In 1985, Fender’s Dan Smith approached Eric Clapton with a proposition that would alter the course of signature guitar history. Would Clapton be interested in putting his name on an instrument designed entirely to his specifications? The answer — carefully negotiated over months, unusually for a guitarist who had previously declined all endorsement approaches — was yes. Three years later, in 1988, Fender released the Eric Clapton Stratocaster. It was the first artist signature model the company had ever produced. Everything that followed in the modern signature guitar era — every artist-spec instrument bearing a name on the headstock, from the Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster to the Ibanez JEM7V — owes a structural debt to this guitar. It didn’t just represent Eric Clapton. It invented the category.
What makes the Clapton Stratocaster historically significant is not merely who it honours, but what it demanded of Fender’s engineering team. Clapton did not ask for a prettier Stratocaster. He asked for a fundamentally different one: a V-shaped neck profile drawn from his Martin acoustic guitar, an active mid-boost circuit powerful enough to make three single-coil pickups sound like a humbucker, and a tremolo bridge permanently blocked to defeat the vibrato system — all while retaining the visual identity of a vintage 1957 Stratocaster. The result is one of the most technically distinctive production guitars Fender has ever built, and one whose specifications remain essentially unchanged nearly four decades after introduction. That kind of longevity is not sentiment. It is engineering that works.
From the Beano to Blackie: Clapton’s Journey to the Stratocaster
Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945, in Ripley, Surrey. His route to the Fender Stratocaster was neither direct nor inevitable. In his earliest significant professional work — first with The Yardbirds in 1963, where he played a Fender Telecaster through a Vox AC30 — and then with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in 1965–66, his primary weapon was a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard, driven through a 45-watt 1962 Marshall JTM45 combo with the volume cranked until the studio engineers complained. That guitar, immortalised on the cover of the “Beano” Bluesbreakers album as Clapton reads a Beano comic backstage, produced the thick, singing sustain and compressed midrange warmth that made the NME declare “Clapton is God” in a famous piece of street graffiti and established the template for British blues guitar that remains influential today.
Through the Cream years — 1966 to 1969 — Clapton used various Gibsons alongside 100-watt Marshall stacks and full 4×12 cabinets, developing the “woman tone” (achieved by rolling back the tone control on the neck pickup of an SG or Les Paul into a warm, almost vocal mid-heaviness) that defined tracks like “White Room” and “Sunshine of Your Love.” It was not until he encountered Steve Winwood — his future Blind Faith bandmate — playing a white Stratocaster that something shifted in Clapton’s thinking. Winwood himself later recounted that he didn’t realise he’d persuaded Clapton to switch instruments until reading Clapton’s own autobiography.
The decisive moment came in 1970. Clapton, touring with Derek and the Dominos, found himself in the Sho-Bud guitar shop in Nashville, where he discovered a back room stacked with 1950s Fender Stratocasters priced at around $100–$300 each — instruments that had fallen profoundly out of fashion in the era of the Les Paul’s dominance. He bought six of them. He gave one to George Harrison, one to Pete Townshend, and one to Steve Winwood. From the best parts of the remaining three — the body of a 1956 Strat whose black finish he liked, the neck of a 1957 model whose feel suited him, and the pickups from a third guitar — he assembled the instrument that would define the next fifteen years of his career. He called it Blackie.
Blackie made its live debut on January 13, 1973, at the Rainbow Concert organised by Pete Townshend. Over the following twelve years it appeared on virtually every significant Clapton recording and performance: “Cocaine,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Lay Down Sally,” Live Aid 1985, the Royal Albert Hall residencies. It was the guitar that recorded the iconic two-chord riff of “Cocaine,” the melodic clarity of “Wonderful Tonight,” the searing blues of “Further On Up the Road.” When Blackie was finally retired in 1985 — its neck worn dangerously thin after decades of constant playing — it was not merely the end of a guitar’s working life. It was the retirement of an instrument so deeply embedded in its player’s identity that Clapton would later say: “I feel like that guitar has become part of me.” In 2004, Blackie was auctioned at Christie’s to benefit Clapton’s Crossroads Centre addiction rehabilitation facility, selling for $959,500 — at the time the highest price ever paid for a guitar at auction.
By 1985, when Blackie retired, Dan Smith’s approach to Clapton about a signature model was perfectly timed. The question was not whether Clapton needed a new guitar. It was whether Fender could build one worthy of replacing the irreplaceable.
