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Yes, Now You Can Own and Play Slowhand's Guitar





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There's no bigger name in the entire guitar world than Eric Clapton! The man is a legend with a career that spans over 40 years! So, as you can imagine, this is one musician that can play any instrument he chooses - and he chooses the Fender Eric Clapton Artist Series Strat. That's right, the same guitar you can own (though his comes with a custom paint job these days).





First introduced in the 1980s, today's Eric Clapton Strat has been updated with three Vintage Noiseless pickups, which work in conjunction with both a powerful active midrange boost and Fender TBX tone circuitry to create on of the most versatile guitars in the Fender catalog.





Eric Clapton Artist Series Stratocaster at a Glance:


Solid alder body with Olympic White polyurethane finish and single-ply white pickguard.


Three Vintage Noiseless Strat pickups with special active midrange boost.


One-piece maple neck and fingerboard with soft "V" shape.


Just like Eric's Own Guitar





You might think that a famous guitarist like Eric Clapton would pick some amazingly figured maple and ash, but in truth, other than the custom paint jobs, this is Eric's guitar. And once you play it, you'll see why he never asked for anything more. You start with a lightweight alder body with an Olympic White polyurethane finish and single-ply white pickguard. Next, thanks to the active 25dB midrange boost and TBX circuitry, you can go from crystal clear tone to a full-throated growl with the simple spin of a knob. Combine that with three of the latest versions of fender's Vintage Noiseless pickups and Eric's personal choice of a "blocked" American vintage synchronized tremolo, and you have the makings of a truly soulful instrument that sounds as great in the studio as it does up on stage!





Vintage Tones Plus Midrange Boost





The original Strat had three single coil pickups, so it was able to produce sounds that no other guitar could deliver, particularly once players discovered they could lodge the three-position blade switch in those "in-between" positions to access neck / middle and bridge / middle pickup combinations. These were often erroneously referred to as the "out-of-phase" settings. The Eric Clapton Strat comes standard with a modern five-way blade switch, making it easy to access all the pickup combinations, but then adds a special active 25dB midrange boost on one tone control to give this guitar the extra "meat" you might expect from a humbucker. In addition, the second tone knob functions as a standard Fender TBX master tone control, which can smoothly go from bright and glossy to dark and smoky by rolling off the highs!





Fast Playing Maple Neck with Soft "V" Shape





Leo Fender wasn't afraid to "think outside the box" when it came to guitar designs - after all, he was an engineer, not a guitar player. In the 1950s and well into the 1970s, the blond natural maple neck became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. The Eric Clapton Stratocaster comes with a one-piece maple neck and fingerboard with 22 vintage style frets and Eric's personal favorite soft "V" shape. In keeping with contemporary player preferences, the fast playing neck is finished in a smooth satin polyurethane.





Fender Eric Capton Strat Features:


Color: Olympic White.


Body Type: Solidbody electric.


Finish: Polyurethane.


Neck Wood: Maple.


Neck Shape: Soft "V" shape with 9.5-inch radius.


Body Wood: Solid alder.


Machine Heads: Fender / Gotoh vintage style tuners.


Fingerboard: Maple.


No. of Frets: 22.


Position Markers: Dot inlays.


Pickups: Three Vintage Noiseless Strat pickups.


Controls: Master volume, one master TBX tone, one active midrange boost control.


Bridge/Tailpiece: "Blocked" vintage style synchronized tremolo.


Pickup Switching: Five-position blade switch.


Hardware: Chrome.


Case: Vintage Tweed Case included


Scale Length: 25.5 inches.





NOTE: This product is available in the United States only - no international sales.