Features
Clapton asked Fender for a V-shaped neck similar to his Martin acoustic guitar and what he called a "compressed" pickup sound, similar to that of a humbucker, explaining everything else about the famous "woman tone" he had developed during his stint with Cream in the late '60s, a playing technique almost synonymous with various Gibson models such as the ES-335, Les Paul Standard, Explorer, Byrdland, SG and Firebird, all sporting a pair of humbucking pickups. The first early prototypes made around 1986/87 featured a 21-fret neck, a 21dB mid-boost circuit, an active/passive toggle switch (which has been deleted on the final release) and Schaller locking strap buttons. The final product (released in 1988) is essentially a vintage 1957 reissue Stratocaster featuring a deeply contoured select alder body, a 1-piece soft "V"-shaped maple neck fitted with 22 vintage-style frets, flat 9,5" radius and BiFlex truss-rod system, a "blocked" original American Vintage synchronized tremolo, Gotoh/Kluson tuning machines, 1-ply white pickguard and three Fender Gold Lace Sensor pickups powered by an active MDX mid-boost circuit with 25dB of gain and TBX tone controls, which helped augment the tone of the sound delivered, opening up a wider tonal range Clapton desired.
One of the unique features of this guitar (and perhaps the most interesting) was the inclusion of an original vintage synchronized tremolo bridge blocked off to tremolo arms by a small piece of wood wedged into the bridge cavity. This idea came about as Clapton liked the tone and tuning stability of hardtail Stratocasters and had no use for the whammy bar. In 1991 Eric agreed to have his signature model with a rosewood fretboard as well to suit the needs of players disliking the feel of maple-neck models. Only 94 of these short-lived guitars were made and their production finally came into a halt.
The Lace Sensors in the Clapton Signature Stratocaster were replaced with Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups in 2001 (although Clapton began using the new pickups on his personal guitars in March 2000 and is still occasionally seen playing Lace Sensor-equipped Stratocasters to this day). The Vintage Noiseless pickups were previously available as a standard equipment material on the Fender American Deluxe Series guitars produced before 2004. The Custom Shop version (introduced in 2004) is available in Midnight Blue, Mercedes Blue, Black and Gold Leaf with gold-plated hardware (also available with a "Thinskin" nitrocelluse lacquer finish in Olympic White, Torino Red and Pewter, as well as a left-handed version).
Since their introduction in 2004, all Custom Shop Clapton Stratocasters (Team Built and Master Built) used a standard tone control instead of a TBX tone circuit. The TBX feature has been re-introduced in 2009 on "Team Built" versions; only the "Master Built" models had a normal tone control.
In 1998, Fender Japan released the ST54-LS. This guitar is a 1954 vintage reissue loaded with the same features as the early 1990s' USA-made Clapton Strats, such as a 7.25" radius 22-fret soft V-shape maple neck and three Gold Lace Sensor pickups with 25dB active mid-boost and TBX electronics. The battery is located in a special compartment routed on the back of the body instead of the tremolo cavity and a round string tree replaces the original butterfly-style of the American-made models. The bridge is a diecast block S5D vintage-style tremolo system. Available in Black, Vintage White, Torino Red and Gun Metal Blue.
Read more about this topic: Eric Clapton Stratocaster
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Short off, and died against the windowpane.””
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
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—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)