The Design Brief: What Clapton Actually Asked For
Clapton’s instructions to Fender were, in his own words, straightforward: “If they could make copies of that [Blackie], especially the neck shape — I wouldn’t want any changes made except for optional sound, to fatten it up.” The neck shape he had in mind was not Blackie’s actual profile but the V-shaped neck of his Martin acoustic guitar, which he described as the most naturally comfortable fretting position he had ever experienced. He also wanted an active circuit — specifically a mid-boost — that could make his single-coil Strat sound “compressed,” his word for the warm, rounded character of a humbucker when pushed. And he wanted a blocked tremolo: he liked the resonance and sustain that the tremolo block imparted to the Stratocaster’s sound, but he had no interest in using the vibrato arm, and its tendency to pull his guitar out of tune during performances was something he regarded as an intolerable liability.
Fender made two prototype necks: one modelled directly from measurements taken off Blackie, one with a slightly softer V profile. Clapton chose the softer V. For the electronics, the initial prototypes used the Elite Stratocaster’s 12dB MDX mid-boost circuit. Clapton liked it but wanted more dynamic range. Fender’s engineers replaced the Elite pickups with Gold Lace Sensor units — low-impedance, hum-cancelling transducers that produced extremely low noise and a clean, extended frequency response — and tweaked the MDX circuit upward to deliver 25dB of midrange boost centred around 500 Hz. The prototype was presented at The Prince’s Trust Concert in June 1986, where Clapton debuted it publicly. After further refinement, the production model launched in 1988.
The initial colour choices were, per Clapton’s request, Ferrari Red, “7-Up Green” (Candy Green), and Pewter Grey Metallic. Black was explicitly not offered — Clapton associated it too closely with Blackie and did not want the confusion. It became available in 1991, somewhat inevitably.
Full Specifications: Current Production Model
Body
Alder, in the classic Stratocaster contoured shape, finished in gloss urethane. Available finishes include Olympic White, Black, Pewter, Torino Red, and Candy Green, with additional Custom Shop colourways produced in limited quantities over the years. Single-ply white pickguard — a deliberate vintage aesthetic choice that references the 1957 Strat that underpins the design. All hardware in chrome. The body carries the four-bolt neck plate with Fender’s Micro-Tilt adjustment system for precise neck angle setting.
Neck
One-piece maple, in Fender’s “soft V” profile — the defining physical characteristic of the instrument and the one most immediately noticeable to anyone who has played a Clapton Strat. The soft V takes the pronounced sharpness of a 1950s hard V neck and rounds it into a shape that sits naturally in the palm, with the thumb resting comfortably over the top edge of the fingerboard. Players with larger hands who habitually wrap the thumb over the neck often find it immediately intuitive; players accustomed to C or D profiles require an adjustment period but many come to regard it as uniquely comfortable for blues and chord work. Scale length is 25.5″, fingerboard radius 9.5″, nut width 1.650″ (42mm), fret count 22 vintage-style frets. Neck finish is satin urethane — chosen for its tactile warmth compared to gloss polyester. The BiFlex truss rod allows adjustment in both directions from a single access point. Clapton’s signature is printed on the front of the headstock — the small vintage Fender headstock, referencing the pre-CBS ’57 Strat aesthetic.
Electronics
The current production model carries three Fender Vintage Noiseless single-coil pickups — hum-cancelling units voiced to replicate the frequency character of true single-coil pickups without the 60-cycle hum that plagues standard Stratocaster electronics in electrically noisy environments. These replaced the original Gold Lace Sensor pickups in 2001, at Clapton’s own initiative; his longtime guitar technician Lee Dickson confirms that it was Eric who preferred the transition to the Noiseless units, which he felt better matched his current playing style and tonal requirements. The control layout is the significant departure from standard Stratocaster wiring: master volume, then two tone controls that are not conventional tone controls at all. The first operates Fender’s TBX (Treble Bass Expander) circuit — a passive control with a centre-detent at position 5. Rolled back from centre, it progressively reduces high frequencies like a standard tone control; advanced past centre, it adds presence and brightness by filtering low frequencies, cutting through a dense mix with unusual precision. The second tone control is the active mid-boost: a 25dB boost circuit centred around 500 Hz, powered by a 9-volt battery housed in a routed cavity on the rear of the body. At zero, the circuit is flat and transparent. Advanced clockwise, it progressively fattens and compresses the signal — the single-coil pickups acquiring progressively more of the warm, vocal, rounded character of a humbucker as the boost increases. At maximum, it is a genuinely transformative circuit: the bridge pickup, normally the brightest and most cutting position on any Stratocaster, becomes a thick, sustaining, humbucker-adjacent voice unlike anything else available on a single-coil guitar.
