Back to navigation


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





This article was


Written By





Our Product Research Team





Get to know them!





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:


Just like Eric's own guitar


Vintage tones plus midrange boost


Fast-playing maple neck 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 a pewter gray 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 onstage!





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 that they could lodge the 3-position blade switch in those in between positions to access neck, middle and bridge, or middle pickup combinations. These were often erroneously referred to as the out-of-phase settings. The Eric Clapton Strat comes standard with a modern 5-way blade switch, making it easy to access all the pickup combinations, but then it 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 that 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 blonde natural maple neck became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. The Eric Clapton Stratocaster comes with a 1-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:


Pewter gray color with polyurethane finish


Maple neck in a soft V-shape


Solid alder body


Fender/Gotoh vintage-style tuners.


Maple fingerboard


22 frets


Dot inlays


3 Vintage Noiseless Strat pickups


Blocked vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge


5-position blade for pickup switching


Chrome hardware


Vintage Tweed case included


25.5" scale length





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