Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar 

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

I bought this guitar about 2 months ago and was blown away. As soon as I plugged it in for the first time I fell in love with the tone and the feel of the neck. I play anywhere from Country to Rock to Jazz and this guitar does it all with no problem!

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

I knew I'd like it, but I didn't know how much I was going to love this guitar. Unless you want humbuckers or hot pups, this might be just about perfect. Everything about it is superb. Mine was set up beautifully from the factory. Everybody raves about the neck, and it is a true joy to play. The shape and the finish make it like butter in your hand. But the maple fretboard is also amazing. The vintage frets and the radius make bends and vibrato so easy and accurate. The body shape and the vintage tuning pegs make it a joy to hold and to restring. New EB10's went on in minutes and stayed in tune from the next morning. As many have said, the tone and boost options give you an amazing diversity of sound (no, it's not quite got real p90 and humbucker sounds, but it's still very cool). People who rave about getting 5 real switch positions are also right; 1 & 2 are useful now. The volume knob can meaningfully be set at least between 2 and 10. Oh, and did I mention the sustain? You don't have time to test the sustain... Just a great guitar!

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

Rather than having three or four electric guitars, I wanted a single guitar which provided maximum versatility. It may not be as purely single coil as some strats, and it won't compete with a Les Paul if you are exclusively into humbucker tones. The strength of this guitar is that it will cover any kind of style well, if not great. When I combine the versatility, with the silence of the vintage noiseless pickups, I couldn't be more pleased. As with any guitar, I'd strongly suggest trying it out in person, rather than purchasing impulsively because of glowing reviews.
In my house, I play guitar strictly at lower volume. The typical single coil hum, which isn't much of an issue in louder settings, is very annoying at bedroom levels. The vintage noiseless pickups are a great comprimise between vintage strat tone and blissful silence. Some purists (of which I am certainly not one,) claim the noisless pickups are sterile and bland. I have no problem with them - especially considering they remove the sc hum. The main feature that differentiates the Clapton Strat from other American guitars is the TBX/mid-boost circuits. In the middle position, the TBX is equivalent to both the tone and bass controls at 10. Turned to the right or left of middle, either the bass or treble will be removed. The effect is particularly nice on the high end. That said, the mid-boost is much more noticeable. Having an additional +25dB clean boost really makes a difference when you want to simply add some growl to your tone. When used in tandem, the TBX/mid-boost circuits add quite a bit of versatility to the traditional strat tone. If you're the kind of person who tinkers with dozens of pedals and special effects, these features may not be of much interest. On the other hand, if you are looking for a simple all-in-one guitar which is capable of both single coil and humbuckerish tones without having to change guitars or constantly tinker with extra gear, this is your guitar. If this guitar is anything, it's versatile.
No complaints whatsoever with quality. Everything is solid and just as it should be. The main complaints I see are typically the 1-ply pickguard and the vintage frets. These complaints are more personal preference related, and not really an issue with quality.
The quality of foreign made guitars seems to be getting better and better, and at ridiculously low prices. While the Clapton strat is a great guitar, I wouldn't call it (or any Artist Series guitar,) a great value.