Bridge and Tremolo
A 6-saddle American Vintage synchronised tremolo — blocked. The blocking consists of a small piece of wood inserted between the tremolo block and the tremolo cavity wall, preventing any movement of the bridge. The vibrato arm socket remains, but the arm cannot function with the block in place. This is removable — owners who want to use the tremolo can extract the block easily — but Clapton’s rationale is clear: he values the resonance and sustain that the steel tremolo block contributes to the guitar’s acoustic response, while finding the vibrato system’s effect on tuning stability an unacceptable practical compromise. The blocked tremolo also alters the feel of the strings at the saddle, many players finding that string bending is slightly more immediate on a hard-tail or blocked configuration than on a floating tremolo system. Vintage-style tuning machines complete the hardware complement.
At a Glance
Body: Alder, gloss urethane. Neck: Maple, soft V, satin urethane, 9.5″ radius, 22 vintage-style frets, 25.5″ scale, 1.650″ nut. Pickups: 3x Vintage Noiseless single-coil. Controls: Master volume, TBX tone, active 25dB mid-boost. Bridge: Blocked vintage sync tremolo. Made in USA (Corona, California). Price range: approximately $1,500–$1,800 new.
Eric Clapton: The Player Behind the Guitar
Understanding the Clapton Stratocaster requires understanding what kind of guitarist Eric Clapton actually is in his mature form — which is quite different from the incendiary blues-rock figure of the Cream years. By the time the signature model arrived in 1988, Clapton had moved toward a warmer, more controlled, melodically focused approach to the guitar: long sustained single notes over clean or lightly overdriven tones, rich chord voicings rooted in blues but not exclusively defined by it, and a playing economy that prioritised emotional communication over technical showboating. The “Slowhand” nickname — which originated with Cream audiences who clapped sarcastically when he paused to change a broken string, then irony reversed into affection — captures something real about his approach: a patience, a deliberateness, a sense that each note should earn its place.
The active mid-boost on his signature model is the key to understanding his sound in this period. Clapton does not use it as a fuzz or overdrive in the conventional sense. He uses it at moderate to high settings into a relatively clean Fender amplifier — typically a Fender Twin Reverb or a custom-built variant — to achieve a warm, compressed sustain that sits in a mix without aggression but with considerable presence. The Vintage Noiseless pickups provide a clean, extended-range foundation; the mid-boost sculpts that foundation into something with body and voice. The TBX control allows him to fine-tune the high-frequency character depending on the room, the mix, and the song.
Clapton has been playing his signature model as his primary electric guitar since 1988 — for longer than he played Blackie. The Custom Shop has built him numerous personal variants over the years in specific colours and with specific setup details: the legendary Gold Leaf Stratocaster built by master builder Mark Kendrick in 1996 for Fender’s 50th anniversary, with a golden foil finish Clapton described as wanting something that could “be hung in the Louvre”; the Crashocaster series, hand-painted by street artist John “Crash” Matos, used from 2001 to 2004; various other custom-colour instruments auctioned at Crossroads festivals to benefit his addiction rehabilitation charity. In 2004, the Gold Leaf Strat sold for $455,000 at one such auction.
His amps during the signature era have evolved from Fender Twins through various custom-built and modified Fender-type combos, with the mid-boost circuit doing much of the tonal heavy lifting. The result is a sound that is unmistakably a Stratocaster but equally unmistakably Clapton: clear, warm, slightly rounded in the high end, with a vocal quality on sustained notes that no other combination of instrument and circuit quite replicates.
For a complete account of Clapton’s gear across his career — the Beano Les Paul, Brownie, Blackie, and beyond — see our dedicated guide: Eric Clapton – Guitars & Gear.
Tone Recipes: Getting the Clapton Sound
Clean Clapton: “Wonderful Tonight” / “Lay Down Sally”
Mid-boost at zero or minimal (position 1–2). TBX tone at centre detent (5) or slightly past. Five-way selector in position 4 (middle and neck) or position 5 (neck). Into a clean Fender-style amp — Twin Reverb, Blues Deluxe, or Hot Rod Deville — with volume at 4–5, treble at 6, middle at 6, bass at 4, reverb at 2–3. The Vintage Noiseless pickups produce a warm, clear tone in this configuration that handles clean arpeggiated playing and chord work beautifully. The TBX slightly past centre (6–7) adds presence for a live context without introducing brightness. The result is the smooth, uncomplicated Stratocaster tone Clapton uses for his ballad and reggae-influenced material.
