yardbirds are playing high school lunches for the elderly now???
Interesting he's playing VOX in lieu of his Marshall.
Replace the H9 with Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe and the wah with an expression pedal for the Belle Epoch and this is the rig I want
damn last time i saw him in a vid he had black hair !
old hipsters in skinny boy jeans...
Johnny A or the other guy?
My uncle is cool
Johnny A or the other guy?
If this kid can stay off the wacky tobacco and cocaine he could really go places.
SamuraiGuitarist intensifies...
Look! First!
I also hate when PG wastes time with people that don't have shit for a rig. Nobody wants to see one guitar and amps that literally everyone uses. You'd think you guys would figure that out by the lack of views and video interaction, but NOPE.
I need to run this company.
This level of entitlement is just staggering. You're watching this for free dude, just dislike it and move on with your life for fuck's sake.
I’m guessing you’d be really pissed if it was a Hendrix gear review? Ponderous.
Different rigs, for different folks - they all can't be the Edge with gobs and gobs of vintage gear nor should they all be Guitar-Kemper setups. Enjoy the difference (variety is the spice of life, right?) and thanks for watching!
This rig was specifically assembled for the "YARDBIRDS" gig. Why carry around a bunch of shit just to posture? Seems dumb to me. But hey, as John Lennon said "Whatever gets you through the night"
Wait a minute. This video has over 50k views and yours have maybe 500 (which isn’t a bad thing) so I’m thinking that you may be overestimating your abilities for drawing an audience. You did get some interaction with that comment though.