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

I have 11 different USA made Fender guitars most bought from MF. I own other guitars Rickenbacker, Alvarez, Gibson and PRS. 80% purchased from MF some from GC. They all have very different necks and pickups and sound different because of age. The EC guitar I just bought is at the top of my list as far as playability, sound and function. The noiseless pickups have the vintage sound and very quite, the TBX tone control is a great feature as you can add or cut and control all the pickups. The mid boost is exactly as described and has more power 25db then you will ever need. Drives a tube amp into very nice overdrive. You will have to adjust your amp very different with this guitar but thats not a bad thing. Sometimes we set our amps and never touch the tone again, this guitar makes you change things around. I like that personally. I have Vox, Fender, Bogner and Line 6 Bogner amps all tube. Sounds different thru each but great in all cases. I prefer few effects a little delay at times and mild overdrive from the amp. I have a floor volume pedal and the affects from the amps, that's it. Keep it clean and simple!
Well pleased with my purchase all the features are functional and work as intended. The TBX and boost circuit make this a great sounding guitar.
I only gave a rating of 8 in this catagory as the pick guard was so thin and warped it was pulling away from the body. The screws holding the plastic plate on were to tight and as the plate was so thin ( single ply) it was already out of shape. Even the screw heads were of different sizes and did not match the holes well. I replace the pickguard with an 8 hole three ply black-white-black. It was an original Fender made in USA purchased also from MF and installed new screws. In my opinion it looks even better. I bought this guitar to play not store away so I don't mind if the pickguard is not period correct for a 57 strat.
The rest of the body including neck are perfect. No flaws in the finish and the neck was set perfect from the factory. Even after I changed the strings to my liking Fender super bullets 9-42. No buzz just had to set the intonation slightly.
I would say for an American made guitar this was a good value for the dollar. I used a coupon to get an additional 15% discount. So for a USA Eric Clapton guitar I believe it will be worth what I paid for it down the road. That is if I ever sell it. So far I have never sold any of my Strat's. 8 and counting. They all have different characteristics and sound very different from each other. I use them all. The case was just the icing on the cake, well made USA case. I'm very pleased with my purchase.

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

10
I am a pretty harsh critic. But, the feel and sound of this strat is amazing. I researched and tried MANY guitars before deciding on this one. The neck on this EC series is silky smooth. In fact so much, I will never have anything but a soft V-neck again. It's impossible to describe. You just have to feel one. When I first considered one, I thought the price was in the artist name alone. NOT SO. There is a HUGE difference. If you like to play comfortable, this is the one unless you want to drop about twice as much for a custom shop, which I compared and considered but just didn't see the benefit. This model is the way to go in my opinion. GREAT guitar.

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

This is a players guitar. It has style,it has class. Let's face it- it's down-right sexy.First, the soft V neck is amazing. It appears to be the best for me. I actually play better using this style neck. Second, this is the most responsive guitar I've ever seen. Perfect for those soft yet fat blues tones for leads/solos, but just a tad bitter harder strum makes this baby gives off mad rythm. As far as value- I do think that $1600 is too much, but overall I found that I dont need pedals or really any FX for this baby to sing the blues with an amazing "natural" sustain. I think this guitar makes me sound better than I ever have before, which makes it impossible to get it out of my hands.Its light wieght, yet the well constructed build is meaty and present. I love a good tweed case, but this baby is going in a gig bag with me everywhere. The other stuff Ive read about the pickguard being cheap and effects the sound- I have no sound issue. the tones are fat and heavenly, and can be tight and crystal clear all thanks to TBX. As far as the laquer peeling and the knobs and tuners fading...sounds like the breaking in period, and I'll be just fine with that.

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

I played a 2 yr old floor model at the Seattle GC and really liked the sound. I ended up with a used 4 yr old Green with Vintage Noiseless pups from the Tempe GC. This is your basic Am Std Strat with Active pickups, funky vintage slotted hole in the center post tuners that are difficult to re-string, and a vintage 8 hole pick guard which makes this look cheap because of pick guard buckling and not held down as well as a 11 hole pick guard. The battery for the active pickups is in the trem cavity.Plays as good as any american standard, active pickups sound awesome. I would pass on this model again because of the tuners and 8 hole pickguard in favor of a 11 hole pickguard model with normal side hole tuners. See model 423641, same guitar no signature stamp. To me, this guitar is not unique or feature rich enough to command the extra money and signature stamp on the head stock. The James Burton Flame Tele is a better representation of a signature series guitar with features and playability not generally available on other like fender models.