Boosted Blues: “Cocaine” / “Further On Up the Road”
This is where the mid-boost circuit earns its reputation. Mid-boost at 6–8 (approximately 15–20dB of midrange gain). TBX at centre to slightly below (4–5). Bridge pickup (position 1) or bridge/middle (position 2). Into a Fender amp with volume at 5–6, sitting on the edge of natural breakup. Treble at 6, middle at 7, bass at 4. Presence at 6. The mid-boost’s interaction with the amp’s natural compression produces a warm, sustaining, slightly compressed overdrive that has the harmonic character of a humbucker guitar through a pushed Marshall — that “woman tone” quality Clapton has chased since the Cream era — but with the attack definition and note separation of a Stratocaster single-coil. An Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer placed in front of this setup, set with Drive at 3–4 and Tone at 5, adds a further layer of harmonic compression and sustain without muddying the fundamental clarity.
Maximum Boost: “Old Love” / Live Festival Tone
Mid-boost at maximum (10). TBX at 4. Neck pickup (position 5). Into a moderately overdriven Fender or clean Marshall-style amp. Treble at 5, middle at 8, bass at 4. At full boost, the Clapton Strat becomes a different instrument entirely: the single-coil pickups deliver a thick, fat, humbucker-flavoured sustain that sings on single-note lines with remarkable expressiveness. String bending at maximum boost produces long, vocal sustains that Clapton exploits on slow blues material. This is the setting to reach for when playing “Old Love,” “Before You Accuse Me,” or any of the deep blues material from the From the Cradle album. The blocked tremolo contributes meaningfully here — the bridge’s hard coupling to the body delivers better sustain and note bloom than a floating tremolo system would in the same configuration.
Acoustic into Clean: Crossroads / MTV Unplugged Settings
When Clapton performs acoustic sets — the legendary 1992 MTV Unplugged performance that spawned his biggest commercial hit with “Tears in Heaven” — he moves to Martin acoustics rather than the signature Strat. But for electric playing in a semi-acoustic context, the Clapton Strat at minimal boost, into a small Fender combo (Deluxe Reverb or Princeton) at low volume, with reverb at 3–4 and tone at centre-detent, produces an intimate, present, moderately warm electric tone that sits well in small-room and recording contexts without requiring significant post-processing.
The Clapton Strat’s active circuit makes it more versatile than it might appear, and the mid-boost’s interaction with different amplifiers produces quite different results depending on the setting chosen.
How It Compares: Situating the Clapton Strat in the Market
vs. Fender American Professional II Stratocaster
The American Professional II Stratocaster is a more versatile, general-purpose instrument: C-shaped neck, standard tremolo (floating or set up to taste), V-Mod II pickups with Deep Switch for humbucker-adjacent tones, and a more conventional control layout. It covers more stylistic ground; the Clapton model covers less ground but goes deeper into its specific area. If you want a workhorse Strat for a variety of musical contexts, the APII is likely the smarter buy. If you specifically want Clapton’s tonal palette and physical feel, there is no substitute on the production Fender line.
vs. Fender Player Plus Stratocaster
The Player Plus Stratocaster offers a push-pull coil-split on the tone controls for humbucker-adjacent tones from its Player Plus Noiseless pickups, at roughly half the price of the Clapton model. It’s made in Mexico rather than the USA. The mid-boost circuit on the Clapton model is a fundamentally different proposition from a coil-split: the boost adds gain and midrange colour without reducing string count or pickup surface area, preserving the full single-coil character while adding warmth and compression. The Player Plus is excellent value; the Clapton model offers something the Player Plus cannot replicate.
vs. Gibson Les Paul Standard
The mid-boost circuit on the Clapton Strat is in some ways Fender’s response to the enduring appeal of the Gibson Les Paul Standard: a way to bring Stratocaster versatility and the humbucker warmth that Clapton originally valued (in his Bluesbreakers and Cream years) into a single instrument. At maximum boost, the Clapton Strat genuinely competes in tonal character with a humbucker instrument. At lower boost settings, it retains the Stratocaster’s fundamental clarity and note definition that a Les Paul cannot offer. Players who have always felt forced to choose between humbucker warmth and single-coil definition will find the Clapton Strat an unusually effective bridge between the two worlds.
vs. PRS Custom 24
The PRS Custom 24 — with its 85/15 humbuckers, coil-tapping capability, and wide-thin neck — occupies a similar “versatile high-end” space but from a fundamentally different design philosophy. Where the PRS offers versatility through switching, the Clapton Strat offers versatility through its boost circuit. Both are excellent professional instruments. The PRS suits players who want a guitar that can sound like many guitars; the Clapton Strat suits players who want to go deep into one highly specific tonal world.
