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Post subject: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 4:12 pm
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I recently took the neck off of my old strat and found what I believe to be Eric Claptons signature and the # 11981 under it. The signature is inside under the neck where the neck meets the body. The neck is maple with no skunk stripe. There is no serial # on the neck plate. There is a cigarette burn on the peg head. Has anyone ever run across a singnature inside a strat or know why it would be there. I have included photos of the signature and of the guitar. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Hoot
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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 4:23 pm
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So you think that's a Fender Strat, eh......?

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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 4:47 pm
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Has the bullet truss rod adjust been pulled off or is it a Squier? :D


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 4:51 pm
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Well that's a hoot!
You got any other jokes?

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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 12:08 am
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Gee Paul don't you normally play a tele?
That sig looks as phoney as the headstock decal... :D


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 2:17 am
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Welcome to the forum Hoot. People aren't normally so negative. What is the story behind the guitar?

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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 2:26 am
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Not negative, rather brief.
We do not want to spend the day writing with a finger :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 4:07 am
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well you learn something every day. I don't play fenders and don't know a thing about them. That's why I asked you guys... if you have more information, let me know. How can you tell by the pictures what it is. I bought this at a yard sale for $150 is it at least worth that? I did think it was a Fender. I'm really interested in how you all know it's not. Thanks


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 4:34 am
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The peg head did not have the bullet truss rod nut.

More pictures are needed to say more.

Under the pickgard, electronics,
Body neck pocket


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 5:17 am
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Did it come with the case?
The case looks to be a decent item.

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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 6:15 am
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This is just my own $.02 for what it's worth...

To my eyes, the neck is definitely a fake...could be a Squier, but certainly not "Fender". First and foremost, there's no inlay around the truss rod end...dead give away. If this were some kind of legit 70's Strat, as others have already said, it would have a "Bullet" truss rod end. That said, Squier and others have made A LOT of large headstock Strat necks over the years...my '08 Chinese Squier Standard also has that large headstock (as did my '03 Indo Squier Standard). Also the tuners look like el' cheapo covered tuners, the 12th fret dot spacing looks wrong and as others have already said, the decal looks like a pretty bad fake as well....anyone with an inkjet printer can make decals these days. There is A LOT written about the subject of fakes on this forum, so to the OP...next time you may wish to look some of that up BEFORE you buy, regardless of price.

The body could be a bit more enigmatic. I SERIOUSLY doubt the signature is actually Clapton's. I'm not aware of any artist signing the inside of a body cavity or neck pocket like that, regardless of model. In most cases, when an artist "autographs a guitar", it's usually right on the body...I've certainly seen a few like that over the years (really...just walk into any Hard Rock Cafe and look at the instruments on the wall, LOL). Now in the old days, it wasn't uncommon for a factory worker to actually sign a neck pocket, BUT...for those we're usually talking about legit vintage instruments. I'm not saying the body couldn't be vintage, but it seems HIGHLY unlikely that someone would take a genuine vintage body and slap a low end neck on it...not impossible, but really, really unlikely (not to mention the body doesn't really look "old" in any case). I might measure the bridge spacing (if it's metric, it's an import) and even pop the pickguard off for a peek-see, but my initial impression is that the body is just as much of a "fake" as the neck is....could be Squier, but I DOUBT it's genuine Fender. Someone may have simply signed the neck pocket in the event the guitar was ever stolen or something...kind of like putting your name on the tag of your underwear! LOL!!!!!!

As to the value...unlike many others here, my attitude is simply this - if YOU like the guitar and are comfortable with what you payed, then yes, it was a good value. The truth about "partscasters" is that when it comes to how much they're worth, most of the time, they're not even worth the cost of the parts...in terms of money. I've seen/played some damn fine partscasters over the years...even built a couple myself, however in terms of resale value, they're usually not worth much at all. That said, $150 for a guitar at a yard sale really isn't too bad, IF you actually like the guitar...although I'd be hard pressed to suggest you'd ever get that money back out of it.

My advice is simply this; if you like the guitar, then simply enjoy it for what it is...a good ol' generic "Strat". Might even be worth a few bucks in upgrades...pickups, trem block, etc., depending on what it already has...but that's another topic :-).

Good Luck!


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 6:26 am
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OK ..uncle, I GIVE UP ! It's what is is. Sounds amazing and plays amazing though. Good enough for me. Thanks for all your help.


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:04 am
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Hoot wrote:
Sounds amazing and plays amazing though.


If *you* think it was worth a hundred and fifty bucks then it was worth a hundred and fifty bucks. That's "good enough".

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 11:46 am
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Hey Hoot I tracked your photobucket account to a guitar player Paul Gibson.
There are plenty of pics of you playing a fender tele how do you explain that?
A joke right? :D


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Post subject: Re: Eric Clapton signature inside old strat
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 3:23 pm
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I used to play telecasters until I switch back to a les paul. I said I don't know much about Fenders not I never played one. This was the first (stratocaster?) I ever bought.


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