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

I own 3 Strats (one American Standard, American Delux and an MIM). I just bought the Erica Clapton signature model and played it for the first time at a gig. Wow! I usually use a Fulltone 2 Mosfet Overdrive pedal for many solos. Guess what? I didn't have to use the pedal once! The mid range boost provided a wonderful overdrive that met all my needs (classic rock and some blues). This guitar has a wonderful neck, the soft V shape is great AND the vintage smaller frets are fantastic...so much so that my other beautiful Strats feel like clunkers compared to this one. You do have to watch the boost and TBX with the bridge pickup...sound can get a bit too trebley. Fit and finish are superb...best dressed frets with smooth ends along the edge of the fingerboard. One complaint, the pickguard was buckled where there would be a 4th screw along its top border...do I drilled a hole and added a screw, now the guard lays flat. The vintage tuners are great...string stay in tune as well as on my other Strats with the modern locking tuners.I love this guitar and highly recommend it...you will not be disappointed!

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

This is one of my favorite guitars of all time and I would be hard pressed to part with it. I ordered my 2000 Candy Green EC Strat just before the pickup change over from Gold Lace Sensors to Fender Noiseless pickups.Features: This is probably the most versatile guitar I own. The V shaped neck is very easy to play with a like satin finish. You can man handle this guitar and not be worried about breaking it. The real beauty of this guitar is the mid-range boost circuit (MRB). Keep the MRB knob on one and you get beautiful clean ?bell like tones? of a strait forward Strat. Turn the knob to 10 and you get some of the biggest tone I've ever heard in a guitar. It's amazing. If I could I have this feature on every guitar I own.Quality: Since the guitar was ordered from the factory for me, I was the first one to touch it. I took it out of the box and immediately noticed a few problems with the set up. The neck was not seated properly into the body and there was a hairline crack in the finish in the neck socket. The neck was easily straitened and I forget that there is crack in the finish. As usual I feel that big name guitars sometimes forget attention to detail. If you are spending over $1K on guitar you want it done correctly.Value: If you have the money, get this guitar; it cheaper and more useful than a Les Paul.Overall: I had to wait a month for this guitar and it was worth it. If I had to pick one guitar for all occasions, this would be it.

Comments about Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar:

I currently own 3 E C Strats, a pewter 1989 model bought used in 1997, a pewter 1995 model bought new in 95, and a 1996 olympic white bought used, but in dead mint condition from a private collection in 2008. Prior to switching to Strats I was a die hard PRS man, having owned 5 over the years. But after playing my first E C they soon became and have remained my main guitars for the last 15 yrs. I have to say that the neck shape, and mid-boost were what got me hooked. Having owned 5 PRS custom 22 and 24, two custom shop strats,2 Les pauls, and 2 american deluxe strats, a custom buit Don Grosh, the E C's to me have the best feeling, playing necks of any guitar out there. Also I must add that while I Love the mid boost a did not care for the Lace pickups. After trying everything from Kinmans, Fender Vintage noiseless, Frailins, Van Zandts, that I finally found my sound with the Fender custom shop 54's. I have changed all three of my E C's pickups to 54's, and removed the TBX tone and replaced with standard vintage 250k tone controls. To everyones surprise even with the mid boost full on the 54's are very quite. I hate to use other artist to compare tone, but to my ears with this set up the tone is very close to seventies era Clapton, and as I add more boost I can get everything from Gilmore to Beck, to Gibbons, and even a very Santana like singing sustaining tone. With the 54's I still get that classic bell like single coil tone. I must add that on all three I also change the saddles and trem block to solid titanium KTS replacements. This to me is the most significant mods I have made. With the titanium parts all three became in my opinion the perfect guitars. Even though all the specs are the same, except on my white one I did replace the pickguard with a 8 hole gold anodized, the tone and feel are slightly different. Also through the years I have tried several other Claptons and all felt and played somewhat different. To my hands, and ears these three are the best of all the E C's I tried and the best all around guitars I've ever owned. I used to have a pedal board full of the finest boutique pedals built, but now I go from the guitar into a Buddy Guy wah, straight into various custom built tube amps. Perfect for the styles I play, mostly blues, blues rock, jazz. But also some country, hard rock, jam band type stuff too. I'll never need another setup as long as I live.