Wow, that's a beauty! Love the vintage Jeff Beck color. You da Man! On 12-22-23 I bought a Red "Strato-blaster" to emulate the Fender Eric Clapton Red Strat now available. So-o excited! I'll be picking it up soon, & can't wait to drop a good tremolo, pickups & electronics in it. It has a maple neck & board, true aged & yellowed white pickguard & single-coil covers. It's from the '90's, so it's budget "vintage". Maybe one day I'll be blessed enough to own a real Fender Strat! One day....

Eric actually played a rosewood board on the rehearsals of Chuck Berry's hail hail rock and roll concert

Wow, that is cool! Thanks for sharing the history!

I had one of the first Yngwie Malmsteen Strats from the Custom Shop . Made December 1987 . 🎸🎼🎼🎼🎼✨🇺🇸☮️🏅 I have a Clapton Blackie now - Greatest Strat I have owned . 😊 ( Ebony fret board would be cool )

not only is it illegal to import or export brazilian rosewood abroad you can't even take this guitar abroad. santana has specific PRS's without Brazilian rosewood he takes on European tours

So glad you’re on youtube brother! You’ve helped me tremendously in my strat plus journey! Can’t wait for more content!

crazy cool story. thank you Jeff

My main guitar since 1991. I've owned 3. one red and 2 'blackies". My current 'Blackie" is from 2004. A lot of guitar blogs and YT Guitar channels don't care for it. I always disagree. It is an absolute wonder. I love it. I keep thinking I'd like to add a Pewter or a White one but, nah. I'm good. Thanks. This was fun.

Great video!

Excellent video. thank you!

One of my closest friends (he passed away last month) had one of the rosewood fretboard strats. It was in a sunburst finish.

I owned an 88 Torino red Clapton strat I wish I never sold. It was an absolute monster player, and I frequently took it to blues jams and played it often. That guitar was special and always caught the attention of the guitar players in the crowd because of its sound. It had the v.1 lace sensors and was less than 7 lbs in weight, but no custom shop stamp. I have owned 3 others since, a white and 2 blackies trying to recapture its magic. No such luck, great guitars but no magic. Serial # started with SE if I remember correctly.

A Clapton signature strat is one I've always wanted to have in the collection, ever since I was 10! Great video, that is an awesome axe you've got yourself, there. Cheers.

Incredible

I have the made in Mexico version a silver model ordered off musicians friend back 😂2004 Clapton model with 25db boost and the pickups have staggered pole pieces,basically the budget version of this guitar,gigged with it for years,it’s my favorite strat.

BTW just for the record, Montreux is pronounce more like "Mon-tro"

I do own a Daphne blue artist series. It was a very small and special run in early 2010. I’ve never seen another.

I was a big Clapton fan when cream was cranking out music.. after cream, Clapton seems to have become basically a Strummer.. I went to see Derek and the dominoes in Pittsburgh in the 70s. They were a fantastic band. The sound was right, the mixing was perfect, I could hear everything from the sizzle of the symbols, to string, wipe of claptons hand on the round wounds.. as great as the sound was, and as perfect as their timing was, and as tight as that band was, those guys must have been tired from the long road trip, because there was no sizzle, no goosebumps, no wow factor.. I was just a little suspicious before the concert started, when a roadie helped Clapton, put his guitar on, but then the roadie actually took Clapton‘s left hand, and put it on the guitar neck!. I thought to myself, i’ve never seen that before.. but once the concert started, Clapton didn’t seem to be under the influence of anything. I didn’t hear any mistakes… I was about 10 rows back in the center, right where the sound breaks.. but ever since cream disbanded, Clapton really has not dazzled me the way he was able to do in cream.. I guess what Pete Townshend said about when he and Clapton went to see this new guy on the scene named Jimi Hendrix.. Townsend implied that he and Clapton questioned each other on what the hell they were going to be able to do now that this jimi guy is showing them up.. I always had the impression that Townsend and Clapton both took a backseat when Hendrix showed up. Then soon after, Led Zeppelin happened. And that changed everything. Clapton went from the Yardbirds, to cream, to blind faith, to Derek and the dominoes,to strumming.. I guess what Jimi Hendrix said is true, you can’t keep cranking out, smash hit records like foxy lady one after the other endlessly.. i’m just glad I was there when cream happened. In those days, the best part of your car was the radio… nowadays, my pick up truck has the best sound system I ever owned.- but-I never turn it on..

the "secret" is that a lot of people like or prefer rosewood fingerboards ( like me ^^) and they also wanted a blacky, i think fender just wanted to sell this blacky for everyone ... just a thought. Great review, i enjoined it ✌

Wild!! I've a '91 Clapton Strat in Pewter. Love it. Love the Lace Golds. And I'm a huge Plus series fan (prefer the pre-93 ones with Wilkinson nut)....... Thanks for your website & videos!! Keep 'em coming. Wealth of knowledge!

Montreux has a silent 'x". Please listen to the first line of "Smoke on the Water".

Thank you for creating your own channel. I've visited your website many times while researching Strat Plus models. I revered these guitars (Strat Plus) when I was a kid but I have never owned one. I bought a 91 American Standard when I was 18 years old back in 1996 and immediately put Lace Sensors in it. I've purchased many guitars over the years, but one day I will pull the trigger on a Plus.

