Eric Clapton Stratocaster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fender Stratocaster | |
  |
|
| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | 1988 — Present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Woods | |
| Body | Alder |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Maple |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Blocked Synchronized Tremolo |
| Pickup(s) | 3 Vintage Noiseless Single-coils |
| Colors available | |
| Olympic White, Black, Pewter, Torino Red, Candy Green | |
The Eric Clapton Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of English guitarist Eric Clapton, and was the first signature model guitar ever released by Fender.
[edit] Background
In 1981, Fender had informally discussed the idea of a signature model Telecaster with the legendary James Burton; however, this would not come to be until 1990. Jeff Beck had also been offered a signature model Stratocaster, but he rejected the idea at the time.
Clapton, though he had played Fender Telecasters in his brief career with The Yardbirds, would attain "guitar god" status while playing models such as the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson ES-335 and SG whilst a member of Cream. However, in 1970, for his landmark Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs with new band Derek and the Dominos, Clapton switched to a vintage sunburst Stratocaster nicknamed "Brownie". This was in part due to the influence of Clapton's former bandmate Steve Winwood. Clapton later fused the best parts of three vintage Strats to create his favorite guitar, the famous "Blackie", a black Stratocaster which he played for many years. Both guitars would later sell for record prices at auction. When Blackie finally wore out, Clapton and the Fender Custom Shop began to work on a signature model.
[edit] Features
Clapton asked Fender for a V-shaped neck similar to his Martin acoustic and what he called a "compressed" sound from the pickups. The final product used three of Fender's new low-noise pickups, the Lace Sensors. Active electronics (25dB mid-boost and TBX circuits) helped augment the tone of the sound delivered, opening up a greater tonal range Clapton desired. Also, the guitar had an interesting feature: a vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge blocked off to tremolo arms. This idea came about as Clapton shunned the tone of hardtail Stratocasters but never used the tremolo arm. In 1991 Eric Clapton agreed to have his signature model with a rosewood fretboard as well to suit the needs of players disliking the feel of maple necks. However, only 94 of these shortlived guitars were made and their production has been stopped soon afterwards.
In 2001, reflecting the changes Clapton had made to his own guitar, the Lace Sensors were replaced with Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups. A Custom Shop version of the same instrument started to appear in 2004. This guitar features a birdseye maple neck and is available in Midnight Blue, Mercedes Blue and Black.