The Eric Clapton Stratocaster occupies its own distinct category within the Fender ecosystem. No other production Stratocaster offers the V-neck profile, the active mid-boost circuit, and the blocked tremolo in the same package. But understanding how it relates to other options helps clarify what it is and isn’t the right tool for.
Buying Guide: Eras and Versions
1988–2000: Gold Lace Sensor Era
The original production run used three Gold Lace Sensor pickups — near-zero noise, clean and extended frequency response, with a particularly even and transparent character that differs meaningfully from the current Vintage Noiseless units. Many collectors and players regard the Lace Sensor versions as more tonally distinctive, with a glassy, precise character that suits the mid-boost circuit particularly well. Used examples from this era typically sell in the $900–$1,400 range depending on condition. Original hard cases from this period are worth preserving. The first-series guitars also featured a 21-fret neck and slightly different headstock appointments from the current model.
1991: Rosewood Fingerboard Edition
A brief and extremely limited rosewood fingerboard variant was produced in 1991 to satisfy players uncomfortable with maple fingerboards. Only 94 (some sources say 95) units were produced before production stopped. These are collector’s items and seldom appear on the used market; when they do, expect prices considerably above the standard maple-board examples of the same era.
2001–Present: Vintage Noiseless Era
The transition to Vintage Noiseless pickups in 2001 marked the beginning of the current specification, which remains the standard production model. The Noiseless units are warmer and more conventionally “Stratocaster-sounding” than the Lace Sensors, with less of the Lace Sensors’ glassy precision and more of the harmonic bloom associated with vintage single-coils. Most players new to the Clapton Strat will encounter this version. It is an excellent guitar by any measure. New examples sell in the $1,500–$1,800 range; used examples in very good condition from $900–$1,300.
Custom Shop Variants
The Fender Custom Shop has produced numerous limited-edition Clapton Stratocasters over the decades: various reliced finishes in Journeyman and NOS aged specifications, models with ash bodies and quilted tops, gold hardware versions, abalone inlay models. These typically appear at Guitar Center’s Exclusive section or through Custom Shop authorised dealers. They command significant premiums but offer American handwork, select timber, and Custom Shop quality control. Budget $3,000–$6,000+ for a Custom Shop Clapton Strat in current or recent production.
What to Check When Buying Used
The active mid-boost circuit requires a 9-volt battery, housed in a battery compartment routed into the rear of the body. When buying used, the first thing to check is whether the battery compartment cover is present (they occasionally go missing) and whether the battery is fresh. An old or dead battery will cause the mid-boost to cut in and out, or fail to function at all. Test all five pickup switch positions with the boost at zero, then at maximum, to confirm the circuit is functioning correctly across its full range. Check that the TBX control functions smoothly through its range and engages the centre detent cleanly. Verify the blocked tremolo is functioning as intended — the wood block should be visible in the tremolo cavity when viewed through the rear spring cavity cover. Finally, the soft V neck is a specific and polarising profile: play the guitar extensively before buying used if this profile is unfamiliar.
Practical Ownership Notes
The Clapton Stratocaster is a working professional guitar, made in Fender’s Corona, California facility to the same standards as the rest of the American line. Build quality is consistent and appropriate to the price point. The satin urethane neck finish wears naturally with playing, developing a smooth, broken-in feel over time that many players regard as an advantage of the satin specification over gloss. The body’s gloss urethane is durable and will handle gigging and regular use without excessive showing of wear.
The active circuit adds one maintenance consideration absent from passive-electronics Stratocasters: the 9-volt battery. In typical use, a battery lasts several months. The circuit draws power only when a cable is plugged into the output jack, so leaving the guitar plugged in overnight will drain the battery prematurely. Make a habit of unplugging when not playing. Carry a spare 9-volt battery to any gig or session — a battery failing mid-performance is an uncharming scenario that is entirely preventable.