When I saw the title of the video I figured it was gonna be the rosewood board. I've actually always wanted to play a rosewood Clapton Strat because he's my favorite player ever and I greatly prefer rosewood to maple. I've scoured the internet to try and find a rosewood board on a Clapton Strat but have actually never been able to find one. From what I understand, Clapton actually demanded that Fender stop production on them because he said he never played a rosewood board and he didn't want them using his name on a Strat that he really didn't play. One thing I'm curious about is did they all come with lace sensors?

Very nice!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻👌🏻

I have an extremely rare 1985 Fullerton parts Corona assembled 57’ sunburst RI

I don't know if my comment showed up so might be on here twice. It's good to see you on KZfaq. We used to talk on the Fender forums You sold me a dually pearloid pickguard for my Ebony Frost Strat Plus Deluxe.

I have a Clapton crash one guitar its lovley😊

Wow imagine if EJ got a signature lace sensor strat that would be awesome

That’s a slab of rosewood too and it’s a gorgeous guitar. I was impressed by your blackie with the rosewood but surf green hell yeah, but I wonder if there’s any 7up green rosewood freaks out there now lol ?

Who’s guitar is at exactly 1:38 in? That’s a LOOOOOOT of mods

Great video! I'm about to get a Roger Giffin handmade strat, do you know anything about the guitar/guitars he made for Eric?

Imagine crafting something like that and it just sits in the case forever.

If I remember well, i read in a french guitar magazine that Clapton did ask for modifications for a tribute recording, maybe for SRV. Could it be that, or a pickups modification??

A very interesting story. And you got a one-off in the entire world

I have one of those green cases and it is gorgeous. However, mine holds the world's most rare 2008/2009 Road Worn '60s Strat. It's rare because it's the only one to which I've put my super lame non-mojo

nice

Clarification: 1988 intro available in only 3 colors: Torino Red, 7 Up Green, Pewter 1994/1995: white introduced EC had a personal black guitar built and stage used in the late 1990s, but he did not approve it for production late 2000: EC approves and Fender began selling the "blackie" version Now, back in the day, the Custom Shop was truly custom, and would do anything you'd like, including rosewood boards, custom colors, etc. At some point around 2000, the Custom Shop clamped down and at that point would only do colors etc approved by EC.

Precio?

I had an early nineties pewter Strat plus. I miss it. Sold it. :(

Great video, super guitar! I have a question about the Pewter Grey Clapton Strat. I have a 2006 American Standard Strat that the color is called Arctic Frost that I swear is the same color as the Pewter. Is it possible that Fender renamed the color over the years? I've seen him use that Strat numerous times and I swear its the same color. Maybe you and the other Fender scholars can answer that question so that after knowing, I could die in peace. Thanks.

When the ad says that Clapton, "wouldn't change a thing", it is referring to the previous paragraph that says, "The vintage bridge is 'stopped' with a removeable block so you can change to a tremolo type bridge." So, you are incorrect when you keep pointing out that Clapton wouldn't change a thing when he changed other aspects of the guitar. It is only referring to the blocked tremolo.

Would it not be possible to trace it's origin from the serial number. And as an after-thought, if EC stopped the production then would they not of allowed any to be released? Therefore as a second after-thought, is the guitar not an AP (Artists Proof in the art world).

The story was that Eric Clapton was urged by John Paige (custom shop lead at that time) to offer the rosewood fretboard on his guitar because Fender had a bunch of it and nothing to use it on. They wanted to attract players that liked the rosewood over maple. I remember this from an interview with Eric Clapton in the early nineties. There were only fifty of these rosewood necked guitars made. They didn't crank these out as they were custom shop models and not regular production guitars as they are now. And that "bi-flex" truss rod as Fender calls it is just a gimmick. It only means that it has a small piece of steel strip welded at both ends that reacts to the regular truss rod when it's turned. The inset picture you use in this video is of the regular truss rod design that Fender's been using since the eighties - nothing new here. There was one other iteration of the TBX tone control that the Eric Clapton guitar went through that you didn't mention: the middle tone knob was push - pull. Meaning that when you pulled up on it the TBX (Treble Bass Expander) would be activated and not because it was simply plugged into the guitar cord. When this knob was pushed back down it would react as a regular tone control again.

How many first made prototype guitar's do you think Eric kept for himself ?

In the photograph of the Fender endorsees line up, is that Stuart Adamson next to Clapton???

"Montrux."

The 12 db was my favorite boost system. Why do people tolerate CITES?! Do they have their own army? Just because something passes a "law" doesn't mean it is a valid "something." And I have long been a fan of the Lace Sensors ... Lot of good information, here ...

CITES finished.

CME has the same one for sale but not BRW finger-board for twenty five hundred. Wierd that I saw this video and then went to CME web-site for the 1st time ever and saw this. Maybe I am supposed to buy it?

Montreks? 🤔

But does it ever get played, or is it just a museum piece, now only for looking at? I suppose the argument would be that as a one-off it's too valuable to risk, but surely - it's a musical instrument? Fair enough if it's had been played into the ground and soaked up as much history as Hendrix's pyres, or Willie Nelson's Trigger or Gilmopur's own 'black Strat' etc. etc., but the history here seems to be the be-all and end-all. Sorry - I don't get it.

4:52 cocaine.

and you can buy a used strat that looks, sounds and plays almost as good for under $500.

Couldn't you just order one of these from fenders custom shop these days? They're supposed to be renowned for agreeing to make practically anything?!

Let’s hear that rare Strat,you talked it up but no sound from the rarest Clapton Stratocaster.

All these guitars for three licks..