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Post subject: 1987 Clapton Signature Strat Prototype George Blanda 7 of 12
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:25 am
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hello all! I have the wildest guitar to tell you about.
I I would love to find out more about it too...so hopefully someone can share something they know...or maybe I will find a co-owner of mine which is marked seven of twelve 7/12
It is one of twelve guitars produced during the early proto stages of the Eric Clapton Signature Series. FEATURES
Anyways this guitar has a neck date of jan 1987, pots from 1986 including the TBX circuit, three "noiseless" pickups with poles also marked proto and with initials GB. The neck which is unfinished, just oiled, left that way to replicate the feel of Erics spent blackie. 21 frets!! a modern string tree.
Of course it has already the mid boos circuit, but I noticed the part number for the board was one digit lower, 028616 as opposed to todays product number for clapton midboost 028617. I am not sure if it is 14 or 25 db boost, but I ask myself that questions cause I read some early protos had 14 and Eric asked for more.
This early version does have a nitro finish!!! Also hahaha it has a three ply green guard with eleven screws!!!!!!! And it is black and has the blackie sticker though Eric did not authorize the color black for production until 1991 !!
The case is stencilled EC 7 on the side. Otherwise it is a period tweed case.
The neck heel is marked proto in red with a circle, also reads MOD C in red and V+++ in red as well. There are two names on the neck, Stevens (not necessarily Michael Stevens but perhaps?) and G BlandA very faintly handwritten (signed by himself perhaps) G Blanda..
The body's neck pocket is stamp CLAPTN and 7/12 and has the year 1987 as well. It is signed by George Blanda and seemingly he used a marker pen here which was much more legible than on the neck butt.
But it shows the market did have friction with the wood so the signature is not clean
there is a also a number on the in green marker, six digits, similar to a serial number?? looked it up and it would correspond to 86 if indeed it were the guitars serial. Otherwise there is no other serial on the guitar.
The neck plate is an F plate and afterwards 7/12 was written on the plate.
I don't know what else to tell you, wish I could post some pics here.
ALL NEWS IS WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:10 am
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Noiseless pickups did not exist in 1987. are you talking about Lace Sensors?

if not, then you have been horribly scammed.

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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:45 am
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Pics??


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:17 am
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Don't know how to post pics but I would like to! Do I need some pic hosting website?
thanks
J[/url]


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:24 am
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Go to www.photobucket.com and load your pics. and then you can post them here to your post. It's free.


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:45 am
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thanks! posted pics at
http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac254/jk456555/


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:24 pm
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Why don't you post your pics. link in the Ask Mike Eldred forum and I'm sure he can tell you more than I can. :wink:


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:32 pm
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Mike's onto it already.....he is following this thread....but still might be the wrong forum?


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:47 pm
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from what i gather the chronology is that John Page rejoined Fender after an 11 month hiatus in early 87 together with Michael Stevens who had been tapped from Texas by Fender to "build a few guitars a month"
The first part of 87 they spent working on the building and tooling and benches and such even as they built, and finally they moved into the facillity sometime in midyear.
Blanda had been working on this in 86 with Eric...and had already been developing protos by the time the Custom Shop was officially founded by Page and Stevens. As a matter of fact Eric had a few 86's and 87s according to the Christie's catalog.
The protos that Stevens made the neck for are the final ones, i.e. based on the stuff that Eric had approved. And that is how the Pewter one was born, which sold for 109,000 as the first prototype. I would have called it final prototype, or prototype number one of the final version, but not simply prototype number one. There were prior protos that are documented elsewhere including several references to the Blanda protos.


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:58 pm
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again, pics? a pic is worth 1000 words! :lol:

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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:00 pm
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Checking.
Also, Page and Stevens were not the "founders" of the CS. Bill Schultz was.

ME


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:14 pm
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chanman246 wrote:
again, pics? a pic is worth 1000 words! :lol:

He has a link to some pics, see above.


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:28 pm
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Point well taken.... true that there was the Custom Shop before the "founders"were hired...but somehow I came accross that "title" in an article or interview...they were referred to as Co-Founders. Self referred perhaps? There is somehow that perception forming out there....
i will join you in trying to clarify it
I've seen also places where they say G Blanda was with the Custom Shop for a while. Well I almost sure he was assigned the Clapton Signature project, before even Page and Stevens had been recruited to head that division.


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 2:40 pm
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Unfortunately, the story about this guitar is not real.

ME


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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:27 pm
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wow, you got ripped off almost on the same scale as Vinnypop!!! :lol:

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