The blocked tremolo is a feature that occasionally prompts buyers to enquire about removal. It is completely removable — unscrew the rear plate, remove the wooden block, and the tremolo functions normally. Clapton’s reasoning for keeping it blocked is sound from a tuning-stability and sustain perspective, but players who want a functioning vibrato can have one. Note, however, that removing the block and setting the bridge to float requires proper spring balancing and setup, not simply pulling out the wood — the bridge’s resting tension relationship with the springs needs to be calibrated for whatever string gauge you’re using.
For string gauge, Clapton has used .010–.046 sets throughout most of his signature Strat era. The soft V neck profile pairs well with medium strings, which take advantage of the neck’s natural feel for the slightly more substantial bending effort required. Players accustomed to .009s may find .010s initially demanding; the reward is a fuller, warmer fundamental tone and better sustain, particularly evident when the mid-boost is engaged.
Frequently Asked Questions: Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster
Why is the tremolo blocked on the Eric Clapton Stratocaster?
Clapton specified the blocked tremolo himself because he values the sustain and resonance that the tremolo block imparts to the guitar’s acoustic character, but has no interest in using the vibrato arm — and finds that a floating tremolo compromises tuning stability during performances. The block is a small piece of wood inserted between the tremolo block and the cavity wall. It can be removed if an owner wants a functioning tremolo system, but the guitar ships from Fender in blocked configuration as Clapton designed it.
What does the active mid-boost do exactly?
It is a 25dB gain boost centred around 500 Hz — the midrange frequency range. At zero, the circuit is transparent. As you increase it, it progressively adds gain and warmth to the signal, effectively making the single-coil Stratocaster pickups sound progressively more like a humbucker: warmer, more compressed, with more sustain and a rounder high-frequency response. It is not a distortion or overdrive circuit in itself — it adds gain before the amplifier’s preamp stage, where the character of the resulting tone is shaped by the amp. Into a clean amp, it adds warmth. Into a mildly overdriven amp, it tips the amp into a more saturated response.
What is the TBX control?
TBX stands for Treble Bass Expander. It is a passive tone circuit with a centre detent at position 5. Below centre, it works like a conventional tone control — rolling off high frequencies progressively. Above centre, it reverses function and adds presence and brightness by filtering low-frequency content. At centre, it is effectively neutral. The TBX gives Clapton (and players of his signature model) unusually precise control over the high-frequency character of the guitar’s output — something a standard Stratocaster tone control cannot offer.
Was the Eric Clapton Stratocaster really the first Fender signature model?
Yes. The Eric Clapton Stratocaster, released in 1988, was Fender’s first artist signature production model. Prior to this, Fender had made custom guitars for specific artists, and the Custom Shop had produced one-off instruments, but no production guitar bearing an artist’s name and built to their specifications had existed in the company’s catalogue before the Clapton model. The contemporary proliferation of artist signature guitars across all manufacturers owes a structural debt to this guitar’s commercial success and critical reputation.
What happened to Blackie, the guitar the signature model was based on?
Blackie — the hybrid Stratocaster Clapton assembled from three 1950s Fender Strats in 1970 — was retired from regular use in 1985 after the neck had worn dangerously thin. It was occasionally used in studio sessions and brought out for specific live moments until 1991. In 2004, it was sold at Christie’s auction for $959,500 to Guitar Center, proceeds going to Clapton’s Crossroads Centre addiction rehabilitation charity. Guitar Center displays Blackie at its flagship store in Times Square, New York. In 2006, Fender produced 275 Custom Shop Blackie reissues — exhaustively measured from the original — which sold out within hours of release.
Which pickups does the current Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster use?
The current production model, since 2001, uses three Fender Vintage Noiseless single-coil pickups — hum-cancelling units voiced to replicate vintage single-coil character without the 60-cycle hum. The original 1988–2000 production models used Gold Lace Sensor pickups, which have a different tonal character: cleaner, more precise, glassier. Both generations are well-regarded; the Vintage Noiseless units are generally considered warmer and more conventionally “Strat-like,” while the Lace Sensors offer uniquely low noise and a clean, extended frequency response.
Is the soft V neck comfortable for players with average-sized hands?
It depends significantly on the individual. The soft V is most immediately comfortable for players with larger hands who habitually wrap the thumb over the top edge of the fingerboard — the V’s peak sits naturally under the thumb in this position. Players with smaller hands or those whose thumb sits behind the neck centre may find the profile less immediately intuitive. Most players find that after a week or two of consistent playing, the soft V becomes natural and even highly comfortable; the adjustment period is shorter than the distinctive shape might suggest. Playing the guitar in store before purchase is strongly recommended if the profile is unfamiliar.