Johnson Guitars

The Johnson BK-520-SET Blues King Harmonica Set is a collection of 12 harmonicas in every key possible. I've had this set for a couple of years after deciding to start up on harmonica. I felt it very necessary to have one for each key as I'm playing these along with guitar. The harmonicas come in a carrying case and mine also came with a harmonica holder that goes around your neck, although I don't believe that this comes with the set normally and it's not a great holder anyway. This was the cheapest set of harmonicas which was my main reason for getting them, but I'm glad I did as these are definitely solid harmonicas that can be used for a variety of purposes. To date I've used the Johnson BK-520-SET Blues King Harmonica Set for recording as well as live shows and for a ton of messing around at home. Having the full compliments of harmonica keys makes it very easy to adapt the sound of the harmonica to whatever you'd like, rather than the other way around. It also opens up more cross-harp possibilities and in general will make you more flexible when it comes to playing harmonica. Perhaps if you've never played before it would be a good idea to get one in the key of C just to mess around with, but for those will be using the harmonica to accompany another instrument, it couldn't be more convenient to have the Johnson BK-520-SET Blues King Harmonica Set. I got mine on eBay but this is also available on Amazon, although there isn't a plethora of full harmonica sets out there. If you're a more experienced harmonica player I'm not sure that these would suit you best, but for a person relatively new at playing harmonica, the Johnson BK-520-SET Blues King Harmonica Set couldn't be better!

Bought it at Musicbrokers Online For $97.00 Looking for a better vintage sound and an inexpensive toy to play with. This is a Copy of the Fender Telecaster and it looks the part. Its best atributre is the sound. I love it. Has a real nice 50's or 60's sound to it. The first and most noticible flaw are the strings that come on it. They are crap. Everything else works fine. Even the set up was passable. It came with a nice low action. This is built o.k. for a hundred dollar guitar. The parts all fit pretty well and it didn't need much adjusting. Wood is o.k. and metal parts are good enough. I was really planning to have to rebuild this guitar when it got here after seeing some other reviews. I was pleasantly surprised. It was put together pretty well and need very little adjustment. But the best feature has to be the sound you get outa it, and it's also easy to play. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Johnson FX700 is a deceptive tuner. It appears to be a quality tuner based on the outward appearance, but the strength of the housing is the best thing this pedal tuner has going for it. I picked this pedal up used, not knowing much about Johnson pedals and I’m sorry I did. The pedal I have will accurately tune your guitar to itself, but the calibration is slightly off so it’s not true to pitch. There is no calibration setting on this pedal so basically the pedal becomes useless. Maybe this is just my pedal, or maybe it’s like that with the whole line, I am not sure. I have yet to try another one of these pedals, and frankly I don’t care to. I can tune my guitar and then put it against my other tuners or keyboard and it is noticeably out of tune. A Boss TU-2 can be picked up used for the same price as this pedal new and would serve you much better. The housing is meant to copy the Boss style enclosure only slightly longer. It is rather strong, so this useless tuner will probably be around for awhile. This pedal has a light for sharp, flat, and in tune, and the name of the note you are shooting for. It can be powered by a 9 volt batter or additional power supply. The jacks are metal but cheap, but the switching mechanism seemed strong for the little time I did use it. There are no LED indicators to let you know how far out of tune you are, so you don’t know if you’re even close to the ballpark until you are right on. There are no other modes, or flat settings to use like most other tuners have and this pedal does not support powering other pedals like the Boss and Korg pedal tuners. The pedal does have two outs, one regular out and one for bypass. Honestly I would not ever suggest anyone to get this tuner, instead I would suggest a Boss tuner because they are little tanks and work good with added options, or my personal favorite, the Korg Pitchblack.

This bass can really resonate and even in the outdoors it can entertain a bonfire if played with gusto. I wish it was a bit more finger friendly, but with some soft strings this isn't a huge downfall. If you can find one cheap and second hand it will prove well worth your money but there are other acoustic basses even made by Ibanez that are well worth exploring if your looking for something brand new. The AEB5E Acoustic-Electric Bass Ibanez offers, for example, has better playability and less resonance but will allow you to plug in to an amp which may prove more worth your dollars. The lows and high want to punch and can really compliment an acoustic session and is an ideal choice for the gypsy on a budget. The more relaxed side of the tone, with quality strings, is deep and warm. I still happily play this bass but am looking forward to finding something I can hop around a bit more nimbley on.

The Johnson Harmonica Holder is a simple contraption for holding a harmonica in place to play while you play guitar or another instrument with your hands. I got this along with the Johnson BK-520-SET Blues King Harmonica Set, although it usually doesn't come with the holder itself as far as I'm aware of. I got it on eBay so I think it was just a deal that this was included. I'm not sure if this would fit harmonicas larger than your standard diatonic ones like those found in the aforementioned set, as those are the only that I've used and there isn't an ample amount of wiggle room available. Since getting this along with the harmonica set I've unfortunately had to upgrade my harmonica holder as this one really isn't the best. I don't know what it's made from but it definitely isn't the sturdiest feeling. My main problem with it is that the screw will often get loose and fall down when I'm trying to play. I tried to keep it tight but it would get loose too easily and if you're playing live this can definitely be a problem. It makes it harder to play an instrument that I'm already not as familiar with as some others. While I could probably have made it work, I decided to buy a Hohner made harmonica holder which I find is a lot better. I can't complain too much since I did get this more or less for free with the Johnson BK-520-SET Blues King Harmonica Set, but it's just not the best harmonica holder around. It's definitely one of the cheapest that you'll find, but if you're looking for something to potentially play shows with and/or are playing with it on a lot, it's probably worth it to spend a few extra dollars on something like the Hohner.