Eric Johnson vibrato

Playing Technique
#1

Eric Johnson’s vibrato is my favorite vibrato of all time. It sounds soft, sweet, swift but natural, like the vibrato on violins. (It’s to my taste) I spend a lot of time trying to learn how to do vibrato like him. To start with, I observed his fretting hand carefully and practiced doing vibrato with the thumb in the air (Eric Clapton style) for several months until I got comfortable to play like that.

Recently, I discovered that most vibrato that Eric Johnson does is a kind of vibrato, which I called EXAMPLE B. It’s like, starting vibrato as soon as the pick hits the string. And I find that the vibrato most guitar players do is another kind of vibrato which I called EXAMPLE A —— hit the note and start the vibrato after the note rings. Please see the video below:

Do you have any idea how to do vibrato like Eric Johnson? Do you know other guitarists or guitar players do vibrato like that? What do you think of Eric Johnson’s vibrato? Do you use example B or example A or something else? Any thoughts & comments plz

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#2

I use a variety of types, sometimes like A, going from still to gradually working in a slow vibrato, to using a more rapid, immediate one, maybe ala Angus Young, where I have to shake my whole darn arm. Depends on the song and context.
My problem is getting nervous or excited, and then the vibrato is more rapid than it should be and not locked with the tempo of the song. Amateur mistake I’m still trying to fix after all these years.

There is another vibrato technique though, since you mentioned EJ’s violin-esque playing. (I love his sound, it’s just so fluid and expressive, he makes notes bloom).
This is usually somewhat subtle but effective: move the string not across the fingerboard as in a traditional bend, but tug or pull it along the neck, back and forth. It’s not easy at first, but you basically use your finger(s) to pull the string sharp and flat, alternating pulling the note towards the nut and the bridge. The beauty of this technique is that the vibrato doesn’t just go center/sharp, it leaves the primary note dead center of the vibrato, which is nice.
It comes out sounding very violin-like.

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